Staff Reporter

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Nairobi | Tuesday 10.00pm. KENYA on Tuesday deregistered six international Islamic non-governmental organisations as a direct result of the August bombing of the United States embassy in the capital, Nairobi in which 240 people died and 5000 were injured. Announcing the decision, government-appointed NGO Co-ordination Board chairman John Etemesi warned that the board […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Tuesday 9.15am. FORMER Springbok and Griqualand West rugby coach Andre Markgraaff will quit as coach of Griquas at the end of the year, and may take over the coaching position of the Golden Cats Super-12 team. Markgraaff was recently appointed managing director of Supersport Rugby Holdings, comprising Griquas, Boland Cavaliers and […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Cape Town | Monday 10.00pm. VARIOUS projects for the Loxton community in the Northern Cape could not be continued because overseas donor funds paid to the Foundation for Peace and Justice did not arrive, the Cape High Court heard on Monday. A community worker giving evidence at the trial of former anti-apartheid activist, […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Arusha | Monday 10.30PM. FORMER Rwandan Prime Minister Jean Kambanda has appealed against his life sentence for crimes against humanity handed down by the war crimes tribunal for Rwanda in Arusha on Friday. The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda registry in Arusha confirmed that the appeal was filed on Monday morning. Kambanda’s legal […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Monday 11.00pm. THE United Nations special envoy to Angola, Issa Diallo, said on Monday that he would continue to negotiate with Unita leader Jonas Savimbi, even though the Angolan government has said it will arrest Savimbi and any of his supporters on sight. Diallo said on a UN daily radio programme […]

LEWIS MACHIPISA, Harare | Monday 11.00pm. A CONFERENCE will be held in Zimbabwe this week to raise money from the donor community for its controversial land reform programme. The conference, to be held from September 9 to 11, was originally planned for July, but was postponed amid speculation that few donors are willing to subsidise […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Monday 7.00pm. SOUTH African business confidence fell to its lowest level in 12 years during August as the fragility of emerging markets was exposed in the global market instability, figures released by the South African Chamber of Business on Monday indicated. Business confidence fell 4,1 points during the 4,1 points over […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Monday 3.00pm. DEPUTY President Thabo Mbeki on Sunday slammed teachers for toyi-toying and drunkenness, and urged them to be dedicated to their profession. Speaking at the fourth annual congress of the South African Democratic Teachers Union, Mbeki asked the teachers to be less militant and to improve their responsibility and consciousness […]

LANSANA FOFANA, Freetown | Monday 7.30pm. NO Sierra Leonean lawyer appears willing to defend Corporal Foday Sankoh, Sierra Leone’s rebel leader who has been charged with treason in Freetown. Most lawyers contacted by reporters on Monday, and who declined to be quoted, said they would not defend the rebel leader, who is widely regarded as […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Kuala Lumpur | Monday 9.30PM. ATHLETES who test positive for cannabis may be tipped off in advance by Commonwealth Games organisers to give them time to flee Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur has some of the toughest drug laws in the world, punishable by the death. Dr Geoffrey Haigh, the Games’ honorary medical chief, said […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Sunday 11.30pm. GRIQUALAND West chalked up an impressive 36-16 win over the Golden Lions at Absa Park in Kimberley on Sunday, in a match that was marred by much directionless kicking in the first half. Griquas led 15-3 at half-time. Both teams defended superbly in the very physical encounter, but Griquas […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Kinshasa | Monday 11.00pm. AN Angolan air strike on the rebel-held town of Kalemi in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has killed 25 people and injured 40 more, according to a rebel spokesperson. Rebel officer Jonas Taturu said the strike destroyed seven houses in the working-class neighbourhood of Four-Points. The rebels’ political co-ordinator, […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Sunday 7.00pm. WINNIE MADIKIZELA-Mandela and former President PW Botha are among 200 people who have received written warning that the final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission could “damage” them. Deputy Defence Minister Ronnie Kasrils, President Nelson Mandela’s ex-wife and Botha were among those TRC notices about the potentially damaging […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Monday 10.15am. TWO South African athletes competing in the Commonwealth Games in Malaysia injured themselves on their first day of practice for the Games on Sunday. Gymnast Jana Kruger (14) twisted her ankle, but X-rays revealed no fractures and she will be treated over the next few days. Cyclist Simon Kessler […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Victoria Falls | Monday 11.00pm. THE summit held to resolve the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo will run into a second day. The summit, in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, started later than planned on Monday because of a round of preparatory meetings in which officials attempted to find a way to broker […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Abuja | Monday 6.30pm. NIGERIAN leader General Abdulsalam Abubakar on Monday confirmed that the government is currently investigating several corrupt officials thought to have siphoned billions of dollars off the national coffers under the regime of Abubakar’s predecessor, the late General Sani Abacha. Abacha’s statement comes after media speculation last month that former […]

MUNGO SOGGOT in Johannesburg | Monday 1.30pm. THE Johannesburg High Court on Monday dismissed, with costs, the R7-million defamation suit brought by Liberian politician Emanuel Shaw II against the Mail & Guardian. Deputy Judge President Monis Fleming threw the case out of court and ordered Shaw to pay the M&G’s costs, which are expected to […]

SARAH BULLEN in Johannesburg | Friday 5.30pm. LOCAL stock toasted the end to a turbulent week by ending firmer on Friday, leaving gold pundits smirking as the all gold index gained 11,71% on the day. The Johannesburg Stock Exchange’s rise came despite an overnight fall in the New York stock market which was expected to […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Friday 6.00pm. SOUTH African oil-from-gas producer Mossgas on Friday signed a R2,2-billion alliance agreement with United Kingdom-based Dresser-Kellogg Energy Service to develop the EM gasfield in the Bredasdorp Basin. The companies have formed what is known as the Bredasdorp Alliance which is the largest contract ever in South Africa using alliance […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Thursday 9.00pm. PREMIER Soccer League spokesman Andrew Dipela said on Thursday that the decision to clear referee Petros Mathabela of any wrongdoing in officiating a league match was taken by a sub-committee of Safa and not the Motsimele Commission as was reported on Wednesday. “The Safa committee was acting on the […]

Anthony Holiday Over a Barrel The secret malaise is no longer concealable. Its symptoms are manifest everywhere from conclaves in Cape Town to the conflict in the Congo. South Africa’s Department of Foreign Affairs – and hence also Deputy President Thabo Mbeki and President Nelson Mandela himself – are taking decisions and engaging in the […]

Will Hutton A Second Look Ever since the financial crisis erupted in Thailand last June, the consensus view in the West has consistently misunderstood and played down the dimensions of what is now the most serious threat to the world economy since World War II. The calamitous misdiagnosis has reinforced the West’s leaders in their […]

Mail & Guardian reporter The Mail & Guardian has had a glimpse of the financial rewards enjoyed by Don Mkhwanazi, the former chair of the Central Energy Fund whose decision to hire Emanuel Shaw II, his friend and businesss associate, triggered the state oil scandal. Documents obtained by the M&G show that in 1996 Mkhwanazi […]

Peter Makurube Live in Johannesburg The annual Jazz on the Lake festival is back and the organisers are hoping to beat their own record of 30E0000 revellers. Too bad, however, because the park is becoming too small for people to enjoy music. The public toilets can’t cope. The music comes first and the audience prefers […]

Kenyan scientist Joyce Poole, an expert on elephant behaviour, comments on the recent kidnapping of baby elephants from Botswana As a scientist who has spent two decades studying the social behaviour and vocal communication of elephants, I have been asked to comment on the capture of 50 baby elephants in the Tuli Block, Botswana. It […]

Jonathan Freedland and Ferial Haffajee There was a telling moment in 1994. World leaders trooped into the grounds of the Union Buildings to watch Nelson Mandela’s inauguration. Polite applause greeted each one. When Fidel Castro arrived, the newly elected young members of Parliament went ballistic. Applause turned to wild clapping and then to a toyi-toyi […]

cash Insurance companies are paying claims in vouchers rather than cash, writes Ferial Haffajee The trauma of being mugged, having your car stolen or house broken into can be assuaged by the thought that if you’re fully insured, you should soon be getting a payout to replace your lost belongings. But when you lodge an […]

Tangeni Amupadhi One of eight policemen being investigated for killing Josiah “Fingers” Rabotapi two weeks ago has admitted wrong-doing in the death of a suspect. Henry Beukes, who has been the subject of investigation for at least three murders of suspects in his 22-year career, acknowledged in 1994 he used more than necessary force in […]

Mercedes Sayagues First Person I was recently in Bulawayo, city of dreams and of shebeen queens. It has remained in a time warp because there has been little construction, because its economy is in the doldrums, because Harare has taken first place. Bulawayo is full of pretty colonial buildings and exudes a laid-back charm. Close […]

A noisy office is not only irritating, it can affect your work performance, writes Peter Baker Colleagues talking, telephones ringing, e-mails bleeping, photocopiers whirring: these everyday sounds make up an “acoustic wallpaper” in most offices -and one that can affect productivity and stress levels. Noise impairs people’s ability to perform simple tasks such as remembering […]

Emanuel Shaw II is too sick to appear in court but well enough to attend meetings. Mungo Soggot reports from Monrovia Emanuel Shaw II, the Liberian politician who insinuated himself into South Africa’s state oil industry, has tried to deceive the Johannesburg High Court by filing a fraudulent doctor’s note purportedly signed by Liberia’s minister […]

Angella Johnson VIEW FROM A BROAD `When I cool the base, rock this place,” chanted the female singer over the mega sound system. I watched entranced as gum-chewing young men wearing headphones and outsize clothes studiously fiddled with vinyl records on industrial-size players. The Foundation club in Rosebank was certainly rocking. Soon it would be […]