flashpoints Jubie Matlou A: Eastern Cape/KZN cross-border district council Resistance to the demarcation border proposal has triggered some of the bloodiest conflicts since the 1960 Pondo peasant revolt. At least seven people have been killed in the Lusikisiki area, alongside the provincial border with KwaZulu-Natal. The cross-border proposal seeks to bring together the Eastern Cape […]

Jubie Matlou Who are … Tumi Makgabo, Charles Mogale and Jeremy Maggs? For a woman who earns her living by talking, current affairs presenter Tumi Makgabo was surprisingly cagey about her prospects of joining Ted Turner’s Cable News Network (CNN). For Makgabo (25), Atlanta beckons with not just the promise of life captured by Coca- […]

The ordinary citizen will soon have the right of access to information held by public or private bodies, writes Barry Streek A massive breakthrough for human rights and accountability to the public was achieved in Parliament this week with the adoption of four Bills, which in terms of the Constitution must be signed by President […]

The ever shifting sands of the Namib desert have provided infinite inspiration for a Swiss photographer, writes Valentine Cascarino Eboh In the Namib desert there are forces constantly at war, some of them constructive and others destructive. The more dominant ones have the capability to change the nature of the place, transforming it randomly into […]

THE cash-strapped government of Lesotho on Wednesday finalised the sale of 80% of its government vehicle pool to a South African company in the kingdom’s latest privatisation venture. The government’s R80-million deal with Imperial Fleet Services was signed in the kingdom’s capital Maseru. The sale includes the transfer of about 1200 vehicles which will now […]

Andrew Muchineripi Soccer The first round of the African Cup of Nations delivered 21 goals, seven enjoyable matches, more highs and lows than normally found on a weather chart, and further proof that the only certainty in football is uncertainty. Ghana and Cameroon set a lively pace in the opening match and it has barely […]

Movie of the week It is rather strange to see Brad Pitt, who has a body immaculately toned down to the last sinew, scoffing at the male models in Gucci ads. Is the irony deliberate? In Fight Club it is often hard to tell. This is a film that derides consumerism, but it is made […]

Reports and interviews by Cameron Duodo In 1994 Christian Solidarity International officials discovered a booming slave trade in Sudan. Here they tell the stories of some of the slaves for whom they bought freedom Since 1995, an organisation based in Switzerland, called Christian Solidarity International (CSI), has spent $1-million redeeming 20 000 Dinka slaves, captured […]

Howard Barrell A small black economic elite has benefited most from the democratisation of South Africa over the past 10 years. While the black share of wages, salaries and other income in South Africa rose dramatically over the five years to 1996, almost all of this increase occurred among the top 10% of black earners, […]

Director Henion Han’s intimate documentary, A Letter to My Cousin in China, provides insight into life as second-class citizens under apartheid, writes Andrew Worsdale Henion Han’s production company is called Spook-asem, which gives you some indication of the mix of humour and spirituality which imbues his work. To catch part of Han’s intense, self- effacing […]