Howard Barrell President Thabo Mbeki plumped for continuity and party loyalty over performance in the first big decision of his presidency: the choice of his Cabinet. He avoided any of the radical innovation urged on him by commentators, the business community and South Africa’s friends abroad, choosing by and large the old faces and mediocre […]
IN BRIEF ILLEGAL ALIENS ‘EASY ARRESTS’ POLICE figures released on Wednesday show that despite the fact that a third of all suspects arrested in Johannesburg in May were illegal aliens, only a tiny proportion of illegals were held on suspicion of committing a crime. Of the illegal immigrants held in Johannesburg, those arrested for armed […]
Deon Potgieter in Copenhagen Boxing The South African National Boxing Commission has controversially snatched a world title fight away from former World Boxing Union welterweight world champion Gary “The Heat” Murray. The newly formed boxing bodyoriginally tried to hamstring Murray by saying a local fighter should win a national title before being eligible to contest […]
Adam Mars-Jones AN EQUAL MUSIC by Vikram Seth (Phoenix House) It was famously observed of Henry James that he sometimes bit off less than he could chew, but the accusation is an unexpected one to be directed at Vikram Seth. His first novel, after all, the monumental A Suitable Boy, was a feat of absorption […]
So you’re the average small unit trust investor, the type of person who has been putting away a few hundred rand a month, typically into a general equity unit trust, ever since you’ve been earning a decent salary. Until the stock market crashed early last year you were quite happy with your investment. The Johannesburg […]
Our 24-hour Internet news site, the Daily Mail & Guardian, is the largest online news publication in the country – by a substantial margin. Industry figures released this week rate DM&G twice as popular as the Financial Mail, its closest competitor in the publishing category. The Audit Bureau for Internet Statistics (Abis), part of the […]
THURSDAY, 11.30AM: ITALY beat Cameroon’s Indomitable Lions 3-0 on Wednesday, breaking the deadlock in Group B of the World Cup. The Lions suffered one goal from Italy’s new star, Luigi di Bagio, and two from Christian Vieri. Unfortunately, the Africans handicapped themselves in the 43rd minute — Raymond Kalla was sent off for an overly […]
Peter Bradshaw After the flop that was Johnny Mnemonic, the idea of casting Keanu Reeves in another virtual reality thriller must have taken a lot of nerve. Either that or they really wanted Ben Affleck but Ben wasn’t available. In any case, I must admit that if I had been offered a chance a year […]
Andrew Muchineripi Soccer Bafana Bafana fly to Luanda on Saturday with about as much relish as turkeys welcome December. I warned last week that the pride of our nation were tired and the evidence was there for all to see at Soccer City in midweek. Perhaps the sole consolation for a squad that will lack […]
George Kimball Golf The mythical designation – “Best Golfer Never to have Won a Major” – is less a title than a lifetime achievement award earned through years of exemplary frustration. It is one of those dubious honours to which nobody exactly aspires and, once won, can be shed in one of two ways, one […]