Staff Reporter

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 […]

Unknown to most of the official delegates at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, last weekend, a caravan of 60 leftist economists, researchers and activists had sneaked through the police cordons to stage an “Alternative Davos”. It included intellectuals and activists from all five continents, a motley but determined crew who had spent two […]

A PAIR of Siamese twins who were separated at the abdomen last month have died, a doctor at Pretoria’s Ga-Rankuwa Hospital said on Thursday. The first twin died on Monday and her sister died on Thursday from a blood and bone infection related to prolonged intravenous feeding, paediatric surgery head Lesek Marciz said. The little […]

AMANDA Coetzer beat defending champion and top-seeded Lindsay Davenport of the United States 2-6 6-4 6-3 on Friday in the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo. The upset sees the seventh seeded South African advancing to the semi-finals — along with Australian Open champion Martina Hingis, who defeated Steffi Graf of Germany 3-6 6-2 6-4. […]

Jonathan Jones on an unlikely affair between Kenneth Tynan and Louise Brooks – and the widow who told their story in a screenplay Martin Scorsese is best known for his films about the violently deranged and delusional, about boxing, vigilantism and the mafia. Now he is set to tackle a story about a British theatre […]

NIGERIA’s military ruler General Abdulsalami Abubakar has won the African Man of the Year Award for 1998. The Nigerian ruler received the award from the African Sun Times, a publication for African readers published in New York. Previous winners of the annual award are President Nelson Mandela and Ghanaian President Jerry Rawlings. Abubakar has promised […]

David Shapshak The horse racing industry has been rocked with rumours that bookmakers tried to hobble Horse Chestnut, one of South Africa’s top horses and the hot favourite for this weekend’s J&B Met. The horse, owned and bred by Harry and Bridget Oppenheimer, almost had its legs broken two weeks ago. But security guards shot […]

Ted Leggett The police have promised a “zero tolerance” approach to the Western Cape crisis, a term that has been bandied about a lot lately. There is a growing sense that they are being too soft on criminals, that a concern for human rights has emasculated what was once a potent police service. “Zero tolerance” […]

offer Howard Barrell Heavy pressure from Democratic Republic of Congo President Laurent Kabila’s military allies lies behind his statement on Wednesday that he is ready to open peace talks and sign a ceasefire with rebels. But security analysts and the rebels remain doubtful about Kabila’s seriousness in the search for peace in the war-ravaged Central […]

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 […]

ZIMBABWE’S national state oil procurement company is riddled with corruption, says early results of an inquiry into the firm. A cabinet minister announced the findings in Harare on Wednesday, saying the company had prejudiced more than $35-million over the last five years in flawed contracts. Outstanding debts also amount to more than $400-million. Transport and […]

THE next summit of the Organization for African Unity will be held in Algiers from July 12-14, about two weeks later than originally planned, Algerian television announced on Wednesday.OAU Secretary General Salim Ahmed Salim, who visited the site of the inter-African meeting on Algiers’ western seaboard, said he is satisfied with the preparations for the […]

NIGERIA’S largest political party, the Peoples Democratic Party, confirmed on Wednesday that it will hold its national convention in the town of Joson February 9 and 10. The party has still to decide who will be its presidential candidate for the February 27 election. The two current front runners are former military ruler Olusegun Obasanjo […]

THE Golden Lions senior rugby side will simply be called “the Lions” this year, according to a Golden Lions Rugby Union statement made on Wednesday. Notwithstanding the existence of the British Lions, the name change will go ahead, while a major sponsor has been collared in the form of clothing discounter Mr Price. The new […]