Robert Kirby Channel vision I grew wary of the SABC’s motives in broadcasting the now notorious documentary on Sierra Leone after they had given the umpteenth advance warning about the programme: “It includes graphic scenes of extreme physical violence … will be offensive to sensitive viewers … blindfold the children.” In yet another grimy departure […]

Brett Morris It was purely by accident that I found Peace in Jo’burg the other day. I was driving along Louis Botha Avenue, on my way to do all sorts of pre-planned Saturday afternoon things, when my clutch cable snapped. I managed to push my car on to a side street amid a barrage of […]

Fiona Macleod Controversial wildlife dealer Riccardo Ghiazza was arrested this week on charges of fraud and falsely obtaining South African citizenship. Ghiazza (46), the man at the centre of the Tuli elephant furore, appeared briefly in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday for allegedly failing to declare he had a drug conviction in Italy when […]

BARRY STREEK, Cape Town | Friday 12.00pm. PRESIDENT Thabo Mbeki in his speech to the opening of Parliament on Friday morning lashed out at tax evaders and reaffirmed government’s plans to continue with its renewal of the taxi industry. He said the revenue service would introduce new measures to take tough action against non-compliant tax […]

Shane Watson BODY LANGUAGE First there was Cindy, then there was Kate, now there’s Gisele. Gisele Bundchen, Brazilian model of the moment. Not just Vogue and American Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar and W, all of whom featured her on their January covers, but every kind of publication has taken to Gisele like a Carlsberg in […]

Terry Pratchett, author of the humorous – and best-selling – Discworld fantasy series, tells Hamish Mackintosh about his computer habits When did you start using computers? In about 1982. I started with a Sinclair ZX81 which allowed me to do very primitive word processing. Next was an Amstrad CPC464 – the first model with an […]

Marthali Brand It was to be the soap opera of operas in the capital of rugby, braaivleis en sonneskyn. And Madame Butterfly, at Loftus Versfeld “under summer skies”, lived up to all the hype. And Pretoria turned out with gusto – only a few unclaimed seats were to be found on the field. Even some […]

Throughout the world Dirk Coetzee is credited with blowing the whistle on Vlakplaas, but the secret police unit’s activities were first revealed by Almond Nofemela to a fellow inmate on death row. Gomolemo Mokae spoke to Sibusiso Masuku about his role in the affair It is not difficult to get to the home of former […]

Andrew MuchineripiSoccer The African Cup of Nations quarter-finals showdown between South Africa and Ghana in Kumasi on Sunday brings together teams that can only improve after disastrous endings to their mini-league programmes. I have never been more ashamed of wearing Bafana Bafana colours than in midweek, when even a first-minute goal from Shaun Bartlett could […]

Fiona Macleod The Medical Research Council (MRC) is setting up a new primate unit at Delft in the Western Cape to breed baboons for medical research. The council says it is no longer internationally acceptable to use primates caught in the wild for experimentation, and it is setting up the new unit for “scientific and […]