Staff Reporter

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 […]

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 […]

DAVID SHAPSHAK, Johannesburg | Tuesday 8.00pm. NEW ZEALAND rugby teams the Otago Highlanders and the Wellington Hurricanes are the danger sides in the Super 12, said the captain of the most successful South African side in the competition, Sharks skipper Gary Teichmann. Speaking at the launch of the regional tournament in Johannesburg Monday, Teichmann said […]

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 […]

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 […]

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).

WERNER MENGES, Windhoek | Tuesday 4.15pm. THE Namibian economy quietly made history last year when the official average inflation rate for the year sunk to its lowest level since independence, the National Planning Commission’s Central Statistics Office said on Monday. The annual Namibian inflation rate, as measured in the capital, Windhoek, averaged 6,21% last year […]

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. […]

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, […]

THE New Zealand connection at Ellis Park strengthened on Thursday when it was announced that former Otago tighthead prop Nick Moore will pack down for the Gauteng Lions pack this year. The 28-year-old player, who has 80 games for Otago and two seasons with the Super 12 Highlanders behind him, will joining his compatriot, former […]

THE new chief of staff of the Indian navy, Admiral Sushil Kumar, will visit South Africa for a week from Monday. Hiss visit follows one to India last October by South African Navy chief Vice-Admiral Robert Simpson-Anderson. “The visit serves to strengthen the ties of friendship and good co- operation between the South African and […]

THE future of provisionally liquidated Namibian copper mining company Tsumeb Corporation Limited has to be resolved this week, says liquidator Des Mathews. Mathews said on Sunday he is expecting to finalise what will happen to TCL this week. The company has been in provisional liquidation since April 29 and its closure threw some 2000 employees […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Monday 12.30pm. DONALD GORDON, founder and chairman of Liberty Life, announced his retirement this weekend, clearing the way for a proposed merger between the firm and Standard Bank Investment Corporation (Stanbic). Business Day reports that the retirement will herald shifts in Gordon’s control of the Liberty Group, and may allow a […]

STANDARD Bank on Monday announced a 1% cut in its prime overdraft and mortgage interest rates. The prime rate falls on Friday Februray 12, to be followed by the home loan rate on Monday March 1. “The decrease follows a substantial reduction in the repo rate as well as a general improvement in money market […]

A LEADING logistics practitioner will visit South Africa in April to keynote the local roundtable of the Council of Logistics Management (CLM). John Gattorna, author of The Gower Handbook of Logistics and Distribution Management, will keynote South Africa’s first Logistics Safari Series of conferences in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Mpumalanga. The roundtable is intended to […]

UNITED States Defence Secretary William Cohen is due to arrive in Cape Town on Tuesday morning for talks with Defence Minister Joe Modise and Deputy President Thabo Mbeki. Defence ministry spokesperson Puso Tladi said Cohen will sign a military co-operation agreement. Cohen, on his first visit to South Africa, is also expected to discuss US […]

NIGERIA’S fuel refinery at Kaduna in the north has resumed operations, pumping some 1,5- million litres of fuel a day to a depot in the region, the plant’s manager said on Friday. The restoration of the refinery, under a $214-million contract awarded to French oil giant Total, is a key step in ending the chronic […]

KOSIE LOUBSER stunned the big guns of professional cycling with a superb performance on an intense fifth day of the Tour de Langkawi from Kuala Lumpur to Port Dickson on Sunday that saw the South African step up a notch to third overall on general classification. Loubser is within striking distance of top-class riders like […]

THE handling of local election results in Niger contravenes the West African country’s electoral code, a supreme court judge said on Monday, as reports of criminal irregularities also emerged. Attorney-General Soly Abdourahamane said centralisation of the weekend poll results and their gradual release by the National Independent Electoral Commission (CENI) “did not conform with the […]

THE King and Queen of Spain, Juan Carlos I and Sofia, are to visit South Africa from February 15 to 18, according to foreign affairs. The king will participate in a Spanish/South African business conference planned for Johannesburg on February 17.

THE Congress of South African Trade Unions on Monday expressed its shock at Local Government and Constitutional Affairs Minister Valli Moosa’s approval last week for the privatisation of water delivery on the KwaZulu- Natal Dolphin Coast. Spokesman Mukoni Ratshitanga said in a statement Cosatu is considering seeking legal advice on the deal. “Cosatu views the […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Monday 10.45am. AVENGING their earlier loss at the hands of Kaizer Chiefs, Bush Bucks stole the show in Umtata 1-0 on Sunday. The match provided a few close calls. Bucks’ William Mugeyi gave Brain Baloyi some work to do with a crisp free kick in the 12th minute. Then Chiefs’ Pollen […]

JUDGE Jack Chulu, a judge of the Mmabatho High Court in North-West province, was killed in a car accident near Lichtenburg on Saturday, the provincial premier’s office announced on Monday. Premier Popo Molefe’s spokesperson David Van Wyk said: “Judge Chulu was a man of substance who played a central role in the reconstruction of the […]

FORMER Liverpool goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar has been forced to stop coaching Cape Town club Seven Stars after just two matches owing to work permit problems. Grobbelaar, one of the most colourful characters in English football during the 1980s, cannot work in the land of his birth because he is no longer a citizen. The star, […]

ORGANISATION of African Unity secretary general Salim Ahmed Salim on Monday called on Ethiopia and Eritrea “to immediately put an end to the current fighting” and accept an OAU peace plan. Salim stressed his “deep concern” over new clashes in the conflict between the two Horn of Africa countries, which first broke out on May […]