Staff Reporter

NIGERIA’S main trades union body on Tuesday issued a two-week notice of a public sector general strike if the government does not resolve the problems of striking teachers. Nigerian public workers will embark on nationwide strike on November 2 if the pay and conditions of teachers on strike since last month are not improved, the […]

AN alliance of Malawi opposition political parties announced on Thursday it willusetop Britishor other foreign lawyers to challengethe country’s June 15 general election results. The alliance, comprised ofthe Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and Alliance for Democracy (AFORD) said on Thursday that they have alreadyheld discussions with foreign lawyers. Malawi’s Justice Minister and Attorney General Peter […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Freetown | Thursday 5.30pm CLASHES between former rebels and their ex-junta allies in a northern Sierra Leonean town have left dozens of civilians dead and caused many residents to flee the area, local media said on Thursday. This comes a day after a symbolic ceremony to mark the start of disarmament in Sierra […]

SIXTEEN Thai sex workers working in the country illegally were deported on Thursday afternoon , SABC television news reported. The prostitutes, who worked in an exclusive hotel in Sandton north of Johannesburg, were deported by the police and the Department of Home Affairs. As many as 5000 Thai sex workers were working in South Africa […]

US Defense Secretary William Cohen held talks on Thursday with Egyptian Defense Minister Mohammed Hussein Tantawi on sharing missile early-warning data with Gulf and Middle East allies. The talks kicked off a two-day visit by Cohen, who is also scheduled to meet with President Hosni Mubarak on Friday and observe a major wargames exercise involving […]

CANADIAN gold-mining company Barrick Gold, the world’s number two producer, announced on Tuesday plans to invest $280-million in a new site in Tanzania. Production will begin in early 2001 at the Bulyanhulu mine, whose site was acquired by Barrick when it took over Vancouver-based Sutton Resources in March. “We see Bulyanhulu making a strong contribution […]

CABINET on Wednesday gave the go-ahead for the introduction of inflation targeting as part of the framework for South African monetary policy. Annoucing the decision, Finance minister Trevor Manuel said the new policy will take effect in the first quarter of next year.

AUSTRALIA’S Tiaan Strauss believes Wales have made a major error in not picking Allan Bateman, his friend and former rugby league teammate, for Saturday’s World Cup quarter-final against the Wallabies. Argentina’s Agustin Pichot was quoted at the weekend as saying Bateman should be in Wales’ starting line-up. Now Aussie number eight Strauss, who knows the […]

WORLD champions South Africa have made more handling errors than any other team at the Rugby World Cup 99, according to statistics compiled by the tournament organisers. But the data is not as damning as it appears because the Springboks enjoyed such monopoly of possession in their group A games against Spain and Uruguay that […]

ARCHIBISHOP Desmond Tutu is to be admitted to hospital in Atlanta in the United States on Thursday for tests to determine new treatment for prostate cancer, he said in a statement on Tuesday. Recent tests in Atlanta have indicated that his prostate cancer, first diagnosed and treated in 1997, has recurred. “I understand this is […]

UPINGTON-based Griqua and SA Country Districts player, Noel Jansen, has been included in the Griqua B team to play Namibia in the UCB Pool A three-day fixture starting in Kimberley on Thursday. The Griqua team is: Brett Tucker, Willie Dry, Pieter Koortzen, GrantElliott, Andre Botha (captain), Adrian McLaren, Noel Jansen, Allan Kruger, Zahir Abrahim, Adri […]

PRIME Minister Tony Blair, actor Hugh Grant and singer Chris de Burgh are just some of the personalities lined up to pitch England’s 2006 World Cup bid to officials of world soccer’s governing body. England is pulling out all the stops for the six-day visit of a Fifa inspection team led by American Alan Rothenburg, […]

AFRICAN Football Confederation executive committee members meet in Burkina Faso on Thursday to discuss the 2000 Nations Cup finals in Ghana and Nigeria. CAF president Issa Hayatou of Cameroon left Ghana with mixed feelings last month after inspecting stadiums and other facilities for the biennial showcase of football on the continent. Hayatou and his delegation […]

SCANDINAVIAN hotel group Radisson on Monday indicated it will expand into South Africa, building ten major hotels in the country over the next three years, SABC television news reported on Monday. This emerged at the two-day SA Investment Conference which opened in the Danish capital Copenhagen on Monday. The multi million rand joint venture is […]

THE Congress of South African Trade Unions has called for the withdrawal of Burmese representatives participating in the South African International Trade Exhibition currently underway at Nasrec in Johannesburg. In a statement COSATU said the Burmese military junta forcibly overthrew a democratically elected government after the country’s democratic elections in May 1990. Since then, Cosatu […]

FOLLOWING reports that another nuclear power station is being planned at Koeberg, outside Cape Town, a group of individuals and organisations have banded together to revitalise the Koeberg Alert campaign which was active during the 1980s. Electricity giant, Eskom, which is seeking approval from government for the construction of an experimental $100-million ‘pocket nuclear’ power […]

THE South African International Trade Exhibition opened in Johannesburg on Wednesday with a hope that the next few years will see the increasing integration of production across the region. Speaking at the opening, director-general of trade and industry Zav Rustomjee said the recently concluded free trade agreement with the European Union and the Southern African […]

A BANK account of Correctional Services Commissioner Khulekani Sitole has been frozen following the start of an investigation into allegations that he abused department finances, SABC radio reports. The report said the First National Bank in Vrede in the Free State decided to freeze Sitole’s account after the branch manager read news reports that Parliament […]

ENGLAND beat Fiji 45-24 in the quarter-final play-off match at Twickenham on Wednesday to book a last-eight clash with World Cup holders South Africa in Paris. England, leading 21-3 at the interval, ran in two tries in each half to see off the Pacific islanders in a bruising physical encounter which saw several players leave […]

Disgraced cricketer Makhaya Ntini on Wednesday began his appeal against the rape conviction and six-year prison sentence that ended his international career. A packed public gallery came to support him in the Grahamstown High Court. The young pace bowler was accompanied by his fiancee and representatives from the Border Cricket Board. Ntini’s legal team was […]

AS contractors rolled onto site on Tuesday to begin building Port Elizabeth’s massive R600-million beachfront casino and entertainment complex, the Eastern Cape Gambling and Betting Board announced the suspension of chief executive officer Malixole Gantsho for alleged financial mismanagement. The move is a sequel to the board’s rejection of Gantsho’s representations last Friday and a […]

THE Nigerian government on Tuesday told the World Bank of its commitment to the total privatisation of the power sector within a short period. Receiving a World Bank delegation, Vice President Atiku Abubakar informed the group of President Olusegun Obasanjo’s anxiety to initiate privatisation in the power sector, a statement said. The leader of the […]

ANGOLAN government troops have seized control of the two central Angolan strongholds of Jonas Savimbi’s rebel movement Unita, Bailundo and Andulo, the government announced on Wednesday in a statement. Bailundo and Andulo, respectively about 600 and 700 kilometres southeast of Luanda, are key towns for Unita. “Bailundo and Andulo are in the hands of our […]

THE Truth Commission’s amnesty committee plans to hear an application by lawyers representing the “Cradock Four” to present new evidence in the amnesty application of seven former security policemen. Advocate George Bizos, who is representing the “Cradock Four”, will make the application next Monday in Port Elizabeth. The four were kidnapped at a roadblock outside […]

BOOKMAKERS William Hill on Tuesday that the odds on World Cup favourites New Zealand have been cut to 2-5 from 1-2 after the end of the group stage. England (7-1) are now better-rated than defending champions South Africa (8-1) while Wales have been pushed out to 25-1 from 12-1 after their shock 38-31 defeat by […]

MPUMALANGA’s controversial Motheo rural housing deal has finally been renegotiated but is still being delayed by legal technicalities surrounding tribal land, provincial housing MEC, David Mabuza, said on Tuesday. The original R198-million deal, hailed as South Africa’s largest rural housing project at the time, was cut by half in 1997 when a commission of inquiry […]

UNFASHIONABLE mid-table club Mbale Heroes won the Uganda FA Cup for the first time since 1976 when they defeated Lyantonde FC 3-0 on penalties after a goalless final. Mbale will represent Uganda in the 2000 African Cup Winners Cup having ended a stranglehold on domestic competitions by Kampala clubs SC Villa, Express and KCC.

FRENCH team manager Jo Maso on Tuesday slammed the citings system being used at the World Cup and hinted at an Anglo-Saxon conspiracy. Maso claimed justice was “operating at two different speeds” for players in the tournament. He pointed out that England flanker Lawrence Dallaglio punched winger Jonah Lomu in the head in the match […]

SPRINGBOK coach Nick Mallett says New Zealand are capable of thrashing any side at the World Cup and believes France’s management set-up has let them down. In a column on a rugby website, Mallett said the All Blacks, who fielded a reserve side for their 101-3 defeat of Italy in a group game last week, […]

THE Grahamstown High Court on Wednesday reserved judgement in the appeal against the conviction of rape handed down earlier in the year. Judgement was reserved to all for a further day of re-examining the evidence. Earlier in the day Ntini’s lawyer Advocate Jeremy Gauntlett, SC, argued that he finds fault with six critical respects of […]

ZIMBABWE’s government will present its annual budget on Thursday to a restive population desperate for a solution to the country’s worst economic crisis since independence two decades ago. The country is struggling with record inflation of 69,7%, interest rates above 60%, formal sector unemployment at 50% and an unstable currency. Its public health system is […]

A BANK account of Correctional Services Commissioner Khulekani Sitole has been frozen following the start of an investigation into allegations that he abused department finances, SABC radio reports. The report said the First National Bank in Vrede in the Free State decided to freeze Sitole’s account after the branch manager read news reports that Parliament […]