Local hero Charl Mattheus is facing a Russian assault at this year’s Comrades Marathon, writes Michael Finch It was April 7 1996, the day after Russian Dmitry Grishine had almost shocked national marathon champion Zithulele Sinqe at the Two Oceans Marathon. Sinqe scraped home for victory by five seconds, but it wasn’t Grishine’s second place […]
Libby Young The last year has seen South African cyberspace grow up. The number of users has passed that crucial one million benchmark, Web addresses are starting to appear on bumper stickers and no business card is complete without an e-mail address. So what’s been happening to South Africa’s search engines? Newcomer Max, , from […]
Review of the week Charl Blignaut `I hate theatre,” said my most cynical friend’s boyfriend as he gazed around the Market Theatre bar, taking in the crowd of monied folk out risking their cars to see Pieter-Dirk Uys downtown on a Saturday night at 6.30pm. “Why do you hate theatre?” I asked. My cynical friend […]
The famous rave drug on its own is not responsible for the deaths of productive young people, argues Ted Leggett The death of a young woman after her first experiment with “ecstasy” last weekend has brought the so-called “club drugs” to national attention. The incredible variety of substances associated with the rave scene have led […]
challenge If the bullion price stays at its current level for any length of time, South Africa could face even more severe unemployment, report Donna Block and Mungo Soggot One of the first major challenges for the Mbeki presidency will be the potentially massive ramifications for South Africa’s economy stemming from the collapse in the […]
The winner of the Lillian Hellman/Dashiell Hammet award is not a standard academic, reports Mercedes Sayagues Judged on her writings alone, Dr Patricia McFadden appears to be an African Valkyrie in metal breast-plates, who sees the world through rigid prisms of gender and race. But when you meet her, she is a warm woman with […]
investors Donna Block President-elect Thabo Mbeki is frequently quoted saying, ”It’s time to get to work,” and foreign investors are keen to see he if keeps his word. Most economists and Africa watchers agree that direct foreign investment – investment in resident enterprises – will stay on the sidelines as investors take a wait-and-see attitude […]
Peter Makurube The best jazz in ages, with a variety and quality that is mind boggling -this is what the 10th anniversary of jazz at the national arts festival promises. It is a programme paying homage to the growing relationship between European jazz musicians and their South African counterparts, a relationship that began more than […]
John Grobler A brave attempt to pass progressive anti-rape legislation in the Namibian Parliament ran into heavy weather as even members of the South West African Peoples Organisation (Swapo) found themselves at odds with each other – the women against the men. At stake is the passage of the Combatting of Rape Bill, which breaks […]
Ian Harris and Struan Douglas Moments before the launch of Dantai’s debut album, Operation Lahlela, lead singer Pam Lungu was standing outside, alone on the chilled pavement, smoking. All tense and apprehensive. ”Looks like you’re expecting,” we joked, intuiting in her excitement the arrival of something unique. Not the album – we knew that was […]