Asia Africa Intelligence Wire articles from March 2002

Asia Africa Intelligence Wire archives from March 2002

GOVT SEEKS LEAVE TO APPEAL NEVIRAPINE JUDGMENT.
March 1, 2002... The government will on Friday seek leave to appeal to the Constitutional Court against a Pretoria High Court order compelling it to provide the anti-retroviral drug nevirapine to all medically-suited HIV-positive pregnant women and their...

RUGBY CAPTAIN TO TESTIFY FOR THIRD DAY.
March 1, 2002... Former Noordelikes rugby club first team captain Riaan Botha will testify for the third day in his Pretoria High Court murder trial on Friday. He, along with four fellow club members, is standing trial for the alleged murder of 19-year-old...

POLICE SEARCH FOR ABDUCTED GIRL.
March 1, 2002... Police are on a manhunt for a teenage girl who went missing on Thursday night after being abducted by three men on her way home from the Key West Shopping centre in Krugersdorp. West Rand police spokeswoman Paula Nothnagel said on Friday that...

FUEL PRICE TO BE RAISED BY 6 CENTS PER LITRE.
March 1, 2002... The price of petrol is to increase by six cents per litre from next Wednesday, the Department of Minerals and Energy announced on Friday morning. However, the price of diesel with a three percent sulphur content will go down by nine cents per...

ARMED ROBBER KILLED IN ATTEMPTED CASH HEIST.
March 1, 2002... An armed robber who, along with three of his accomplices, attempted to rob a cash loan business has been killed, Pretoria police said on Friday. Inspector Anton Breedt said the robber and his accomplices got caught in a shoot-out on Thursday...

MBEKI ARRIVES FOR CHOGM.
March 1, 2002... President Thabo Mbeki arrived at the Australian East Coast resort of Coolum on Friday to join other Commonwealth leaders for a heads of government meeting in which Zimbabwe is expected to dominate. He arrived at the local airport accompanied by...

MBEKI ARRIVES FOR CHOGM.
March 1, 2002... (SUBS: THIS REPEATS OUR "CHOGM-MBEKI" TO FIX SLUG) President Thabo Mbeki arrived at the Australian East Coast resort of Coolum on Friday to join other Commonwealth leaders for a heads of government meeting in which Zimbabwe is expected to...

NORTH RAND DETECTIVE INJURED IN CRIME CRACKDOWN OPERATION.
March 1, 2002... A police detective was wounded by a sniper bullet on Friday while taking part in a crime crackdown operation, North Rand police said. Inspector M G Magopane, who was attacked in Daveyton, was taken to hospital where he was in a stable...

STANDARD CORPORATE AND MERCHANT BANK FOREX OPENING RATES FOR MAR 1 2002.
March 1, 2002... Rates for amounts up to R 140 000 Bank Buying | Bank Selling Country Cur T/T Cheques Foreign | Cheques Foreign Notes | and T/T Notes QUOTATIONS ON BASIS RAND PER UNIT FOREIGN CURRENCY BRITISH STERLING GBP 15.8839 15.8426 15.8714 | 16.3203...

18-MONTH-OLD FED PARAFFIN, MOTHER FLEES.
March 1, 2002... A 19-year-old mother is suspected of murdering her 18-month-old baby boy by feeding him three cups of paraffin, Northern Province police said on Friday. Police spokesman Captain Ailwei Mushavhanamadi said the crime took place around 9.30pm on...

AUSTRALIA & SA TO TRAIN AFRICAN TRADE NEGOTIATORS.
March 1, 2002... Australia and South Africa will fund a special training programme for African trade negotiators this year, according to Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer. It will be held in South Africa in May. "The programme will assist...

[0] AUSTRALIA & SA TO TRAIN AFRICAN TRADE NEGOTIATORS.
March 1, 2002... (REPEATS FOR AFRICA WIRE) Australia and South Africa will fund a special training programme for African trade negotiators this year, according to Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer. It will be held in South Africa in May. "The...

ILLEGAL ALIEN ESCAPES FROM CUSTODY.
March 1, 2002... A 22-year-old Zimbabwean -- apparently an illegal immigrant -- escaped from custody on Thursday evening, Northern province police said. Police spokesman Captain Ailwei Mushavhanamandi said on Friday that the man, Lackson Ndlovu (SUBS: CORRECT),...

WCAPE GOVT MAY IMPOSE FUEL LEVY.
March 1, 2002... The Western Cape is considering imposing its own fuel levy to fund maintenance of its roads, provincial finance MEC Ebrahim Rasool said on Friday. Delivering his first budget since his African National Congress and the New National Party...

FIRST NATIONAL BANK PUBLIC EXCHANGE RATES.
March 1, 2002... Published at 11:11:22 against the rand on Fri, Mar 1, 2002 for amounts up to R50000 Bank Bank Bank Bank Currency Selling Buying Buying Buying Rate Rate TC's Notes Rand per Foreign Currency Unit USD US DOLLARS 11.5070 11.2634 11.2074 11.1824 GBP...

BALFOUR RECEIVES ELLIS PARK REPORT.
March 1, 2002... An interim report of a commission of inquiry into last year's stampede during a soccer match at Johannesburg's Ellis Park Stadium was presented to Sport Minister Ngconde Balfour on Friday. Handing over the document in Pretoria, commission...

HERE IS THE RAINFALL REPORT FOR THE 24 HOURS ENDING AT 08:00 ON.
March 1, 2002... 2002/03/01 (PRELIMINARY DATA) THE FOLLOWING PLACES REPORTED 1 MM AND MORE: GAUTENG HEIDELBERG (Gauteng) 5 IRENE WK 13 JOHANNESBURG INT WK 9 MIDRAND 18 ROODEPOORT 9 VEREENIGING e 15 MPUMALANGA CAROLINA 29 ERMELO WK 44 LYDENBURG e 2 NORTH-WEST /...

CTOWN COPS PROBE HUMAN BONE FIND.
March 1, 2002... Cape Town police are investigating the discovery of barrels of human bone fragments on the site of a derelict crematorium. The bones were found in a disused shed in the Kraaifontein industrial area, along with containers of acid apparently used...

SCHOOLGIRL'S LEGS CRUSHED BY TRAIN.
March 1, 2002... A 14-year-old schoolgirl lost both her legs when she fell under a train at the Khayelitsha railway station near Cape Town on Friday. Metrorail spokeswoman Riana Jacobs said the accident happened shortly before 8am when the girl ran to catch...

COURT ALLOWS KZN PREMIER TO TESTIFY IN COURT.
March 1, 2002... KwaZulu-Natal premier Lionel Mtshali was given permission on Friday to testify in support of a court application to force government to provide the anti-Aids drug nevirapine to HIV-positive pregnant women without delay. The Pretoria High Court...

DIDIZA LAUNCHES NWEST AGRICULTURE PROJECT.
March 1, 2002... The success of the government's agriculture development programme depended on its partnership with farmers, business and rural communities, Agriculture and Land Affairs Minister Thoko Didiza said on Friday. "We need to sustain this partnership...

AUSSIES SET EXAMPLE FOR US, EU: NNP.
March 1, 2002... Australia's financial contribution to a joint South African-Australian programme to train African trade negotiators "set an example" for the European Union and the United States, the New National Party (NNP) said on Friday. In a statement, NNP...

ZANU-PF PROMISES TO ACCEPT ELECTION RESULTS.
March 1, 2002... The ruling party in Zimbabwe -- President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF -- has undertaken to accept the results of the upcoming elections, the South African observer mission said on Friday. Welcoming the party's commitment the mission said: "This is...

SA MUST ADDRESS LAND REFORM URGENTLY.
March 1, 2002... South Africa must deal with land reform in a manner that will avoid a repeat of the current crisis in Zimbabwe, North West premier Popo Molefe said on Friday. "We have a unique land reform programme in this country that is why we need to ensure...

EASTERN CAPE SENTENCED FOR ARMED ROBBERY.
March 1, 2002... An Eastern Free State police sergeant and his four accomplices were sentenced to between 14 and 41 years for murder and armed robbery in Bethlehem, police said. Inspector Freddie Weitz said Sergeant Planter Kholoanya, 31, had lost his job and...

COOLUM ATTRACTS COMMONWEALTH LEADERS, BUT NOT MUGABE.
March 1, 2002... Thirty-five Commonwealth leaders arrived in the Australian coastal resort of Coolum on Friday, but the man who has dominated much of the attention, Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe, was not among them. His Southern African Development Community...

COOLUM ATTRACTS COMMONWEALTH LEADERS, BUT NOT MUGABE.
March 1, 2002... (SUBS: LEADS TO ADD ZIM FOREIGN MINISTER'S ARRIVAL) Thirty-five Commonwealth leaders arrived in the Australian coastal resort of Coolum on Friday, but the man who has dominated much of the attention, Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe, was not among...

TWO ARRESTED, SUSPECTED STOLEN CAR PARTS SEIZED.
March 1, 2002... Mondeor police arrested two people and confiscated suspected stolen car parts at the Freedom Park informal settlement near Eldorado Park in Soweto on Thursday. Police spokesman Sanku Tsunke said on Friday a man and a woman aged 26 and 29...

PRO-MUGABE COURT BACKS NEW OBSTACLE TO VOTING: LAWYERS.
March 1, 2002... A bench of Supreme Court judges dominated by supporters of President Robert Mugabe have endorsed measures by the Zimbabwe government to make it more difficult to vote in elections in eight days time, lawyers said on Friday. Chief justice...

MORE SOUTH AFRICANS ABLE TO READ: SURVEY.
March 1, 2002... More and more South Africans have the benefits of being able to read, and of school, a survey released on Friday has shown. The South African Advertising Research Foundation (SAARF) released its second All Media and Products Survey. The...

JIMMY CARTER, GATES SNR FOR AFRICA.
March 1, 2002... Jimmy Carter, a former president of the United States, and William H Gates, Snr, father of software billionaire Bill Gates, are to visit Kenya, South Africa and Nigeria in March. The US embassy in Pretoria said on Friday the March 6-12 trip...

UNION WELCOMES RECOMMENDATIONS OF NEVIRAPINE EXPANSION.
March 1, 2002... National Education Health and Allied workers' Union (Nehawu) welcomed the recommendation by a non-governmental organisation that government expand its programmes preventing mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV. The report, by the Health...

ONLY 10 PERCENT OF BEACHED CRAYFISH SAVED.
March 1, 2002... Only about 10 percent of the crayfish that walked out of the sea onto the beach at Elands Bay on the Cape West Coast on Thursday were saved, chief marine conservation inspector Andries Visser said on Friday. About 1000 tons of kreef, as they...

DISPUTE DELAYS NEVIRAPINE COURT APPLICATION.
March 1, 2002... A dispute between KwaZulu-Natal premier Lionel Mtshali and his health MEC Zweli Mkhize on Friday delayed a government application for leave to appeal an earlier judgement that it provide the anti-Aids drug nevirapine to all HIV-positive...

'I NEVER WANT TO SEE A CORPSE AGAIN': RUGBY CAPTAIN.
March 1, 2002... (SUBS: PLEASE NOTE OFFENSIVE LANGUAGE IN 23RD PAR) Former Noordelikes rugby club first team captain Riaan Botha testified on Friday that before finding Tshepo Matloha's body, he had never seen a corpse before and never wanted to see one again....

ALLEGED ROAD RAGE KILLER CHARGED WITH MURDER.
March 1, 2002... The man accused of killing a motorcyclist in central Johannesburg in a road rage attack will stand trial for murder in the city's high court from September 9-13. Owen Kroeger, 30, of Alberton, was handed the indictment when he appeared briefly...

FIRE DESTROYS ENDEMIC CLANWILLIAM CEDAR TREES.
March 1, 2002... The endemic Clanwilliam cedar tree, which is categorised as endangered on the Red Data List, was dealt another body blow this week when a fire raged in the Cedarberg mountains. Three hundred hectares of pine plantation and 500 hectares of...

GAY MURDER ACCUSED CLAIMS HE WAS FRAMED.
March 1, 2002... One of three alleged male prostitutes charged with murdering a gay client in Pretoria more than a year ago, claimed on Friday he was framed and had been offered R100000 to take the blame for the murder. Godfrey Lucky Vili, 25, testified in the...

TRUST BETWEEN COSATU AND ANC RE-ESTABLISHED: COSATU.
March 1, 2002... Trust between the Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) and the African National Congress (ANC) has been re-established following bilateral meetings held between the two parties earlier this year, Cosatu's president said on Friday. Willie...

MONEY SUPPLY RISES BY 19,33 PERCENT FOR JANUARY.
March 1, 2002... Money supply (M3) and credit rose by 19,33 percent year-on-year in January, Absa Bank said on Friday. Absa economist John Loos said in a statement this had much to do with a strong monthly rise in net foreign assets, due to the US1,5-billion...

GUARDS CHARGED WITH COURT BREAK-IN REAPPEAR.
March 1, 2002... Four security guards accused of breaking into the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court cash office are to be tried in the Regional Court, the men were told on Friday. The trial of court guards Richard Paulsen, 33, Jackson Tsomele, 38, and their two...

SA WELCOMES LESOTHO'S ELECTIONS DATE.
March 1, 2002... South Africa on Friday welcomed the announcement that the Lesotho general elections would be held on May 25. "We believe this represents a remarkable achievement by all stakeholders towards ensuring that the principles of democracy, good...

FIVE SENTENCED FOR MURDER & ROBBERY.
March 1, 2002... A police sergeant and four men were sentenced in the Bethlehem Circuit Court on Thursday after they robbed a butchery, killed one security guard, and wounding another in October 2000, Free State police said on Friday. Police spokesman Inspector...

CHARGES DROPPED AGAINST MAN IN BABY RAPE CASE.
March 1, 2002... Charges of raping a five-month-old baby girl were withdrawn against one of two people when they appeared for a further postponement in the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court on Thursday. The reasons for the withdrawal were not given. Martin...

P2: MONEY SUPPLY RISES BY 19,33 PERCENT FOR JANUARY.
March 1, 2002... Standard Bank economist Brenda Landsberg said the figures were contrary to consensus expectations. She said the driving force behind the sharp increase was the rise in net foreign assets during the month, which countered the positive effect on...

ISCOR ANNOUNCES PRICE FOR RIGHTS OFFER.
March 1, 2002... South African steel producer Iscor Limited announced on Friday that it had fixed its rights offer share price at R10,92. A statement from the company said this figure constituted a 25 percent discount, determined by affixing the lower of the...

MATLALA OVERWEIGHT BY TWO GRAMS.
March 1, 2002... Jacob "Baby Jake" Matlala was two grams over the required limit of 48,98 kg when he tipped the scales at 49kg while Juan Herrera was within the limit at 48,76kg at the official weigh-in on Friday. Rules governing boxing were clearly flouted...

INVESTEC MANAGERS INDEX DECLINES IN FEBRUARY.
March 1, 2002... The seasonally adjusted Investec Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) declined by two index points to 53,8 in February, after the sharp overstated decline in January, it was announced on Friday. Portfolio manager at Investec Asset Management, John...

THE REGIONAL FORECAST FOR TOMORROW:.
March 1, 2002... THE REGIONAL WEATHER FORECAST FOR TOMORROW : 2002-03-02. ISSUED AT 16:00 SAST BY THE SOUTH AFRICAN WEATHER SERVICE. 1. WARNING ---------- 1. Hot and humid conditions which could lead to a high level of discomfort are expected along the coast...

[0] THE REGIONAL FORECAST FOR TOMORROW:.
March 1, 2002... THE REGIONAL WEATHER FORECAST FOR TOMORROW : 2002-03-02. ISSUED AT 16:00 SAST BY THE SOUTH AFRICAN WEATHER SERVICE. 1. WARNING ---------- 1. Hot and humid conditions which could lead to a high level of discomfort are expected along the coast...

THE EXPECTED MIN AND MAX TEMPS FOR TOMORROW:.
March 1, 2002... EXPECTED MINIMUM AND MAXIMUM TEMPERATURES FOR TOMORROW : 2002-03-02. ISSUED AT 16:00 SAST BY THE SOUTH AFRICAN WEATHER SERVICE. MIN MAX Pretoria 20 31 Johannesburg 18 28 Vereeniging 19 29 Nelspruit 22 28 Ermelo 17 26 Witbank 18 26 Standerton...

POLICE SEARCH FOR FREE STATE RAPIST.
March 1, 2002... Eastern Free State police are searching for a man who raped a nine-year-old girl in Tseki, Qwa Qwa last Thursday while she was on her way to school, police said on Friday. Captain Veronica Ntepe said the girl alleged she was raped behind a...

THE TRAVELLERS FORECAST FOR TOMORROW:.
March 1, 2002... TRAVELLERS WEATHER FORECAST FOR TOMORROW : 2002-03-02. ISSUED AT 16:00 SAST BY THE SOUTH AFRICAN WEATHER SERVICE. WARNING: -------- 1. Hot and humid conditions which could lead to a high level of discomfort are expected along the coast and...

SA GOVT CONDEMNS VIOLENCE IN INDIA.
March 1, 2002... The South African government has condemned Wednesday's train attack by religious zealots in India, saying it was "deeply saddened" by the loss of life. "We are, at the same time, deeply concerned about the systematic killings in Ahmedabad and...

FOREX CLOSING RATES.
March 1, 2002... Rates for amounts up to R 140 000 Bank Buying | Bank Selling Country Cur T/T Cheques Foreign | Cheques Foreign Notes | and T/T Notes QUOTATIONS ON BASIS RAND PER UNIT FOREIGN CURRENCY BRITISH STERLING GBP 15.8624 15.8211 15.8499 | 16.2944...

TULI ELEPHANT ABUSE TRIAL.
March 1, 2002... An animal handler wearing gumboots and carrying a pitchfork hit and kicked an elephant from Tuli, Botswana, then stabbed it in the foot with using the fork, animal activists said on Friday. This was the testimony of one Vonny Strachan, a...

TWO-DAY STRIKE ENDS AT DBN TEXTILE FIRM.
March 1, 2002... A two-day strike by workers at David Whiteheads and Sons, a textile factory at Tongaat near Durban, has ended, their trade union said on Friday. The workers, all members of the SA Clothing and Textile Workers' Union (Sactwu), embarked on...

NAMIBIA SHOULD PRIVATISE: REPORT.
March 1, 2002... A recent report on a governance framework for Namibian state-owned enterprises (SOEs) has suggested thsome of them be privatised, a Labour Resource and Research Institute (LaRRI) representative announced on Thursday. The institute said in a...

TULI ELEPHANT "STABBED WITH PITCHFORK".
March 1, 2002... (SUBS: LEADS WITH MINOR EDITS) An animal handler hit and kicked an elephant -- imported from Tuli, Botswana -- then stabbed it in the foot with a pitchork, an animal activist testified in court on Friday. This was the evidence of one Vonny...

BACKSTAGE ACTOR IN COURT OVER DRUGS.
March 1, 2002... An actor in the e-tv soapie Backstage, Dinilesizwe (Dini) Nondumo, appeared on Friday in the Cape Town Magistrate's Court for the third time, following his arrest for alleged cocaine possession. Nondumo, 24, and two companions were arrested in...

HOUT BAY FISHING COMPANY IN COURT FOR CORRUPTION.
March 1, 2002... The managing director of the Hout Bay Fishing Industries, which has been charged with a variety of crimes including fraud, reappeared in the Cape Town Magistrate's Court on Friday. The company has been charged fraud, forgery and uttering,...

AIR, SEA RESCUE EXERCISE FOR CTN.
March 1, 2002... Cape Town's emergency services will practise their skills when they simulate the rescue of survivors from a crashed airliner in Table Bay on Saturday. Activities will include airlifting survivors by helicopter to safety. All local rescue...

INCREASE IN FRINGE BENEFIT INTEREST RATE ANNOUNCED.
March 1, 2002... The fringe benefit interest rate increased from 10,5 percent to 11,5 percent on Friday, The SA Revenue Service said. "SARS hereby notifies for general information that in terms of Government Notice No R 256 published in Gazette No 23196 of...

CIVIL SOCIETY DECLARATION ON CORRUPTION.
March 1, 2002... An anti-corruption conference -- attended by 200 non-governmental organisations -- adopted a declaration in Johannesburg on Friday about combating corruption in all sectors of the country. The three-day conference which began on Wednesday, was...

CTOWN BONES 'WERE PAUPERS'.
March 1, 2002... Burned bones discovered in barrels on an industrial site in Cape Town come from paupers whose bodies were disposed of "quite legally", a crematorium operator said on Friday. The find caused a stir, partly because it was coupled to reports that...

NEPAD DEVELOPMENT PLANS AMBIGUOUS: SACBC.
March 1, 2002... The analysis of the causes of Africa's socio-economic and political development problems contained in the New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad) were on the mark but the solutions proposed were dubious, the Southern African Catholic...

RSF wants Zimbabwe expelled from Commonwealth.
March 1, 2002... Paris, France (PANA) - Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has called on the Commonwealth Summit opening in Australia Saturday to expel Zimbabwe from its ranks over alleged violation of press freedom in the country. The France-based rights...

Seychelles leader rejects IMF prescriptions.
March 1, 2002... Saint Denis, Reunion (PANA) - President of Seychelles Albert Rene, has rejected recommendations by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), saying they could "cripple" his country. In his State of the Nation address to Parliament, reported...

Team Total confident of dominating South Africa's rally season.
March 1, 2002... Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) - Team Total Rallying will once again be the team to beat in the various classes that they will be contesting in the South African National Rally Championship this year. Speaking in Johannesburg this week,...

Nigeria Loses Bid To Halt Cameroonian Group Suit.
March 1, 2002... Abuja, Nigeria (PANA) - Nigeria's federal government has lost its bid to stop a Cameroonian group from pursuing a suit, which it filed in Abuja last week, challenging Nigeria's refusal to present before the World Court and the UN General...

Liberian FA in search of local coaches.
March 1, 2002... Monrovia, Liberia (PANA) - The Liberia Football Association (LFA) is searching for local coaches to train its U-17 and U-20 teams to prepare them for the 2002 African Youth Championships. LFA secretary-general Yanquah Borsay told PANA...

Morocco to host another MRU peace talks.
March 1, 2002... Monrovia, Liberia (PANA) - Morocco is expected to convene another Mano River Union (MRU) peace talks in April, Liberian President Charles Taylor said Friday in Monrovia. The first Summit involving MRU member countries - Guinea, Sierra...

Cameroonian papers focus on Bakassi dispute.
March 1, 2002... Yaounde, Cameroon (PANA) - Hearing at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague on the border dispute between Cameroon and Nigeria was the focus of comments by the Cameroonian press this week. Cameroon and Nigeria share a 1,200...

Kenya's Nairobi Exchange ends week in mixed results.
March 1, 2002... Nairobi, Kenya (PANA) - The benchmark index of the Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE) gained a few points for the first time this week, confirming the mixed trading that marked the performance of the equity market throughout the week which ended 1...

Senegalese paper reports rising hopes for an HIV/AIDS vaccine.
March 1, 2002... Dakar, Senegal (PANA) - Scientists at a US pharmaceutical firm have announced remarkable progress the research for an AIDS vaccine following trials on humans, according to the government- run Senegalese daily, Le Soleil. The paper said...

French church calls for changes in the country's asylum laws.
March 1, 2002... Paris, France (PANA) - The Catholic Church in France has expressed concern to the French Government over the conditions in which asylum seekers are made to live in the country. In a document, "Asylum in France: State of Emergency," the...

Private broadcasters to get licence in Ethiopia.
March 1, 2002... Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - Ethiopian Broadcasting Agency will start issuing licences to prospective private broadcasters from May, Information Minister, Berket Simon, announced in Addis Ababa Friday. He said the exercise would be based...

Ivorian authorities put pay raise on hold.
March 1, 2002... Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire (PANA) - Ivorian Prime Minister Pascal Affi N'Guessan has enjoined Public Service trade in the country to call off a strike initiated two weeks ago to press for a pay raise. At a meeting Thursday in Abidjan with union...

Guinea Conakry governor determined to "clean" his city.
March 1, 2002... Conakry, Guinea (PANA) - The governor of garbage-strewn Conakry, M'Bemba Bangoura, Friday vowed to turn the Guinean capital into "a clean city" by using all means at his disposal. Conakry, which has a population of about two million, no...

Batswana stage street protests against rape.
March 1, 2002... Gaborone, Botswana (PANA) - Enraged Batswana took to the streets Friday in a peaceful protest march against rising incidences of rape in the country. The placard waving men, women and children marched through the streets of the capital...

Stolen Japanese vehicles abound in Botswana.
March 1, 2002... Gaborone, Botswana (PANA) - Police in Botswana Friday confirmed that stolen Japanese vehicles were finding their way into the country. According to the officer in charge of motor vehicle squad, a number of suspected stolen reconditioned...

Zambia's First Lady contemplates charity organisation.
March 1, 2002... Lusaka, Zambia (PANA) - Zambia First Lady Maureen Mwanawasa is considering forming a charitable organisation that would look after neglected senior citizens and deprived families, as well as children orphaned by HIV/AIDS. Lady Mwanawasa's...

Jeanne d'Arc lead Senegalese championship.
March 1, 2002... Dakar, Senegal (PANA) - Jeanne d'Arc of Dakar (JA) still lead the Senegalese first division football championship despite being held to a goalless draw by ETICS at the 18th round played on Thursday. JA even increased their lead at the top,...

Martial Law announcement was not broadcast in Madagascar.
March 1, 2002... Antananarivo, Madagascar (PANA) - Many Malagasy inhabitants learnt about President Didier Ratsiraka's decision to institute martial law in the capital Antananarivo through foreign radio stations. This is because opposition leader Marc...