Staff Reporter

AMERICAN superstar sprinter Marion Jones will be among five leading Americans participating in the last two legs of the Engen Grand Prix Summer Series. Prevented by budget constraints from taking part in the March 13 Summer Series opening in Pietersburg, the Americans will be competing in Roodeport on March 19 and in Cape Town on […]

FUGITIVE German billionaire Jurgen Harksen collapsed at the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday after being refused bail. Harksen was admitted to hospital under police guard with a suspected heart attack. Cape Town Magistrate Mike Wagener, who earlier this week ordered Harksen’s extradition to Germany on tax evasion charges, on Wednesday refused him bail and […]

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 […]

A DELEGATION of the Organisation of African Unity in the separatist Comoran island of Anjouan is “stuck” between two armed factions, officials in the Mauritian capital said on Thursday. “The delegation is apparently having problems right now, stuck between two armed factions who have been fighting on the island for several weeks,” an official said. […]

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 eight opposition parties in Niger has taken the lead in weekend municipal elections, according to preliminary and partial results released in the capital Niamey on Thursday by the National Independent Electoral Commission (Ceni). The coalition, which has fared better in Niger’s main cities, has captured 318 municipal seats out out 570 districts, […]

SEVERAL people died after tanker drivers and cattle herders clashed at a Lagos market in another episode of a long-running dispute. Nigerian newspapers reported on Thursday that up to eight people were killed at Marine Beach in Lagos’s Apapa port district and up to 18 fuel tankers and other vehicles were set on fire and […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

POTENTIAL bidders continue to woo SA Druggists as the likelihood of Texas company Argyll Scientific making a serious bid for the company appears to be diminishing. Black empowerment group Macmed and two pharmaceutical companies are believed to be negotiating with Fedsure, SAD’s largest shareholder. Fedsure’s proposal to buy 100% of SAD and sell Pharmacare to […]

A STRONG gale hit Cape Town on Wednesday evening, ripping an oil rig off its moorings in Table Bay harbour and causing extensive damage, SABC TV news reports. The South Sea Driller broke free from its moorings at the Ben Schoeman Dock and collided with several fishing trawlers before crashing into the dock. All available […]

ONE person died and eleven others were injured at the weekend when guards opened fire on angry football fans who tried to storm the palace of Ghana’s Ashanti king at the weekend, police said on Monday. Some 2000 fans rushed to the Asantehene’s residence in Kumasi, 200km north-west of Accra. The crowd was protesting the […]

A PAINSTAKING century by Mal Loye of Northamptonshire gave England A the upperhand over Zimbabwe A on Tuesday, the first day of a five-day Test in Bulawayo. Loye batted through all but six overs of the day for his unbeaten 122, which included 17 boundaries. His effort on an easy paced wicket enabled England A […]

THE North West Development Corporation has been placed under judicial management at the request of the North-West government. Many enterprises funded by the provincial parastatal have failed to repay their debts to the corporation. The office of the MEC for finance and economic affairs, Martin Kuskus, said the global economic crisis and the opening of […]

PAPER and pulp group Sappi reported depressed earnings per share for the three months to December in its first release of quarterly results on Wednesday. However, Sappi said that this is in line with the forecast in the year to September 1998 results announcement. Headline earnings were 58 cents, down 8% on the comparative quarter […]

ZIMBABWE’S President Robert Mugabe’s battle with the country’s judges sent Zimbabwe’s main share index tumbling on Tuesday. Dropping for the third consecutive day, the industrial index slipped 185,79 points or 2.6% to 7078 as investors waited for further political developments. Meanwhile, Mugabe’s demand on Saturday for judges attacking his human rights record to step down […]

MOZAMBIQUE’S second multiparty elections since its 16-year civil war ended in 1992 have been scheduled for October at a budget of just over $42-million. Almost half of the budget is already allocated to an extensive voter registration campaign which will reregister all potential voters from scratch following allegations by opposition parties — particularly opposition party […]

ALBANIA’S exiled King Leka, jailed this week pending a bail hearing, was hospitalised with a bleeding ulcer late on Tuesday. Police spokesperson Captain Francois Grobbelaar said on Wednesday that Leka (60) had complained of feeling ill and was admitted to a Johannesburg clinic. The king is being held on charges of illegal possession of firearms, […]

SOUTH African Breweries said on Tuesday that it will publish its prospectus on Wednesday to coincide with the launch of a road show to promote its upcoming London listing. SAB, one of the world’s five biggest brewers, plans to move its primary listing to London in March. The road show begins in London on Wednesday. […]

THE Jordanian embassy in Pretoria has opened a book of condolences for King Hussein, who died suddenly at the weekend. The embassy said on Tuesday that members of the public will be able to sign the book from 10am to noon and from 2pm to 4pm on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at the embassy at […]

BRITISH Prime Minister Tony Blair and Foreign Secretary Robin Cook were lambasted by the conservative British press on Wednesday for their handling of the so called “arms-to-Africa” scandal. On Tuesday a cross-party group of MPs slammed the foreign office for allowing British mercenaries to supply weapons to Sierra Leone — in breach of a United […]

MOZAMBIQUE’S navy commander is out of danger and recovering well from gunshot wounds to the abdomen, a spokesperson for Johannesburg’s Milpark Hospital said on Wednesday. Rear Admiral Pascoal Nhalungo was transferred to the Milpark Hospital for specialist treatment on January 31 after being ambushed and shot twice in the abdomen in the Mozambican capital Maputo.”He […]

DEPUTY Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad on Tuesday said South Africa will continue to support the peace process in Burundi, and to helping the country recover from years of internecine conflict. Pahad met with Mr Nzojibwami Augustine, Second Vice President of the Transitional Assembly of Burundi in Cape Town today. South Africa has been supporting the […]

A MAGISTRATE ordered here on Tuesday that Trevor Tutu, the son of Nobel peace laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu, be held in police custody after he failed to appear in court for the third time on charges of reckless driving.Tutu was due in the Johannesburg magistrate’s court for the resumption of a trial in which he […]

THE South African national soccer squad Bafana Bafana will play fellow 1998 World Cup finalists Jamaica in Kingston on May 8, the SA Football Association announced on Monday. It will be the first visit by Bafana Bafana to the Caribbean, following several appearances in Europe, the Middle East and South America.

JCI GOLD, the company that emerged from the ashes of mining house JCI Ltd, said on Tuesday it hopes to give details of its final structure by the end of February. JCI Executive Deputy Chairman Brett Kebble said the company is now focused on a proposed merger with Consolidated African Mines after a separate deal […]

FOREIGN Minister Alfred Nzo “warmly welcomed” the release of East Timorese rebel leader Xanana Gusmao from prison, the foreign ministry said on Wednesday. Nzo who, like President Nelson Mandela visited Gusmao in jail, described the long-awaited release as an important step forward in the search for a solution to the East Timorese issue. Both Nzo […]

MPUMALANGA’S new Environmental Affairs MEC, Luckson Mathebula, has been charged with assault after allegedly beating his estranged wife with a large wooden curio. Mathebula was formally charged with assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm by the auditor general on Monday and will appear in court next week. He allegedly beat Aletta Rose Mnisi […]