Staff Reporter

Sechaba ka’Nkosi Meet the Federal Alliance’s newest recruit and probably Louis Luyt’s most sensational catch. She is streetwise Elizabeth Rapuleng (50) of Zondi, Soweto. Rapuleng dumped the ailing New National Party only three days after party stalwarts such as Sheila Camerer organised a big bash to celebrate her birthday. Rapuleng joined the alliance last week […]

Donna Block Cooking up a little something for Valentine’s Day? How about this. A little sport, a dash of sex, a pinch of Wall Street and a lot of the Internet, and what have you got? The recipe for “sexcess”. This is what happened on Super Bowl Sunday when a 30-second advert promoting Victoria’s Secret’s […]

Evidence wa ka Ngobeni Several foreign prostitutes have been deported from South Africa after seeking police protection from vicious assaults by their local counterparts on the streets of Johannesburg. Prostitutes from as far afield as Russia and China are working in Hillbrow, but many have now moved off the streets and into clubs for shelter. […]

Loose cannon: Robert Kirby I can’t imagine why such a fuss is being made about the appointment of Mr Ramesh Vassen as consul general to India. Anyone with two eyes in his head could see it coming a mile off. The appointment of one’s political buddies into high office has always been within the purview […]

voting cattle If there is one similarity between the impeachment of United States President Bill Clinton in the USSenate and the campaign for South Africa’s next election, it is that we know what the outcome of both processes will be before they even get under way. While many analysts and members of opposition parties outwardly […]

Fiona Macleod While limited legal trade in ivory was given the go-ahead this week, a report released by South Africa’s Endangered Species Protection Unit (ESPU) shows that the protection of endangered species in sub-Saharan Africa is in a dismal state. The report is based on an intensive six-month surveillance of 11 countries undertaken by ESPU […]

DEMOCRATIC Party Gauteng leader Peter Leon told the Gauteng legislature on Thursday that he has information that a gambling operator paid R1-million to a Gauteng MEC to secure a casino license. Leon refused repeated requests to name the MEC. Leon subsequently came under fire from leader of the house Firoz Cachalia, who charged that Leon […]

There’s a school of thought that argues that the provinces should have limited taxation powers, writes Charlene Smith Amid reports of budgetary chaos at provincial level, the Financial and Fiscal Commission is increasing pressure on the government to allow the provinces limited taxation powers. The commission, which advises the minister of finance on provincial budgetary […]

Stephen Langtry The New Apostolic Church, which drew applause recently from Deputy President Thabo Mbeki for its proposed new national anthem, has a shady past which extends from a close relationship with the Nazi regime to support for apartheid. Confronted by this information, a representative for Mbeki, Titus Mafolo, said: “It is difficult for the […]

KENYANS living in marginal areas are struggling with a drought currently ravaging some parts of the country, according to a USaid monthly publication. “If the long rains are poor this year, there will be substantial impoverishment of households in the marginal agricultural districts of the country,” it says. Kenya Vulnerability Update also predicts that even […]

steel Ben Turok In 1958 when Marius Schoon applied for membership of the Congress of Democrats (COD), the Congress Alliance (as the African National Congress-led movement was then known) was actively fighting to defend its policy of non-racialism against those who wanted to establish the Pan Africanist Congress as a basically anti-white organisation. The ANC […]

David le Page Product: HYPERHEALTH: CD-ROM database on health and aliments supplied by Hyperhealth/ Protech Systems Requirements: Windows 3.1/95/98, 4Mb RAM, CD-ROM drive Surfing the Internet can give insight into what poor quality badly packaged information looks like, and what poor quality over- packaged information looks like. The Hyperhealth CD-ROM database is high-quality information that […]

LAGOS police have arrested 13 people and banned northern cattle herders from using a 50-year-old market after a clash with oil tanker drivers this week left several people dead. The ban came after oil tanker drivers threatened strike action. The drivers regularly hold Lagos to ransom by strikes, using the chronic fuel shortage — in […]

Peter Hooley and Hal Austin Television chat show host Oprah Winfrey, one of the wealthiest black women in the world, is to quit because she fears a killing on live television. Winfrey’s claim comes amid growing concern on both sides of the Atlantic at the increased culture of sleaze on some daytime TV talk shows. […]

Howard Barrell: OVER A BARREL Who would want to be President Nelson Mandela? Not me. And my reasons have nothing to do with spending nearly 30 years in prison. What would convince me I could do without international adulation and the Nobel Peace Prize would be the exasperation of having to placate, encourage and cajole […]

Chiara Carter A by-election in Lotus River on the Cape Flats this week showed the New National Party still has clout with coloured voters. Although the Democratic Party has begun making inroads in heartlands of working-class coloured voters, it stands little chance of supplanting the NNP overnight. NNP candidate Nur-ud-din Bell won the ward with […]

Angola Howard Barrell South Africa has launched a diplomatic offensive to spur the United Nations and big powers into decisive action to halt Angola’s accelerating slide into all-out civil war. In Parliament this week, President Nelson Mandela called for a new international approach to bring peace to the Angola. At the same time, South African […]

TWO nominations for the vacant post of chair of the Independent Electoral Commission were forwarded to Parliament on Wednesday. Lands Claims Court Judge Antonie Gildenhuys and Johannesburg High Court Judge Ismail Hussain were nominated by a selection panel comprising Constitutional Court President Judge Arthur Chaskalson, Public Protector Selby Baqwa and the chairs of the Human […]

OIL giant Royal Dutch Shell said on Thursday that it is still trying to fine-tune an international investment of $8,5-billion in Nigeria with the Lagos government. “These are proposals that are currently being worked out with the Nigerian government,” a spokesman said after publication of disastrous company results. A Shell managing director, Philip Watts, confirmed […]

SEVENTY Rwandan non-commissioned officers are to train as pilots in Israel, the monthly Newsline reports in its current issue.Armed forces spokesperson Emmanuel Ndahiro denied the report but other military sources said that military personnel are scheduled to leave for Israel soon.”Rwanda has intensified training of its military in the past five years apparently to get […]

DEPUTY President Thabo Mbeki said on Wednesday the government will not delay this year’s general election, expected to be held in May, despite legal wrangling over electoral rules. “The government has no intention to ask for a postponement of the general election,” Mbeki told parliament, adding that he hopes the exact poll date will be […]

INKATHA Freedom Party leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi claimed on Wednesday that African National Congress leaders in violent KwaZulu-Natal province are arming supporters ahead of the general elections this year. Buthelezi said in Cape Town that the ANC has plans to assassinate IFP leaders and that a number have already come under attack in recent days. He […]

THE Human Rights Commission released the terms of reference for its investigation of racism in the South African media on Thursday. The full terms of reference will be published in this Friday’s Government Gazette and on the SAHRC website. In a statement the commission said it is finalising the appointment of the project’s co-ordinator and […]

PRELIMINARY figures collated by the Rural Safety Task Team indicate a significant decrease in the number of attacks on farms and smallholdings since the Summit on Rural Safety and Security on October 10 1998. The number of attacks decreased from 79 in October 1998 to 50 in January 1999. The task team said there were […]

SUDANESE civilians may be tried by military courts for crimes involving firearms, explosives, espionage, and military secrets, a source cited by the official Suna news agency said in Khartoum on Thursday. “If the army commander-in-chief and state prosecutor agree, civilians suspected of these crimes may be judged by the armed forces tribunal, responsible for the […]

ZIMBABWE’S short-term money market rates spiked higher on Wednesday in their first large reaction to the central bank’s weekend rates hike. However, localised student unrest at the university campus on Wednesday had no effect on trade, dealers said. The Reserve Bank lifted its benchmark bank rate on Saturday by 2,5 percentage points to 45% and, […]

POLICE have arrested four members of a suspected murder gang which terrified Northern Province residents at a popular meeting place for amorous couples 20km south of Pietersburg. The lovers’ lane gang is believed to have shot and killed three men and a woman during their six-week reign of terror at Lebowakgomo. A second woman was […]

NORTHERN Province police charged 10 farmers with attempted murder on Thursday after the farmers allegedly assaulted three stock theft officers and damaged a police van. The unnamed farmers forced three black Pietersburg police officers off the road on Tuesday afternoon. “The officers spotted a suspicious truck full of cattle near Bochum and attempted to pull […]

UGANDAN President Yoweri Museveni has ordered his controversial brother, Major General Salim Saleh, to repay a loan he owes the troubled Uganda Commercial Bank, the independent Monitor newspaper reported on Thursday.”He [Museveni] sent me a message through someone that I should pay the UCB loan [of $1,7-million] so that I can clear this mess,” Saleh […]

A COALITION of non-government organisations under the umbrella of the Gun Control Alliance launched a “Charter for Gun Control” on Wednesday. The intention of the campaign is to “establish social consensus” on the issue. The campaign aims to prevent the keeping of forearms for self-defence by persuading the authorities to issue firearm licences only to […]

THE South African Tennis Association on Wednesday decided to move the Euro-African Zone group 1 tie from Johannesburg to Cape Town after players expressed their concerns about playing at altitude. Despite signing a letter of commitment to hold the April 2-4 contest at Johannesburg’s Standard Bank venue, Sata has agreed to pay a penalty fee […]

JUSTIN Hobday set a new course record by shooting a 61 (-11) in the first round of the South African Masters on Thursday at the Oppenheimer Park Golf Course in Welkom, Free State.