countries Aaron Nicodemus The United States has done an about-face this week on the issue of intellectual property rights for Aids drugs, a development welcomed by Aids activists and researchers. On World Aids Day, President Bill Clinton announced that the US will develop a co- operative approach on health-related intellectual property matters in order for […]

Mercedes Sayagues Zimbabwean women scored a small victory when a magistrate was transferred from the civil and customary law section to the criminal section of Harare’s magistrate’s courts after complaints about his chauvinistic comments. On November 23, about 100 women toyi- toyied in downtown Harare to protest remarks by magistrate Billiard Mukwasa. He told a […]

Michael Walker It must constitute one of the most spectacular gestures of faith in the history of ex-offenders. At 4pm on Wednesday, in the ambassador suite of third division Darlington football club, the club chair George Reynolds – a one- time safe-blower with four years in prison on his CV – was handed the most […]

Cameron Duodu LETTER FROM THE NORTH There are certain glorious moments that define our common humanity. Such moments demonstrate vividly that despite our different colours, social backgrounds and geographical location, we can meld our disparate spirits together and fight for the survival of our beautiful planet. One such defining moment occurred in 1984/1985 when Bob […]

Mungo Soggot Ahigh court judge last week rubbished the attack launched by former Land Bank chair Bonile Jack against Helena Dolny, describing Jack’s allegations as “defamatory and baseless”. Judge Nico Coetzee dismissed Jack’s allegations, contained in a letter to President Thabo Mbeki and leaked to the press, in his judgment upholding Dolny’s bid to block […]

Q&A Durban musical icon Roderick “Ricky” Stewart Gass has a passion for poetry, music and charity. His long and chequered career has taken him from a Durban orphanage into the police service of Rhodesia; from chart success and stadium fame back to Durban, where he now runs an animal welfare charity shop and plays music […]

Paul Kirk Camouflage is illegal. The only people who may be in possession of the trendy material are the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) and the elite special task force of the South African Police Service (SAPS). Terry Lyons, the owner of a Durban company called Cammo Joe, has been prosecuted and convicted for […]

Peter Dickson The Eastern Cape legislature’s minority of women members have established the first women’s caucus in a provincial legislature, in a determined bid to tackle gender imbalances and influence government policy over the next five years. Eastern Cape legislature deputy speaker and former welfare MEC Mandisa Marasha commented on the new body that comprises […]

Barry Streek The number of regular farm workers in South Africa decreased by 2% a year over the past five financial years, but the number of seasonal workers increased slightly, Minister of Agriculture and Land Affairs Thoko Didiza has disclosed. She warned that there are difficulties in obtaining reliable statistics on farms, including commercial farms. […]

Stephen Bierley Tennis In a few days men’s professional tennis will officially and triumphantly announce, in an attempt to enter the next millennium with something approaching a bang, that it has re-invented itself. Its top nine tournaments will be re- branded as a cohesive unit and its end-of- season tournament re-titled, while the ranking system […]