Staff Reporter

THURSDAY, 4.00PM ALLAN BOESAK, former head of the now defunct Foundation for Peace and Justice, made a suprise appearance in the Cape High Court on Thursday with his co-accused Freddie Steenkamp, the foundation’s former bookkeeper. They were only due to appear in court on September 15, when counsel for Boesak intended bringing an application for […]

THURSDAY, 4.00PM FIGHTING on the breakaway Comoran island of Anjouan left two government soldiers with bullet wounds, an army source said on Thursday after the government claimed to have put down the separatist insurrection there without bloodshed. Independent reports on the extent of fighting were difficult to obtain as telephone and transport links were cut […]

THURSDAY, 1.00PM: MAMELODI Sundowns on Thursday recieved a massive sponsorship boost from Reckitt & Colman Pharmaceuticals to the tune of R7-million for the next 24 months. Accepting the sponsorship, Sundowns chairman Abe Krok said soccer in South Africa has become a big business. “Sundowns have worked hard to become one of the country’s top clubs […]

WEDNESDAY, 5.00PM: The bull trend on US markets helped spur industrial shares on the JSE on Wednesday, but the gold index fell below 1 000 points for the first time since the most recent contraction on Wall Street began in early August. At the close the all gold index had dropped 8,9 points to 992,8. […]

THURSDAY, 8.30AM FORMER policeman and Civil Co-operation Bureau operative Ferdi Barnard appeared briefly in the Pretoria Regional Court on Wednesday, where his charge sheet gave the first details of how the state has reconstructed the 1989 murder of anti-apartheid activist Dr David Webster. The state says that Barnard, who had monitored Webster’s house for some […]

THURSDAY, 11.00AM: LATEST retail sales figures released by the Central Statistical Service show seasonally adjusted retail sales fell 5% in June to R11,5-billion under pressure from continued high interest rates. Clothing, textiles and footwear were particularly hard hit. The slowing retail sales figures follow recent trends in manufacturing production, leading economists to warn that the […]

THURSDAY, 4.30PM THE Speaker in Lesotho’s National Assembly, Dr Teboho Kolane, on Thursday ejected the remaining 18 Basutoland Congress Party parliamentarians from the assembly for seven days, for what he said was gross unparliamentary conduct. The MPs were dragged from the Assembly by police after refusing to budge when they were ordered to go. On […]

THURSDAY, 1.00PM: WESTERN Province rugby selectors have recalled Springboks James Small and Fritz van Heerden for the Bankfin Currie Cup match against Eastern Province in Port Elizabeth on Sunday. Van Heerden was ruled out for the Tri-Nations match against Australia because of flu and Small was rested for last Sunday’s game against Mpumalanga Pumas. Garry […]

WEDNESDAY, 12.30PM: MORE injured players have left the Gauteng Lions team, forcing selectors to name several rookies in the squad to face Natal in a Currie Cup clash this Saturday. Coach Dawie Snyman said of the injuries sustained during last week’s match against Northern Transvaal: “It has simply been a succession of freakish accidents. Losing […]

WEDNESDAY, 5.00PM: LATEST figures released by the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of SA show that new model introductions continue to lift passenger car sales, but weakness in the heavier vehicle sectors provides further evidence of a slowdown in general economic activity. Naamsa said on Wednesday new car sales held up reasonably well in August, […]

WEDNESDAY, 11.00AM: JOHNNIES Industrial Corporation (Johnnic), the industrial holdings group, is considering expanding into the financial services sector, chairman Cyril Ramaphosa said on Tuesday. Ramaphosa said financial services is a high-growth sector and Johnnic has the “firepower” necessary to enter the sector. Further details will be announced in due course. Johnnic increased headline earnings for […]

WEDNESDAY, 3.00PM ANGOLAN Unita rebels are being trained by Moroccan mercenaries around Unita’s stronghold in the southern town of Bailundo, according to private radio station Luanda Antena Comercial. The radio station quoted deserters from Unita leader Jonas Savimbi’s armed forces, who claimed they had worked alongside the mercenaries. Meanwhile, Unita’s former secretary-general, General Eugenio Manuvakola, […]

WEDNESDAY, 12.30PM: WORLD soccer governing body Fifa announced on Tuesday it would support an African bid to host the 2006 World Cup finals. Fifa president Joao Havelange said in Cairo: “I hope that the 2006 World Cup takes place in Africa because [Africa] has the means to do it.” Currently only England and Germany are […]

TUESDAY, 11.00AM: GROSS foreign reserves in August rose by R3,1-billion to R25,9-billion over July’s R22,8-billion, the Reserve Bank announced on Monday evening. The gross figure was higher than expected by market analysts, but was somewhat offset by increased foreign borrowings, with about R5,9-billion in foreign credit lines used in August against July’s R3,2-billion. The fact […]

MEMORIALS FOR PRINCESS DIANA AT least two SA churches will hold memorial services for the late Princess Diana on Saturday, the day of her funeral. A memorial service will be held at St George’s Cathedral in Cape Town, starting at 9.30am. And Pretoria’s St Martin de Porres Catholic Church will hold a Mass of Peace […]

TUESDAY, 4.30PM BETWEEN 200 and 300 Comoran soldiers set sail on Tuesday to intervene on the island of Anjouan in the Indian Ocean republic, where a separatist uprising has broken out, eyewitnesses reported. Soldiers were seen preparing to leave for Anjouan aboard two civilian ferries during the night from Moroni port on the main island […]

TUESDAY, 11.00AM: SOWETO’S Orlando Stadium could soon become a permanent home for soccer club Moroka Swallows — the self-proclaimed “ambitious club” has plans to buy the stadium, renovate and upgrade it, and establish it as a base for their future club matches. Swallows director Mike Mangena said on Monday that the purchase will be “taking […]

TUESDAY, 11.00AM: SOUTH AFRICAN Hugh Baiocchi beat Bob Duval in a play-off to win the Pittsburgh Senior Classic in Pittsburgh on Sunday, after they were tied at 206 after three rounds. “Bob is a good friend and a good player. It was a little intimidating playing with him in the play-off because he is such […]

TUESDAY, 1.30PM: NAMIBIA’S parliament is poised to pass a contentious bill that provides agents of a new Central Intelligence Agency with unfettered rights to operate in any area they choose. “No one is exceptional, so there is no need to limit the activities of the Namibia Central Intelligence Service,” Swapo’s Henock ya Kasita said in […]

TUESDAY, 4.30PM: DRAFT legislation proposing a compulsory training levy on companies was unveiled by Labour Minister Tito Mboweni in Cape Town on Tuesday. The proposed levy will be between 1% and 1,5% of company wage bills, but this may be recouped by businesses running their own training programmes. The Skills Development Bill was approved by […]

TUESDAY, 5.30PM: AFTER a slow start to the week, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange woke up on Tuesday with a strong opening on US markets boosting local industrial shares. Gold shares, however, languisehed in the doldrums. At the close the industrial index had climbed 17,3 points to 8 953, but the all gold index had slipped […]

TUESDAY, 11.00AM: THE Transvaal cricket squad to face Natal and Australia this month was named on Monday. Transvaal’s convenor of selectors, David van der Knaap, said: “There is such a positive vibe in the team and the guys know the are going to have to perform to play regularly.” SQUAD: Ken Rutherford, Clive Eksteen, Sven […]

MONDAY, 11.00AM: SOUTH AFRICA took home half-a-dozen medals from the World Student Games in Sicily — they won two more bronze medals at the swimming events in Messina this weekend. Brendon Dedekind came third in the men’s 50m freestyle, with a time of 23,07secs. The women’s 4x100m medley team finished in 4min 15,54secs. The team […]

MONDAY, 11.00AM: THE SA Futures Exchange on Monday launches options opn ordinary shares of Anglo American, De Beers, Richemont, SA Breweries and Liberty, with the intention of extending the scheme to add all the shares included in the indices on which futures are at present listed. “The equity options market of Safex will help to […]

MONDAY, 11.00AM: NATAL SHARKS beat the Free State Cheetahs 23-11 in their Bankfin Currie Cup match at Kings Park Stadium on Sunday. Free State put up a good defence and Natal only managed to stay one try ahead, despite a 16-3 lead at half time. The Gauteng Lions have been beset by further setbacks as […]

MONDAY, 11.00AM: WORLD and local markets are in for a hectic week amid signs that a market crash could be under way, and with the possibility of an interest rate hike by the German Bundesbank. Meanwhile, trade on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange on Friday was thin, and major indices posting losses. The industrial index plummeted […]

MONDAY, 5.30PM: A MOTION to suspend three Lesotho parliamentarians, Tsukunyane Mphanya, Khachane Sekoto and Peo Moejane, sparked arguments in the Lesotho National Assembly on Monday. The three — members of the former ruling party, the Basutoland Congress Party — were suspended after they had previously disrupted the Assembly’s progress. They refused to co-operate and did […]

MONDAY, 11.00AM: SOUTH Africa’s trade surplus for July fell to R850,2-million from June’s R3,18-billion after taking a beating from the inclusion of R965,7-million in oil imports not included in June’s figure. The oil import figures were the result of R1-billion in oil imports that culd not be attributed to any particular month. Their inclusion in […]

Government considered breaking the diamond=20 cartel to boost black economic empowerment,=20 writes Mungo Soggot The Ministry of Minerals and Energy has=20 investigated using apartheid-era=20 legislation, which gave local diamond=20 cutters a special deal, to promote black=20 empowerment in the cutting industry. The=20 strategy, which would have involved=20 restricting De Beers’s exports, reveals the=20 ministry’s antagonism […]

Hazel Friedman investigates what’s behind a=20 bitter battle in Gauteng’s arts council Members of the board at Pact (Performing=20 Arts Council of the Transvaal) are=20 embroiled in a bitter battle over=20 allegations of mismanagement. On one side=20 are Pact CEO Alan Joseph and Pact chairman=20 John Kani, with board members Meredie=20 Wixley and Arlette Franks […]

A black empowerment company has devised a=20 scheme to save millions lost to fraud,=20 writes Charlene Smith Government and some provinces are=20 investigating whether “food cheques”, a=20 coupon-based system, could save millions=20 lost to fraud and corruption in school=20 feeding schemes. Figures released by the Department of=20 Health this week showed that at least R4,3- […]

An initiative to promote young black=20 talent, spearheaded by advertising=20 stakeholders, could change the future of=20 the industry, writes Hazel Friedman When Relopile Magagula matriculated two=20 years ago, her ambitions extended no=20 further than a secretarial position in one=20 of those starchy corporate environments.=20 But when she walks into work next week, it=20 won’t be […]