dangerous The Reserve Bank has been speaking to the IMF about the fund’s controversial proposal to sell gold for debt relief, reports Mungo Soggot Reserve Bank Governor Chris Stals said this week the gold price had fallen to “dangerously low” levels as South Africa’s top mining magnate and unionist joined forces to lobby against the […]
MALAWI’S re-elected President Bakili Muluzi, heavily criticised during his first term over his bloated cabinet for the small impoverished country, is expected to appoint a new, trimmed team. A senior government official on Wednesday said that Muluzi could announce his new cabinet of not more than 20 ministers, “anytime before Monday next week”. Muluzi, who […]
AUSTRALIA celebrated its cricket World Cup victory Monday as joy turned to sadness for captain Steve Waugh and twin brother Mark as their grandfather died just hours after the win. Edward Waugh, 89, died at a northern New South Wales hospital just hours after the Australians, led by the Waugh twins, thrashed Pakistan in the […]
NIGERIA’S national female football team, the Falcons, fresh from its 2-1 win over North Korea in the current Women’s World Cup, is set to take on the US team Thursday at Chicago’s Soldier’s Field stadium. The Falcons, who had a two-week training tour of the US before the competition began on 19 June, have improved […]
WEDNESDAY, 1.00PM: ANGLO American and rival America Mineral Fields on Tuesday agreed to join forces in a joint venture to re-treat copper and cobalt dumps in the fabulously rich Kolwezi copper belt in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Earlier this year, AMF attempted to sue Anglo for R3-billion, accusing the South African mining group of […]
TOKYO Sexwale, the ex-Premier of Gauteng now turned businessman, has unveiled plans for his long-anticipated foray into the diamond mining industry. In a R55 million deal negotiated, structured and advised by BoE Merchant Bank, Sexwale has acquired a 34% strategic stake in alluvial diamond mining company Gem Diamond Mining Corporation.
THE MTN Falcons rugby team which will take on North West at the Bosman Stadium in Brakpan on Friday evening at 7.15pm has been announced. The team: Dawie du Toit; Piet Matthys, Wynand Lourens, Eugene Meyer (capt), Len van Riet; Christo Potgieter, Deon de Kock; Naas Rossouw, Matthew te Pou, Jonathan Koloi, Wilnand Vlok, Ralf […]
GOVERNMENT officials flew to Lusaka on Tuesday to take part in talks to prepare for a regional summit aimed at ending the 10-month conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the foreign ministry said. The South African government team, led by foreign ministry director-general Jackie Selebi, is expected to be followed on Saturday by a […]
OLD MUTUAL is to axe some 5000 workers in line with recommendations by an independent audit into its demutualisation programme. Old Mutual spokesman Steven Bowey confirmed that the audit has recommended staff reductions, but refused to name the exact number of employees expected to be affected. Business Report quotes a South African Commercial Catering and […]
STRIKING labourers on the R2-billion Maputo Corridor toll road torched a large grader and an excavator during a wage dispute on Tuesday night. No one has been arrested for the attack yet but regional police spokeswoman Sergeant Thabisile Gama said police have strong leads and expect to take some of the culprits into custody soon. […]
THE Heath Special Investigating Unit on Wednesday announced that it has been granted nine orders by the Special Tribunal on Monday against nine former Butterworth town councillors, who owe the council a collective R157187 in unpaid cellphone debts. The council’s resolutions had stipulated that councillors could have a cellphone from the council, if they paid […]
BOB Woolmer, South Africa’s World Cup coach, has agreed a three-year contract to return to Warwickshire as director of coaching from January 2000. He enjoyed a successful spell with the English county side in the early 1990s. The deal appears to rule Woolmer out of the job of England coach until after the next World […]
AFTER the qualifying matches for the African Cup of Nations 2000 tournament, the leading scorers are: 6 goals – Theodore Ngue-Nguema (Gabon) 4 – Mahamadou Dissa (Mali), Fabrice ‘Akwa’ Maieco (Angola), Hamid Merakchi (Algeria), Christopher Perle (Mauritius) 3 – Ruphin Menakley, Etienne Rasoanaivo (Madagascar), Samson Okoth, Maurice Sunguti (Kenya), Faouzi Rouissi, Adel Sellimi (Tunisia), Modibo […]
THE Mpumalanga Parks Board warned residents in Nelspruit on Wednesday to be on the lookout for a large black bear reportedly spotted in hills just outside the town limits. MPB spokesperson Gary Sutter said rangers were at first dubious about the spotting until they checked the area roughly 12km from town and found spoor very […]
ERNIE ELS, South Afica’s leading golfer, slipped to 7th in world golf rankings released on Monday. Els is seventh with an average of 8,14 points. David Duval grabbed the number one spot with 13,92 points closely followed by Tiger Woods with 13,70. Davis Love III trailed at third with a 10,82 average. Rounding out the […]
AT AN executive meeting at Minolta Loftus on Wednesday, the Blue Bulls announced some management changes for the upcoming year. Phil Pretorius and Heyneke Meyer are the short list of coaches to be recommended to the South African Rugby Football Union, who will appoint the Bulls’ coach. Further shifts include Piet Olivier chairing the Board […]
DAVID SHAPSHAK, Johannesburg | Thursday 3.00pm. CONTROVERSIAL former Springbok James Small on Thursday announced his retirement from rugby. The fiery winger, who once held the South African record for Test caps (42) and tries (22), became something of a folk hero after closing down his giant All Black opposite number, Jonah Lomu, in the 1995 […]
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, […]
NEW Transport Minister Dullah Omar said that deaths on South Africa’s roads went down by 623 in 1998, saving the country about R475,3 million. Releasing the findings of Statistics SA’s audited report for his department, he said road deaths decreased from 9691 in 1997 to 9068 in 1998 — a reduction of 6,43%. Serious injuries […]
STRIKING labourers on the R2-billion Maputo Corridor toll road torched a large grader and an excavator during a wage dispute on Tuesday night. No one has been arrested for the attack yet but police say they expect to make arrests soon. The vehicles were not completely gutted but damage has been estimated at R60000. Labourers […]
WEDNESDAY, 1.00PM: DELAYS in organising the financial affairs of Transnet have forced Public Enterprises Minister Stella Sigcau to move the sale of 49% of South African Airways from October to the first quarter of 1999. Business Day reports that the delay was caused, among other things, by difficulties in determining the pension requirements held by […]
WITH the announcement on Tuesday by Northern Province Premier Ngoako Ramatlhodi of his 10-member executive, the full line-up of MECs across the country is now in place. The Northern Province executive includes Thaba Mufamadi (Finance, Trade and industry, Tourism), national treasurer of the SA Communist Party and a relative to Sydney Mufamadi (Minister of Provincial […]
SEVERAL African female referees are officiating in the third women’s world cup which began in the US Saturday. Ghana’s Comfort Coffie was an assistant referee in the Japan-Canada match while Fatou Gaye of Senegal was the fourth official in the US-Denmark encounter. Bola Elizabeth Abidoye and Adeola Adeyemi of Nigeria are the other referees from […]
WEDNESDAY, 12.30PM: THE Welsh touring squad were handed their fourth consecutive tour defeat by the Gauteng Falcons in an ill-tempered match played at the Isak Steyl stadium in Vanderbijlpark on Tuesday night. The home side dominated the first half, securing almost 80% of the possession, and scored three tries to the single Welsh effort. The […]
DAVID SHAPSHAK, Johannesburg | Wednesday 5.30pm. SPRINGBOK coach Nick Mallett, who shocked race-sensitive South African rugby administrators this week saying he would not be pressurised with his team selections, says his comments have been misunderstood and has apologised. With government and sports bodies clamouring for greater racial representativity, South Africa’s most successful coach, who has […]
FORMER England fast bowler Peter Lever has been asked by the Kenyan cricket authorities to mastermind their build-up to the 2003 cricket World Cup. The 58-year-old, who played 22 tests between 1972 and 1974, has already been involved in the development of Kenyan cricket and he acted as their bowling coach in the World Cup, […]
THE 7000 matriculants who failed because of Mpumalanga’s 1998 matric scandal have only until Friday to register for special supplementary examinations. Provincial education spokesman Peter Maminza on Thursday confirmed the deadline, which is for the special supplementary examinations in August. Maminza said the final programme for the supplementaries had not been finalised because the department […]
AUSTRALIA’S Steve Waugh lifted the cricket World Cup on Sunday after his side sent Pakistan spinning to the greatest humiliation in the tournament’s history. They won with eight wickets and an extraordinary 29.5 overs to spare. What was expected to be a rousing finale between two well-matched sides, turned into a no-contest as Pakistan were […]
MICHAEL METELITS, Johannesburg | Wednesday 6.30pm. LANCE KLUSENER has moved up seven places to second in the PricewaterhouseCoopers One-Day International batsmen’s rankings released on Wednesday. Klusener’s stunning performance in the recent World Cup played a significant role. Jacques Kallis also moved up 5 places to number three in the new post-World Cup rankings, primarily on […]
TUESDAY, 12.30PM: BAFANA BAFANA midfielder John “Shoes” Moshoeu has criticised the South African Football Association after two players who were found guilty of indiscipline were sent home from the World Cup in disgrace. Midfielders Brendan Augustine and Naughty Mokoena were sent home after they defied coach Philippe Troussier’s orders, and went nightclubbing until the early […]
STANDARD Bank was the first commericial bank to drop its rates on Monday amid rising speculation that rates would drop before the day end. Some 15 minutes later, at 3.15pm the three Nedcor banks followed suit to drop prime by one percent to 18%. ABSA, First National Bank, NBS, Saambou and BOE in separate statements […]
THE KwaZulu-Natal Nature Conservation Service’s annual game auction, held in Mtubatuba at the weekend, raised more than R11-million for conservation and community development in the province. The takings were R1-million less than last year’s auction, but a record price was set for the sale of a white rhino mother and calf, which sold for R272000. […]