A TEAM sent by the United Nations said on Thursday it had begun looking into whether Liberia was respecting UN demands to cut off support for Sierra Leonean rebels. The United Nations imposed sanctions on the West African country in May after deciding Liberia had not done enough to implement a UN resolution demanding an […]
FOUR Tunisian prison warders have each received four-year jail sentences for torturing a prisoner so severely he eventually had to have both legs amputated as a result of injuries, court sources said on Saturday. Former boxer Ali Mansouri, in jail for a criminal offence, was beaten and chained up in his cell in March to […]
A MAN in the northern Nigerian state of Sokoto has had his hand amputed after being convicted of stealing a goat, court officials said on Saturday. The amputation of 30-year-old Umaru Aliyu’s right hand was carried out at Sokoto specialist hospital on Friday, following the approval of the sentence on Wednesday by the state government, […]
SOUTH African president Thabo Mbeki and Senegalese president Abdoulaye Wade met on Saturday to finalise plans for the presentation of a combined African development plan, an Mbeki spokesman said. The “African Initiative”, as it is known, is a merger of the Millennium African Recovery Programme (MAP) led by Mbeki and the Omega Plan spearheaded Wade, […]
THE former campaign manager of Zambian President Frederick Chiluba, who switched to the opposition in a bid to unseat his old boss, was murdered at his home on Friday in a crime the opposition blames on the state. Paul Tembo (41) was murdered execution-style in front of his horrified wife, his lawyers said. The killers […]
Cape Town | Monday A CAPE Town church that declared last week that only white Afrikaans worshipers were welcome did not object to a visit by mixed-race officials of South Africa’s ruling party on Sunday, a party official said. Charmaine Manuel, her 13-year-old son Nigel and his grandmother were asked to leave the church by […]
THE cash-strapped Mpumalanga Parks Board is gearing for greater commercialisation as part of its restructuring process. The organisation unveiled its new senior management organogram on Wednesday, which, for the first time, included a commercialisation component. Executive manager of the MPB, Leonard Smit, said on Thursday that the commercial division was much-needed and would be instituted […]
WEARING traditional cloth and carrying a Nigerian flag, flamboyant British tycoon Richard Branson flew into Nigeria on Thursday to publicise the launching of Virgin Atlantic services on the lucrative Lagos-London route. Arriving aboard one of his own Boeing 747s, the Virgin boss dropped in first on the Nigerian capital, Abuja, and met President Olusegun Obasanjo, […]
ZIMBABWES government admitted on Thursday for the first time that the country faces food shortages later this year and may need international aid. That there will be shortages in national production is confirmed. The uncertainty is the magnitude,” Finance Minister Simba Makoni told journalists on Thursday. Previously government officials have adamantly denied reports — some […]
ARMED soldiers and policemen are said to have severely beaten up people in Harares Warren Park, Kuwadzana and Dzivaresekwa suburbs on Thursday, accusing them of taking part in the two-day stayaway this week. At around 3am yesterday, the soldiers and policemen entered homes and bars in Dzivaresekwa and attacked occupants for allegedly barricading roads. In […]
THE State-controlled Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) stands to lose $68-million in advertising revenue if the Minister of State for Information Jonathan Moyo goes ahead with his plans to ban financial institutions from sponsoring programmes at the debt-ridden public broad-caster. Former ZBC chief executive Luke Munyawarara, shocked by the move, in mid-June wrote a letter to […]
FOUR Tunisian prison warders have each received four-year jail sentences for torturing a prisoner so severely he eventually had to have both legs amputated as a result of injuries, court sources said on Saturday. Former boxer Ali Mansouri, in jail for a criminal offence, was beaten and chained up in his cell in March to […]
PAUL KIRK, Durban | Friday SEVEN hundred and fifty thousand rand in taxpayers money has been misspent to maintain a private home of Mangosuthu Buthelezi, the Minister of Home Affairs and Inkatha Freedom Party leader. The money was spent by the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Works on gardening and maintenance at Buthelezis plush kwaPhindangena residence outside […]
THE Namibian cabinet has, in principle, banned the sale of Kaalgat, an adulterated cheap wine currently on sale in bars, shebeens and other drinking holes in most parts of the country. Health and Social Services Deputy Minister Richard Kamwi told The Namibian that forensic research conducted by the Ministry found that the liquor contained methanol, […]
THE cash-strapped Mpumalanga Parks Board is gearing for greater commercialisation as part of its restructuring process. The organisation unveiled its new senior management organogram on Wednesday, which, for the first time, included a commercialisation component. Executive manager of the MPB, Leonard Smit, said on Thursday that the commercial division was much-needed and would be instituted […]
Suzan Chala The first and one of the largest expeditions of motorised adventure travel around the African continent is to start in September this year. It will promote Africa as a desirable tourist destination. Specialised 6×6 and 4×4 vehicles and motorcycles will travel through the continent’s bushes, forests, deserts and swamps. The 25-member crew is […]
Ngwako Modjadji The Balobedu tribe in the Nothern Province is confident that whoever becomes the next rain queen will have the supernatural powers needed to bring rain. Although the Modjadji royal council has not yet appointed an heir to the throne, one thing is certain it will be a woman. The Balobedu clan suffered a […]
BOARDROoM TALK Alec Hogg One of Moneyweb’s most popular market commentators, Wayne McCurrie, says he is fortunate to have worked in the investment markets during the past couple of years. RMB Asset Management’s chief strategist reckons the intense stress that came along with the turbulence was a small price to pay for lessons others might […]
Barry Streek The cooperative movement in South Africa, which collectively commands assets worth millions of rands, is to reorganise itself into national and provincial forums to mobilise resources and lobby for support and changes in the laws affecting the sector, including the possible appointment of a minister of cooperatives. The decision to promote cooperatives was […]
The provincial finance department has tried to tighten its controls after millions disappeared from its coffers Evidence wa ka Ngobeni Eastern Cape police have uncovered alleged theft of R63-million from the province’s service delivery kitty and 11 top officials have appeared in court on charges of corruption. The officials, some of them senior government accountants, […]
James Reynard Currently touring South Africa, Hog Hoggidy Hog, a punk/ ska/metal posse, has recently released an album that twists through a humorous labyrinth of melodic and unpredictable punk/ ska/metal arrangements a la Sepultura, Green Day and Madness. The album, Driving Over Miss Davie, includes an inter-active multimedia presentation designed by the band’s axeman Amos […]
Tony Leon has transformed the official opposition into a force to be reckoned with. He spoke to Howard Barrell and Sipho Seepe about transformation, President Thabo Mbeki and giving the government a run for its money Seepe: The challenge that faces South Africa is social transformation. The Constitution mentions three aspects. One is economic inequalities. […]
Chris Dunton as the crow flies by Veronique Tadjo (Heinemann: African Writers Series) ‘I would have loved to write one of those serene stories with a beginning and an end. But as you know only too well, it is never like that.” Working by collage, poet and novelist Veronique Tadjo assembles her text from 90 […]
RUGBY Andy Capostagno What has happened to the rugby calendar? A sequence of three Test matches on successive Saturdays has just been concluded. During that time the only concession to provincial rugby was the Sail Running Rugby Festival in Port Elizabeth a couple of weeks ago. This Friday the Currie Cup begins, some five weeks […]
While billions are spent on arms and luxury vehicles by people in power, the impoverished still wait for land Marianne Merten and Evidence wa ka Ngobeni In the face of increasing land hunger among South Africa’s poor, the government has appealed for patience while pursuing strong-arm tactics against those who illegally invade land. Many of […]
But Junichiro Koizumi’s love affair with the public may well end in tears Justin McCurry in Osaka Election candidates hoping to boost their appeal queue up to be photographed with him. An elderly woman threatens to kill herself unless she is granted a brief audience. Just about everyone wants a piece of Junichiro Koizumi. The […]
AMERICAN NOTES Tim Wood The US economy is like a Formula 1 grand prix with many spectators attending only in the hope of seeing accidents. They’ve been given a spectacular pile-up after the technology bubble popped and yet they’re desperate for more; something fatal. The morbid obsession to lay the United States low rises and […]
Some African giants are struggling to qualify for next year’s soccer World Cup Ntuthuko Maphumulo Bafana Bafana’s 1-1 draw against Burkina Faso in Ougadougou last weekend might not have been stylish, but it was mission accomplished as South Africa joined Cameroon in qualifying for next year’s World Cup in Japan and Korea. In 1998 Phil […]
Star Trek fans are one of the many targets for an embryonic industry, writes Tim Green What is the most popular electronic game in the world? Is it Gran Turismo? Quake? Tetris? Pokmon Gold? Guess again. The answer, according to educated guesswork, is probably Snake. A simple black and white puzzler played on a mobile […]
LETTERS TO THE BEST MAN To Tony Leon from Craig Tanner I am a close confidant of Dr Essop Pahad, our leader’s Best Man. We are working together to ensure that our leader serves as president for his lifetime. My purpose in writing to you is twofold. I need to express appreciation of your role […]
Paul Kirk Durban’s R10-million metro police video surveillance system has caught out a rogue metro cop nearly three years after he attacked a handcuffed suspect for no apparent reason. This week the Mail & Guardian was given a copy of a police videotape that clearly shows an obviously defenceless suspect being struck on the head […]
President Robert Mugabe’s government declared this week’s general strike called by Zimbabwe’s trade unions illegal. That the vast majority of the country’s 1,2-million employed workers bravely chose to ignore the ban suggests that it is Zanu-PF’s choking grip on Zimbabwe that lacks legitimacy. The intimidatory threats issued by the despised “war veterans”, who have turned […]