In Africa today the suffering is caused from within. Wole Soyinka laments the loss of post-apartheid confidence and calls for stronger UN intervention A wave of anomie, even a breakdown of humanity, is sweeping across the continent that must be particularly galling to those who so confidently trumpeted an “African renaissance”. What we see today […]

THABO Mngomeni has retained the Bafana Bafana captaincy for the June 18 Cosafa Cup quarter-final match against Switzerland despite the team’s 4-0 thrashing by the United States in the Nike Cup at the weekend. The 20-man squad, which will be without the likes of Shaun Bartlett and Quinton Fortune because of club commitments, contains eight […]

Pensioners in the Eastern Cape are up in arms over chaos in the Welfare Department Peter Dickson Pensioners have rampaged through the Transkei, assaulting provincial Department of Welfare pay-out officials and taking others hostage, after the department quietly removed 20E000 welfare grant beneficiaries from the provincial register. The violent protests took place in Qumbu, Mqanduli […]

Robert Potts BOSS CUPID by Thom Gunn (Faber &Faber) Thom Gunn’s poetry has always been celebratory. In the Fifties, as an English poet of the Movement generation, his icons were leather-clad bikers, Elvis Presley, soldiers – the rough, tough men of action – and he famously wrote “I praise the overdog, from Alexander/ To those […]

Some people are blessed with financial savvy and manage their money sensibly, but there are others who survive by cheating you blind Sharon Gill So you gave the builder a down payment and haven’t seen him since, while you were away for the weekend your flatmate moved out and took your CD player with him, […]

Fossil-spotting might not be the most interactive form of entertainment around, but on the tour of the Cradle of Humankind our ancient ancestors come to life Katy Chance It’s cold, rather grey and drizzling. At the tail end of one of Johannesburg’s wettest and coldest summers in living memory, it seems fitting to find myself […]

violation Khadija Magardie The Mail & Guardian is demanding financial compensation from Reuters, after the global news giant printed and distributed an M&G exclusive on the Hansie Cronje saga, without acknowledging its source. The article, entitled ”Cricket – Cronje blames Satan for his actions”, was circulated both nationally and internationally after breaking in the M&G […]

MARIAM ISA, Johannesburg | Friday 9.45am. ANALYSTS say the country’s newly introduced inflation targets are both realistic and achievable, despite calls from business to relax them to reduce the risk of rate hikes. All twelve economists responding to a straw poll on the issue said that they believe the government will reach its aim of […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Rabat | Friday 3.00pm. MOROCCO said on Friday it will not withdraw from the race to host the 2006 World Cup, dashing South Africa’s hopes of a possible deal during a visit at the weekend by South African Sports Minister Ngconde Balfour. South African officials said on Thursday that Balfour would try to […]