TWENTY people have died in a cholera outbreak in Kano, northern Nigeria, in the past three weeks, health workers said in Lagos on Monday. The humanitarian organisation Medecins Sans Frontieres, which has set up a treatment centre in the city, has seen some 350 cases of cholera since March 24 around Kano, one of the […]
A GROUP of 160 Zambian soldiers, 130 infantrymen and 30 air force members, arrived in Johannesburg on Sunday to take part in a Southern African Development Community military training programme. Speaking during a sending off ceremony at Lusaka’s International airport on Sunday, South African High Commission military adviser to Zambia Colonel Barney Links said it […]
CONSTRUCTION of the 400-kilovolt powerline between Windhoek and Namibia’s border with South Africa is well on course and should be completed before the end of this year. NamPower on Monday reported progress on the 735km single-circuit powerline which has already reached Gibeon while the new Kokerboom substation 15km east of Keetmanshoop is nearing completion. The […]
MOROCCO has appealed to several sub-Saharan African countries to help it recover two enclaves occupied by Spain. The country’s prime minister Abderrahmane el Youssoufi said on Monday that Rabat needs the diplomatic support of South Africa, Namibia, Angola, Kenya and Nigeria to win back the enclaves of Melilia and Ceuta, which remained under Spanish control […]
ZIMBABWE’s powerful labour movement on Monday threatened mass action against employers who have failed to award staff a 20% wage increase to cushion them against rising living costs. Morgan Tsvangirai, secretary general of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, told a news conference that some three-quarters of Zimbabwean companies awarded their employees the 20% adjustment […]
THE South African Tourism Board is to launch a R90-million marketing campaign this year to attract tourists from Britain, Europe, and the United States. Deputy Environmental Affairs and Tourism Minister Peter Mokaba, speaking after a meeting in Johannesburg of the Tourism Forum, said the campaign, to be launched later this year, will involve R50-million spent […]
SOUTH African captain Hanse Cronje led his team to a stunning three-wicket victory against Pakistan in the one-day limited-overs international at Buffalo Park in East London on Saturday, claiming man-of-the-match title after taking two for 17, in ten overs. Some 13 000 people attended the match to see Cronje’s men extend their unbeaten run over […]
BUSINESS conditions in the building remain tough for at least the next six months, the Bureau for Economic Research at Stellenbosch said on Tuesday. The BER, attached to Stellenbosch University, said it anticipates that the overall construction cycle will reach a low in the last quarter of the year before general conditions improve. The survey, […]
STEEL giant Iscor said on Monday it would close its 96-year-old Durnacol coal mine in 2000 because continued production there is no longer economically viable. Iscor chairman Hans Smith said in a statement that massive cutbacks in domestic steel production had resulted in a dramatic drop in demand for coal from Durnacol. Iscor mining division […]
A DELEGATION from British Aerospace arrived in Libya late on Monday, Libyan television monitored by the BBC, reported. The BAe delegation is to hold talks with representatives of Libyan communications and transport ministry “on relations between the two sides”, the report said, without giving further details.
ELECTRICITY was restored on Monday in Pointe Noire, Congo’s main port and its economic capital, after being cut off since January, local residents report. Power supplies to the city were cut off when rebels loyal to former president Pascal Lissouba captured the Moukoukoulou dam some 350km south-west of the capital Brazzaville. Two weeks ago, government […]
President Nelson Mandela will formally proclaim June 2 as the election date by the end of the week.
SIX members of Telkom’s treasury department were told to clear their desks on Monday fter they tried to set themselves up as a private tresury dealing company, with Telkom as a client. The sudden resignation of the six — including treasury head Willie Landman, two senior corporate officials and three senior dealers — has rocked […]
THE state will decide this week whether it will prosecute music legend, Ray Phiri, after he broke into his rented farmhouse in Mpumalanga when his landlord tried to evict him for being three months late with his rent. Senior public prosecutor Marius van Heerden says police are still investigating charges of housebreaking, theft and trespassing […]
A DECISION on whether South African citizens who live abroad will be able to vote in the upcoming June 2 elections is expected on Monday, amid clamour from expatriates and opposition political parties. The IEC has been inundated with requests from overseas, as well as buffeted by suits and demands from the National Party and […]
THE Greater Johannesburg Metropolitan Council said on Thursday it is to continue with its implementation of the Igoli 2002 restructuring programme — despite demands by the South African Municipal Workers’ Union for an immediate halt to the plan. Samwu said the plan has been hatched without any consultation with the city’s poor, and violates a […]
THE decision to bring in Auditor General Henri Kleuver to settle the dispute between Finance Minister Trevor Manuel and Judge Willem Heath over the effeciveness of his special investigative unit was welcomed by Heath on Thursday. “The auditor-general is independent, and once he has checked our files, there will be clarity,” said the anti-corruption unit’s […]
THE Northern Free State Griffons beat Namibia’s Kudus 36-25 after leading 16-13 at halftime in a Vodacom Cup match in Windhoek on Saturday afternoon. The match was not much of a spectacle, with especially the home team being guilty of numerous handling errors. The visitors, however, took their chances well and were deserved winners. The […]
TALKS between the Southern African Development Community and the United States on the United States’ Africa Growth and Opportunity Bill are due to get under way in the Botswana capital Gaborone next week. A two-day talk shop led by US Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Stuart Eizenstat, will bring together businessmen from virtually […]
THE two Libyan suspects of the 1988 Lockerbie plane bombing are satisfied with the conditions of their detention in the Netherlands where they are awaiting trial, Libyan state television reported on Saturday. Al-Amine Khalifa Fhimah (43) and Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi (47) “called their parents by phone to assure them that all humanitarian requirements were […]
FORMER Springbok lock Johan Ackermann could be making his comeback against Griqualand West in a Vodacom Cup rugby match in Kimberley on Tuesday afternoon. Ackermann, who has been ruled out of the game for two years for using an anabolic steroid, was included on the bench. Ackermann played club rugby for the Witwatersrand Police second […]
GUINNESS South Africa on Thursday announced Namibian Breweries will distribute and sell its Guinness and Kilkenny beer and draught in South Africa. The agreement, effective from May 1, when the current distribution deal with South African Breweries expires, is widely seen as an attempt by the Irish brewery to compete for the African beer market […]
A BRILLIANT try in injury time by British Lions centre Scott Gibbs set up Wales for a dramatic 32-31 victory over England on Sunday, handing Scotland the Five Nations championship for the first time since 1990. Welsh flyhalf Neil Jenkins, who had a superb day with the boot for a total of 22 points, kicked […]
DAVID SHAPSHAK, Johannesburg | Friday 6.00pm. WAYWARD Springbok hooker James Dalton, whose absence from practise this week and failure to contact his province could reportedly cost him his lucrative contract with the Golden Lions, was spotted drinking this week at a bar outside Johannesburg. He spent two hours at Squires, next to the Hartbeesport Dam, […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Sunday 5.00pm. AMAZULU and Vaal Professionals drew their Castle Premier League match 1-1 at Kings Park in Durban on Sunday. There was no score at half-time, but the visiting side protested when Papi Mbele managed to scramble the ball over the AmaZulu goalline in the 18th minute from a cross by […]
INSPIRATIONAL Springbok flank Ruben Kruger could also make his comeback this weekend. The former Bulls skipper has been pencilled in for their Super 12 clash against the Sharks this Saturday, after a serious knee injury last September sidelined him.
THE Sudanese government is ready to accept Egypt as a “neutral mediator” in its conflict with northern opposition forces, the daily Al Usbu reported on Sunday.The newspaper, quoting unnamed sources, said Egypt recently sent Sudan a message containing the viewpoint of the northern opposition regarding reconciliation with the government.Sudan replied to the message by voicing […]
PRO-GOVERNMENT forces have captured Bunumbu, a major town in eastern Sierra Leone, from rebels fighting the Freetown government, reports said on Sunday. Journalists in the region said a three-day battle for Bunumbu ended Friday when Civil Defence Forces drove rebels of the Revolutionary United Front from the town. Bunumbu, which has a key educational Teacher’s […]
ANGLO American Corporation has been in contact with Chile’s state-owned Codelco, the world’s largest copper producer, about joining up to exploit state-owned Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines. Anglo chairman and CEO Julian Ogilvie Thompson said on Thursday that Anglo expects to make a decision in the second quarter of this year about who will be its […]
ANY delay in the upcoming elections could have a negative impact on investor confidence in South Africa, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel warned on Monday. International investors had already discounted the fact that the election would take place and that irrational statements will be made, he said. However the series of court actions aimed at extending […]
THREE South African Under-19 rugby players alleged to have misbehaved during a return flight from Wales earlier this week, and the Under-19 team manager will appear before a South African Rugby Football Union disciplinary hearing next week. The decision was taken by the Sarfu Executive Committee at a meeting in Cape Town on Friday. Meanwhile, […]
NIGERIAN ended a four month strike over pay and conditions after receiving promises of a review, press reports said on Monday. The public sector doctors began their strike on December 14 after they were excluded from a new public sector wage package announced by military ruler General Abdulsalami Abubakar in September. At a meeting Saturday, […]