Andy Colquhoun Rugby Let us pause before the dogs of war are loosed at Twickenham on Saturday to consider the game’s most important personality. A person who won’t even be on the field. If South Africa were to miss out on their bid for a rare Grand Slam – and for all the bullish talk […]

answered Jann Turner Friday: After a month, I have a whole day off. I’m ready for a day paying off bills. I’m feeling strong, so I start with the post office. Eventually I get to the service-with-a-scowl teller and I pay my phone bill. I’m two-and-a-half weeks late, but hell, that’s not long – is […]

Etienne van Heerden’s most recent novel has been translated into English. He spoke to Shaun de Waal With the translation, one by one, of Etienne van Heerden’s novels (and a volume of stories) into English, his status as a major South African writer is becoming clearer to a larger audience. His multi-prize-winning Toorberg, translated as […]

Mungo Soggot Minister of Trade and Industry Alec Erwin has denounced a Mail & Guardian report two weeks ago that his officials demanded cash cheques from companies attending a banquet. In a letter to the M&G, Erwin says: “No Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) official has ever asked for cash cheque payments.” He has […]

When structuring a salary package, negotiate on your net salary, writes Belinda Beresford It’s great getting a new job. But just because you and your employer have signed your sides of the contract, things may not be quite as straightforward as they seem. One cloud about to rain on your parade could be the taxman. […]

Chiara Carter Two separate Day of Reconciliation ceremonies will be held at Blood River where the government is hosting a R800 000 feast to mark the opening of a new memorial to Zulus who fell in the battle. On one side of the drift that divides the Afrikaans and Zulu memorials, Afrikaners will commemorate the […]

Friday night: Nashen Moodley Being a Durbanite recently arrived in Johannesburg somehow necessitates being constantly regaled with tales of malicious muggings and wanton violence. The locals seem to take to this (supposedly educative) task with much glee and I was told, quite matter-of- factly, that I would be attacked before the weekend was out. The […]

The CSIR has developed a unique system to prevent prison escapes, reports David Shapshak An innovative, low-cost motion detector system could be the solution to preventing the hundreds of escapes each year from police cells, say the police and its developers, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). The new system consists of two […]

Tangeni Amupadhi Police in Johannesburg’s northern suburbs, including Alexandra, may have found the right ointment for their Achilles heel – carjacking. The men in blue have cut by half hijacking incidents in the past three months with an innovative crime- fighting initiative. The new plan circumvents the usual excuses about lack of manpower and resources. […]

Sundowns Andrew Muchineripi Soccer When Durban assistant referee Tiny Chandermoney raised his flag to signal a “goal” by Joel Masilela of Sundowns offside last weekend he could hardly have imagined just how big a storm he would stir. My mind went back in time to the late Liverpool manager Bill Shankly and his remark that […]