Staff Reporter

David Gleason The Heath commission is in possession of extraordinary documents from a secret arbitration that could throw light on the propriety of the R1,5-billion Absa lifeboat. The commission confirmed this week that it is aware of the secret arbitration, presided over by former chief justice Pierre Rabie, which was related to the Reserve Bank’s […]

Andrew Worsdale Pick of the week `This is the richest and most powerful nation of all and so it is the most hated … this country is at war 24-hours a day.” So says Jon Voight in his role as chief of the United States’s national security agency in Tony Scott’s exhilarating paranoid thriller, Enemy […]

TWO Eritrean warplanes bombed the northern Ethiopian town of Adigrat on Friday, the Ethiopian government said in a communique. “The intended target was the fuel depot and its surroundings,” the communique said, without saying whether any bombs struck the depot or whether there were casualties. The alleged strike, which could not be confirmed by other […]

The Lexmark 1000 Color Jetprinter started irritating me when I unpacked it, because it came with a standard thick printer cable. I suppose I should be grateful – colleagues reviewing other Lexmark printers didn’t get any cables. This is rather like selling a toaster without a plug, only worse, as a printer cable costs a […]

society My colleague Mungo Soggot’s glib call for a total ban on guns (“What’s the hold-up on banning guns?” January 29 to February 4 and preceding editorial “Ban guns, build jails, fire Sydney”) is as useful as a call to ban malaria. The fact is that guns are not so much a problem in themselves […]

THE De Beers black empowerment deal involving the high-grade Marsfontein mine in the Northern Province is undervalued by half, it was reported on Friday. It was announced last Friday that a 24% share of the mine will soon be held by black companies. De Beers is selling 49% of its 60% in Marsfontein for R200-million […]

SEVEN people were rescued by the Durban Fire Brigade on Thursday night, after a torrential downpour flooded the city, Radio 702 reports. The seven people were rescued in the Reservoir Hills area after 120mm of rain fell on the city in three hours. Fire chief Mark te Water said: “So far we are working on […]

EMERGENCY workers at Sydney airport in Australia have been commended for preventing what could have been a major air disaster, when a South African Airways jet caught fire shortly after landing. SAA’s regional manager in Sydney, Thevan Krishna, said SA 281 flight had just landed with 140 passengers on board when passengers and the control […]

Fiona Macleod A Pretoria businessman is suing conservation authorities for about R7- million after he discovered that buffalo he bought at a public auction are infected with a disease that is fatal to cattle. At least 150 cattle have died in the past two weeks at a farm in Dundee, KwaZulu-Natal, where the buffalo are […]

THE Free State has become the third province to be rescued by central government following the effective collapse of its own financial administration. Cabinet has invoked section 100(1)(a) of the constitution, and may now instruct the provincial government on the steps it must take meet its obligations. Finance Minister Trevor Manuel will announce the details […]

A THAI princess and chemistry professor, Chulabhorn Mahidol, will be a keynote speaker at a science conference at the University of Cape Town next week, the Thai embassy announced on Thursday. The princess, youngest daughter of Thailand’s King Bhumibol and Queen Sirikit, is professor of organic chemistry at Mahidol University in Bangkok and president of […]

INTERNATIONAL Boxing Federation junior featherweight champion Vuyani Bungu will try to gather boxing organisations titles in a bid to line up a fight with Briton Prince Naseem Hamed — a World Boxing Organisation featherweight — in July. Bungu faces contender Victor Llerena of Colombia on Saturday. At the pre-fight medical, promoter Rodney Berman said he […]

ANGLOGOLD shareholders on Wednesday voted in favour of buying international mineral group Minorco’s gold interest for $550-million. The move was supported by 99,9% of the issued shares represented at the meeting. Should the deal go ahead, Minorco interests in the Americas will fall under AngloGold management from January 1 1999. AngloGold will pay $150-million in […]

THE Namibian economy is projected to grow by between 2% and 3% during 1999 and overturning a dismal 1% growth recorded last year, Old Mutual Namibia economists predict. Old Mutual’s forecast far outstrips the 0,7% growth predicted for South Africa during the same period. Old Mutual’s investment manager Floris Bergh attributes the optimism for Namibian […]

WORLD champion Carl Fogarty finally lost a race in Wednesday’s test session at the Vodacom Winter Superbike Tests at Kyalami. The Ducati rider had to give way to American Colin Edwards on the factory Castrol Honda, who posted a fastest time of 1 minute 44,27 seconds. The primary battle is still between the Ducati and […]

TANZANIA’S Dar es Salaam port will soon be on the Internet after commissioning an electronic transmission system for shipping manifests. This Advanced Cargo Information System connecting the port to others in neighbouring countries will facilitate internal and transit business. By co-ordinating and routing cargoes based on manifests, costs will be reduced and there will be […]

THE Water Affairs and Forestry Department has warned people kliving near the Boschpoort Dam in North-West Province not to drink the dam water as it has been invaded by a toxic algae. Department spokesperson Zeth Setenane said the algae causes skin rashes, eye irritation, fever and vomiting. He said on Thursday that test samples from […]

THE Cabinet decided at its fortnightly meeting on Wednesday not to change an earlier decision that prisoners should not be allowed to vote in this year’s election. Meanwhile, South African Prisoners’ Organisation for Human Rights president Golden-Miles Bhudu said Sapohr’s case to compel the Independent Electoral Commission to allow prisoners to vote will be heard […]

THE Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI), the umbrella body for major manufacturers in the country, said the private sector will hike food prices this week as the government has failed to provide a date to approve the increases. CZI official Eddie Cross said talks between government and the private sector ended in a stalemate last […]

ENGLAND A’s Darren Thomas put Zimbabwe’s on the rack in Harare on Tuesday as the home side ended a rain-affected day on 63/5. Thomas of Glamorgan county took three wickets and Melvyn Betts of Durham took two during a day blighted by overnight rain and bad light.Only one hour and 45 minutes play was possible. […]

BRYAN PEARSON, Cape Town | Thursday 5.10pm. OPERATION Good Hope, a police operation to crack down on urban terrorism in Cape Town, moved into full swing on Thursday as six members of vigilante group People Against Gangsterism and Drugs were charged in court, another five were arrested and a number of houses raided. Heavily armed […]

THERE may be fewer eligible voters in the country than the 26-million-odd assumed so far, the Independent Electoral Commission’s chief electoral officer Mandla Mchunu said on Thursday. Mchunu said in Pretoria that the 26-million figure extracted from the 1996 census may include 16 and 17-year-olds. He said further analysis will be done to determine the […]

SEVENTH-seeded Amanda Coetzer will face world number one Lindsay Davenport in the quarterfinals of Pan Pacific Open tennis tournament in Tokyo on Friday. The South African came back from a 2-5 down in the final set to beat qualifier Els Callens of Belgium 2-6 6-1 7-5. Another South African, Mariaan de Swardt, was beaten by […]

EMANUELE CANONICA shot a 63 (-9) on Thursday during the first round of the Dimension Data Pro-Am on the Lost City Golf Course. Two-time Million Dollar Challenge winner Nick Price, who is also in Thursday’s field, is looking for his third Pro-Am title.

Visiting Austrian Chancellor Viktor Klima held talks on Thursday with President Nelson Mandela.

THE Sudanese government has released all political prisoners in line with a recommendation by the Sudanese Human Rights Council, the Sudanese embassy in London announced on Thursday. In a statement, the embassy said the releases were announced on Wednesday in Khartoum. Council chairman Ahmed al-Mufti said the recommendation was made on December 5, when it […]

SHAREHOLDER countries of African regional airline Air Afrique will meet in February to discuss privatisation, which raises implications for air rights in Africa, sources close to the organisers say. Leaders of the 11 Francophone African states are to discuss a replacement for managing director Sir Harry Tirvengadum, who quit unexpectedly on Saturday, but sources said […]

THE National Youth Commission said on Wednesday that it is satisfied with the level of enthusiasm shown by the youth and first-time voters during voter registration over the weekend. Concerns were raised after voter registration in November that few young people were registering. On Tuesday, reports from all nine provinces suggested that significant numbers of […]

SIX employees of a South African meat distributor froze to death after being locked in the back of a refrigerated truck during a robbery in Vereeniging, south of Johannesburg, on Thursday. Police said robbers held up the men at the Houtkop Meat storage premises and locked them in the truck before driving off with a […]

MICHAEL METELITS, Johannesburg | Wednesday 5.00pm. SOUTH African markets moved all over the map on Wednesday, responding to a number of forces before settling for mediocre losses in shares — and mediocre gains in bonds and currency markets. “We had a bit of a bumpy ride” says Kevin Brady, a dealer at Barnard Jacobs Mellet, […]

ECONOMIC and bilateral issues will top the agenda at meetings in Cape Town between a high-level Austrian delegation, the government and representatives of the private sector. At the helm of the visiting delegation is the Austrian head of state, Chancellor Viktor Klima. Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad said on Wednesday that he is hoping the […]

THE humanitarian situation in Congo (Brazzaville) is a “forgotten emergency”, according to United Nations assistant co-ordinator for humanitarian affairs, Martin Griffith, who visited the Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola and Congo in January. Battles rage in Congo (Brazzaville) between the army, supported by Angolan troops and President Denis Sassou Nguesso’s Cobra militias on the one […]