Howard Barrell:OVER A BARREL The disintegration of a once great political party can be one of life’s less dignified sights. Old friends inexplicably become bitter enemies, and once deadly foes strangely firm friends. What once seemed like high political principle for party members is suddenly exposed as having been mere convenience. Political reputations that sparkled […]

world stage Belinda Beresford Reminiscent of a blonde Benoni bombshell, Old Mutual is to export itself on to the international stage and have an image overhaul. Whether the change from a South African mutual society to an internationally listed company brings it the same success that moving to Hollywood has done for Charlize Theron remains […]

Friday night: Ferial Haffajee It’s neither the hood nor high society. But a Friday night in Johannesburg’s suburbs of Mayfair and Fordsburg is an evening in a community. At the Fordsburg Square entire families are out at play. There is no strict age policy. The very old and the very young mingle with teens out […]

Belinda Beresford Perhaps it’s the scars of a wild youth, the aftermath of a delinquent spouse or the legacy of mismanagement of your money. But a bad credit record can have unpleasant repercussions, including failure to get a bond, credit card, store card, cellphone – all the trappings of a relatively affluent South African. It’s […]

Ann Eveleth A Zambian student committed suicide after his South African boarding school expelled him and booked a ticket to send him home without informing his parents. International School of South Africa (Issa) principal Ed Khabele said he told lower sixth form student Tabo Mwenechanya (18) at a disciplinary inquiry on October 31 that he […]

Mail & Guardian correspondents report on how the Olympic rings have been tarnished The Olympic flag fluttered above the new lakeside sports museum in Lausanne, Switzerland. Inside, the activity was frantic as journalists tried to absorb the bewildering array of fresh scandals surrounding the world’s biggest sporting event. The choice of the museum as the […]

Chris Dunton ENCOUNTERS: AN ANTHOLOGYOFSOUTHAFRICANSHORTSTORIES selected and introduced by David Medalie (Wits University Press) It’s true, I guess, of many, many short stories that they revolve around some kind of encounter – for that brief span of telling, a meeting, a conjunction, a confrontation is ideal to get the stuff of the story moving. But […]

testicles and electrodes Some men have always been ready to try anything to stay potent. However, the pseudo-scientific approach to ageing began only a century ago. Charles-Edouard Brown-Squard, a French doctor, announced that he felt 20 years younger after injecting “extract of fresh guinea-pig and dog testicles”. Within a year, 1 200 physicians were administering […]

immunity What did businessman and banker Christo Wiese have to hide from the inquiry into the reasons for the collapse of Cape- based conglomerate Tollgate? Absolutely nothing, he says. Then why did he seek to do a deal which involved him repaying R900 000 to the Tollgate liquidators in exchange for a guarantee that he […]

THE second journalist captured by rebels in Sierra Leone capital Freetown was freed on Wednesday. Spanish journalist Javier Espinoza said he was surprised to have been freed, who had held him for two days. Espinoza, a reporter for the daily El Mundo, was detained with French reporter Patrick Saint-Paul on Monday when they crossed into […]