TUESDAY, 11.00AM: NEARLY 13 700 runners have entered the 1997 Comrades Marathon, to be run on June 16 from Pietermaritzburg to Durban, in KwaZulu-Natal. A record 203 of the runners are foreigners, from neighbouring African states, America, Britain, Austria, Australia, Japan, Cuba and The Gambia. Comrades Marathon Association chairman Adrian Stowell said the response from […]
TUESDAY, 4.00PM IN his second day of testimony to the inquest into the death of 19 Inkatha marchers in Johannesburg city centre on March 28 1994, former African National Congress deputy security chief Gary Kruser on Tuesday admitted he had lied to police, the attorney-general’s office and the Goldstone Commission during investigations into the shooting […]
TUESDAY, 10.30AM UNITED States consumer electrical giant General Electric has signed an industrial and commercial co-operation programme with the department of trade and industry involving an undertaking to generate R2-billion in commercial, economic and industrial benefits to the SA economy during the next 10 years. GESA executive Michael Hendry said the money will be spent […]
TUESDAY, 11.30AM FOLLOWING the resignation of five of the seven Independent Broadcasting Authority councillors and the suspension of CEO Harris Gxaweni, accounting firm Deloitte & Touche has been appointed to take over the authority’s finances and administration. And Bronwen Keene-Young, head of the IBA’s monitoring and complaints department, was appointed as the body’s acting CEO […]
TUESDAY, 11.30AM THE Reserve Bank’s foreign exchange control division may be used to fight rampant money laundering as government progressively lifts foreign exchange control restrictions. It is believed that discussions have taken place on the possibility of using the Bank’s exchange control division to police money laundering activities once restrictions are lifted. Registrar of Banks […]
TUESDAY, 9.00AM: THE British Lions management met with the South African Rugby Football Union’s general manager of refereeing and the chairman of the SA Referees’ Society on Monday to settle issues of refereeing before the 12-match tour begins. “What I don’t want to do is find out we’ve got problems on the field. What I […]
TUESDAY, 11.00AM: SOUTH AFRICA’s and Zimbabwe’s under-20s will meet for a two-match friendly international series in Zimbabwe next week, in preparation for the upcoming World Youth Championships in Malaysia. South Africa’s United Warriors will leave for Malaysia to represent Africa in the tournament from June 12 to July 5, along with Morocco, Zambia and Ghana. […]
TUESDAY, 5.30PM DEPOSED Zairean dictator Mobutu Sese Seko, who fled to Togo as Laurent Kabila’s rebels consolidated their control over the country, is reportedly in a very weak state of health and overstaying his welcome in the tiny West African state. Mobutu’s arrival in Togo caught his old friend, fellow francophone dictator Gnassingbe Eyadema, off […]
TUESDAY, 8.00AM SOUTH AFRICA will destroy 4 500 landmines, a quarter of its stockpile, in front of delegates to a three-day anti-landmine conference today (Tuesday). The conference, organised by the OAU, has drawn 250 delegates from 41 of Africa’s 52 states. But only 11 African states have signed a treaty banning the use of anti-personnel […]
TUESDAY, 4.00PM The national executive committee of the African National Congress on Monday decided that Bushbuckridge should stay in Northern Province, a move which is bound to anger residents pushing for the area to be incorporated in Mpumalanga. In a statement released after the decision was taken, the ANC, referring to recent rioting in the […]
MONDAY, 11.30AM THE Gauteng housing department is reviewing proposals by the mineral and energy affairs department that suggest savings of billions of rands a year could be achieved by using “passive solar” designs for low-cost housing. Energy department figures suggest that R1-billion could be saved annually in health and energy costs if only half of […]
MONDAY, 11.00AM: KAIZER CHIEFS scoredd a 5-1 victory over Michau Warriors at Johannesburg Stadium on Sunday, despite losing their captain Neil Tovey to injury. Chiefs played aggressively from the start, and demolished Warriors’ defence. Four of the five goals came from Mark Williams, in top form with hopes to rejoin the Bafana Bafana side, for […]
MONDAY, 4.00PM PRESIDENT Nelson Mandela and foreign affairs minister Alfred Nzo arrived in Zimbabwe today for a three-day state visit, to be met at the Harare International Airport by President Robert Mugabe, vice-president Joshua Nkomo, and almost the entire cabinet and diplomatic corps. Mugabe praised Mandela’s role in the Great Lakes crisis, and said he […]
MONDAY, 8.00AM SOUTH AFRICAN Deputy President Thabo Mbeki was the first foreign leader to visit new president Laurent Kabila yesterday, and the first foreign leader to recognise the new Democratic Republic of the Congo. Mbeki, accompanied to Lubumbashi by Defence Minister Joe Modise, said South Africa wants assurances from Kabila that he would keep his […]
MONDAY, 1.00PM: GAUTENG Lions walked over Natal Sharks to a 42-8 win in their Super 12 match on Saturday at Ellis Park in Johannesburg. Lions’ recent games have been beset by injuries, but the young team that faced the Sharks proved their worth, leaving their side fifth on the log. The half-time lead was 16-3, […]
MONDAY, 2.00PM: JOMO COSMOS beat Dynamos of Zimbabwe 2-0 at the PAM Brink Stadium on Saturday, putting them in the quarterfinals of the African Cup Winners’ Cup with a 3-2 aggregate. Mozambican import Nuro Taulibudine scored the first goal just before half time off a free kick, and the second goal came in the last […]
MONDAY, 11.30AM GOVERNMENT’S financial team has received a new blow with the resignation of Hannes Smit, the director general of state expenditure, which comes hard on the heels of last week’s announcement that SA Revenue Service CEO Piet Liebenberg had resigned. Smit announced on Friday that he will not renew his service contract when it […]
MONDAY, 5.00PM The man who blew the lid off corruption in Mpumalanga’s safety and security deparment, principal traffic inspector John Muller, stands to lose his house after being served with a summons for failing to pay his bond. The bond payments, which were previously made by the traffic department, were stopped after traffic director Henry […]
MONDAY, 3.00PM: THE United Cricket Board has named the players to be offered contracts for the next season, to represent South Africa over 1997/1998. The team will tour to Pakistan, England and Australia, and in return Pakistan and Sri Lanka will visit South Africa. The players are: Hansie Cronje, Brian McMillan, David Richardson, Fanie de […]
NIGERIA BAN ON UK PLANES NIGERIA has banned all British aircraft from its airspace. No reason has been given for the ban, but it follows the British government’s refusal to renew the Nigeria Airways permit to operate its lucrative Lagos-London route. Nigeria Airways was suspended last year from flying to London because its flights did […]
MONDAY, 11.30AM JOHANNESBURG Consolidated Investments has initiated merger talks with UK multinational Lonrho, which could see the establishment of one of the biggest minig companies in the world, with assets worth more than $3-billion. It is believed that the discussions were initiated by newly appointed JCI chairman Mzi Khumalo, as part of his plans for […]
MONDAY, 3.00PM: THE British Lions landed in South Africa in Johannesburg on Sunday, for an eight-week tour against the provinces and the national side, their first SA tour in 17 years. South African Rugby Football Union president Louis Luyt suggested in his welcoming speech that in future, the British side tour South Africa more frequently, […]
MONDAY, 11.30AM THE Small Business Development Corporation has increased its operating capital available for lending by 60% to more than R330-million for the financial year to March 31 1998. The increase comes as a result of the larger average size of business loans being awarded by the corporation since it stopped lending to micro enterprises […]
MONDAY, 4.00PM INTRUDERS at the weekend broke into the Pretoria offices of the Gender Commission and sprayed an office with a white “poison-like” substance, commissioner Thenjiwe Mtintso said on Monday morning. Mtintso said when she arrived at her office after the weekend, she noticed the door had been forced open. “My whole office was covered […]
Paul Farrelly in London and John Aglionby in Jakarta THE gold rush is over. The prospectors, tarnished by the Indonesian Bre-X gold hoax, have lost their sparkle. Small mining firms panning in Indonesia and Africa have seen their shares slump as wary investors query the value of their prospects and plan an exodus from the […]
FRIDAY, 1.00PM PARLIAMENT’S communications committee convened a hasty meeting today (Friday) to be told that councillors were required to give three months notice. Only the president may dismiss a councillor for misconduct. But the committee resolved to accept the resignations and call for new applications for posts as speedily as possible. The IBA is unable […]
FRIDAY, 5.00PM AFTER six weeks of talks, the two largest of Gauteng’s warring taxi factions agreed to merge, ending a bloody five year war in which both drivers and passengers were casualties. The Soweto Transport Services and Soweto Taxi Association, rivals on the routes in south and southwestern Soweto, will now be known as the […]
Jim Day THE number of black students studying to be doctors declined this year, leading government health officials to question the commitment of university medical schools to change. But medical deans reject this and blame the poor-quality education of many would-be medical students. South Africa is educating enough doctors for its needs, said the Health […]
A CROWD of 200 quietly formed in a semi- circle around the main shack. They remained silent for about 45 minutes, apart from one woman’s exuberant cries of yebo when she heard something she really liked. They were listening to the interview with Agrinette Madwayi (40) and two other senior members of the residents’ committee. […]
FRIDAY, 1.00PM BUS drivers across the country went on strike today, blockading bus depots and leaving thousands of commuters stranded. Some drivers carried out their morning routes, then “downed tools” at mid-morning. The areas most affected are Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town. In Port Elizabeth, some 40 buses blockaded the depot, while 150 drivers […]
herStoriA deputy editor DELIA ROTHNIE-JONES explores the rewards of literary prizes THE recent death of the CNA Literary Award means that another window of opportunity for writers has been boarded up. Soon we shall be left only with peep-holes into our country’s soul. Faced with this withering of literary activity, we are forced to ask […]
FRIDAY, 10.00AM: WORLD soccer governing body Fifa turned down the SA Department of Sports’ bid to financially assist Zaire. Zaire requested help from the South African Football Association earlier this week, asking for R1,1-million to help the team finish their World Cup qualification programme. Safa submitted a proposal to Fifa, but were told it would […]