STELLENBOSCH University’s Sunsat satellite remains earthbound after the ninth postponement of the launch by the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration Delta II rocket carrying South Africa’s first home-grown satellite. Sunsat was to blast off along with payloads for the US Air Force and Boeing. The latest postponement was once again due to “adverse […]

Donna Block The government of President Robert Mugabe has succeeded in doing what no one has done before: it has caused a strike by stockbrokers. For three working days, from January 14 until January 19, Zimbabwe’s traders, dealers and brokers agreed not to accept orders or place bids. The Zimbabwe Stock Exchange, once one of […]

MILO the six-month-old Jack Russell terrier is in critical condition after surviving seven hours of open heart surgery for a severe congenital heart defect on Thursday. The dog is recovering in the University of Cape Town’s animal laboratory, where it is expected to remain on the critical list for at least 24 hours. Medical team […]

The London art scene is currently caught in the web of influential French artist Louise Borgeois’s latest exhibition. Adrian Searle reports Louise Bourgeois turned 87 on Christmas Day. She could be just another batty old biddy, with her interminable reminiscences, her total recall and false memories, but for one irreducible fact: she is one of […]

Donna Block:SHARE WORLD Have you got nerves of steel, a cast- iron stomach and access to a computer with a connection to the global network? If so, then you can become part of a small but growing group of independent investors known as “day traders”. Unlike traditional or online investing, where investors hang on to […]

There’s not much to laugh about in Zimbabwe at the moment, but there is plenty of material for comedians who are pushing the limits of free expression, writes Mercedes Sayagues I want to be a Zimbabwean policeman I want to join the riot squad I wanna kill a couple of workers I know I’ll get […]

Loose cannon Robert Kirby Let me be among the last to criticise that fine fellow, Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel. His is a thankless job simply because, when tossing the public coin, there are not only too many takers but all they ever do is squeal for more. Can you remember the occasion when any […]

Last week’s fresh fears prompted by the Brazilian debacle were replaced by a sigh of relief from world markets when Brazil allowed the real to float against the dollar. Indices and stocks which had surged after the new year and went into a dizzying tailspin when the failure of a minor Brazilian province to repay […]

Friday night: Brandon Edmonds Summers in Durban are like David Lean movies: long, epic and strangely alluring. They make you dream about backstroking through molten lava. At least dressing is pared down to essentials. Basically, as little as is decent. That most clubs and bars stick to Ralph Laurenesque colonial decorum, read “no shorts”, is […]

economy, stupid Beneath the triumphalism and euphoria, a deep unease pervades Middle America, argues Robert Kuttner Yes, in many respects life in the United States has never been better. But there are four notable soft spots in the American utopia: insecurity, holes in the welfare state, inequality and stress. First, insecurity: social critic Richard Sennett […]