STANDARD Chartered Bank said on Thursday that it will move back into Nigeria, as the country seeks to rebuild its economy under civilian rule. Formation of the new wholly-owned subsidiary of Standard Chartered Bank marks a revival of its commercial banking operations in Nigeria. The bank opened its first Nigerian subsidiary in 1894, but saw […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Pretoria | Monday 8.40pm. ROBERT MCBRIDE, the Foreign Affairs official who was suspended 13 months ago following his arrest in Mozambique on charges of gun-running and espionage, was reinstated in his job on Monday, the foreign ministry said. McBride, who heads the ministry’s Asian desk in Pretoria, can return to work “as soon […]
RESCUE services on Monday launched an air and sea search for the remaining 13 crew of a missing South African trawler after the bodies of three crew were recovered off the Eastern Cape coast, police said. The bodies were recovered mid-Monday in the Indian Ocean off the fishing port of Cape St. Francis, police Superintendent […]
NEGOTIATIONS aimed at reuniting the Comoro islands got off to a chilly start on Monday as leaders of secessionist Anjouan boycotted an opening address by Interim President Tadjidine Ben Said Massounde. The conference is being held near Madagascan capital Antananarivo. There, several Anjouanians are stressing that their island’s “sovereignty” is not negotiable. Tadjidine took over […]
TRAGEDY was averted during the Three Tenors concert on Sunday night when 3000 fans were moved out of two stands which were at the point of collapsing. An estimated 35 000 people, including President Nelson Mandela, heard Luciano Pavarotti, Jose Carreras and Placido Domingo deliver a fine performance in the gardens of the Union Buildings, […]
MONDAY, 5.30PM: MEMBERSHIP of South African trade unions rose 13% last year, to 64% of the 5,4-million workers in registered in non-agricultural employment, labour ministry announced on Monday. Releasing the ministry’s annual report, Labour Minister Tito Mboweni said that registered unions now represent over 3,4-million members. Total union membership comprises about 24% of South Africa’s […]
CONSTRUCTION of a $1,3-billion aluminium smelting plant in southern Mozambique should be completed by July next year, six months ahead of schedule. Mozal smelter company GM Peter Cowie said on Friday that Mozambique’s biggest single investment project should produce its first aluminium ingot by July 2000 instead of the initially forecast January 2001. Britain’s Billiton […]
A FOUR-hour hostage drama ended on Sunday with police snipers shooting dead a 42-year-old Vereeniging man. The saga began when Koos Ackerman shot his wife, identified only as Mrs Van Aswegen, in the left shoulder. When police and paramedics arrived, Ackerman disarmed a police officer amid a hail of fire before hijacking a passing motorist […]
TRANSPORT Minister Mac Maharaj is expected to meet the South African Bus Employers Association and four unions representing transport workers in an attempt to end the six-day-old bus strike that has left scores of commuters without transport. Talks between the unions and Sabea under the auspices of the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration, broke […]
INTEGRATED metals and minerals group Iscor hit a year peak on the Johannesburg stock market on Thursday as foreigners continued to snap up the stock in anticipation of an upturn in the commodity cycle. By Thursday afternoon Iscor stock was up 15 cents at 180 cents on robust volumes of 5,1-million shares. Stockbroking firm Deutsche […]
THE head of the crime prevention unit at Gilead in Northern Province, Inspector MA Maifo, has been arrested for possessing R30000 in counterfeit notes. Maifo was arrested in a sting operation at Nedbank’s Potgietersrus branch on Friday, police spokeswoman Ronel Otto said on Monday. He appeared in the Potgietersrus Magistrate’s Court the same day and […]
DE BEERS Marine is negotiating for the renewal of its licence for a longer period than five years. Debmarine, whose contract with Namdeb for the recovery of sea diamonds expires at the end of the year, is a subsidiary of De Beers and accounts for close to 40% of Namdeb’s total annual diamond output — […]
ALL school computers in South Africa could get free software if the government accepts a formal offer from Corel Corporation to provide the material. Company CEO Michael Cowpland has offered to provide Corel WordPerfect, for the Linux operating system, for each school computer, free of charge. He said that although the offer is free, it […]
THE Competition Board will be disbanded in mid-year and its functions assumed by the Competition Commission and Competition Tribunal, the board announced on Thursday. It said in a statement that, due to the Maintenance and Promotion of Competition Act 1979 being replaced by the Competition Act 1998, it has been decided that certain notices of […]
REBEL leaders in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Monday stressed that President Laurent Kabila must meet certain conditions if they are to attend a “national debate” set for April 3 in Rome. Jean-Pierre Bemba of the Movement for the Liberation of Congo said he wants the prior release of all political prisoners. Ernest […]
PUBLIC Enterprises Minister Stella Sigcau has called for a review of the tender process at ports and harbours parastatal Portnet, following claims of unfair procedures and corruption at its black empowerment office. Following discussions last week with Transnet MD Saki Macozoma, Sigcau said it has been decided to examine tender procedures at Portnet. A ministry […]
FUEL prices are likely to rise by as much as 20c a litre early next month following recent rises in world oil prices. Figures from the Central Energy Fund show a price underrecovery of some 17c per litre. If oil prices remain at their current levels, the petrol price will have to be raised by […]
THE director general of the UN World Health Organisation (WHO), Gro Harlem Brundtland, arrived in Maputo on Monday for a two-day working visit to Mozambique. Official sources said Brundtland had come to the southern African nation to evaluate the implementation of various health programmes backed by her organisation. During her stay, she will visit a […]
THE Central Bank of Nigeria launched daily foreign exchange trading on Monday in an effort to meet rising demand, CBN spokesman Tony Ede said. Operations commenced at 9am on Monday, involving 20 leading Nigerian banks and the CBN. The daily Inter-Bank Foreign Exchange Market will operate for a two-month trial in a move expected to […]
FORMER Zambian president Kenneth Kaunda is expected in the country early this week for seminar on democracy in South African organised by the Independent Electoral Commission. Kaunda will present a paper at the seminar to be held at the Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research in Pretoria on April 21 to 23, said IEC spokesperson […]
STRIKING transport workers are planning to march to the Johannesburg offices of the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration on Monday afternoon, half an hour before a scheduled meeting between four major transport unions and the South African Bus Employers Association. “We want to put pressure on the employers to settle the strike today,” Transport […]
THE Egyptian parliament has unanimously scrapped a century-old law that exempted a rapist from punishment if he married his victim, a parliamentary source said on Tuesday. Parliament adopted the change on Monday evening. The move came amid a media campaign that followed outrage from women’s groups over the freeing in December of three rape suspects […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Harare | Monday 6.00pm POLICE have launched an investigation into the traffic of human body parts for witchcraft after a series of five murders in Mpumalanga, police said on Monday. Four decapitated adult corpses and a child’s head have been discovered since September in the Delmas region, an agricultural town about 100km east […]
MOZAMBIQUE’S northern-most provinces of Niassa and Cabo Delgado will get power from the Cahora Bassa dam on the Zambezi in the near future, the daily paper Noticias reports. Work to extend the Cahora Bassa grid to the areas will be funded by Norway and Sweden who are currently negotiating with the Mozambican government on the […]
JAPAN warned on Monday that it will reconsider economic ties with Niger if democracy is not quickly restored following the assassination of president Ibrahim Mainassara Bare.A Japanese foreign ministry statement released by the embassy here expressed “profound regret” that Mainassara, who was “democratically elected, was ousted from power by assassination … Japan will reexamine its […]
MONDAY, 1.00PM: SOUTH Africa brushed aside world champions Sri Lanka to win their Standard Bank triangular one-day match by five wickets at Springbok Park in Bloemfontein on Sunday. The Lankans had to win the match to play in the final of the triangular series against the South Africans, but devastating South African bowling and uninspired […]
A MPUMALANGA court on Monday issued a warrant for the arrest of Safety and Security MEC Jacques Modipane after he failed to pay child support maintenance, SABC radio reported. The order to arrest Modipane was issued at Siyabuswa, in the former KwaNdebele and follows his failure to pay maintenance for a child he fathered in […]
NO significant progress has been made in establishing a rail link between Namibia and Angola, despite a feasibility study recommendation that there is enough traffic to justify the link. TransNamib Transport spokesman Usi Hoebeb said on Friday that the project will be delayed for some time. Namibia has first to find partners from the international […]
LIBYAN Arab Airlines on Saturday invited passengers to begin booking seats as it resumes normal international service this week following the suspension of a seven-year embargo on Tripoli. LAA “invites passengers to contact our offices about international flights that will resume on April 22,” the state-owned carrier said in a statement. Jordanian officials said on […]
ANGOLAN student Silva Cassamano Quiberto has been formally arrested and charged with murder in connection with the bombings that rocked Lusaka in early March. Quiberto, who was charged on Friday, has been in police custody since March 31 1999. He was earlier charged with unlawful possession of a firearm, a case which was disposed of […]
AN SA Airways Boeing 737 carrying 103 passengers was forced to make an emergency landing at Port Elizabeth airport on Monday morning because of a technical problem with the control panel in the cockpit. The 103 passengers, on a flight from Cape Town to Durban, were flown to Durban on another aircraft.
NORTHERN Province Premier Ngoako Ramatlhodi’s office is being probed for allegedly abusing government officials and equipment for party political purposes. Provincial director general Bennedicta Manching Monama confirmed on Friday that she is probing the irregular use of government staff, facsimile machines and computers in Ramatlhodi’s office to distribute African National Congress speeches to the media. […]