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 […]
NIGERIA might rejoin the Commonwealth on May 29, when the military government is due to hand over to president-elect Olusegun Obasanjo, Commonwealth Secretary General Emeka Anyaoko said on Sunday. Anyaoko, himself a Nigerian, told the BBC: “The Commonwealth has become an association of democratically elected governments and until that is in place in Nigeria, I […]
MOZAMBIQUE is preparing to resume negotiations with the United States-based fuel corporation Enron for the commercial exploitations of natural gas fields at Pande. Mozambican Prime Minister Dr Pascoal Mocumbi announced on Friday that the new round of talks will seek to create a framework agreement to replace the heads of agreement signed in November 1995. […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Cape Town | Monday 4.30pm. SWISS journalist Jean-Phillipe Ceppi, arrested last week for possession of a “secret” military document, was released from custody on Monday when all charges against him were withdrawn in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court. Ceppi’s lawyer Richard Rosenthal said afterwards that Attorney General Frank Kahn dropped the charges after […]
MPUMALANGA has exceeded its share of the national housing target by 6000 houses and is building eight new low-cost houses every hour, housing MEC Craig Padayachee said in the provincial legislature on Monday. The houses are larger than those being built by other provinces, and are the product of community partnerships. The national target for […]
THE Ugandan government has closed Bwindi National Park following the killing of eight foreign tourists by Hutu rebels last week. The Ugandan daily newspaper New Vision said the park will be off limits to tourists for one month. The Ugandan army said on Saturday it had killed ten Rwandan Interahamwe rebels inside the Democratic Republic […]
THE Fourth African Oil Trade and Finance conference is to be held in Namibia from April 27-30, according to a Namibian mines and energy ministry announcement made on Friday. The conference will cover recent developments in marketing, financing and risk management. Participants will include an expert panel of speakers from African, American and European oil […]
SOUTH African netballers were whipped again, losing their fourth straight match in Kingston, Jamaica on Sunday. The team was beaten 61-35 by Jamaica, in apparent retaliation for the Windies’ humiliation at cricket recently. The game was never in contention, and poor passing sank the Proteas again. The team has lost all of its games on […]
NEWLY crowned world 200m indoor champion Frankie Fredericks will compete in the final leg of the South African Grand Prix series in Cape Town on March 26, athletics officials confirmed on Sunday. Fredericks’ participation was announced along with former World 400m hurdle champion Samuel Matete, who comes up against 1997 World championships silver medallist Llewellyn […]
The ZIMBABWE Republic Police has retrenched 43000 thousand of its special constabulary department employees. The operatives have also been denied employment by the ruling Zanu-PF party, which seconded them to the force in the early 1980s. Commissariat director Raymond Takavarasha said the lay-offs of the reserve police officers are consistent with overall cutback in civil […]
GOLD FIELDS Limited announced on Friday it has reached an agreement with the bankers of Gold Fields Ghana to reschedule the debt used to finance the Tarkwa Gold Mine. Accordingly, Gold Fields Ghana will receive a cash injection of $75-million on Friday. Gold Fields is providing $60-million, with the balance provided by Golden Knight Resources […]
EGYPTIAN President Hosni Mubarak and Libyan leader Moammar Gadaffi moved their talks on the Lockerbie affair from a tent pitched on the lawn into the Eqyptian presidential palace on Sunday. The two leaders focused on Lockerbie during their first session of talks in the tent. Sunday’s talks concentrated on economic issues and covered Arab issues, […]
NIGERIA might rejoin the Commonwealth on May 29, when the military government is due to hand over to president-elect Olusegun Obasanjo, Commonwealth Secretary General Emeka Anyaoko said on Sunday. Anyaoko, himself a Nigerian, told the BBC: “The Commonwealth has become an association of democratically elected governments and until that is in place in Nigeria, I […]
THE African Development Bank has approved a loan and grant package for Lesotho worth $6,6-million aimed at rejuvenating the country’s agricultural sector. The financial assistance comes from ADB’s special African Development Fund, set up to provide funding to poorer countries. The agricultural programme is expected to diversify crop production, increase productivity, boost farming revenues and […]
ERITREAN troops are still occupying “Ethiopian terrority” and digging in to hold their positions in defiance of an Organisation of African Unity peace plan, the Ethiopian government said on Saturday. The Addis Ababa government said: “Eritrean troops continue to occupy the [northern] Zala Anbesa-Aiga region, [northeastern] Bada-Bure region and [northern] Egala region. The Eritrean army […]
AUSTRALIA pulled their game together in the second hockey test of the five-match series to beat South Africa 3-1 at Pretoria Technikon on Sunday after leading 2-1 at half-time. Goals by Scott Webster (2) and Lachlan Vivian Taylor gave the visitors the advantage after the tourists lost the first Test 3-2 in an upset on […]
NIGERIA has applied to stage next year’s African Nation’s Cup finals, originally scheduled in Zimbabwe, a top Nigerian official said late Friday. “We have asked CAF (the Confederation of African Football) to host the 2000 Nations Cup” Chief of General Staff Vice Admiral Mike Akihgbe said at the draw for the World Youth Championship here. […]
NATIONAL Council of Provinces chairman Patrick “Terror” Lekota announced on Thursday that he is to take part in the gruelling 105km Argus cycle tour in a bid to raise money for the aged. Should Lekota finish the race, his sponsor — Hollard Insurance — has agreed to donate R25000 towards programmes for the aged, and […]
SOUTH Africa’s new rugby boss, Silas Nkanunu, won the Herald Mayor’s Port Elizabeth Citizen of the Year award at a glittering banquet at the Feather Market Centre in PE on Saturday night. The 65-year-old attorney, who replaced controversial Louis Luyt as president of the South African Rugby Football Union (Sarfu) last year, is the 10th […]
THE army in Congo announced on Friday its recapture of the Nganga-Lingolo district from rebels just south of Brazzaville, thereby completing its control of the capital’s outskirts.Forty-two Ninja militiamen, who backed former prime minister Bernard Kolelas ousted in a 1997 civil war, were killed and many wounded in the fighting.The Ninjas have been fighting government […]
THE leaders of Ghana’s Ashantis formally announced the death of their king on Friday, more than a week after the 79-year-old monarch died.Asantehene Otumfo Opoku Ware II will be buried on March 25, one month after his death. According to tradition, the funeral will be held in private around midnight.Otumfo Opoku Ware II ruled the […]
THE South Africa Under-19 rugby team survived a withering onslaught from a Boland Under-20 side, to win 18-5 after leading 10-5 at the break. The match was an excellent “acid Test” for the Under-19 side as they prepare for the Fira Junior World Cup in Wales later this month, the South African Rugby Football Union […]
UGANDA’S coffee exports declined in February when the country shipped 402710 bags of 60kg each, compared to 428020 bags exported in January, an official report said on Friday. However, the February figure is still more than that forecast by the Uganda Coffee Development Authority of 300000 bags. According to authority, the state body managing the […]
THE Airports Company South Africa (Acsa) announced on Friday that it is upgrading and expanding the shopping area and duty-free mall at Johannesburg International Airport at a cost of R210-million. The expansion is part of a R2-billion project over the next five years. Acsa said its retail division, which includes shops, car hire, outdoor advertising […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Sunday 8.00pm. SIX kilogrammes stood between Dingaan “The Rose of Soweto” Thobela and the IBO world welterweight title on Saturday night. Although he stopped Adrian Daneff with a seventh round technical knockout, he did not win the title that was up for grabs, purely because he could not make the weight. […]
Chiara Carter A snap parliamentary debate is likely to be called by the African National Congress next week in a move to defuse the row over claims that the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) was involved in transporting explosives and did not pass crucial information on to police. Government sources said the debate was likely to […]
General Olusegun Obasanjo, president-elect of Nigeria, is in the position of a man who is damned if he does, and damned if he does not. Damned by his fellow soldiers because in October 1979, while his military government, the Supreme Military Council, was enjoying a lot of popularity, he handed over power to a democratically […]
Bob Mattes:A SECOND LOOK Results released by the Opinion ’99 consortium last week indicate that large numbers of voters have, at best, a foggy awareness of their elected leaders. President Nelson Mandela and Deputy President Thabo Mbeki are widely known and well-liked. Most people know about most of the major party leaders (but not all), […]
Cathy Jenkins Craig Williamson’s amnesty application hearing ended in Pretoria this week after a marathon seven days of legal argument – with warring lawyers and evasive witnesses making no attempt to reconcile in the spirit intended by Truth and Reconciliation Commission. George Bizos, SC, for the families of Ruth First and Jeanette and Katryn Schoon, […]