THE CATS rugby side will propose that Andre Markgraaff be appointed to a minimum two-year term as coach this week. Cats CEO Johan Botes will discuss the matter with South African Rugby Union chief Riaan Oberholzer on Wednesday. Markgraaff’s success and reputation as a top forward coach have lent weight to arguments that continuity and […]
PETER POLLOCK, the United Cricket Board’s convener of selectors, will announce the World Cup cricket squad on Saturday. It will be announced at 2.50pm on M-Net and SuperSport1.
THE Cabinet has approved the appointment of advocate Wallace Mgoqi as the country’s new Chief Land Claims Commissioner. Mgoqi is the former regional land claims commissioner for the Western and Northern Cape, and replaces Joe Seremane, who was fired and has subsequently been elected a Democratic Party member of the National Council of Provinces. Announcing […]
AN ANTHRAX epidemic that struck Zimbabwe’s cattle in the early 1980s and also afflicted nearly 10000 people could be linked to South Africa’s chemical and biological warfare programme, reports Beeld. Dr Welbourne Madzima, deputy director of Zimbabwe’s veterinary services, said on Tuesday that his department will contact National Director of Public Prosecutions Bulelani Ncugka to […]
NAMIBIA Football Association spokesperson Sebastian Kamungu dropped a bombshell on Monday when he announced the association has suspended the entire national under-23 squad which did duty against Lesotho in two matches recently. “The suspension,” Kamungu said, “stems from the Young Warriors’ failure to stick by agreed match and camping fees and their decision to boycott […]
ZAMBIAN police on Tuesday charged yet another journalist from the independent Post Newspapers for espionage in connection with an article about Zambian military capabilities. Dickson Jere said he was summoned to the police headquarters in the Zambian capital where he was interrogated by two officers before being charged with espionage. Earlier this month police charged […]
THE Melissa virus, which burst on to the computer scene five days ago, has turned up in South Africa. The virus is spread by e-mail and infects address books in computers, forcing them to send out infected e-mails. Local service provider Internet Solutions claims to have found the virus and stopped its progress in time. […]
THE state and prosecutors’ unions struck a deal on Wednesday that will see prosecutors receive another 9% pay increase, in addition to the 6% paid to them in December. “I hope [the rise] will boost the morale of prosecutors and that we see an immediate change in service delivery,” said National Director of Public Prosecutions […]
BOTSWANA is to withdraw its remaining troops from Lesotho by the end of April, presidential spokesperson Andrew Sesinyi said on Wednesday. Some 650 soldiers of the Botswana Defence Force were deployed in the tiny landlocked kingdom as part of a Southern African Development Community intervention force that entered Lesotho last September to stabilise the political […]
THE Kenyan government has ordered an immediate halt to the sale of fish and fish products from Lake Victoria due to poisoning, Medical Services director Julius Meme announced on Tuesday. Meme also warned the Kenyan public that fish sold from neighbouring countries sharing the lake is also not safe for consumption, until further notice. The […]
THE death toll from African horse sickness in the Western Cape has risen to 14 and another 12 suspected cases have been reported, an expert said on Tuesday. Professor Alan Guthrie from the Equine Research Centre at Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute near Pretoria confirmed the death toll but said the outbreak was still restricted to the […]
THE Dragons of the Democratic Republic of Congo took their second round African Cup Winners’ Cup match against Petro Atletico from Angola 4-1 in Kinshasa. The Dragons won 4-3 on aggregate after losing 2-0 in Luanda.
JCI Gold posted strong maiden interim results on Tuesday with attributable earnings in the six months to December at R403-million. The results were boosted by profits from the sale of its entire holding in Barnato Exploration (Barnex) and certain mineral rights to gold mining company Western Areas. Excluding these exceptional items of R307-million, headline earnings […]
BOTSWANA has been given the go-ahead by the Conference on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) to sell 20 tons of stockpiled ivory but has clamped down on the release of any details of the sale. Wildlife officials said the ivory will be auctioned to Japanese buyers. “We have decided not to disclose any details […]
RWANDA’s local authority elections went into their second day on Tuesday, with officials expressing satisfaction at the conduct of the first poll since the genocide of 1994. Monday’s voter “participation was massive in administrative districts and there were no incidents,” Radio Rwanda reported. “In spite of the rain which lashed the whole country, people turned […]
THE National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union said on Monday that it will call a nationwide strike on April 28 in solidarity with tertiary education workers. Explaining the decision to strike, Nehawu spokesperson Makoko Lekola claimed tertiary education management used tactics at a recent Nedlac meeting to delay transformation in the sector. The union […]
A WORKER was crushed to death at explosive and chemical firm AECI’s Modderfontein dynamite factory on Tuesday after nine tankers full of hazardous chemicals derailed. Two other work were burned by sulphuric acid. GThe firm was on Tuesday evening taking emergency steps to mop up the chemicals.
REPRESENTATIVES of the parties involved in the African National Congress’s advertising campaign will hold an emergency meeting this week with Metrorail CEO Zandile Jakavula after Metrorail declined an initial request to print the image of Deputy President Thabo Mbeki on the back of 3,5-million train tickets. The announcement of the major advertising coup for the […]
OTAGO centre Jeremy Stanley has been suspended for three weeks after being cited for a dangerous tackle during a Super 12 match against the Sharks in Durban on Friday. The Sharks won the match 32-8. Stanley’s opposite number, Shaun Payne, did not have the ball when the New Zealander collided with him at full speed. […]
WORKERS at the state-controlled Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation went on strike on Monday morning, demanding increased salaries. The workers have threatened to switch off transmission if their grievances are not addressed by management, which is locked in discussions with the employees’ representatives. The workers say they are the least-paid employees of all Zimbabwe’s media parastatals and […]
OLD Mutual got the go ahead from the Cape High Court on Monday to convert to a listed company and demutualise. The firm also has permission to list in London and Johannesburg, adding to the list of South African corporate giants making the trek overseas. The ruling stated the demutualisation scheme is fair, commercially sound, […]
MICHAEL METELITS, Johannesburg | Monday 5.15pm. EQUITIES finished the day mixed as wider South African markets looked for direction on Monday. Bonds and the rand stayed within a tight trading range and the major JSE indices did not move very far. The all share index lost 22 points to finish at 6439 while the industrial […]
SOUTH Africa has ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty. In a statement on Tuesday, the Department of Foreign Affairs said South Africa deposited its instrument of ratification of the treaty with the United Nations secretary general on Tuesday. This follows the country’s signature of the treaty on September 24 1996, and approval by Parliament of […]
FRUIT and food firm Del Monte declared its first earnings increase since 1993 this week, after an extensive restructuring plan. European operations contributed significantly to the canning and distributor’s growth, as well as good results from the Philippines despite the Asian crisis which has hit so many industries. Headline earnings per share rose 69% over […]
THE managing editor of Inkatha Freedom Party-owned Durban daily Ilanga has been fired following a disciplinary hearing. Amos Maphumulo’s dismissal follows an editorial last week in which he accused whites and Indians of oppressing blacks and wished for the birth of a new Idi Amin in South Africa. The editorial was criticised from across the […]
MALAWI’S gross domestic product for the financial year ending July 1999 is expected to grow by 6%, up from 3,2% recorded in fiscal 1998. The National Statistics Office said the projected high growth stems from the rise in agricultural production, which will increase by 11,4%. This is expected to have a knock-on effect on other […]
TWO Free State towns have made last-minute arrangements with electricity parastatal Eskom to pay their arrears to avoid having their supply cut off, SABC radio news reports. According to an Eskom spokesperson, Hertzogville and Fauresmith have both paid most of their arrears, narrowly beating a Tuesday deadline to pay up or be cut off. Last […]
ERITREA denied on Tuesday claims by Addis Ababa that it launched attacks against Ethiopian positions. Eritrea also accused Ethiopia of preparing for a fresh offensive. “Ethiopia’s unfounded accusations…can only be interpreted as a thinly veiled intention on its part to launch fresh offensives,” the government said. Ethiopian government spokesperson Salome Tadesse said on Monday the […]
ZAMBIAN police on Tuesday charged yet another journalist from the independent Post Newspapers for espionage in connection with an article about Zambian military capabilities. Dickson Jere said he was summoned to the police headquarters in the Zambian capital where he was interrogated by two officers before being charged with espionage. Earlier this month police charged […]
KHULUMA Cellular 084, the black economic empowerment firm bidding for South Africa’s third cellular licence, announced the composition of its consortium on Tuesday. The partners are the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa, the National African Federated Chamber of Commerce, the Communications Workers’ Union, Black Management Forum Investments, change management consultancy Labat Africa, Phakamani […]
AIR Namibia has decided to retrench 150 employees with effect from April under a restructuring plan prompted by financial difficulties. Managing director Jaafar Ahmad said on Monday that, besides reducing staff, the company’s operations will also be streamlined and this could involve the closure of operations and departments. The process will start on April 26, […]
NATIONAL Director of Public Prosecutions Bulelani Ngcuka announced on Tuesday that his office will appeal against the suspended sentence handed down last week to convicted baby killer Nicholas Steyn. Steyn was sentenced to five years’ jail suspended for three years after being found guilty of culpable homicide and assault for an incident in April 1998 […]