Staff Reporter

TWO of the four Zimbawean journalists detained at the weekend were released on bail of Z$5000 each by the Harare Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday. The two journalists, Mirror editor-in-chief Ibbo Mandaza and Mirror reporter Grace Kwinjeh were charged under the draconian Law and Order Maintenance Act of Ian Smith’s government for “publishing false information likely […]

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 […]

SOUTH African IT firm Cyberhost Ltd made a strong debut on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange on Wednesday, gaining more than 70 cents on its issue price as the market operators cheered its listing. By mid-morning Cyberhost was trading at 115 cents after earlier hitting a new high of 123 cents. The stock was issued at […]

WESTERN Areas and Canadian mining group Placer Dome have firmed up a $235-million joint venture agreement. Western Areas is hoping that the deal will allow it to dilute its risk from South Deep, its deep level project and to explore mining projects throughout the world. Placer Dome will chair the joint-venture board and have the […]

AN Organisation of African Unity mission to the Comoros islands began consultations in Moroni on Monday aimed at ending the breaking the deadlock over the secessionist movement on Anjouan island. Headed by South Africa, the mission includes representatives from Mauritius, Madagascar, Mozambique, Kenya, Tanzania and the OAU Secretariat.

THE head of the Midrand crime prevention unit and her 10-year-old daughter were killed on Saturday when the car in which they were travelling overturned on the N12 near Ogies. Police said Superintendent Isobel Meyer (41) and her two children were travelling from Johannesburg to Nelspruit when the right rear tyre of her Toyota Corolla […]

HEALTH Minister Nkosazana Zuma will take compassionate leave for the rest of the week following the death of her epileptic younger brother, Malusi Dlamini, on Sunday. Zuma’s office office said on Monday that Dlamini (35) suffered repeated epileptic seizures for which he was recently admitted to Addington Hospital in Durban for treatment. In December, Zuma […]

FORMER South African and New York marathon champion Willie Mtolo accidentally shot himself in the foot while hunting last week and will not race in the Old Mutual South African Marathon Championships later this month, KwaZulu-Natal Athletics said on Monday. Spokesperson Tim Whitfield said Mtolo was hunting on his KwaZulu-Natal midlands farm last Thursday when […]

THE Rhino and Elephant Foundation is involved in discussions over the possibility of shipping some of the Tuli elephants to zoos and parks in China and Japan. In a statement on Sunday, the foundation said it held a meeting recently with interested parties, including the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism and the Convention for […]

PAY television provider M-Net has signed a multimillion-rand deal with Warner Brothers International for movie output. Warner is the largest distributor of programming content in the world. The deal is claimed to reaffirm M-Net’s status as one of only three broadcasters in the world with exclusive movie output deals with the major studios, including Disney, […]

NIGERIA’s military government set up a 16-man committee on Monday to organise the formal arrangements for hand-over of power to a civilian ruler, a top official said. Vice Admiral Mike Akhigbe, the chief of general staff and number two man in the Nigerian regime, said the committee — part military and part civilian — will […]

THE treason trial of the 77 Zambia army men accused of attempting to overthrow President Frederick Chiluba’s government on October 28 in 1997 resumes on Monday after a three-week recess. Defence lawyers are expected to begin oral submissions for a “no case to answer”. After the defence close their case, the prosecution will also submit […]

President Nelson Mandela has paid homage to King Hussein of Jordan.

NIGERIAN police have seized 80000 copies of a Nigerian magazine that promised revelations on corruption under the last military regime, and have arrested a company official, the magazine said in a statement on Sunday. Police on Saturday night seized the entire print run for the western and southern region of the weekly magazine The News, […]

EXPORT rumours flooded South Africa’s white maize market on Monday, driving prices higher. Dealers scrambled to cover short positions as the rumours of high export demand drove spot prices higher than futures rates. Traders said there was talk of exporting 400000 tons of maize to Mexico. The Tanzanian government also invited bids on Monday to […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Cape Town | Monday 4.50pm. LAWYERS on Monday launched what is expected to be a lengthy defence in the Cape Town High Court of disgraced anti-apartheid cleric Allan Boesak, who is facing 27 charges of fraud and theft. When the trial, which began in August, adjourned for the summer break on December 18, […]

PRESIDENT Nelson Mandela’s spokesperson Parks Mankahlana faces arrest for failing to pay child maintenance for his eight-year-old daughter, The Sunday Times reports. The mother of his daughter claimed that he only paid once for the upkeep of their child and is seeking R40000 in back payments. Mankahlana confirmed that he was contacted at home in […]

UGANDA will on Monday begin the first HIV vaccine trials in Africa, the state-owned Sunday Vision newspaper reports. Ugandan health director general Kihumoro Apuuli said that 40 low-risk volunteers aged between 18 and 40 will be involved in the first two-year phase of the study. The volunteers will be used to test the efficacy of […]

THE Southern African Development Community (SADC) is considering the possibility of brokering talks on the Zambia-Angola conflict over the former’s alleged supply of arms to Unita rebels in Angola. SADC executive secretary Kaire Mbuende, speaking at a press briefing last Friday ahead of the Council of ministers meeting and the 1999 SADC consultative conference, said […]

NORTHERN Province police, who believe they have cracked a major cocaine smuggling ring, expect to make additional arrests in Johannesburg soon. Police spokesperson Ronel Otto said on Sunday investigators will follow leads in Johannesburg this week. The investigation follows the arrest of a Nigerian, Augustine Zukora (41), who is believed to be the biggest crack […]

POLLS opened in Niger on Sunday for the election of 2053 local, municipal and regional officials, the last phase of the West African country’s process of restoration democratic insitutions. President Ibrahim Bare Mainassara and his government voted at Niamey town hall when polling stations opened. The government has warned against troublemaking and cautioned foreign oberservers […]

AN appeal court judgment allowing Automakers, builders on Nissan cars in South Africa, tax exemption on export incentives does not apply to other car makers, the South African Revenue Service said on Monday. The Nissan case involved interpretation of a section of the Income Tax Act, and the court ruled that some R116-million in incentives […]

AUSTRALIA’s women’s cricket team beat South Africa by 100 runs in a one-day women’s limited overs cricket match in Brisbane on Sunday. Scores: Australia 220/9 (Karen Rolton 50, Belinda Clark 40, Levona Lewis 3/50, Kerri Laing 1/47). South Africa 120/7 (Kerri Laing 31, Anina Burger 25no, Cindy Eksteen 18, Fitzpatrick 4/12).

THREE veterinary officials in Mpumalanga have contracted Rift Valley fever after doing autopsies on infected animals in the Kruger National Park and adjoining game reserves, the Mpumalanga health department said on Tuesday. Communicable disease control consultant Dr David Durrheim said the rainfall in the province and growth of the mosquito population has caused the outbreak, […]

TWO people were killed and about 10 injured in last week’s crash of an Antonov-26 cargo plane in Angola and the Russian pilots, said to have been drunk, will be tried. Angolan aviation officials said on Tuesday that a pregnant woman was among those killed when the transport plane, owned by the Airangol company, crashed […]

BRONWEN ROBERTS, Johannesburg | Monday 4.00pm. ALBANIA’S exiled king Leka I arrested on charges of hoarding a large arms cache, was on Monday remanded in custody for a further week by a South African court. Magistrate George Andrews said that as Leka had been arrested only on Friday, “the state obviously has not had sufficient […]

THREE African leaders who lived in London between the 1920s and 1940s are to be honoured by English Heritage, a government historical agency. Plaques will be placed outside the houses in which the late presidents Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya and Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, and Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia resided in the British capital. […]

PAN African Congress leader Stanley Mogoba called on Monday for criminals to be punished by amputation. In a three-page letter to the media, Mogoba said the country must fight criminals “with all that it takes”. He wrote: “We must knock them on the head, cut off their ears, legs or whatever is the offending part […]

KOSIE LOUBSER and the South African team continue to impress in cycling’s Tour de Langkawi in Malaysia. While finishing in the pack 30 seconds behind the leaders in a breakaway in the Tour’s sixth stage on Monday, Loubser and his team maintained their standings with respect to professional outfits like USA’s Mapei and Saturn teams. […]

THE International Monetary Fund has approved a $58,76-million loan for Tanzania to support the government’s 1998/99 economic programmes, the IMF said on Monday. The credit, known in IMF parlance as an enhanced structural adjustment facility, will be available in two semi-annual installments. The IMF said Tanzania aims to achieve growth of at least 4% in […]