THE Banking Council claims the proposed Companies Amendment Bill, which would require greater disclosure of nominee shareholders and reporting of share movements beyond certain thresholds, will be inefficient and expensive. The Trade and Industry Department believes the Bill will help contain insider trading on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Banking Council general manager Kevin Daly said […]
THE head of South Africa’s bid to stage the 2006 World Cup finals says Germany are in pole position in the race to be the hosts. Irvin Khoza, chairman of the South African bid committee, said the Germans present the most formidable opposition South Africa’s bid to stage the 2006 World Cup finals. “They are […]
AN armoured column of Ethiopian troops made a two-day incursion into Somalia, looting field radios and other equipment and kidnapping a businessman, a Somali warlord charged on Tuesday. The warlord, Somali National Front leader General Omer Haji Mohamed “Masale”, said the troops rolled over the border in the Balanbale area of Somalia’s central Galgudud region […]
THE wedding of the man convicted of murdering SA Communist Party leader Chris Hani will not be married in prison on Wednesday. Janusz Walus was due to marry gospel singer Berril Roy in Pretoria maximum prison on Wednesday, but the department of correctional services said on Monday that administrative arrangements proved to be more complex […]
A JAPANESE safari park has withdrawn from an agreement to buy three of the young elephants at the centre of a legal dispute over their fate. The Brits Magistrate’s Court heard on Monday that the Fuji Safari Park decided it no longer wants the beasts after discovering they are wild. The park had been under […]
THE cost of international calls drops from Wednesday, when Telkom rates will drop between 1,7% and 29,3% during weekdays between 8am and 8pm. Telkom said on Monday that it has now dropped its international call charges five times in the last two years. When the cuts were first announced in late 1998, it was clear […]
GERMAN coaching instructor Peter ‘Corporal’ Ueberjahn has been widely tipped to take over the hot seat of the senior national Namibian soccer team coach now that the the contract of Seth ‘Orlando’ Boois has expired. Although acting Secretary General of the Nambian Football Association John Madimba declined to confirm the rumours, Ueberjahn is the strong […]
CAF Cup holders Club Sportif Sfaxien of Tunisia have received a bye into the second round following the withdrawal of Energy of Benin. The clubs were due to meet this weekend when 46 first-round matches are scheduled in the annual Champions League, Cup Winners Cup and CAF Cup competitions. Coffee of Ethiopia have pulled out […]
IN a surprise move, Guinean President Lansana Conte appointed the head of the supreme court, Lamine Sidime, as the country’s new prime minister late on Monday. Sidime replaces Sidya Toure, a technocrat named to the premiership in July 1996 to revive Guinea’s economy. News of Toure’s sacking came on the eve of a special parliamentary […]
ETHIOPIAN Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has warned African diplomats that he views Eritrea’s acceptance of a peace plan in their border dispute “with skepticism,” national television reported on Monday. Eritrea’s acceptance “lacks clarity and is open to interpretation,” Zenawi told African delegates from the Organisation for African Unity, which drew up the plan. Eritrean President […]
THE government has announced that it will be sending an air force rescue mission to extract tourists and locals trapped by floods in Mozambique. The mission will comprise two Oryx helicopters and five planes, including two massive C130 Hercules. Light planes will perform reconnaisance in the affected southern Inhambane province before other aircraft are mobilised […]
INFLATION in Botswana has risen sharply over the last four months to 7,2% in February, from 5,9% last October. Measured from a November 1996 base of 100, the cost of living index is now at 117, following increases in the food, fuel and power, and household operations components of the index. Increased electricity tariffs announced […]
FORMER Springbok flyhalf and centre Hennie le Roux says he will not be available to play for the Cats in their Super-12 campaign. In a move that has probably ensured he will never return to international rugby, Le Roux told Cats coach Andre Markgraaff on Monday that he will only play Currie Cup and Vodacom […]
GHANA won the African Under-20 championship Sunday, beating arch-rivals Nigeria 1-0 in the final at the Accra Sports Stadium. Laryea Kingston scored in the 39th minute. The two teams had earlier been inspected by the Ghanaian head of state Jerry Rawlings.
THE 63-year-old Hungarian herbalist accused of drugging girls as young as 10 and then having sex orgies with them was remanded in custody in the Belfast magistrate’s court in Mpumalanga on Monday. Members of the Congress of South African Students filled the courtroom where Charles Josef Baksai of Machadodorp appeared on two rape charges and […]
ANOTHER Mpumamlanga official has resigned over a corruption scandal after police accused him of over R1-million in thefts last week. Revenue services deputy director Willie Steenkamp was allowed to resign quietly from government last Monday after signing a confession that he stole at least R530000 from a provincial suspense account. He was formally charged with […]
NIGERIA’S trade union umbrella body, the Nigeria Labour Congress, has ordered an indefinite public sector strike from next Monday if workers are not paid a promised minimum wage. NLC President Adams Oshiomhole said that the federal government and the governments of Bayelsa, Delta, and Lagos states should abide by promises to pay all workers a […]
MALAYSIAN billionaire Dato Samsudin, who owns 75% of the beleaguered New Republic Bank, says the if the bank is liquidated it will not hurt him as his assets are diverse and spread throughout the world. In an interview with Business Times on Sunday, Samsudin blamed “inaccurate reports” in the press for causing a run on […]
THE rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Army and southern factions loyal to the Khartoum regime have agreed to observe a ceasefire, an official of one of the factions said on Monday. Teny Youk of the United Democratic Salvation Front and a state minister in an interim governing body, said SPLA leader John Garang himself gave instructions […]
NORTH-West beat Namibia 30-11 after leading 18-11 at half-time in a Vodacom Cup rugby match played in pouring rain throughout at Olen Park in Potchefstroom on Saturday. The wet conditions made handling extremely difficult. As a result both sides made numerous mistakes and occasionally had to play on the retreat. North-West lock Kleinjan Tromp was […]
THREE South African films took top honours at the Panafrican Film and Television Festival in Ouagadougou, Burkino Fasa on the weekend. Fools, a film by South African director Ramadan Suleiman won the prize for the best debut, while the award for the best documentary film went to Masseko Zola for The Life and Time of […]
AN 18-year-old Krugersdorp schoolboy who allegedly gunned a teacher down in front of a class full of pupils on Friday, handed himself over to the police on Sunday after a two day manhunt. The pupil walked into Johannesburg Central police station around 7pm and surrendered. The boy allegedly shot Andreas Werth while he was sitting […]
THE bidding contest for copper mining firm Namibian Tsumeb Corporation Limited is continuing, with a Namibian company insisting that it remains in the running for the lucrative copper mines. Namibian bidders — Namibia Mining and Processing (Pty) Limited, formerly Namibia Base Metals — offer to buy TCL for N$360-million remains on the table and is […]
DISCARDED former Springbok flyhalf and centre Hennie le Roux may get a call-up to the Cats following Saturday’s disastrous 39-10 defeat to the New South Wales Waratahs. Le Roux, who has been in good form for the Lions in the Vodacom Cup, is likely to replace Boeta Wessels at flyhalf in the Cats side for […]
The Mpumalanga town of Belfast is bracing itself for the start of a sensational hearing on Monday when a 63-year-old Hungarian herbalist appears in the Belfast Magistrate’s Court on child rape and child labour charges. Charles Josef Baksai was arrested in February after allegedly bribing groups of girls with food and promises of money in […]
ORLANDO Pirates put nine goals past Olympics amateur club in the first round of the BobSave Super Bowl, winning handily 9-0. Two goals were disallowed, from Joseph Ngake and Simon Makhubela, keeping the rout from ending 11-0. Goals which were allowed came from Thabo Mngomeni (2) Phumlani Mkhize (2) and Makhubela (2). The remaining hat […]
STEPHEN FLEMING has been included in a New Zealand squad of 12 named on Monday for the second cricket Test against South Africa at Jade stadium, Christchurch, starting on Thursday. Fleming, who underwent a groin operation in January and hasn’t played a first-class game since, has been given 48 hours in which to prove his […]
DAVID LE PAGE, Johannesburg | Monday 5.30pm. The Johannesburg Stock Exchange was one of the few markets to buck Monday’s trend to decline. Led by industrials’ 105-point push to 7241, all the major indices pushed their way upwards on Monday. Gold climbed 13 points to 964 and financials 89 points to 9495. The overall index […]
AGRICULTURE authorities in Malawi, which normally faces a maize deficit, said on Monday they expect a record yield of the crop this year. Ellard Malindi, principal secretary in the ministry of agriculture, said estimates show that 2,35 tons of the staple maize will be harvested. “This will be the highest ever maize yield to be […]
THE unseeded pairing of Jeff Coetzee and Damien Roberts captured the doubles title at a $50000 challenge in Singapore at the weekend. The MTN Super Squad pairing beat another unseeded tandem, Oleg Ogorodov of Uzbekistan and Israel’s Eyal Ran, 7-5 6-3 in Sunday’s final. It was the Israeli’s serve that came under fire in the […]
TRADE unions in the Northern Province won an historic victory last week when they forced one of the region’s most powerful traditional leaders to reinstate his office clerk. The Zebediela tribal authority clerk, Josephine Kekane, was fired two weeks ago after joining the Union of South African Authorities (Tusaa) as its provincial secretary. Tusaa threatened […]
THE South African short-term insurance industry notched up some significant underwriting losses last year, compared to the previous year, the South African Insurance Association said on Monday. Chief executive Barry Scott said that 12 out of 23 insurance companies reported underwriting losses for the year to December, compared to only seven in 1997. He said […]