Updated: 8am GMT -- 2005/01/14
Eastern Cape
Makgatho Mandela's body arrives home
By Luxolo Tyali QUNU - The body of the son of former president Nelson Mandela, Makgatho, arrived here yesterday and will be kept at his home until his burial tomorrow. Makgatho's body was flown from Johannesburg to Mthatha airport where it was receiv...
EL helicopter almost part of coup plan
By Eddie Botha, Business Editor EAST LONDON - Brian Katz, owner of the local AV 8 helicopter company, says he had no idea that one of his helicopters had been chartered for the Equatorial Guinea coup bid. Katz yesterday admitted that one of his hel...
Defiant bakkie drivers face crackdown
By Zine George EAST LONDON - The provincial Traffic Department has declared "war" against bakkie drivers who yesterday threatened to defy the law and transport children to school next week. The East London Children's Contractors' Association (Sakhi...
Border Rugby to investigate crash of hired vehicle
By Brian McLean EAST LONDON - The Border Rugby Football Union (BRFU) is to launch an investigation as to who the driver was who crashed a South African Rugby Union (Saru) hired vehicle. The vehicle, used to transport Border Rugby officials to Port E...
Rubble sifted to find cause of EL Aquarium fire
By Denver Donian EAST LONDON - A report on the cause of a fire that caused damage estimated at R1 million at the aquarium here on Tuesday and forced its indefinite closure is soon to be released by police. Police disaster management spokesperson Cap...
1Time's offer slashes prices further
By Gavin de Villiers EAST LONDON - 1Time airline has slashed its prices to a record low since it began operating from here last year February. The airline has offered what it calls a "Azhiko lo nonsense" one-way ticket to Johannesburg for R390. Th...
Hepatitis virus blamed on river pollution
By Taralyn Bro EAST LONDON - Heavy pollution of the Buffalo River has been identified as the main cause of the recent outbreak of Hepatitis A among children in the Buffalo Flats area - but health officials promised yesterday that the disease would so...
Quarrel delays housing programme
By Lizile Hams MTHATHA - The Mhlontlo municipal housing programme has come to a halt since two contractors withdrew after a disagreement with the municipality. Lack of water, labour issues and cash flow problems were some of the factors that led to t...
Endangered rocky may be replaced
By Bonisile Ndaliso EAST LONDON - A senior specialist scientist on endangered fish species in the Makana Biodiversity Centre in Grahamstown wants to donate one of the centre's Eastern Cape rocky species to the East London Aquarium. Jim Cambray said y...
MECs to promote road safety during rush
EAST LONDON - Eastern Cape and Western Cape transport and safety MECs will this weekend personally and jointly contribute towards road safety at the border of both provinces in the face of the end of holidays rush. Schools reopen on Wednesday. Many...
EL cricketer tells of tsunami experience
By Charles Beningfield DESTRUCTION WROUGHT BY BOXING DAY TSUNAMI: Above left: The cricket club at Galle, Sri Lanka, which was devastated by the giant waves. Above: An aerial view of the Galle cricket ground. Above right: A map showing the ...
Officer, nurse, children hurt
GRAHAMSTOWN - A police officer, a nursing sister and her two young children were injured in a head-on collision near here yesterday. Captain Mali Govender said the accident occurred in wet conditions about 10km from here on the road to Fort Beaufort....
22 held after man beaten to death
By Denver Donian Crime Reporter QUEENSTOWN - Twenty-two people were arrested at Dutywa yesterday after a housebreaking suspect was beaten to death. Two of the suspect's alleged accomplices sustained minor injuries when they were also assaulted by an ...
Search for body in river
QUEENSTOWN - A search for the body of a 26- year-old woman who is presumed to have drowned in the Gcuwa River at Butterworth on Wednesday has so far not been successful. Sergeant Namhla Mdleleni said Busisiwa Masingwa and a friend attempted to cross ...
Decomposed body found at golf club
EAST LONDON - The badly decomposed body of an unidentified man was recovered in bushes at the West Bank Golf Club here yesterday, police said. Inspector Bonisile Sigobe said the body was discovered by the caretaker of the golf course about midday....
Over 100 EC prison warders dismissed
By Lulamile Feni EAST LONDON - More than 100 prison warders in the Eastern Cape have been dismissed in the past two weeks for not working on the Christmas and New Year weekends. Those dismissed are members of Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Po...
Monkeys steal small farmers' crops
EAST LONDON - A troop of hungry monkeys is eating up the crops of small farmers in Scenery Park here, and there doesn't seem to be much the farmers can do about it. Maize farmer Zingisa Rhwexu said yesterday that the monkeys had destroyed almost his...
Big crime drop in Mdantsane
By Mvuyo Mati MDANTSANE - Information released by the crime intelligence analysis centre (CIAC) at the Mdantsane police station has pointed to a substantial drop in crime here. Statistics show that, in the four-month period between October and now,...
Customer care high on govt's agenda
By Zine George EAST LONDON - The provincial Treasury showcased its state of readiness to deal with people's complaints by opening a state-of-the-art customer care centre in Bhisho yesterday. The centre, called Ikhwezi Lomso, was officially declar...
New ECDC wants to promote all business
By Lew Elias QUEENSTOWN - Economic Affairs MEC Andre de Wet and Kevin Wakeford, the acting chief executive officer of the Eastern Cape Development Corporation, admitted yesterday that the ECDC's loan policy had only "been of benefit to a select few"....
Stock owners frustrated as theft increases
By Luxolo Tyali MTHATHA - Stock theft in the Tsolo and Qumbu area has resurfaced and will become uncontrollable if nothing is done to stop it, according to Mhlontlo municipal councillor Mabhiza Mfamela. Mfamela is chairperson of Masifunisane, a n...
Tourism board reveals strategic plan
By Lew Elias EAST LONDON - The Eastern Cape Tourism Board (ECTB)has not been resting during the holiday season, chief executive officer Glenton de Kock said yesterday. Apart from helping visitors with information, ECTB senior staff completed the boa...
Vets give all-clear to ostrich farmers
By Taralyn Bro EAST LONDON - After nearly three months of quarantine, restrictions on ostriches in the Somerset East area have been lifted and farmers have been given the go-ahead to restock their farms. The restrictions had been in place since Octob...
Fireworks confiscated from 3 shops
By Lunga Mtshizana EAST LONDON - Police confiscated fireworks from three unlicensed shops in King William's Town and East London over the festive season. The three shops are Ladies' Pride in King William's Town, XL Bazaars and New Image in East Lon...
Winning ticket for Sanca
By Taralyn Bro EAST LONDON - A windfall of R800000 for the South African National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (Sanca) from the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund got the year off to a great start for the non-governmental, non-prof...
Good prices for wool at first national sale
PORT ELIZABETH - The first national wool sale for 2005 realised higher prices, a wool trading company said yesterday. Cape Wools said its market indicator gained a "hefty" 6,6 percent to close after trading on Wednesday at R25,66/kg for clean...
ECTB plans on track for Indaba, German show
By Lew Elias EAST LONDON - The Eastern Cape Tourism Board (ECTB) has already got plans under way for South Africa's tourism showcase, the Indaba in Durban. The Indaba takes place from May 7-10 at at Durban's International Convention Centre, ECTB chi...
