Staff Reporter

LIBYA recently donated arms to militiamen loyal to Somali warlord Hussein Mohamed Aidid, an official of a political faction previously opposed to Aidid said on Monday.”The (arms) shipment that was brought to the coastal town of Merca on 18 February were part of assorted weapons given by the Libyan government and not Eritrea,” said a […]

THE African National Congress signed a deal on Monday appointing the University of Connecticut in the United States as the sole North American repository of its liberation struggle archive. As part of the archive deal, the university which already has an extensive oral library of the World War Two Holocaust and the ensuing Nuremberg trials […]

A LEGAL unit has been established to start prosecuting apartheid-era human rights abusers who failed to ask for or win pardon from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The special unit will soon start deliberating whether there is enough evidence to prosecute perpetrators such as the police officers implicated in the 1977 murder of Black Consciousness […]

SARAH BULLEN, Cape Town | Tuesday 11.10am. GROSS provisional gross gold and foreign exchange reserves amounted to R32,7-billion at the end of February, up on January’s figure of R32,6-billion, the Reserve Bank announced on Tuesday. In dollar terms, however, gross reserves declined by roughly $100-million from $5,4-billion to $5,3-billion at the end of February. The […]

MOZAMBIQUE’S parliamentarians complained to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Thursday that after 12 years of economic reforms 70% of the population still lives in absolute poverty. At a meeting with visiting IMF deputy managing director Shigemitsu Sugisaki, a group of legislators from both the ruling and opposition parties also urged the IMF to drop […]

A HARARE Magistrate’s Court remanded the case of Zimbabwe Mirror journalists Ibbo Mandaza and Grace Kwinjeh on Monday morning to April 30 on charges of violating the colonial Law and Order Maintenance Act. The court awaits the outcome of a Supreme Court application by the defence counsel challenging the constitutionality of Section 50 of the […]

OPPOSITION Zambia Democratic Congress president Dean Mung’omba is demanding compensation of up to 1,3-billion kwacha from the state and three senior police officers for alleged torture while in detention. “Mr Mung’omba is demanding 550-million kwacha from the state and 250-million kwacha from each officer involved which they will have to pay in their individual capacities,” […]

NEW South Wales centre Jason Little may be on the bench for up to eight weeks after fracturing his collar bone during the 13-13 draw with South Africa’s Coastal Sharks on Saturday. Little was injured when he was tackled heavily in the final few minutes of the Super 12 match in Durban. “He will be […]

KENYA’S national team, Harambee Stars, on Sunday fell 0-1 to Zambia’s Chipolopolo (Bullet) in an Africa Cup of Nations Group Six qualifying round at the Moi Sports Centre in Nairobi. The Kenyans, cheered by a capacity crowd which included President Daniel arap Moi, threw everything in the attack but the chase for the equaliser proved […]

SATURDAY’S presidential elections in Nigeria “broadly reflected” the people’s will despite some “irregularities,” the United States’s State Department said on Monday.”Respected American and international observers have stated that the alleged and apparent election irregularities would not have affected the final outcome of the elections,” said department spokesperson James Foley. He praised outgoing Nigerian president General […]

THE top leadership of the Organisation of African Unity has welcomed last Saturday’s acceptance by Eritrea of the continental body’s framework agreement to end the nine-month border dispute with Ethiopia. In a statement issued in Addis Ababa on Sunday, OAU chairman president Blaise Compaore of Burkina Faso and Secretary General Salim Ahmed Salim urged both […]

A DELEGATION of European Union parliamentarians is due in South Africa on Thursday in a bid to bolster trade relations between the two groups. Last week the European Parliament passed a resolution regretting the EU council’s failure to approve the draft agreement concluded between the EU Commission and South Africa. Their planned visit is at […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Monday 9.00am. SAM NXUMALO was elected on Sunday to take over as chairman of the United Democratic Movement (UDM) in KwaZulu-Natal from Sifiso Nkabinde, who was assassinated Richmond last month, party spokeswoman Annelise van Wyk said. The new leader of South Africa’s youngest political party promised peace between his own party […]

MOROCCAN coach Henri Michel said on Wednesday he is confident the North African nation could host the 2000 African Nations Cup in place of Zimbabwe, the original scheduled hosts. The African Football Confederation (CAF) stripped Zimbabwe of its right to host the tournament earlier this month over what it deemed were inadequate preparations and Michel […]

THE Sharks and New South Wales drew their Super 12 rugby union match at King’s Park in Durban on Saturday 13-13 (halftime 13-5). Wayne Fyvie got the Sharks’ lone try, while Jacques Benade made the conversion. Andre Joubert and Benade also scored penalties. For the Waratahs, Christian Warner and Chris Whitaker made tries, while Warner […]

AFRICAN youth soccer championship results from the finals in Ghana: Group B saw Zambia overrun Guinea 6-2, while Nigeria shut out Malawi 5-0. The games were played in Kumasi. Nigeria tops the group, followed closely by Zambia. The only difference is Nigeria’s 9 goals vs Zambia’s 7. Guinea and Malawi have no points, having lost […]

SUDANESE President Omar al Beshir has signed amendments in the armed forces law, including a new provision that allows a military supreme commander to be a member of a political party.All military individuals have until now been prohibited by law from any political party affiliation, but this provision has now been modified to exempt a […]

A STRIKE at Johannesburg International airport has grounded over 50 planes, including one bound for the Face of Africa modelling competition, and passengers leaving one flight were assaulted an eyewitness told the Mail & Guardian’s Belinda Beresford. The protest is over an allegedly faulty tender process for some airport services. One British Airways flight unloaded […]

PARLIAMENT has accused the military of a serious breach of security by posting a highly damning internal report on the Internet, a newspaper reported on Sunday. The Sunday Independent said the report, posted on the Internet during February, details decay and declining morale in all sections of the military and a shortage of cash which […]

THE Organisation of African Unity (OAU) on Monday called for an immediate end to the fighting between Ethiopia and Eritrea, now that both sides have accepted its blueprint for peace. OAU officials are expected to meet members of the Ethiopian government on Monday before heading for Asmara, where authorities said clashes are still taking place. […]

EIGHT members of the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging were denied amnesty for murdering four people and injuring six others at a bogus roadblock west of Johannesburg in December 1993. The eight men told the Truth and Reconciliation’s Amnesty Committee they were trying to scupper South Africa’s first democratic elections. The eight men sprayed 10 black people with […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Cape Town | Monday 6.00pm. INFORMATION technology firm Dimension Data and black investment group Worldwide African Investment Holdings launched a massive black-controlled telecommunications firm on Monday that will bid against multinational giants for telecoms integration contracts in Africa. The new company — to be named Plessey — is a result of the acquisition […]

UNITED States President Bill Clinton used his visit with Ghanaian President Jerry Rawlings on Wednesday to push for approval of a controversial Bill to promote US trade and investment in Africa. Clinton hopes to have the Bill, the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act, passed by the House of Representatives early next month before an unprecedented […]

NAMIBIAN Benvinda Mundenge was the new M-Web Face of Africa on Sunday after the sudden death of her 14-year-old sister on Thursday. Namibia scored a double by providing not only the venue for the contest but also the winner. The four runners-up will go to represent Africa in the Elite Model Look of the Year […]

FRANK POOE successfully defended his South African marathon title in Cape Town on Sunday, but failed to run a time that will assure him a place in the national team for the World Championships. The 24-year-old clocked 2:12:40 to beat provincial teammate John Monyatso by two seconds and another Central Gauteng athlete, Joshua Peterson. Pooe […]

THE African National Congress praised cricket’s governing body on Friday for its firm handling of two incidents of players using racist language. Former South African test all-rounder Brian McMillan was forced by the United Cricket Board of South Africa on Thursday to make a public apology using the term “coolie creeper” and another provincial player, […]

ERITREAN radio acknowledged on Friday that the Ethiopian army “has gained some terrain” in a four-day battle on the western front of their border war in the Horn of Africa. The announcement, the first war news on Eritrean radio since Wednesday evening, came as government sources and diplomats in Addis Ababa said the Ethiopian armed […]

SOUTH African-born prop Matthew Proudfoot on Thursday was included in a 23-man Scotland squad for the international against Italy at Murrayfield on Saturday March 6. The remainder of the squad consists of the team and replacements for the Calcutta Cup clash with England last weekend. Scotland’s team management will watch the 27-year-old tighthead prop this […]

ZAMBIAN President Frederick Chiluba will visit Uganda this weekend for talks with his Ugandan counterpart, Yoweri Museveni, about the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Ugandan presidency said on Friday. Chiluba, who is expected to arrive on Saturday morning, and Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano are mediators in a regional peace initiative for the […]

AFRICAN Nations Cup qualifying fixtures this weekend: South Africa face Gabon on Saturday in Group 4, while Angola take on Mauritius. South Africa leads the group. Group 1 leaders Ghana face bottom-ranked Eritrea, while third place Cameroon take on second place Mozambique. In Group 2, top of the list Morocco, Africa’s highest ranked team, meet […]

THE United States will tour Australia in July as part of their build-up to this year’s World Cup, the Australian Rugby Union announced on Friday. The Eagles, who are drawn in the same group as Australia for the World Cup in Europe in October and November, will play three matches during their 12-day visit. They […]

ZIMBABWEAN Cabinet ministers are demanding a salary review after a report that senior permanent secretaries receive almost double the ministers’ pay. The report says that permanent secretaries were earning about 70% more while senior permanent secretaries more than double the ministers’ average salaries — even surpassing the salaries of vice-presidents.