Recommendations on the size and shape of tertiary institutions could spell the end of black universities, writes Dolina Dowling At the beginning of this year the Council on Higher Education (CHE) was asked by Minister of Education Kader Asmal to develop a set of concrete proposals to “ensure that our higher education system is indeed […]

Michelle Matthews The Africa House: The True Story of an English Gentleman and his African Dream by Christina Lamb (Penguin) Stewart Gore-Brown was an eccentric man. He built an arched and gargoyled country mansion, complete with rose gardens, in the middle of the Zambian bush. He let his servants, attired in neat pill-box hats and […]

Stefaans Brmmer Rafic Hariri, the controversial Middle East billionaire behind the equally controversial bid by Cell C for South Africa’s third cellphone network licence, is set to re-ascend the prime ministerial throne in his native Lebanon. Hariri and candidates of his Dignity bloc made a clean sweep of seats in the capital, Beirut, in parliamentary […]

Steven Friedman worm’s eye view Last week was a good one for those of us who insist that reality in this society is more complicated than the doom-sayers suggest. For those who insist we are on an inevitable path to authoritarianism, the national conference on racism allowed government politicians to polarise us further by demonising […]

Rupert Neethling In cyberspace privacy equals security. If websites publicly refrain from peeking secretly into their visitors’ computers – or playing hard and fast with their visitors’ personal data – then surfers are more likely to be reassured and thus more willing to supply their data (including their credit-card details) without feeling that they are […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Friday SAPPI, the pulp and paper giant denied rumours that that it might be the target of a takeover by Finland’s UPM Kymmene. Robert Hope, Sappi’s strategic development director told a local newspaper that he was irritated by the takeover rumours, but did not comment further. However the rumours have had […]

David Barnes soccer His name is Massimo Lombardo, he is the son of an Italian lorry driver and he could become as famous as Jean-Marc Bosman. Lombardo, a 27-year-old midfielder, played in the relative obscurity of the Swiss league at the weekend for Lausanne against Sion. He is proud of his 12 Swiss caps and […]

Rose Deon Potgieter boxing Dingaan “The Rose of Soweto” Thobela, wrote his name in the annals of international boxing history when he stopped Briton Glen Catley for the World Boxing Council (WBC) super-middlweight world title on Friday night at Carnival City. Just three fighters before him have managed to win credible world titles in weight […]

Ivor Powell In a bid to end ongoing divisions in the Mpumalanga provincial government, President Thabo Mbeki is expected to axe the province’s controversial Premier, Ndaweni Mahlangu, next week – and replace him with Deputy Minister of Edu- cation Smangaliso Mkhatshwa. Mkhatshwa was originally tipped for the premiership, when Mbeki unexpectedly announced the appointment of […]

The new CD by Wyclef Jean, the dreadlocked powerhouse behind The Fugees, features ska, 41 gunshots, Pink Floyd and a rapping Kenny Rogers Dom Phillips Hip-hop makes sense in New York: the town that created it is still enslaved by it. On a muggy afternoon, the street vendors on Broadway blast out rap, selling mix […]