Staff Reporter

MOROCCO, in a move to reaffirm its bid to stage the 2006 World Cup, said on Monday it has no plans to withdraw from the competition to host the finals, an official statement said. “Morocco will pursue its campaign to host the World Cup finals in 2006 with self-confidence and calmly,” said the statement. It […]

PRESIDENT Thabo Mbeki held hour-long talks with visiting Burundi President Pierre Buyoya in Cape Town on Tuesday. The talks were a follow-up to a meeting between Nelson Mandela and Buyoya on Monday during which the two leaders discussed efforts to bring peace to the tiny African state, embroiled in a civil war since 1993 in […]

LANCE Klusener retains his number two position on the one day ratings behind Australia’s Michael Bevan, as audited by PriceWaterhouseCoopers. Jacques Kallis moves up a spot to fifth, in the top ten dominated by Australia. Hansie Cronje moves up a place to 18th, but Herschelle Gibbs has dropped four to 19. Shaun Pollock dropped to […]

MPUMALANGA’S provincial government pledged on Tuesday to trace an unnamed traffic officer who allegedly fled after driving into and killing two boys at the weekend. The unnamed officer allegedly drove into Zwelithini Mthembu, 10, and Aubrey Cele, 5, with his patrol vehicle on Saturday, killing both boys instantly. He was taken to Kanyamazane police station […]

OVER R2-million worth of advertising space has been donated by websites to the Aids Online Challenge, part of the greater Aids awareness campaign on the go in the country. It is the largest online advertising campaign ever seen in South Africa. The initiative’s main sponsor, Oracle Online Sales, has invited top creative online agencies to […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Lagos | Tuesday 9.35am. TEENAGER Julius Aghahowa was the two-goal hero as title favourites Nigeria overcame outsiders Senegal 2-1 after extra time on Monday in the last African Nations Cup quarter-final. This sets up Bafana Bafana with a semi-final showdown on Thursday against Nigeria, who refused to defend the cup they lifted the […]

THE European Union and 71 African, Caribbean and Pacific states are expected to sign a deal in May renewing the Lome trade and aid pact which expires in February, Deputy Trade and Industry Minister Lindiwe Hendricks said on Monday. Under the new deal, ACP countries will get 13,8-billion euros ($14,1-billion) in aid over the next […]

TWO South African riders are set to become familiar faces on the World Superbike Championship stage this year. The opening round of the series will be run at Kyalami on April 2, after the scheduled opener was postponed. Cape rider Lance Isaacs, who will be in his second season in the WSBK ranks with the […]

SOME 60 National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa members downed tools at Amplats’ Rustenburg base metal refinery on Thursday, mine spokesman Johan Adler said. The strike follows a deadlock in salary negotiations between mine management and the 291 Numsa members at the refinery. Adler said the mine offered an 8% increase but Numsa demanded […]

AMPLATS announced on Tuesday that it has resolved a wage dispute at its Rustenburg Base Metals Refiners with the National Union of Mineworkers but that the dispute with the National Union of Metalworkers (Numsa) continues. The company and NUM agreed on Monday afternoon to an 8% wage increase, backdated to January 1, Amplats senior manager […]

MORE than 400 lecturers and researchers at Zambia’s largest state-run university have gone on an indefinite strike in protest against the non-payment of their January salaries, a senior union official said on Thursday. University of Zambia lecturers and researchers union vice-president Douglas Syakalima, said, that academic staff at the institution decided to strike late on […]

THE head of the Nigerian government agency responsible for overseeing the troubled telecommunications sector has been suspended, the newspaper This Day reported on Thursday. Emma Nnama, who is chief executive officer of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) was questioned by security agents for 30 minutes in his office Wednesday after his suspension, the paper said. […]

MOROCCAN coach Henri Michel resigned on Monday after his team’s disappointing showing in the African Nations Cup. Michel, the former French coach who steered Morocco in the 1998 World Cup, has been vilified by the Moroccan media for the Atlas Lion’s disappointing showing, and their elimination in the group stages. They narrowly beat lowly Congo […]

ABOUT 200 visitors to the Kruger National Park were trapped by floodwaters at Skukuza camp after heavy rain on Monday. No one can get in or out of the area by road. The group has been moved to higher ground at Skukuza as a precaution. A spokesman said there is no crisis, and a helicopter […]

SHARES in JCI Gold Ltd pressed firmer in early trade on Thursday as Western Areas withdrew merger plans. Western Areas said on Wednesday it has withdrawn plans for the proposed merger of companies in the JCI/Randgold Group to form a single global mining company. It said the proposal was no longer feasible due to inadequate […]

EMBATTLED residents of Alexandra outside Johannesburg have been evacuated to higher ground after the Jukskei river burst its banks on Tuesday. Several homes were washed away and more rain is expected to fall on Tuesday night. Emergency services and police divers are on standby to assist people, some of whom are apparently unwilling to leave […]

LEADING gold producer Harmony Gold Mining Company announced on Tuesday that it has purchased a 19,95% interest in Australian gold producer Goldfields from Hanson PLC at a price of A$1,25 per share. The deal is valued at A$41-million. Harmony, currently the third largest gold producer in SA, has expanded in the past five years from […]

THE government repaid a net R1,32-billion during January, bringing total financing for the 1999/2000 (April-December) fiscal year to R25,38-billion, according to Department of Finance figures released in Pretoria on Thursday. Revised budgeted financing figures for the full fiscal year were not provided by the department. According to provisional figures, R753,6-million was raised in January through […]

ZIMBABWE exported minerals worth Z$11,4-billion in 1999, up by 62,8% on the previous year’s total earnings of Z$7-billion, state-run Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe said. The figure excludes earnings from gold, whose sale was handled by the central bank, and asbestos which was marketed independently by a company which mined it. Total mineral earnings in […]

THE former boyfriend of television presenter Tracy Going, Richard Latham, has been fined R5000 in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court. Latham assaulted Going during their relationship and maliciously damaged her car. Latham also received a five-year suspended sentenceon condition that he agrees to drug rehabilitation and periodic urine tests. In one particular incident that was widely […]

THE bodies of six victims in the Kenya Airways jet that crashed into the sea off Cote d’Ivoire on January 30, leaving 169 people dead or missing, arrived in Nairobi on Monday aboard a regular Kenya Airways flight. The Airbus flight, carrying other passengers, along with family members and relatives of the six victims — […]

SCORES of Egyptian girls in Kano, northern Nigeria, on Monday continued their seige of the hotel housing the Egyptian football team. The girls, autograph hunters in their teens and early twenties, lurked around the hotel’s reception hall with the hope of getting the players’ attention. Some of the Egyptian players not only granted autographs but […]

OUTDATED legislation has led to the cancellation of what was set to be the first official fight between two woman in South Africa. The bout, scheduled to have taken place on the undercard of the triple world title bill at Carnival city on February 19, but under current legislation it is ilegal for women to […]

BANKS could nearly double profits and cut bank charges by 15% if they could win the battle against bank crime, The Star reports. In 1999, R68-million was stolen in bank robberies. According to the paper, crime committed at ATMs cost R55-million and fraud estimated to cost about R4-billion a year. In 1998, banks made a […]

FLOODING caused by torrential rain over the past three days has left hundreds of families homeless in the Mozambican capital Maputo. Maputo mayor Artur Canana said houses in the poorly maintained suburbs are under water and many roads impassable. In the nearby city of Matola, many houses are also under water. The rains have cut […]

AT least 30 people were killed when an Angolan army helicopter crashed at the weekend in the southern province of Huila. Angolan media reported that twelve people, including crew members, survived the crash. The helicopter hit the ground soon after it took off from the air base at the province’s main town Lubango on Saturday […]

THE Congress of South African Trade Union (Cosatu) on Friday afternoon said that President Thabo Mbeki’s announcement that three key protective labour laws will be amended to soften their rigidity comes as no surprise to the federation. Speaking in Cape Town, Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi stressed the federations intentions to “engage vigorously” in discussions […]

WILSON Kipketer broke the men’s 1000m indoor world record when he clocked two minutes 15.25 seconds at an international athletics meeting on Sunday. Kenyan-born Kipketer, who is now a Danish citizen, bettered by one hundredth of a second the previous best mark of 2:15.26 set by Algerian Noureddine Morceli in February 1992 in Birmingham.

HYUNDAI Korea is unlikely to honour warranties and service plans for many of the 80000 Hyundai vehicles, even though a consortium of banks and creditors is due to sign a deal with the Korean company on Monday. Business Day reports that Super Group, a key contender, pulled out of bidding citing sensitive conditions put on […]

GOLD mining giant Gold Fields reported higher quarterly profits on the back of a stronger gold price and confirmed it is eyeing neighbouring gold miner Western Areas. Gold Fields also forecast a strong second half to the financial year, including a higher dividend payout for shareholders. Western Areas management said on Wednesday the company’s future […]

EGYPT’S attempt to retain the African Nations Cup received a terrible blow when star striker Hazem Emam was ruled out of the tournament with an ankle injury. Emam hurt himself in a crunching tackle with Abdel Aziz Ayman during training at the Kano Pillars’ stadium and was rushed to hospital on Saturday evening. Egypt coach […]

SARAH BULLEN, Cape Town | Monday 3.00pm STANDARD Bank Investment Corporation (Stanbic) on Monday lost its high court bid to have its proposed acquisition by smaller rival Nedcor adjudicated by the Competition Commission. Pretoria High Court Acting Judge Nico Coetzee ruled that the minister of finance has the final say about the proposed the hostile […]