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. […]
SOUTH Africa’s Oppenheimer gold and diamond dynasty is the world’s 227th richest family, with an estimated $2,2-billion fortune, according to Forbes magazine. Tobacco baron Johann Rupert is number 390 on the list, with a personal fortune of $1,3-billion. Microsoft chairman Bill Gates is still the world’s richest man, with a personal fortune estimated at some […]
SARAH BULLEN, Cape Town | Tuesday 4.45pm THE Johannesburg Stock Exchange lost some ground on Tuesday on a combination of profit taking after Monday’s strong run and generally lacklustre international markets. Banking and financial stock continued to ride out goodwill spurred by Monday’s prime rate cut, with the index rising 0,53%. The overall market ended […]
JUSTIN ARENSTEIN, Nelspruit | Wednesday 4.15pm. MPUMALANGA Premier Ndaweni Mahlangu owes the public a detailed explanation outlining why he appointed leaders to his cabinet who are admitted liars, the presiding bishop of the Methodist Church, Mvume Dandala, said on Wednesday. Dandala said Mahlangu’s planned apology for attempts to defend new finance MEC Jacques Modipane’s breach […]
DEBSWANA, the 50/50 diamond mining partnership between De Beers Centenary AG and the Botswana government, has reported a 21,8% drop in revenue to 5,4 billion pula for the last financial year. The drop for the year ending December 1998 is partially attributed to a 1,7% drop in the carat weight of stones recovered, from 20,12-million […]
AIR Namibia’s recent purchase of a brand new Boeing 747-400 Combi is being challenged by a rival plane manufacturer because a proper tendering process was not followed. Airbus Industrie has asked the German Embassy to help them secure a meeting with the Namibian Government to obtain an explanation on why Air Namibia dumped tender procedures […]
FOR the first time in three years, Wayne Ferreira goes into a Wimbledon championships fully fit with a good chance, says his coach, Kieren Vorster. “Wayne was injured at the French Open in 1997 and 1998 and went into Wimbledon with virtually no preparation at all. If he could make the third round in 1997 […]
A CONSTANT stench of cat urine has prompted outraged residents in Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal to create four privately funded air pollution testing stations in the coal mining town. The testing stations will be funded by donations from residents and local businesses and are designed to test for dust, sulphur dioxide and nitrous oxide. The stench in […]
JUSTIN ARENSTEIN, Nelspruit | Wednesday 4.15pm. MPUMALANGA Premier Ndaweni Mahlangu owes the public a detailed explanation outlining why he appointed leaders to his cabinet who are admitted liars, the presiding bishop of the Methodist Church, Mvume Dandala, said on Wednesday. Dandala said Mahlangu’s planned apology for attempts to defend new finance MEC Jacques Modipane’s breach […]
ANGLO American Platinum Corporation — the world’s biggest platinum producer — on Monday said it has “as a last resort” retrenched 415 employees at its Lebowa mine in Northern Province. Amplats spokesperson Johan Adler said Lebowa has not been performing well for “quite a few years”. “We explored everything as required by the Labour Relations […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Colombo | Wednesday 9.15am. SRI Lanka’s Tamil Tiger guerrillas are planning to send a top leader to South Africa to seek Pretoria’s help in ending the island’s separatist war, a press report in the capital Colombo said on Wednesday. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) plann to send the group’s ideologue, Anton […]
IN a diplomatic drive to promote transparency in regional elections, the Southern African Development Community’s Electoral Commission’s Forum is exploring the possibility of sharing technology to ensure a more efficient, open delivery of results in the 14 member states. Inspired by the high-tech display in the 2 June South African elections, where the Independent Electoral […]
THE wife of a Nelspruit magistrate who persistently failed to appear in court on 13 traffic violations, has been rewarded by having the fines against her reduced by half last week. Estelle Smit (39), wife of District Court Magistrate, Piet Smit, paid only R900 for the outstanding fines, instead of the total R1850. Senior public […]
UNITED States oil giant Texaco has suspended production activities in Nigeria’s Niger delta region after an attack by armed youths demanding compensation for an oil spill, a company official said on Tuesday. “We have suspended scheduled loadings for the week,” the official, who did not want to be named, blaming the decision on the attack […]
TUESDAY, 1.30PM: IN the face of rising panic over escalating interest rates, Reserve Bank governor Chris Stals and Finance Minister Trevor Manuel on Monday hastened to calm investors’ nerves by underlining their belief in South Africa’s economic fundamentals. Speaking at a business forum in Hamburg, Germany, on Monday, Stals said he does not expect the […]
KENYA’S Andrew Musuva outdueled Ethiopia’s Tesfaye Bekele and won the Grandma’s Marathon by four seconds in 2 hours, 13 minutes, 21 seconds on Saturday. Russian Fedro Ryjov was third at 2:13:32. Elena Makolova of Belarus set a course record in winning the women’s division in 2:29:12. Russian Albina Galliamova was runner-up at 2:30:02.
MOST government schools in Zimbabwe’s capital Harare were deserted on Friday as a strike by civil servants entered its third day. Teachers are among thousands of civil servants around the country striking for a 20% cost of living adjustment. Inflation in Zimbabwe is running at more than 50%. President Robert Mugabe on Thursday night described […]
AN acute shortage of bread looms in Zimbabwe following threats by major bakers to stop production in protest at new prices imposed by government last week. According to press reports, Eddie Cross, chairperson of the Bakers Association of Zimbabwe, said the price of bread fixed by government, of 28 US cents per loaf, would be […]
KENYA’S quality control body on Monday prohibited imports of chicken, pork, eggs and all meat products from Belgium and all Coca Cola products from Belgium, France, Luxembourg and The Netherlands. The measure by the Kenyan Bureau of Standards is apparently aimed at stopping the importation of dioxin-tainted food and contaminated Coca Cola from those European […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Tuesday 4.00pm. MARIAAN DE SWARDT has no fear of Steffi Graf in their second-round bout at Wimbledon, and actually fancies her chances of an upset. The two are tied one-all after two previous matches. In 1992, Graf beat de Swardt 7-5 in a tight third set at Wimbledon, and in 1995 […]
FOR Tiaan Strauss, at least, a tie was the perfect result. The former Springbok captain scored a hat-trick of tries on his Australian debut last weekend but found himself battling confusion while watching the thrilling World Cup cricket semi-final between his old country and his new one. Strauss and teammate Jason Little woke up most […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Wednesday 12.45pm AUDITOR GENERAL Henri Kluever, South Africa’s widely respected watchdog of public accounts, announced on Wednesday that he is to step down from his post at the end of the year when his seven-year contract expires. He said that the Constitution does not allow him to serve a second term […]
MICHAEL METELITS, Johannesburg | Wednesday 5.00pm. SOUTH African markets fell on Wednesday in line with international trends. Overnight losses on Wall Street pulled the rug out from under Asian and European markets, and the signals spread southward from there. The all share lost 57 points, or 0,81%, while industrials lost 59 points or 0,77%. Financials […]
MPUMALANGA’S former environmental affairs MEC Luckson Mathebula is due to appear in court for a second bail application on Thursday after being charged with the assassination of his estranged wife. The two gunmen who murdered Rose Aletta Mnisi in front of a group of primary school children are still at large but police arrested Mathebula […]
MONDAY, 6.30PM: AMID the gloom and doom of the last three days’ trading, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange denied all odds to execute a sharp turnaround on Tuesday afternoon, gaining 1,2% by close of trade, reports SARAH BULLEN. The edgy market opened flat for most of the morning session, with a slight uptick in afternoon trade. […]
FIVE Nations champions Scotland on Friday named a strong line-up for their opening match against Border in East London on Monday. Coach Jim Telfor see a win in their first tour game as vital. Eleven of the team which plays Monday have represented Scotland before, with the halfback pairing of skipper Gary Armstrong and Craig […]
THERE are three newcomers to Northern Province’s reshuffled provincial cabinet, which was unveiled by Premier Ngoako Ramatlhodi on Tuesday four days after his inauguration last week. They include Catherine Mabuza and Joe Maswangani as MECs in two new departments created by a partial restructuring of the provincial government. Mabuza previously served in the National Council […]
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 […]
THE South African Democratic Teacher’s Union has cut ties with the Mpumalanga education department, insisting more officials were involved in the recent matric exam scandal than just the two senior officials who were fingered two weeks ago. Former education MEC David Mabuza suspended the department’s chief education specialist Gogo Alphina Anna Ndlovana, and first education […]
MONDAY, 6.30PM: THE Johannesburg Stock Exchange started the week on its back foot on Monday, with the all share index dropping 3% in early trade. All eyes were on the interest rate, which, floated by the Reserve Bank on Friday, rose further to 23,985% from 20,377% on Monday prompting fears of further bank prime rate […]
KENYAN authorities on Monday began a bid to extradite a British woman charged with plotting to steal thousands of dollars’ of United Nations property after peacekeeping troops withdrew from Somalia. Kerry Page (30) organised the shipping of UN goods from Somalia to the Kenyan port of Mombasa in 1995. At a London court, lawyers for […]
THE state has decided not to prosecute music legend Ray Phiri on three criminal charges that his former landlord laid against him in March. Senior public prosecutor Marius van Heerden said on Friday that he decided not prosecute Phiri, but declined to give reasons for his decision. Phiri was facing charges of housebreaking, theft and […]