THE South African government on Saturday condemned the accidental bombing by NATO forces of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, and called for intensified diplomatic efforts to resolve the Kosovo crisis. The foreign affairs department said in a statement that Pretoria had “consistently expressed concern about the NATO bombing raids of Yugoslavia.” “It has also predicted […]
President Nelson Mandela was welcomed by his Chinese counterpart Jiang Zemin in Beijing on Wednesday.
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Thursday 10.30am. OLYMPIC medalists Penny Heyns, Josia Thugwane and Hezekiel Sepeng top the National Olympic Committee of SA (Nocsa) list of 39 athletes allocated to the Operation Excellence programme which is aimed at sending a competitive team to the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Athletes who qualify for Operation Excellence will get monthly […]
POLICE in Bulawayo said on Wednesday they were intensifying efforts to track the remaining four members of a syndicate which facilitated Zimbabwean illegals entering South Africa. Assistant commissioner George Muwadzuri said that police had stepped up intelligence gathering on the four who are now believed to be in hiding in South Africa. Muwadzuri said that […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Djibouti | Saturday 8.00pm. NEW President Ismael Omar Guelleh was sworn in as head of state of Djibouti in the Horn of Africa on Saturday at a ceremony attended by leaders from Sudan, Kenya and Ethiopia. Omar Guelleh, 52, was elected on April 9 and had already been seen as an heir-designate to […]
THE body of one of two Matjhabeng miners trapped underground after an earthquake in the Goldfields area on April 23 was found on Wednesday. Anglovaal spokesman Andries van Zyl said the body was found in the working area near the Eland Shaft where rescue teams had been searching since the earthquake. The miner’s body was […]
THE South African Union of Journalists on Wednesday urged the SABC board to set up an independent probe into last month’s axing of Special Assignment presenter Max du Preez. Du Preez is considering taking legal action against the broadcaster after his sudden dismissal. He has demanded reasons for his axing. The union demanded that the […]
DAVID LE PAGE, Johannesburg | Friday 6.00pm. HIT by a $6 slump in the bullion price, gold was the big loser on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange on Friday, dropping nearly 5% or 48 points to 1001. Industrials also took a hit, slumping 92 points to 7286, while financials held the fort with a 105-point push […]
AMNESTY International on Wednesday dismissed harsh criticism and threats of legal action from Togo over the human rights group’s claims of large-scale atrocities in the west African state. “We see no problem in taking the debate into a public forum, even a court of law,” said Amnesty’s spokesman for Africa Olivier Jacoulet. Earlier on Wednesday, […]
FORMER Caprivi opposition leader Mishake Muyongo and ex-Mafwe Chief Boniface Mamili left Botswana for Denmark on Monday after being granted residence rights by the Scandinavian country. A senior representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees confirmed that Denmark has agreed to take the two men. Another 13 exiled Namibians are still awaiting confirmation […]
PRESIDENT Nelson Mandela is to honour his director-general Jakes Gerwel and Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Washington, Prince Bandar ibn Sultan, for their efforts in mediating an end to the Lockerbie dispute, his office said on Saturday. The two men will receive special awards at a lunch hosted by Mandela in Cape Town on Tuesday, an […]
THE Zimbabwean army has banned resignations because of the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Military spokesman Colonel Chancellor Diye told the Financial Gazette on Thursday that the entire army of some 30 000 troops is on standby for active service in the DRC and therefore soldiers are prohibited from quitting the force. The […]
FRIDAY, 12.30PM: INJURIES and inclement weather have forced the Western Stormers to change the squad that will play the Otago Highlanders in a Super-12 rugby match at Newlands on Saturday. South Africa’s World Cup hero, winger Chester Williams, returns to Super-12 action after being sidelined with an injured knee. Williams will replace Justin Swart on […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Hove | Thursday 10.00am. EXTRACTS, or rather “adaptations,” from South African pace bowler Allan Donald’s autobiography published in The Express this week have apparently raised more than a few hackles. Donald, in three printed extracts has taken to task the England team, West Indian captain Brian Lara and England allrounder Dominic Cork. And […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Pretoria | Saturday 8.00pm. SIXTEEN political parties will contest South Africa’s second democratic election on June 2, three fewer than during the first all-race poll in 1994, election officials announced on Saturday. Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) chief electoral officer Mandla Mchunu told a press conference that, in all, 26 parties will contest national […]
THE Labor Party has approached the World Court in The Hague to intervene on its behalf and that of other parties that do not have enough money to pay the required deposits to contest the elections. LP leader Martin Nel on Wednesday said the party decided on this action after being denied direct access to […]
A COALITION of 133 developing countries wants the United Nations to keep radio, and other traditional media outlets, as A means of disseminating information rather than relying only on the internet. Switching to the ‘net would give an unfair advantage to rich nations over the poor, say the developing nations. Ambassador Samuel Insanally of Guyana, […]
THE Heath Special Investigating Unit will be proceeding with the investigation of “irregularities” in the Gauteng Department of Housing and the Gauteng Gambling Board, following the necessary proclamations. Both Judge Willem Heath of the unit and Gauteng Premier Mathole Motshekga feel that the matters are urgent, according to a unit statement. The investigations will begin […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Friday 7.30pm. POLICE top management came under fire on Friday for failing to establish a dedicated unit to probe the killing of police members. South African Police Union chairman Captain Msebenzi Sibisi said nothing had come of earlier demands for such a unit to be established. Sibisi was speaking at a […]
FRIDAY, 12.45: INSURANCE giant Sanlam is to merge its asset management functions with those of financial services company Genbel Securities (Gensec) in a R17,8-billion joint venture that comes ahead of Sanlam’s demutualisation and delisting. The most likely way of structuring the transaction will be for Gensec to issue 96 million new shares to Sanlam, effectively […]
THE International Monetary Fund and Ghana on Monday signed a $209-million dollar-year loan program, with a first tranche of $30-million available immediately, the Fund said. The 1999-2001 program aims to reach economic growth of 6% from 5,6% in 1998, and to beat down inflation to 5% by 2001 from 19,3% last year, the Fund said […]
Name: Kary Mullis Institution: Independent Field: Invented polymerase chain reaction Only rarely can you say of a scientist that, without him or her, the world would be a different place. But it is true of Kary Mullis, who is an integral part of the history of the genetic revolution. Mullis is an unlikely member of […]
ESKOM and the operators of Mozambique’s Cahora Bassa hydroelectric dam are seeking international arbitration over a tariff dispute, a spokesman for the operating company said Tuesday. Portugal’s Hidroelectrica de Cahora Bassa (HCB), wants to increase a 1988 tariff of two US cents per watt, but Eskom does not agree. HCB insists that the tariff is […]
Friday night Matthew van der Want `I have numerous talents, but bringing back life to the dead is not one of them”. That’s what Professor Sherman no doubt still says to his Wits English students and it’s what I’m left thinking about the audience we play to in the middle of Friday afternoon on a […]
Jon Henderson Rugby Fritz van Heerden, Leicester’s Springbok lock, has taken to English life. He starts each working day with the 10km drive in from Little Stretton, a tiny village to the east of London where he is a regular church-goer. “I like it there very much,” he says. “It’s so quiet and peaceful.” Having […]
Neil Manthorp Cricket As far as rankings tell us anything, South African cricket lovers will find it very hard to keep a self- satisfied grin off their faces when they see the latest list of the world’s top 10 all-rounders in one-day cricket. Four of the top six are South African, including Hansie Cronje who […]
ocean’ Ann Eveleth The sale of up to 10-million ounces of International Monetary Fund (IMF) gold reserves will do little to break the 30-year cycle of debt that has trapped Africa in poverty for decades. The R9-billion to R18- billion such a sale could generate is a mere drop in the ocean of developing-world debt. […]
people Aaron Nicodemus After getting over the initial shock of being told that he was HIV-positive, Oziel Mdletshe (31) wrestled with informing his family, his girlfriend and his closest friends. Once he was assured he had their love and support, he struggled with telling everyone else in KwaMashu, a community outside Durban that has a […]
THURSDAY, 11.30AM: BAFANA Bafana will play fellow World Cup qualifiers Romania in Bucharest in their final warm-up game in preparation for their opening World Cup match against France on June 12. The South Africans were scheduled to play Slovakia in their final warm-up, but South African Football Association CEO Danny Jordaan said the change was […]
Krisjan Lemmer Jnr:FRIDAY DISPATCHED The world was shocked this week by the disclosures made by the distinguished political scientist, Professor Schalk Lourens, visiting professor at the Pofadder campus of Naboomspruit University, that World War IV will break out in the Groot Marico at 9.05am on Friday July 1 1999. Prof Lourens made his chilling disclosure […]
Marianne Merten Uniondale, Oudtshoorn, Calitzdorp. Tiny towns representing the Western Cape hinterland, and for the PAC, a potential heartland of support. Pan Africanist Congress president Reverend Stanley Mogoba – “the bishop”, or more informally to those close to him, “bra Stan” – visited tiny rural towns this week before focusing his election campaign in urban […]
Something very odd is happening on Wall Street. As the Dow Jones powered towards the 11 000 landmark this week, applauded enthusiastically at the closing bell, Nasdaq, home of the glamorous technology and Internet stocks, has been moving in the opposite direction. The two markets are increasingly being decoupled. On some 40% of trading days […]