directorate Stuart Hess South Africa’s first black female gynaecologist, Nothemba Simalela, will become the new head of the national Aids directorate on World Aids Day next Tuesday. A senior lecturer in obstetrics and gynaecology at the Medical University of South Africa (Medunsa), Simalela replaces Rose Smart. Smart said she is leaving as director because she […]

Donna Block: SHARE WORLD Just when you thought it was safe for a little dip in the world’s financial waters it appears that those sharks of Wall Street, the hedge funds, are preparing a new feeding frenzy. Hungry after a three-month absence from the international investment scene, the funds are hunting for opportunities to engorge […]

amnesty decision Wonder Hlongwa A man who ordered the killing of more than 50 people has been appointed a lieutenant colonel by the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) – before the amnesty committee of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission has decided whether he will be granted amnesty. The amnesty committee will only rule on […]

Mungo Soggot A legal and political battle looms over the rights of South Africans suffering from asbestos-related diseases to claim compensation from British asbestos companies in United Kingdom courts. The claims promise a transformation of the lives of thousands of South African workers. But their lawsuits could be thwarted by legislation in Britain outlawing such […]

A degree of chaos was almost inevitable where the organisation of the 1999 elections is concerned. Its arrival is confirmed with the start of voter registration this weekend. The populace is now urged to rush out and register to vote in the district where they will be on election day. But, as election day has […]

Without more aid nearly 300 000 people, now subsisting on leaves and roots, will starve early next year, reports David Gough from Xuddur The threat of famine hangs over war- torn southern Somalia, for the second time in six years. The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) says as many as 300 000 people are […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Friday 11.00am. HOME Affairs Minister Mangosuthu Buthelezi had an extremely close relationship with the notorious Bureau for State Security (Boss) during a decades-long collaboration with apartheid-era security structures, according to explosive in-camera testimony presented to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. This testimony “leaked to the Mail & Guardian this week” was […]

Friday night: Dave Chislett Ten years ago, much against my will, I spent two hormone-fuelled years in Port Elizabeth completing my high school career. As a Johannesburg boy, recently transplanted to the coast, I hated the place. My nickname for it at the time was PE-nis by the sea. Now, my good friend Hagen Engler […]

A new history of South Africa could engender controversy. Author Frank Welsh spoke to Anthony Egan The great British historian EH Carr said that a crucial way to understand history was to understand the historian. The life of Frank Welsh – businessman, banker, boatbuilder – tells us much about his book. A History of South […]

Hector Petersen’s name is synonymous with the 1976 riots, but what happened to the man carrying him in that famous picture? Andrew Worsdale reports Director Feizel Mamdoo’s startling documentary What Happened to Mbuyisa? is the first South African movie to be invited to participate in the Amsterdam International Documentary Film Festival, the most prestigious event […]