South Africa

SA's Mark I reaches for the stars
JOHANNESBURG -- South African Mark Shuttleworth became the first African in space yesterday as he lifted off for an eight-day stay in the International Space Station. The Soyuz TM-34 shuttle carrying the 28-year-old space tourist, Russian flight ...

Rand's decline pushes up cost of taxi plan
CAPE TOWN -- As with the arms deal, the fall in the value of the rand could play havoc with the price of the government's taxi recapitalisation programme, lifting its cost over the original estimate of R20billion. In a written reply yesterday to ...

21 killed as bus rolls in KZN
NONGOMA -- At least 21 people were believed to have been killed when a bus rolled down an embankment on the R618 between Nongoma and Vryheid in northern KwaZulu-Natal early yesterday evening. Road Traffic Inspectorate spokesperson Colin Govender ...

Yengeni on paid long leave
CAPE TOWN -- Former African National Congress chief whip Tony Yengeni has been granted paid long leave from Parliament pending his trial on corruption and fraud charges, his successor Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula said yesterday. Yengeni opted to remai...

Kwaito star may face trial in Botswana
JOHANNESBURG -- Kwaito star Tokollo Tshabalala, of TKZee, may stand trial in Botswana for the deaths of two people in a car accident. Superintendent Solomon Mantswe of the Botswana Police said they were contacting their attorney-general to ask hi...

Kona twins holding up despite pain
CAPE TOWN -- Four-month-old Port Elizabeth twins Zanele and Zinzi Kona, who were separated in a marathon 19-hour operation at the Red Cross Children's Hospital here last week, were holding their own, a spokesman said yesterday. The medical direct...

Asmal, department given 'F' for performance
JOHANNESBURG -- After evaluating the performance of Education Minister Kader Asmal and his department over the past two years, the Global Campaign for Education (GCE) yesterday announced that it had awarded him an overall report card score of "F"....

Marchers urge free education
CAPE TOWN -- Teacher unions marched on Parliament yesterday to pressure the government to provide free access to primary school education and for adults to have the right to free education. The unions included the Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cos...

Cosatu urges govt to drop Nevirapine appeal
JOHANNESBURG -- The Congress of SA Trade Unions asked the government yesterday to drop its Constitutional Court appeal against a high court that it provide Nevirapine to HIV-positive pregnant women in state hospitals. The appeal is set down for T...

Spitfire pilot dies in crash at airport
PRETORIA -- The pilot of a rare World War 2 Spitfire was killed when the plane crashed and exploded at Wonderboom airport, near here, yesterday afternoon. Police identified the pilot as Michael Snoyman, 56, of Johannesburg. Captain Piletji Sebo...

Man admits to wife's murder
ORKNEY -- A 43-year-old man from Orkney went to the town's police station on Wednesday afternoon and told detectives he had just murdered his wife. Detectives accompanied the man to the veld outside Orkney where he pointed out the body of his 39-...

ANC reshuffle puts Mokoena on back bench
CAPE TOWN -- Aubrey Mokoena, the controversial chairman of the National Assembly's home affairs committee, has been axed in a major ANC reshuffle in Parliament. He has been replaced by ANC MP Mpho Scott, who takes over from May 1. ANC chief whip...

Govt garage bill at R93m
CAPE TOWN -- More than 33000 accidents involving government garage vehicles cost taxpayers about R93million in repairs and replacement bills over the past five years, figures tabled in Parliament yesterday showed. Information contained in a writt...

Mbeki to unveil new medals
PRETORIA -- President Thabo Mbeki will unveil the new national orders at Freedom Day celebrations in Bloemfontein tomorrow, director-general in the presidency Frank Chikane said yesterday. The national orders, currently in the form of medals, are...

Opposition parties welcome axing
CAPE TOWN -- Opposition political parties yesterday welcomed the axing of Aubrey Mokoena as chairman of the National Assembly's home affairs committee. The controversial ANC MP was seen by the opposition as an obstacle to the committee's smooth f...

R&D spending 'on the decline'
CAPE TOWN -- Science and Technology director-general Rob Adam yesterday suggested a range of interventions, including fiscal incentives, to reverse a worrying trend in research and development (R&D) spending in South Africa. Briefing Parliame...

Cosatu serves warning on Nepad focus
JOHANNESBURG -- There was a need to ensure that the economic proposals in the New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad) had the interests of workers and civil society at heart, the Congress of SA Trade Unions said yesterday. "In particular...

La Mercy airport open by 2006
DURBAN -- Construction work on King Shaka International Airport at La Mercy, near here, could start as soon as September next year to allow for the airport to be operational by 2006, KwaZulu-Natal Economic Affairs MEC Mike Mabuyakhulu said yesterd...

Unions to tackle rising cost of food
JOHANNESBURG -- The Reserve Bank should refrain from an interest rate increase which did not address the real causes of rising prices in South Africa, the Congress of SA Trade Unions pleaded yesterday. The labour federation's central executive co...

Africa needs R750m for food crisis
JOHANNESBURG -- Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi were experiencing a humanitarian crisis and were struggling to survive because of food shortages, United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) regional director Judith Lewis said yesterday. Addressing jour...

Cosatu calls for boycott of Israel
JOHANNESBURG -- The South African government should cut ties with Israel immediately, the Congress of SA Trade Unions said yesterday. After its central executive committee meeting here Cosatu also called for comprehensive sanctions against Israel...