Marianne Merten Cape Judge President John Hlope denied this week that the administration of justice had been brought to a standstill by an alleged gang leader. On Wednesday two high-profile People against Gangsterism and Drugs (Pagad) trials were postponed in the Cape High Court when 2 000 supporters of alleged Cape Flats millionaire crime kingpin […]
Letters to the best man Chez Uhuru 228 Musgrave Road iThekwini To:Dr Essop Pahad The Presidency Union Buildings Tshwane Dear Dr Pahad, In recent months I have been plagued by guilt, without being able to identify the source. Every time I have seen our leader on television, heard his inimitable voice on radio, or read […]
Sasha Gear ‘I don’t know if you’ve seen Yizo Yizo?” asks Morris (not his real name), a recently released former prisoner who has spent close to three decades in South African prisons. He is explaining how inmates can tell which of the newcomers have been coerced into “Cape Town”. “Cape Town” is a term used […]
SA diamond giant De Beers said on Thursday it had suspended all activities in Angola due to a dispute with the Luanda government over its contracts and legal rights in the country. In a statement De Beers said it had “reluctantly” decided to discontinue operations because of a decree by the Angolan government to override […]
David Beresford Another Country There seems to be growing excitement in the world’s laboratories over the success scientists are having in repairing and even enhancing memory in rats and mice, in anticipation of replicating the feat on humans. One’s thoughts on reading such reports must be much the same as would have passed through the […]
Evidence wa ka Ngobeni A top-level scientific investigation has been launched to detect the possibility of a volcanic eruption at a tiny village near Thohoyandou, Northern Province. The probe, being conducted by a team of six scientists, was started two weeks ago after communities from Siloam in the Nzhelele district reported land deformations and mudslides. […]
Can Ginwala, the politician, be accountable to both the ANC and Parliament? Barry Streek The problem facing the increasingly beleaguered Speaker of the National Assembly, Frene Ginwala, is that she is wearing too many political hats. She is a committed and long-standing member of the majority party in Parliament, an elected member of its national […]
Under the watchful eye of the local chief, three sectors of society have joined forces to improve the lives of residents of a North West village Roshila Pillay Anna Moyo is harvesting spinach. It’s a scorching day, which makes her task a laborious one. The spinach she harvests sells for a mere 60c a kilogram […]
ANGOLAN rebels killed 17 people in two ambushes in the centre and south of the country, the Roman Catholic radio station Ecclesia reported on Wednesday. Ten passengers were shot dead when men said to be members of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (Unita) attacked a lorry at Cacuso in the northern […]
Former South African president Nelson Mandela has arrived in Sharjah for a visit of several days to the United Arab Emirates.
Nawaal Deane In a scenario disturbingly reminiscent of apartheid policing, Andrew Taylor claims two policemen tortured him on Tuesday in Northam in the Northern Province. They dropped all charges and released him the next day. Taylor claims two policemen from the Pretoria murder and robbery unit took him to a private game farm outside Pretoria, […]
A former military officer under the apartheid regime, disabled and shunned by the very system he chose to serve, has not let the curve ball thrown to him by fate stop him from fulfilling his dreams Khadija Magardie It is rare that childhood dreams of becoming a ballerina or a fighter jet pilot are sustained […]
By Mboniso Sigonyela The latest Edgars consolidated store results could be the first indication that the cellular phone market, which has been a major revenue driver for retailers, has reached its peak. Edcon, the first retailer to stock cellphones, reports a 14% year-on-year decline in cellphone sales from its United retail chain. United retail is […]
At first glance, the public hearings on the arms deal, due to start in Pretoria next week, appear to be a good thing. The government will be bringing into the open one of the most damaging sagas since 1994. And the public will be given an opportunity to judge for themselves why and how improperly […]
IRIN, Johannesburg | Thursday AN Amnesty International (AI) research team has found widespread evidence of politically-motivated murder, torture, rape and violence. Tor-Hugne Olsen, head of the team, told IRIN on Wednesday that after spending a week in the country, they had established that such acts were “commonplace” and that the government was doing nothing to […]
ABOUT 80 bodies of Ghana’s football stampede victims remain unclaimed by relatives almost two weeks after their deaths. Lieutenant Colonel Sam Aninkora, administrator of the 37 Military Hospital in Accra, said the corpses had not been claimed although relatives had identified the bodies and submitted the required documents, including copies of death certificates. “This could […]
A third South African police officer has been arrested for his apparent involvement in a group that are said to have raped young girls, The Star reports. The arrest this week follows investigations of at least 15 members of Pretoria’s Flying Squad. By Monday, four girls had already made statements to the investigating officers, and […]
THE Rwandan army killed 35 rebels and took into custody 21 others, most of them minors, after they launched an attack in a town in northwestern Rwanda, the deputy army chief said this week. The attack in Nyamutera, near Ruhengeri, was launched early on Sunday and continued until Monday morning, according to Brigadier General James […]
US Secretary of State Colin Powell left Washington late on Tuesday for his first African tour, a five-day trip that ends on Sunday. The trip is seen as an effort by the new administration to maintain US interest in Africa, building on the personal attention lavished on the troubled continent by former president Bill Clinton, […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Mbabane | Thursday THE Swaziland government has banned two news publications critical of the authorities for a second time, barely a week after the Swaziland High Court lifted an earlier ban on one of them. The government banned the weekly Guardian newspaper and monthly Nation magazine, both privately owned publications, in a gazette […]
JACQUES NELL might be the first white member to serve on the Northern province executive of the National African Federated Chamber of Commerce (Nafcoc) if he is elected at the organisation’s annual provincial conference on Thursday. Nell, who served as president of the South African Chamber of Business (SACOB) in Pietersburg for two years until […]
FORMER White House intern Monica Lewinsky wants to get back the blue dress reputed to carry traces of semen from former president Bill Clinton. Her lawyers are negotiating with investigators for the return of the dress, the Washington Times has quoted Lewinsky’s publisher as saying. The scandal surrounding Lewinsky and Clinton nearly cost Clinton the […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Thursday THE war of words between the Mail & Guardian newspaper and the ANC has now come to a head in court, with the newspaper demanding a public apology from Public Enterprises Minister Jeff Radebe. Radebe, on behalf of the ANC, told the Human Rights Commission hearing into racism in the […]
SOUTH Africa’s biggest sugar firm Illovo Sugar said on Monday its headline earnings per share for the year ended March 31 had fallen 23% to 67.5 cents, but earnings would show good growth in the coming year. Illovo said it had paid a dividend of 34 cents compared to 48 cents for the previous year. […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Harare | Thursday FOREIGN investment in Zimbabwe dropped 61% between January and April this year compared to the same period last year, the country’s investment promotion agency was on Thursday quoted as saying. The state-owned Business Herald said statistics from the Zimbabwe Investment Centre (ZIC) showed that only 24 projects compared to 63 […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, United Nations | Wednesday THE UN Security Council on Tuesday “strongly condemned” recent attacks by Angolan Unita rebels and urged the release of all civilians – both children and adults – currently being held by the armed group. The council particularly condemned Unita attacks on the town of Caxito, 60km from Luanda, and […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Wednesday THE United Transport and Allied Trade Union (Utatu) and the SA Logistics, Services and Allied Workers Union (Salstaff) have reached an agreement with Spoornet management on a wage increase, Spoornet said in a statement. Spoornet representative Mike Asefovitz said the agreement was reached with two of the three unions involved […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Maputo | Wednesday HALF a year after the assassination of Mozambican journalist Carlos Cardoso – editor of the independent fax newspaper Metical – the country’s public prosecutor’s office has charged six people for the murder, the Media Institute of Southern Africa (Misa) reported on Tuesday. Quoting the Tuesday issue of Metical, Misa said […]
MAI Mai tribal kidnappers holding at least 19 Thai nationals hostage in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are just bandits seeking money, according to rebel leader Jean-Pierre Bemba. His comments contradicted remarks by Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai who said pm Tuesday the kidnappers’ motives were political and the hostages would be released within […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Cairo | Monday AN insurance agency specialising in providing political risk insurance to traders doing business in conflict-ridden Africa will be launched on August 31 this year in Uganda, the head of a regional group said on Sunday. Secretary General Erastus Mwencha of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) said […]
ELEVEN African First Ladies held their own summit in Rwanda’s capital Kigali Sunday as part of the fight against Aids which includes 25 million sufferers in Africa. The three-day gathering ending on Tuesday would come up with a plan of action against Aids in Africa by 11 wives of presidents of sub-Saharan Africa, said the […]
A TOTAL of 354 Sierra Leonean rebels and 255 fighters from a state backed militia had handed-over their weapons by the third day of a disarmament pact in the war-ravaged north of the country, a UN representative said. Rebels of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) disarmed at several collection points over the past few days […]