Staff Reporter

THE Central Bank of Nigeria on Monday said oil companies are free to sell their foreign exchange in the open market. The statement came just as the bank announced the commencement of a daily forex sale. Before now, only the CBN could buy forex from oil companies. “With effect from October 25, 1999, oil companies […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, London | Tuesday 6.10pm. SOUTH Africa, the only side never to have lost a World Cup match, can never be underestimated in major tournaments, Springbok wing Pieter Rossouw said on Tuesday. The South Africans face Australia in the World Cup semi-finals at Twickenham on Saturday and Rossouw believes they are hitting top form […]

UNITED States risk management and insurance services giant Marsh and McLennan Companies Inc plans to use South Africa to consolidate its presence in the continent as a whole. The New York-based group, which employs more than 50 000 people worldwide, said late on Tuesday that SA will also serve as a launch pad for its […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, London | Wednesday 11.45pm. SOUTH Africa are safely into the semi-finals of the World Cup, but still coach Nick Mallett is having to deny reports of rifts in the Springbok camp. Mallett, whose side face Australia in the semis at Twickenham on Saturday, said the spirit among squad members was excellent, refuting earlier […]

RUSSIA and Libya signed a deal on Tuesday for the construction of a branch of a major gas pipeline in the North African state. Under the $182-million contract between Russian firm Zarubezhneftegazstroi and Libya’s National Oil Corporation, the 117-kilometre section of the Khums-Tripoli pipeline will be completed in January 2001. It will be part of […]

FORMER US Senior Open champion Simon Hobday will make a welcome return to the local golf scene when he tees it up in the Cullinan Senior Championship at the Cullinan Country Club on Thursday. Although Hobday should start favourite for the 54-hole Vodacom Senior Tour event he will face serious competition from a trio of […]

ZIMBABWE said Sunday on it will go ahead with an ambitious project to build a railway line to the Democratic Republic of Congo via Zambia despite second thoughts about it by partners Botswana and South Africa. Transport minister Enos Chikowore said the multi-million dollar railway line, to provide a shorter and cheaper route to the […]

ONE of the Free State’s main roads, the Ficksburg-Clocolan road, is in such a state of disrepair that it will probably be converted to a gravel road by the end of the year. Other roads in the province are to follow.

TWO South African men who tried to rescue their daughters in big surf west of Auckland drowned on Monday, police said. The incident happened at Piha beach, an area infamous for drownings. Police Senior Sergeant Ross Bielby identified the dead men as Peter Mavakua, 42, and Michael Valcarel, 40, recent immigrants from South Africa. “My […]

TWO former associates of alleged heist kingpin Colin Chauke were recaptured on Tuesday following their escape from the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Friday. Sipho Nkuna and Lassie Sibiya were arrested in the Johannesburg city centre early in the morning. A third man, Oupa Gareko, who escaped with them on Friday, is still at large. Police […]

TUNISIAN President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was re-elected to a third five-year term with over 99% of the vote in Sunday’s election, according to first results published early Monday. The results issued by the interior ministry at 5am showed Ben Ali, 63, winning between 99,95 and 99,35% of the vote in each of the […]

THE Truth Commission’s amnesty committee has reserved a decision on re-opening the case of the seven policemen who admitted to murdering the ‘Cradock Four’ in 1985. George Bizos, representing their families at a special one-day sitting of the committee, lodged an application for the re-opening of the case on the basis of new evidence in […]

ALAN FINLAY, Johannesburg | Tuesday 8.00pm. AT least three people drowned and one person is missing after being washed away by floods caused by torrential rains along the KwaZulu-Natal coast on Tuesday. Hundreds have been left homeless. Police spokesman Director Bala Naidoo said a man died and seven people had to be rescued from floodwaters […]

NEW Zealand fly-half Andrew Mehrtens is racing against time to be fit for Sunday’s World Cup semi-final against France at Twickenham. Goal-kicking ace Mehrtens underwent a scan on Tuesday to establish the seriousness of an injury to his left knee and the All Blacks were relieved that the scan showed no structural damage. “There is […]

SARAH BULLEN, Cape Town | Tuesday 4.30pm THE Johannesburg Stock Exchange picked up after a slow start to end the day in positive territory, despite an overnight tumble on Wall Street and a rocky gold price. After early losses, the JSE was trading even by midday and had pulled itself into the black to end […]

THE Commonwealth will help Lesotho prepare its upcoming general election, which could be postponed to ensure it is well organised, an official said on Sunday after talks with political leaders. Commonwealth political affairs director Moses Anafu said that a formal agreement about the organisation’s role in the election, set for April, will be signed next […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, London | Tuesday 3.10pm. AUSTRALIAN fly-half Steve Larkham — regarded by many experts as the key to the Wallabies’ World Cup armoury — believes he is ready produce his best form against the man who destroyed England: Jannie de Beer. Australia face defending champions South Africa in the first semi-final at Twickenham on […]

JULIAN LINDEN, London | Tuesday 8.30pm. NUMBER eight Toutai Kefu has been recalled by Australia for Saturday’s World Cup semifinal against defending champions South Africa at Twickenham after serving a two-match suspension for punching. The Tongan-born forward returns to the side at the expense of former Springbok captain Tiaan Strauss who played in Saturday’s 24-9 […]

NUMBER eight Toutai Kefu has returned to the Australia side for their World Cup semi-final against South Africa at Twickenham on Saturday after serving a two-match suspension for punching. Kefu, who scored three tries in Australia’s opening match against Romania, was suspended for punching in the group E match against Ireland. He missed the final […]

THE income gap between the sexes is steadily narrowing, although women are still paid lower salaries, the Human Sciences Research Council said in Pretoria on Monday. “A survey in 1997 indicated the income of men was still higher than that of women in 90% of the occupations,” research specialist Johan Jacobs said in a statement. […]

NEW Zealand and Australia are strongly fancied to contest the World Cup final on November 6, according to bookmakers William Hill. The latest odds on Monday put that pairing at 8-11 with a final between New Zealand and South Africa at second favourite at 11-8. A final between France and Australia was quoted at 14-1 […]

AN unbeaten century by Brian McMillan ensured that Western Province comfortably held off Boland for a draw on the final day of their Supersport Series match in Paarl on Sunday. Needing an impossible 366 runs for victory on a slow, unresponsive wicket, Sunday was simply a day of survival and in the end it proved […]

A TOP Angolan military official was killed on Friday when an anti-tank landmine exploded, military sources said. Lieutenant-general Simione Mukune, whose troops helped seize control of central Angolan rebel stronghold Andulo, 700 kilometres southeast of the capital Luanda in September, died when the vehicle hit a landmine, the Angolan armed forces statement said. Government troops […]

HOMOSEXUALS in Zimbabwe on Sunday called for the legal recognition of same-sex relationships in the country. They are seeking the inclusion of a clause on sexual orientation in the country’s new constitution, currently being drafted under a controversial constitutional review process. Representatives of the Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ) made the appeal to a […]

ANDREW MUCHINERIPI, Pretoria | Monday 10.30am. SUNDOWNS will face Orlando Pirates in the Rothmans Cup semi-finals after completing a 6-3 aggregate victory over Bloemfontein Celtic in the last quarter-final at Loftus Stadium on Sunday. Daniel Mudau, Isaac Shai and new signing Alain Amougou scored for the Brazilians before Willem Vries struck a late consolation goal […]

POLICE believe boys as young as seven years old are being sold to farmers in neigbouring Lesotho to work as herd boys, the City Press newspaper reported on Sunday. Police said a ten-year-old boy had escaped to South Africa this week from the mountain kingdom where he claimed he had been forced to herd cattle […]

STEVE Elworthy, sandwiched between Saturday’s announcement of the national team to face Zimbabwe later this month and the Springboks’ Rugby World Cup victory over England on Sunday, produced a superb bowling performance for Northerns against Border that seems likely to only have an impact on the stats sheet. A day after the lanky paceman was […]

FORMER head of the South African Financial Fiscal Commission Murphison “Murphy” Morobe has been appointed as the new chairman of the South African National Parks Board. The other board members are Praful Bhawan, J Brown, Nomsa Canca, T Khumbane, Tumelo Lobelo-Ratefane, R Maruma, Professor Sue Milton, Nthobi Moahloli, JK Modise, S Njikelana, O Ntuli, Dr […]

NEW Zealand coach John Hart said the injury sustained by flyhalf Andrew Mehrtens in Sunday’s 30-18 defeat of Scotland in a World Cup quarter-final did not seem too serious. “He received a bang on the knee,” Hart said of his influential number 10, who limped off at halftime in the game at Murrayfield and was […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Paris | Monday 10.10am. SPRINGBOK coach Nick Mallett, basking in Sunday’s 44-21 quarter-final win over England, declared that he was no longer confident that the Springboks would retain the World Cup – he was convinced. The 42-year-old said his team had produced a performance worthy of world champions after fly-half Jannie De Beer […]

ALAN FINLAY, Johannesburg | Monday 5.00pm. The JSE ended in negative territory on Monday, driven down by jitters in the US market and gold shares which closed 2,99% or 34,69 points in the red. The overall index closed 0,20% or 14,40 points down, with industrials 0,15% or 11,04 points lower. Only financials posted a gain […]

DESMOND DAVIES, London | Monday 9.45am THE World Bank and the International Monetary Fund Fund are inadvertently financing wars in Africa, the International Institute for Strategic Studies has said in its current report, titled ‘The Military Balance 1999-2000.’ “Many governments in the region have access to structural adjustment funding from the IMF and development assistance, […]