Herman Charles Bosman’s work is now all being reissued in a definitive edition. Craig MacKenzie describes his work on Mafeking Road Recently, as the editor of the journal English in Africa, I published there for the first time a remarkable exchange of letters between the post- war giants of South African letters – Herman Charles […]

Andy Capostagno Cricket South Africa’s selectors may be justified in believing that the first and most difficult hurdle has been surmounted. The four-wicket win against the West Indies at the Wanderers will have settled a lot of butterflies in a lot of stomachs. If there was going to be a fast pitch in this series […]

us) Douglas Rushkoff: ONLINE As millions in America sat down to their Thanksgiving turkey dinners last week, we celebrated a shamelessly mythologised reconstruction of our continent’s history. According to the well-ingrained but now-disputed legend, the pilgrims’ first Thanksgiving was communal in spirit, a demonstration of the debt they owed the native Americans who taught them […]

Gregory Mthembu-Salter French President Jacques Chirac looked particularly pleased with himself when he announced progress towards a ceasefire in the Congo at the Paris Franco-African summit last week, but in reality the chances are slim. The Democratic Republic of Congo’s President, Laurent Desire Kabila, resumed his fighting talk immediately after the Paris discussions. Rebels in […]

Chris Gordon Four years after the Lusaka accords officially ended Angola’s civil war, the internationally brokered peace process has come unglued. Renewed war seems almost certain. United Nations secretary general Kofi Annan told the Security Council last week that prospects for reactivating the peace process in Angola look bleak. The political and military situation continues […]

Chiara Carter The University of Transkei (Unitra) council has accepted the major recommendations of a damning report on its affairs commissioned by Minister of Education Sibusiso Bengu. These include the immediate departure of the university’s controversial principal, Professor Alfred Moleah, the resumption of all official duties by its vice- principal Professor JM Noruwana and a […]

Martin Walker in Brussels The European Union is to send a high- powered delegation to its tiny neighbours, from Switzerland to Monaco and from Andorra to Liechtenstein, to persuade them not to become tax havens and to join Europe’s plans for automatic withholding of taxes on non- national bank accounts. For tiny countries like San […]

Mail & Guardian reporter Senior executives of The Saturday Star and The Sunday Independent were this week informed of plans to collapse their newspapers under the editorial control of The Star. Executives were shown paper plans of the new arrangements which are part of the profitable Independent Newspapers group’s plans to retrench staff and dramatically […]

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 […]