Staff Reporter

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, […]

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 […]

THE World Flower Show, claimed to be the world’s biggest, will be held at the Durban International Convention Centre from Thursday to Sunday, according to organiser Anthea Johnston. She said some 450 floral artists from 27 countries will take part in the event, which is being held in Africa for the first time under 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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

SECURITY guards nationwide are set to strike on Wednesday to demand a shorter working week. The guards — 70000 strong — belong to the Transport and General Workers Union whose general secretary, Randall Howard, warns businesses face chaos if the strike goes ahead. Howard said on Monday that industrial action was the union’s response to […]

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 […]

THE United Cricket Board of South Africa on Monday confirmed the dates for two Test matches against Zimbabwe later this year. The first Test will be played in Bloemfontein from Friday, October 29 to Tuesday, November 2, and the second in Harare from Thursday, November 11 to Monday, November 15.

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 […]

A SPECIAL cabinet meeting in Niger ordered a rerun on Monday of local elections in areas where there was “trouble”, the independent radio station Tenr FM reports. The decision follows reports of violence in several regions during the counting after Sunday’s vote, with election material, computer equipment, ballot boxes and returns destroyed. State radio said […]

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. […]

SUNSAT, South Africa’s first home-grown satellite, will remain on the ground at least until Thursday, the United States Air Force said on Monday after inclement weather forced a new delay of the launch — the 13th this year. The launch has been repeatedly stifled by weather, false alarms and bad instrument readings. When it finally […]

HUNDREDS of millions of rands are expected to be allocated to job creation projects by government next week. The projects are the result of last year’s Jobs Summit. Labour Minister Shepherd Mdladlana, who has replaced Trade and Industry Minister Alec Erwin as the main implementor of the summit’s agreements, said the funding will be phased […]

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, […]

VIGILANTE group People Against Gangsterism and Drugs on Monday accused President Nelson Mandela of undermining his own integrity by accusing Pagad of being involved in urban terror in the Western Cape “without producing any proof”. At a media conference in Crawford to respond to remarks by Mandela in his opening of Parliament speech on Friday, […]

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 […]

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 […]

POLITICAL parties in Parliament have yet to agree on an amendment to the Constitution that will allow President Nelson Mandela to set a date by proclamation for the general election. The amendment will allow the president to set a poll date before the end of the National Assembly’s sitting on April 30. Opposition parties say […]

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 […]

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, […]

HORSE Chestnut’s trainer, Mike de Kock, says the three-year old colt may not run in the Rothman’s July. “He may be handicapped out of it”, says de Kock. This is bad news for betters trying to make a sure, if slim win, since bookmakers are sure to try to cover themselves against the kind of […]

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 […]

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 […]

GLOBALSTAR, the global satellite communication group, has completed an earth station worth R150-million in North-West province ahead of the launch of its 48 satellites designed to provide global telecommunication coverage. The firm plans to begin offering services later this year in partnership with Vodacom. The service will be only the second global telecommunications service available […]

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, […]

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, […]

GERMAN billionaire Jurgen Harksen, who has fought a running battle to avoid extradition to in Germany, lost his bid to remain in South Africa on Monday and was taken into custody. Harksen faces criminal tax evasion charges in Germany. Cape Town Magistrate Michael Wagner ordered that Harksen be committed to prison pending his extradition. Harksen […]

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.

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.