Staff Reporter

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Cardiff | Tuesday 10.30am. BREYTON Paulse is one of the smallest wings in international rugby. Jonah Lomu is undoubtedly the biggest. Paulse, however, says he has no fears about facing the New Zealand superstar if he is named in the South African side to play the All Blacks in the third-place playoff at […]

SOUTH African Andre Watson will referee Saturday’s World Cup final between Australia and France at the Millennium Stadium, tournament officials announced Monday. Watson’s touch judges will be Ed Morrison, of England, who refereed the 1995 final between South Africa and New Zealand in Johannesburg, and Paddy OBrien of New Zealand. Watson, a professional referee with […]

AUTHORITIES have revealed that 33 senior Egyptian military officials were aboard the doomed EgyptAir flight 900 which went down shortly after take off from New York on Sunday. The Boeing 767 crashed into the Atlantic off Nantucket Island. All 214 people on board were killed. Water depth is reportedly slowing down searchers’ efforts to recover […]

NATIONAL police commissioner designate Jackie Selebi started his new job as special adviser to outgoing commissioner George Fivaz on Monday. Selebi was named last month to take over South Africa’s top police job when Fivaz retires on January 1 next year. He will spend the next two months working closely with Fivaz to gain experience. […]

ANGOLAN authorities on Monday introduced journalists to a young man purporting to be a son of Unita leader Jonas Savimbi with whom he has fallen out. “I am in disagreement with him,” said Araujo Domingos Sakaika (22) who bears an Ivorian passport. Sakaika said he left the central Unita stronghold of Andulo, which fell last […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT and AFP, Maputo | Tuesday 6.00pm MOZAMBIQUE said on Tuesday that South Africa is pulling out of a joint an agricultural resettlement scheme undertaken by the two countries. Camal Meraji, spokesman for the Mosagrius Development Corp. (SDM), said the South African Chamber for Agricultural Development in Africa (Sacada) is relinquishing its 50% stake […]

THE first South African Ambassador to be accredited to the Central Asian Republic of Tajikistan on Monday presented his credentials to President Emomali Rahmonov in the capital Dushanbe. Ambassador to Turkey based in Ankara, Tom Wheeler, is now also South Africa’s non-resident Ambassador to the Republic of Tajikistan. Tajikistan, which borders China, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and […]

EGYPT’S 71-year-old president, Hosni Mubarak, is flying to Paris on Monday for medical tests in the Val de Grace military hospital, Information Minister Safwat al-Sherif announced. “Mr. Mubarak will make a private visit of a few days for medical tests … following an ear infection he picked up last week,” the minister said. “During his […]

MOZAMBIQUE has been unable to secure donor funding to rebuild its rural rail network, slowing economic development in the country’s impoverished hinterland, said President Joaquim Chissano on Sunday. Donors and private investors are willing, he said, to help rebuild the country’s main export rail links between Mozambique and its neighbours but have been reluctant to […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, London | Monday 3.00pm. FLY-HALF hero Jannie de Beer has asked to be overlooked for selection to the South African team for their World Cup third-place playoff match against New Zealand in Cardiff on Thursday. De Beer has played in all five of the Springboks’ matches at the World Cup to date, scoring […]

BRITISH police arrested four gay rights campaigners over the weekend after they attempted to make a citizen’s arrest of Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe. Peter Tatchell, leader of a group called Outrage!, was taken away by police following the incident outside the Crowne Plaza hotel, according to one of the protesters. The group said they wanted […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, London | Monday 2.30pm. LADIES and gentlemen: In the red corner Australia. In the blue corner France. At stake: the heavyweight sporting championship of the world. France, the holders of the World Cup football title, take on Australia, the holders of the World Cup cricket title, in the World Cup rugby union final […]

JUSTICE and Constitutional Development Minister Penuell Maduna on Monday praised business its role fighting crime. Maduna was addressing a ceremony in Midrand where Hyundai Motor Distributors donated two vehicles to the ministry to be used by the crime fighting unit, the Scorpions, and the National Directorate of Public Prosecutions. Maduna thanked Hyundai for responding to […]

A NINE-year-old boy was shot dead in an apparent road rage incident in Johannesburg, police said. The boy and his father had accepted a lift with the driver of a truck, which was shot at and forced off the road near Kibler Park outside Johannesburg after it had overtaken another truck, Captain Lungelo Dlamini said. […]

THE EgyptAir 767 that plunged into the Atlantic Ocean off the US coast on Sunday rolled off Boeing Co.’s assembly line immediately before another 767 jetliner that crashed eight years ago in a Thailand jungle. Both planes were completed just days before Boeing’s aircraft assemblers went on strike, complaining of fatigue because they were forced […]

DEON POTGIETER, London | Monday 9.15am. ALTHOUGH showing signs of his former greatness in the late rounds of his World Boxing Federation world middleweight title fight on Sunday night, Dingaan Thobela should hang up his gloves. Thobela lost a twelve round decision to champion Cornelius Carr in England. “The Rose”, a shadow of the man […]

ANDREW MUCHINERIPI, Pretoria | Monday 10.15am. Sundowns 0 Orlando Pirates 1 (Dennis Lota 17) DENNIS Lota continued his good scoring form with an angled shot from just inside the penalty area giving Orlando Pirates victory in the first leg of a Rothmans Cup semi-final. Steve Lekoelea set up the goal with a pass across the […]

THE department of minerals and energy confirmed on Monday that the petrol price is to increase by one cents a litre on Wednesday. The department said last week that the international crude oil price and the rand/dollar exchange rate remained fairly stable between September 26 and October 21. However, it had been agreed that the […]

THE only passenger who got off the doomed EgyptAir Flight 990 in New York before it crashed off the US east coast early on Sunday was a grief counsellor who specialized in helping families struck by catastrophes. Edward McLaughlin, vice-president of the Family Enterprise Institute, appeared at a news conference at the New York Port […]

A NEW forum, consisting of the presidency, provincial premiers and the minister for provincial and local government, is to be established and will meet six times a year, President Thabo Mbeki said on Thursday. He said in a speech to the National Council of Provinces that the decision to establish the new forum was taken […]

Former South African leader Nelson Mandela has claimed the backing of key Arab leaders for a three-point Middle East peace plan.

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Vosloorus | Saturday 7.00pm. AMAGLUG-GLUG, South Africa’s under-23 soccer team, finished strongly to defeat Guinea 3-1 at Vooloorus Stadium in an Olympic Games qualifying match on Saturday. Siyabonga Nomvete scored twice and Daniel Matsau once for the home team, who led 1-0 at half-time, and Sambegou Bangoura was on target for the West […]

WESTERN Province’s woeful season continued as they slumped to a 10-wicket defeat against KwaZulu-Natal in the four-day SuperSport Series match at Newlands on Sunday. Having been dismissed an hour before tea for 260 in their second innings on the final day, the hosts had the impossible task of defending 31 runs. The visitors rattled off […]

TELFORD VICE, Bloemfontein | Sunday 7.00pm ZIMBABWE ended the third day of the first test against South Africa still 102 runs short of making the home side bat again with five wickets already down. The tourists reached 123-5 in their second innings at the close, needing 225 to avoid an innings defeat. Zimbabwe were dismissed […]

CAPTAIN Joost van der Westhuizen said he was “very, very disappointed” by the Springboks’ 27-21 defeat by Australia in a World Cup semifinal on Saturday. “But the guys showed lots of character and a lot of heart. There’s no one to blame. I never believed we were out of it, anything can happen. It’s typical […]

PETER KING, Cairo | Sunday 10.00pm. CAIRO airport echoed with the screams of hysteria and horror on Sunday as distraught relatives learned their loved ones were aboard EgyptAir Flight 990, which crashed off the US coast with all 214 aboard feared dead. Several people collapsed unconscious and many were given oxygen by doctors as airline […]

WITH the result never in doubt, it was left to speedster Mornantau Hayward to supply the interest as Eastern Province crushed lowly Easterns by nine wickets in their Supersport Series match at St George’s Park on Sunday. Hayward took a career best six for 31 as Easterns were bowled out for 185 in their second […]

LABOUR unions are taking the Eastern Cape government to court for failing to pay certain salary increases to civil servants owed over the last three years. The government has failed to meet all four of its own deadlines to pay the increases. They are now being taken to court for contempt by provincial bargaining chamber […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, London | Sunday 7.00pm. FRANCE staged an amazing comeback to stun tournament favourites New Zealand 43-31 in the second World Cup semi-final at Twickenham on Sunday and earn a final date with Australia. The Springboks now face the All Blacks on Thursday in the play-off for third. France trailed by 14 points early […]

ORLANDO Pirates ending Sundowns winning streak with a 1-0 win in the Rothmans Cup first leg semi-final at Minolta Loftus on Sunday. Sundowns game plan was undone by the late withdrawal of Bafana defender Themba Mnguni, who pulled a muscle minutes before the kick off. Pirates capitalised and despite being underdogs given Sundowns unbeaten league […]

THE Springboks’ defeat by Australia in the rugby World Cup was a severe blow for South Africa’s cricket team who suffered a heart-breaking exit from the cricket World Cup at the hands of Australia in June. Hansie Cronje and his team had finished play in the first test against Zimbabwe by the time the Twickenham […]

SHOCKING statistics show that only 4% of all births in the Northern Province are registered because of cultural taboos. The official provincial population of 4,6 million is vastly inaccurate, according to officials in the Population Unit in the Premier’s Office. They said the figure is much higher, and the lack of accurate data makes it […]