Staff Reporter

FORMER Dusi champion John Edmonds took an early, slim lead in the Powerade Dusi Canoe Marathon after an exciting first stage on Thursday. Edmonds gained the lead with five minutes to the finish to clock 3:18:32. For most of the morning favourite Wayne Volek, Kelby Murray and Cape paddler Martin Dreyer vied for the lead. […]

MOPPING up began in the Eastern Cape on Tuesday after a tornado killed 21 and left 309 injured in Kokstad, Mount Ayliff and Tabankulu on Monday. SABC TV news reports that most of the dead were crushed when the walls of their homes collapsed. Others were hit by flying corrugated iron while fleeing their houses. […]

THE Law Commission has released a discussion paper on the need to pass a law on Aids-related offences. The move follows reported incidents of deliberate transmission of HIV, the virus that causes Aids. A number of political parties have called for legislation making willful spread of HIV a criminal offence. The Law Commission was formally […]

CONTROVERSIAL canned lion hunter and banana farmer Roy Plath accused the Mpumalanga Parks Board on Tuesday of attempting to destroy private sector lion farmers and of waging a vendetta against him. Plath said in a statement that the MPB had interests in private game parks in the region and had laid criminal charges against him […]

BRAVE Warriors coach Seth ‘Orlando’ Boois left the Mokati Stadium a happy man after the Namibian national soccer team routed an Otjiwarongo Invitational XI 4-2 in an exciting friendly on Saturday. The Brave Warriors outscored their hosts 2-0 at halftime. Two goals from recalled striker Berlin ‘Pancho’ Auchumeb and one each from his Chief Santos […]

THE Cabinet agreed on Wednesday that there is a need for a new national coat of arms. At the regular weekly Cabinet meeting it was decided to examine the implications of a new coat of arms for “corporate image”, and to formulate a process to involve public participation and assessment of costs. Among other resolutions […]

MALAWI’S sole cigarette manufacturing company, British American Tobacco, has halted production, citing a 40% decline in sales volume. Reacting to the closure of the factory, the Consumer Association has blamed the government for pursuing unfettered liberalisation. It argues that it is better to protect the industries which are already in the country and Malawi cannot […]

SOME of South Africa’s top heart surgeons will this week put their skills to the test on their most unusual patient yet — a six-month-old Jack Russel puppy named Milo. Cape Town University cardiac-thoracic surgeon Johan Brink said a team of 12, “including one or two surgeons”, planned to perform open-heart surgery on the dog […]

BAFANA Bafana had a scare on Tuesday when captain Lucas Radebe suffered a knee injury at the squad training at Esselen Park in Johannesburg on Tuesday. South Africa face Mauritius in their second African Nations Cup qualifier at St George V Stadium in Curipe, Mauritius, on Saturday. Radebe went up to clear the ball from […]

MOZAMBIQUE registered minus 1,3% inflation in 1998, according to the Bank of Mozambique. Bank spokesman Adelino Pimpao, cited in Tuesday’s issue of the daily paper, Noticias, said the rate was much better than the government had expected, even in December. Prime Minister Pascoal Mocumbi had then told the Mozambican parliament that the government expected 1998 […]

President Nelson Mandela on Tuesday unveiled a memorial at the site where former Mozambican president Samora Machel was killed.

FLOODING on the Pungue and Buzi rivers in the central Mozambican province of Sofala has continued to worsen, reports Tuesday’s issue of Noticias, the Maputo-published daily. The Pungue river water has covered and inundated a 2-3km stretch of the Beira-Zimbabwe highway, making it unadvisable for anything other than four wheel drive vehicles to attempt to […]

ROSE-MARIE BRUBALLA, Freetown | Wednesday 8.00pm. THE West African intervention force Ecomog on Wednesday “liberated” an area east of Freetown considered to be the last bastion of the rebels who stormed the Sierra Leonean capital a fortnight ago, a spokesperson said. In a simultaneous offensive in the north-west of the West African country, Ecomog is […]

THE German government, which is expected to finance a substantial part of Malawi’s scheduled May 18 elections, has expressed concern over political violence in the run up to the elections. Juergen Hellner, the German ambassador to Malawi, said his government is alarmed with persistent reports of violence in the media. “I must say we are […]

THE Independent National Electoral Commission on Wednesday set out the rules governing the February 27 election to choose Nigeria’s first civilian president in more than 15 yearsr. Thenext president of Africa’s most populous country must be a Nigerian citizen, aged 40 or over, and educated to at least School Certificate level, under rules announced on […]

BAFANA Bafana coach Trott Moloto on Tuesday drafted Jomo Cosmos midfielder Godfrey Sapula into his squad for the African Nations Cup qualifier against Mauritius on Saturday. Sapula replaces John Moeti, who was axed from the squad on Monday due to disciplinary squabbles with Orlando Pirates. “It was not easy to arrive at a replacement for […]

MOZAMBICAN riot police were called in to rescue 30 senior Concor site managers after they were taken hostage by 400 striking construction workers at the R7,5-billion MOZAL aluminum smelter near Maputo city on Tuesday, African Eye News Service reports. The demonstrators held the group of Mozambican and South African managers hostage for seven hours after […]

WAYNE Ferreira, apparently back in form after a string of injuries, beat Czech Daniel Vacek 6-4, 2-6, 6-3, 6-1 in Melbourne to advance to the third round of the Australian Open. Ferreira looks forward to a third round clash with ninth seed Richard Krajicek. Krajicek made the semis in the 1992 Aussie Open, and won […]

THE 944 families illegally living in the Dukuduku State Forest near the protected St Lucia estuary in northern KwaZulu-Natal have agreed to resettle on alternative land provided by the government. Water Affairs and Forestry Minister Kader Asmal said on Tuesday that the police and the army have been requested to assist with resettling the community. […]

THE Central Bank of Nigeria said on Wednesday it hopes to introduce a 100 naira note, worth around $1,2 — which is double the value of the highest denomination note currently in circulation. CBN governor Paul Ogwuma is “hopeful” military ruler General Abdulsalami Abubakar “will approve the proposal before the end of this quarter,” CBN […]

FRANK Pooe cruised to victory in the Reebok Half Marathon in Bedfordview, Johannesburg, on Sunday, finishing in 66:23. Pooe was the first of the Liberty Life/Reebok team to cross the line — and more followed. All four top places were taken by his team members and, had one runner not been disqualified, all five top […]

THE Johannesburg Stock Exchange said on Monday foreigners were net buyers of nearly R1,2-billion rands’ worth of equities last week after buying only R86,7-million worth the previous week. MAJOR MANGO PULPING A MAJOR United Arab Emirates fruit processing company, Moh’d Al Oman, has begun construction a mango pulping plant in Mozambique’s central province of Sofala. […]

THE University of Pretoria launched a satellite-based pilot programme on Tuesday which will link two schools via satellite to lecturers in Pretoria in the rural Northern Province. The pilot project, which has targeted 200 pupils at the Nape A Ngaato and Mkoni A Mabule high schools, hopes to boost existing matric pass-rates of roughly 20% […]

EDUCATION Minister Sibusiso Bengu said on Tuesday that the government will give R390-million to needy students in 1999. In a statement in Pretoria, Bengu said this represents a 20-fold increase in state financial aid to students since 1994. He added that the amount allocated for this year is in line with recommendations of the National […]

PENNY HEYNS won her second breast stroke event and the World Cup short-course swim meet on Saturday. Heyns edged two Australians in the 50-m sprint, finishing in 31:27 to Helen Denman’s 31:29 and Samantha Riley’s 31:81. Heyns beat Riley in the 100m breast stroke on Friday.

AN arbitration hearing aimed at solving the dispute between the SA Broadcasting Corporation and its fired deputy group CEO Govan Reddy began on Monday under the auspices of the Independent Mediation Service of South Africa. The proceedings, expected to last about a week, follow the termination of Reddy’s contract after he accused the corporation of […]

KENYAN authorities have appointed an anti-corruption advisory board, meeting a key condition for the resumption of talks on an aid package halted by the International Monetary Fund in July 1997. Attorney General Amos Wako named the new advisory board to the Kenya Anti-Corruption Authority (KACA)late on Monday. Its first task will be to nominate a […]

Nigeria has named a provisional 29-man squad dominated by its foreign-based professional players for Saturday’s African Cup of Nations qualifier against Burundi. Naming the team on Monday in the southwestern city of Abeokuta, venue of the match, Dutch coach Thijs Libregts expressed the hope that with dedication and commitment, the players would overrun Burundi and […]

MAURITIUS Telecom has acquired 66% of the private Madagascar telephone company Sosaiety Misahna Varotra Sylndostria, the Mauritian national company said on Tuesday.The installation of expansion facilities will begin in April at a cost of 15 million dollars to MT, which will oversee the financial, commercial, technical and administrative management of SMVI. According to 1996 figures, […]

TRACTOR sales fell 47% in in December compared to the same month in l997, with only 165 units sold, the South African Agricultural Machinery Association announced on Monday. Tractor sales for the year were down 30% on the previous year, at 4015 units. Combine harvester and baler sales for 1998 were also 30% down on […]

FORMER Zambian president Kenneth Kaunda has challenged incumbent President Frederick Chiluba to refute charges that he has helped to arm Unita rebels in Angola. “There is no smoke without fire — let them deny it convincingly and effectively because Angola keeps coming back with the same accusations,” the independent Post newspaper quoted Kaunda as saying. […]

MICRO-lending concern Theta’s buy-out of the African Bank has been finalised after the finance ministry and Reserve Bank approved the deal. Theta said 95% of African Bank shareholders have accepted its offer, with only 5% of minority shareholders yet to confirm acceptance. Once the offer period has expired, Theta said it will exercise its rights […]