The African National Congress on Saturday night bade farewell to its retired leader and former South African president Nelson Mandela.
GUINEAN authorities have turned away the body of a promiment opposition politician, Facine Beavogui, refusing to allow him to be buried in his homeland, a party source said on Sunday. The coffin bearing Beavogui, who had been spokesman for the opposition Guinean People’s Rally (RPG) and died in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, was refused entry by […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Cape Town | Sunday 5.00pm. PEOPLE Against Gangsterism and Drugs (Pagad) on Sunday criticised two Cape Town newspapers for allegedly printing distorted media reports at the weekend. Advocate Paul Eia said he is “considering options” against Die Burger. In a statement released on Sunday, the organisation said a report which appeared in Die […]
A man appeared in the Mhala court on Monday in connection with the murder of Aleta Rose Mnisi, the wife of former Mpumalanga environmental affairs MEC, Luckson Mathebula. Northern Province police spokesperson Phuti Setati said Moses Sambo was arrested on Sunday and taken to Thulamahashe, in the Bushbuckridge area. Mnisi was shot dead in front […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Monday 5.00pm. FINANCIAL groups Genbel Securities (Gensec) and Real Africa Durolink Holdings (RAD) have linked up with with Stuart Rees, founder of the South African Futures Exchange (Safex), to set up a corporate debt market in South Africa. Gensec and RAD noted the lack of a formal market in corporate and […]
THE Vodacom Eagles of the South Western Districts retained their unbeaten record in the Bankfin Currie Cup competition when they defeated the Fedsure Western Province team 36-24, after the visitors had been ahead 15-10 at halftime. WP led on the scoreboard for a major part of the game, but towards the end the Eagles managed […]
BETWEEN 120 and 130 civilians held in internment camps in Kinshasa since last year are due to arrive in the Rwandan capital Kigali on Sunday evening, a Rwandan government spokesman said. Most are Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) citizens of Rwandan origin, but some are Rwandan nationals, Nicholas Shaalita, spokesman for Rwandan Vice President and […]
SPRINGBOK and Blue Bulls star Joost van der Westhuizen returns to the fray on Sunday with a 20 minute stint for the Bulls against Natal. After a layoff of 26 weeks, van der Westhuizen is anxious to push the limits again. He claims his knee is at full strength, and wants to regain a Springbok […]
SOUTH Africa’s equity markets are among the most attractive in emerging markets, according to a poll of US-based investment managers and traders. Low prices for essentially good shares make SA’s markets a better choice than comparatively expensive Latin American stocks, according to some US funds. Recent price hikes in other emerging markets have left SA […]
FARMERS in the Western Cape will import 500000 tons of yellow maize this season for animal feed, buyers said on Tuesday. A spokesman for the Western Cape Maize Buyers Association said that it has begun importing from Argentina, and is likely to ship in more than usual due to low availability locally. The Western Cape […]
THE Angolan government’s recent decision to scrap the dual currency exchange rate system has not had a major impact on the lives of ordinary people, analysts in Luanda said on Wednesday. Analysts said the move may stabilise the economy in the long run, but commodity prices remain extremely high. Over the past decade the government […]
MOZAMBIQUE’S public rail and port company, CFM, is soliciting neighbouring countries for the US$300-million it needs to upgrade the Sena Line, linking the country’s second port of Beira to Malawi. The 600km railway through Mozambique’s central Sofala province was heavily mined and sabotaged during the country’s 16-year civil war which ended in 1992. CFM board […]
THE World Bank has cut off the flow of aid to Congo with $915000 dollars still in the pipeline, the bank said in a statement on Wednesday. “The balance of this grant is suspended pending the restoration of the necessary security and working conditions,” the Brazzaville office managing the funds said in a communique. The […]
MALAWI’S opposition on Friday faced a new setback in its challenge to President Bakili Muluzi’s reelection victory when a court deferred a hearing on the affair to next month. The opposition is seeking the annulment of the results of presidential elections on June 15, charging that they were rigged. The delay was necessitated when Muluzi’s […]
FORMER apartheid-era hitmen Abraham “Slang” van Zyl and Leon “Chappies” Maree have gone to court to demand the banning of a book which says they plotted to murder former Tollgate chairman Julian Askin. The two former policemen, whose names featured in Truth Commission hearings, want the book “Dangerous Deceits – Julian Askin and the Tolgate […]
A PRETORIA English teacher resigned on Thursday after angry parents called him a “racist” for setting an exam based on a Herman Charles Bosman extract containing the word “kaffir”. The short story, “Unto Dust”, deals with a quarrel over the skeletons of a “boer soldier” and a “kaffir”, making the point that no-one can tell […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Thursday 10.15am. THE South African Reserve Bank cleared local banks on the Year 2000 problem, saying there is “no reason whatsoever” for massive withdrawals ahead of the millenium. Registrar of Banks Christo Wiese said banks have been prepared for potential millenial problems because of extensive Reserve Bank pressure. He was speaking […]
ZIMBABWEAN authorities have suspended 18 top management members of Harare’s municipality for allegedly contributing to maladministration and chaos. The suspension of the 18 senior council workers, just two weeks after government sacked the elected mayor and all his councillors, came amid reports that emergency services were falling apart, with only four out of a total […]
FOUR people were killed and several injured in an explosion on Friday at a Pietermaritzburg candle factory. Police are investigating the cause of the explosion.
Former African presidents Nelson Mandela, Julius Nyerere and Sir Ketumile Masire are likely to be called on regularly to promote the cause of Africa.
BRYAN PEARSON, Cape Town | Friday 3.00pm. PRESIDENT Thabo Mbeki on Friday announced measures to increase the competitiveness of the South African economy, boost job creation and promote foreign investment in the country. Addressing parliament in his maiden state-of-the-nation address, Mbeki also committed his government to continuing the liberal free-market macro-economic policies of his predecessor, […]
DAVID LE PAGE, Johannesburg | Friday 2.00pm. A BROAD and sweeping plan for South African development was laid out on Friday morning by President Thabo Mbeki in his state of the nation address to a joint sitting of the National assembly. Covering every issue from crime to the humiliation of the Bushmen, and announcing a […]
ALL-ROUNDER Lance Klusener, voted man of the tournament in the World Cup, has turned down an offer to replace injured fellow South African Jacques Kallis at English county side Glamorgan. “No way,” Klusener told a Durban newspaper. “They have Jacques — that’s it. “Right now, I’m longing to get back home. It’s been a long, […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Friday 6.30pm. PAKISTANI Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has ordered a probe into allegations of match fixing against the national cricket team which lost to Australia in the World Cup final. Sharif’s Ehtesab (Accountability) Bureau has undertaken inquiries against Pakistan’s players after their humiliating defeat amid rumours the side staged a fixed […]
FRIDAY, 12.30PM: ALL THREE South African tennis players who went into the second round at Wimbledon on Thursday, emerged unscathed to take their places in the third round of the illustrious competition. Wayne Ferreira trumped his former nemesis, Spaniard Albert Costa, beating him 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-3. The Spaniard resorted to breaking Ferreira’s concentration by […]
FORMER All Black mentor and current Golden Lions head coach Laurie Mains has predicted a torrid time for South Africa in their rugby Test against Wales at the Millenium Stadium in Cardiff on Saturday. “I think Wales will be a real wake-up call for South Africa,” Mains said in Johannesburg on Thursday. “I’m not saying […]
FRIDAY, 12.30PM: THE WELSH side that will meet the Springboks in a one-off Test match at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday will be characteristically full of spirit and fight, but all indications are that the Boks will maintain their unbeaten record over the Celtic visitors, writes Rob Davies . The Welsh rugby road has been very […]
FRIDAY 5.30PM: PLAY was suspended due to rain on the third and final day of the cricket match between British Universities and the touring South Africans at Fenners on Friday. The South Africans scored 394/1 declared in their first innings, and were 130 without loss in the second. The Students scored 199. FRIDAY, 12.30PM: PAT […]
NIGERIAN-BORN WBO heavyweight champion Herbie Hide turned over tables and chairs after losing his temper in a press conference in London on Thursday. Hide leapt to his feet to confront his former sparring partner Danny Williams during a meeting with the press ahead of Saturday’s title defence against Vitali Klitschko at the London Arena. British […]
Riaan Wolmarans There are few things as irritating as seeing a suburban housewife sing the praises of the newest super-duper washing powder (“My husband is a mechanic …”) or hearing about the latest waist-slimming, brain-numbing exercise belt-cum-vibrator (order now and get this stylish set of porcelain ducks for free). Thankfully the ad industry does manage […]
tennis Sandra Spavins takes a look at a range of recently released books for teenagers The Sanlam Prize for Young Literature and the Young Africa Award continue to encourage new South African writing for teenagers, and the books themselves tackle issues ranging from genetic engineering to sexuality, including stories set in the future or dealing […]
Shirley Kossick A PRIVATE LIFE OF HENRY JAMES: TWO WOMEN AND HIS ART by Lyndall Gordon (Chatto & Windus) After Leon Edel’s Pulitzer-winning five- volume biography of Henry James (1953-72) and numerous subsequent studies, it is difficult to believe that anything fresh is left to be said about James. Lyndall Gordon, however, proves this assumption […]