SPARKED by crop damage fears, white maize futures reversed their upward sprint on Wednesday and turned back from the R1000-a-ton mark. A dealer said white maize futures reversed between R10 and R16 on five of the six contracts because of failed export orders for the staple grain. Traders are revising their estimates for the total […]

Question: What do you do with a large brown tube-like object placed between your index finger and thumb? Answer: Don’t deny the experience ever took place – as United States President Bill Clinton did after he gave Monica Lweinsky a cigar to titillate herself with while he watched. That’s the official line from the 70-odd […]

THE South African relief mission to flooded areas of Mozambique is proceeding, with two Oryx helicopters flying emergency supplies to Maimelane and Inhassorro. Assistance from a Japanese aid organisation was anticipated from Thursday night while the Red Cross and other organisations are already on the scene. They are working to pre-empt famine after the destruction […]

Anthony Egan AFRICA: THE TIME HAS COME by Thabo Mbeki (Tafelberg/Mafube) HOPE AND FEAR: REFLECTIONS OF A DEMOCRAT by Tony Leon (Jonathan Ball) It is election year, so anything published by a prominent politician gets special treatment, whether they deserve it or not. These two books -by the president-in-waiting and one whom many hope will […]

sceptic’s eyes Brenda Atkinson `I do make life difficult for myself,” sighs Robyn Orlin, eyelids drooping to prove a point, her voice suggesting fatigue and inescapable hardship. Orlin is musing on her latest performance piece, commissioned by the FNB-Vita Dance Umbrella and due for launch this weekend. With just a week of rehearsals to go, […]

`We are trapped in a wilderness of mirrors,” James Jesus Angleton, the former head of counter- intelligence for the CIA, is quoted as having once said. Angleton was referring, of course, to the impossibility of finding one’s bearings in a professional world dedicated to bluff and counter-bluff, where nothing is what it appears to be. […]

Alex Dodd This image, Berlin (1981) is part of a major Jurgen Schadeberg retrospective on show at the Gallery of Photography in Dublin, Ireland until the end of March. Although Schadeberg is best known for his classic black and white Drum photographs from Fifties South Africa, the images on show will expose viewers to his […]

SOUTH AFRICAN voters remain highly intolerant of their political opponents, according to the latest Markinor/Idasa Opinion ’99 survey. The survey found one in four voters openly admits being ready to take action against political opponents including being prepared to block speeches, rallies and other normal political activity. Up to half of African National Congress supporters […]

Barbara Ludman MRS EINSTEIN by Anna McGrail (Anchor) A daughter was born to Mileva Maric and fellow student Albert Einstein a year before they were married. Baby Lieserl was given up for adoption in her mother’s village in southern Hungary so that the great man’s studies would not be disturbed. The two sons born after […]

Allegations that Hernus Kriel influenced casino licensing have surfaced. Chiara Carter and Ivor Powell report A man who served on the Western Cape Gaming Board has accused former premier Hernus Kriel of exerting undue influence on decisions to license casinos and urging a cover-up of an alleged bribe by a business friend. The allegations are […]