Mail & Guardian reporters A former South African army colonel accused by the United States ambassador to the United Nations, Richard Holbrooke, of supplying weapons to rebels in Sierra Leone has written to the US envoy vigorously denying the claims. The former South African Defence Force (SADF) officer, Fred Rindel, has told Holbrooke that the […]
Piers Pigou Apartheid assassin Ferdi Barnard’s revelations before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC) amnesty committee this week about destabilisation before the 1994 election have again raised questions about the extent of security force participation in the Boipatong massacre. Barnard claimed that hitmen provided guns to Zulu hostel dwellers to carry out a series of […]
innovations You know what you want. So just asking for it could be a lot simpler than having to go out, scour an auction website like ebay.com and then bid on it. M-Web has introduced an interesting twist on the now-familiar auction site in the form of iWant. You post your desire and sellers then […]
Fiona Macleod Vervet monkeys who have been terrifying staff and patients at the Ga-Rankuwa hospital near Pretoria have become part of an ambitious pilot project to save the species in South Africa. Volunteers at the Vervet Monkey Foundation trapped the Ga-Rankuwa troop of 15 this week and moved them to cages in a Johannesburg suburb. […]
Khadija Magardie Mail & Guardian editor Phillip van Niekerk and The Star’s associate editor Lizeka Mda this week served court papers on Minister of Public Enterprises Jeff Radebe and the African National Congress, kicking off a lawsuit that could set a crucial precedent in South African defamation law. Van Niekerk and Mda are asking the […]
weapons Nawaal Deane and Roshila Pillay ‘Clear … aim… fire!” shouts the instructor, and with a series of explosive shots, the shooting session begins. A group of black 30-something women have discovered a new hobby: shooting. The shooting range is becoming a prime hang- out for women serious about protecting themselves. Standing in a row […]
Steven Friedman worm’s eye view Do we need judges to do what elected politicians cannot? If a Constitutional Court case decided this week is a guide, the short answer is “yes”. The court this week ruled on the fate of people living on a Western Cape sports field who were spared eviction when High Court […]
He is one of the greats of 20th century music, but his career has soared and dipped, as has his personal life, encompassing political protest, religious conversion and rumours of secret marriages. Adam Sweeting on a ‘Byronic hero’ who, in his 60th year, is surprised to find himself winning over a new generation It would […]
carrying these days Nawaal Deane and Roshila Pillay It’s a liquorice allsorts bag of tricks when it comes to guns nowadays. You can get a pink-coated gun with a gold grip, or for a less fashion-conscious gunslinger, a pistol with sliding action and automatic reload. Gun ownership is soaring, at just over 190 000 yearly, […]
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez used last week’s oil summit to demand justice from industrialised nations Charlotte Denny and Alex Bellos in Caracas Opec blamed the tax systems of rich countries for high oil prices last week as they rallied to the call by the Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez, to politicise the oil producers’ cartel as […]