Staff Reporter

COMMUNICATIONS Minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri said on Saturday that the process of awarding the country’s third cellular telephone licence will proceed after a probe by the Auditor General found no reason for further delays. The granting of the lucrative licence had been delayed by the Auditor General’s investigation into allegations of incompetence and graft in the […]

ENGLISHMAN Lee Westwood won the Dimension Data Pro-Am on Sunday by five shots to claim the R2-milion prize. Westwood’s win at Sun City — his first win in this part of the world and his 18th pro win — follows his 10th joint placing at last week’s SA Open in Randburg and was “a nice […]

THE Nigeria Football Association has paid a $3000 bonus to each player for the 4-2 victory over Tunisia in the African Nations Cup, ending a major row, a team official said Sunday. The NFA held an emergency meeting in Lagos Saturday with the perennial problem of team bonuses one of the matters discussed, officials said. […]

TWENTY-ONE people were killed on Sunday in landmine explosions and gun battles in the Hiran region of central Somalia. On Sunday, five escorts of a food convoy were killed and six wounded when their vehicle went over a landmine near El-Ali. After the convoy turned back, it was attacked again, according to an eyewitness, who […]

NIGERIA and Morocco will both be without suspended key defenders when they meet in the African Nations Cup on Thursday. Moroccan captain and centre-back Nourredine Naybet and Nigerian defender Furo Iyenemi were booked in both the first two series of matches and are automatically suspended for one game. Nigeria lead Morocco in group D on […]

ENGLAND topped the triangular series standings — between themselve, South Africa and Zimbabwe — after thier eight wicket victory over Zimbabwe on Sunday: (Tabulate as played, won, lost, no result, tied, points): England 4 2 2 0 0 4 (+0.03) South Africa 3 2 1 0 0 4 (-0.24) Zimbabwe 3 1 2 0 0 […]

AFRICAN Nations Cup co-hosts, Nigeria, have doubled the prices of tickets for their national side’s remaining matches in the competition. A statement from the Nigerian organisers on Sunday said the cheapest seats will now cost 200 naira ($2), while the most expensive will cost 2000 naira ($20). “This is not to discourage the fans from […]

SARAH BULLEN Johannesburg | Monday 5.00pm. SHARES on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange pulled back from heavy earlier losses on Monday with a major boost when it was announced that the country’s December trade balance unexpectedly swung into its largest surplus for the whole year. The the country’s trade balance surged to a surplus of R3,56-billion […]

THE lions of Marloth Park in Mpumalanga struck again last week, attacking two men in the streets of the exclusive holiday town. The attacks took place just four months after lions killed and ate a man in the town, which borders the Kruger National Park east of Malelane, and where wild animals are allowed to […]

THE leader of Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban militia, Mulla Mohammad Omar, has denounced a new Egyptian law making it easier for women to obtain divorces as an insult to Islam. Omar asked the Muslims around the world to protest against the decision. Under the new Egyptian law passed by parliament last Wednesday, and which takes effect […]

MARKETS are expecting a mix of good and bad news this week, with the rand expected to benefit from Reserve bank data but private credit figures expected to show inflationary pressures. A Reuters consensus forecast sees M3 money supply rising on a year-on-year basis by 9,7% after rising 8,52% in November. The consensus on private […]

NIGERIA’S football players have rejected the win bonus for their 4-2 African Nations Cup victory over Tunisia at the weekend. “In Spain, both the players and NFA (Nigerian Football Federation) agreed that for every match won we will get $3000 each,” said one of the players who did not want to be named. “But when […]

SOUTH Africa will play one-day internationals against India at Cochin, Jamshedpur, Faridabad, Baroda and Nagpur in March, an official of the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) said on Friday. India had delayed finalising the schedule of the one-day series with the South Africans, who are scheduled to open their tour with a three-day […]

THE United Nations on Friday appealed for $190-million to avert another major humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia. “If adequate assistance is slow in arriving, the crisis (of 1999) will not only return but will be much larger in magnitude and severity and certainly more costly to mitigate,” according to a statement released by the UN country […]

A SENEGALESE judge began hearing harrowing testimony of torture and killings against exiled former Chadian dictator Hissene Habre in a landmark human rights case in Africa. Lawyers said four Chadians who say they were tortured by Habre’s henchmen during his 1982-90 rule filed into the chambers of Judge Boucounca Diallo of the Regional Court in […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Sunday 4.00pm. HITCHES in South Africa’s free trade deal with the European Union over the use of the terms grappa and ouzo are unacceptable, Britain’s visiting minister for Africa Peter Hain has told The Sunday Independent. “I share South Africa’s intense frustration with the way in which all our interests are […]

ANGLOVAAL Mining (Avmin) has signalled its intention to dispose of its stake in the Saturn diamond partnership to De Beers in a deal that could net it close to R40-billion. The Saturn Partnership is a 50% stakeholder in the pretax profit of Venetia Diamond mine, the richest diamond mine in SA. De Beers receives the […]

ANGLOGOLD, the world’s biggest gold producer, said on Tuesday the company’s shares have been included in the All Ordinaries index of the Australian Stock Exchange. AngloGold said in a statement the stock represented 0,11% percent of the ASX All Ordinaries index and 9,6% of the ASX Gold index. Last month the South African gold miner […]

FORD Motor Company has doubled its investment in vehicle manufacturer SA Motor Corporation to 90% by acquiring a further 45% share from Anglo American Corporation of SA. Ford, which already holds 45% of Samcor’s shares, is set to purchase Anglo’s 45% — 35% immediately and the remaining 10% within the next two years. Ford will […]

A UNIT of Anglo American Plc confirmed on Thursday that its purchase of the main assets of Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines (ZCCM) had been delayed until February from a previously agreed date of January 31. The statement said that ZCCM and ZCI had made satisfactory progress towards the completion of the sale of the Nchanga […]

AT least 11 people were killed and 18 seriously injured when the vehicle they were travelling in was ambushed in Angola’s northwest Cuanza-Norte province. Armed assailants ambushed the vehicle, which was transporting goods, near Maria Teresa, about 100km southeast of the capital Luanda, an aid worker said. The identity of the attackers is not clear.

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Kimberley | Sunday 6.00pm. MARK Ealham claimed a world record five lbw decisions and England’s best one-day international bowling figures as they gained revenge over Zimbabwe with a crushing eight-wicket win on Sunday. England overtook Zimbabwe’s paltry 161 for nine with almost 18 overs to spare. It was some compensation for their dismal […]

A MAURITANIAN who was arrested in Senegal after US officials suspected him of plotting a foiled terrorist attack in the United States in December has been expelled to Mauritania. Mohambedou Ould Slahi was arrested last Saturday at Dakar airport, after US police said he was involved in the attack foiled in December when Algerian Ahmed […]

ANDREW MUCHINERIPI, Kumasi | Friday 1.30pm. IT may not have always been pretty, but it was a pretty effective display by Bafana Bafana as they became the first team to qualify for the African Nations Cup quarter-finals on Thursday night. Shaun Bartlett raised his tournament tally to three with an opportunist goal in first-half injury […]

ANDY CAPOSTAGNO, Johannesburg | Saturday 6.00pm. THE Supersport Series final at the Wanderers is intriguingly poised at the end of the second day. Gauteng are 221-3 in reply to Border’s total of 346, trailing by 125 runs with seven wickets in hand. The key wicket of Daryll Cullinan is still intact, but the second new […]

DEMOCRATIC Party Chief Whip Douglas Gibson said on Friday that statements to the effect that the DP will support the draft Firearms Control Bill in its present form are unmandated and factually incorrect. It was reported earlier this week that the party had decided to support the legislation. Gibson said in a statement that the […]

Steven Friedman Worm’s Eye View Politicians can – and should – pass laws extending our rights. But only citizens can – and should – ensure that we use them. For some, the four Bills struggling their way through Parliament signal an ambitious government attempt to create a new society. They deal with core issues such […]

Andrew Muchineripi Soccer The first round of the African Cup of Nations delivered 21 goals, seven enjoyable matches, more highs and lows than normally found on a weather chart, and further proof that the only certainty in football is uncertainty. Ghana and Cameroon set a lively pace in the opening match and it has barely […]

Fight Club, starring Brad Pitt, is one of the most violent films ever made. It has shocked audiences, but director David Fincher feels misunderstood, writes Damon Wise There’s a scene in Fight Club where Tyler Durden, the evil genius played by Brad Pitt, is working as a projectionist in a downtown multiplex. He’s working frantically, […]

Mail & Guardian reporter Get those stories out of your bottom drawer – or start writing now! The South African Internet literary journal, LitNet, which has been a notable success in Afrikaans and is now expanding into English, is running an online creative writing workshop and is calling for stories. WriteAgain, sponsored by Penguin publishers […]

Eddie Webster and Glenn Adler A Second Look There is an increasingly widespread view in business circles and among conservative columnists in the press that trade unions are the main obstacle to job creation, foreign investment and a new growth path. Some even evoke the labour-repressive Chilean or South Korean options to clear the way […]

Sharon Gill Choosing a healthy bottom line and attacting new members has seen medical schemes develop some innovative products in the past few years. “We really changed the rules of the game. We structured a wellness programme called Vitality, because if people lead a healthy lifestyle, it will lead to reduced healthcare costs,” says Neville […]