John Sutherland The shortlist is out and Booker moves into its middle game. Between now and October 25 the final contenders will – on past evidence – enjoy a month in the sun. Bookshops will display and discount the lucky six. Readers will scoop them up. Unfriendly newspapers will excoriate the list as the “most […]
Ivor Powell speaks to National Director of Public Prosecutions Bulelani Ngcuka about his plans to bring down the kingpins of crime When National Director of Public Prosecutions Bulelani Ngcuka took office, he approached colleagues in the intelligence services requesting what was effectively a hit list. What the newly appointed crimebuster was looking for was the […]
Peter Dickson The Eastern Cape government has posted this week as the final deadline for new applications and applications for the reinstatement of welfare grants. The announcement was made despite an “indefinite” extension in May and the inability of district surgeons to cope with the number of applicants to be re- examined. The short notice […]
their own Struan Douglas Once, there was an old American street busker who used to play loose jazz grooves. Some kid asked him, “Hey, what’s this cool music you’re playing?” “Juss music”, the old man replied in a rich American drawl. “Oh, jazz music!” said the kid – and the name was born, for a […]
Millions of rands have been poured into an experimental abalone ranching project at Port Nolloth on the west coast.
Amy Lawrence Gliding over the deep red lino in thick claret socks which flap around his calves, Joe Cole looks like your average teenage apprentice milling around the training complex. His life is about to change for ever. He is about to embark upon a journey of infinite possibility. If fortune favours him, he could […]
skills Marianne Merten Cape Town is often described as the rape capital of the world and it is here that Albanian women – who deal with survivors of horrendous mass rapes – came to share and learn. Discussion of rape is still very much a taboo in Kosovo and Albania, says executive director of Albania’s […]
More than one million people work in craft-related industries, but the government has yet to come up with financial support for this important sector.
Fiachra Gibbons In the time-honoured tradition of the Booker, all the leaks about who would be shortlisted this year were wrong. Salman Rushdie, Vikram Seth and Roddy Doyle – the heavyweight “favourites” for this year’s prize -didn’t make the shortlist. Instead, South Africa’s JMCoetzee is up for the prize for the second time. The chairman […]
A fence too flimsy to surround a northern suburbs home and one policeman to patrol more than 50km. This is the border between South Africa and Mozambique. Paul Kirk reports Nearly every morning Sergeant Chris van der Heever jumps into his 4×4 bakkie and drives alongside the 0,9m high fence that separates South Africa from […]