Ferial Haffajee : A Second Look I wrote this while bound in leg braces – so steadfast was the determination not to be knee-jerk. It is, therefore, a much considered and chewed-upon view that the Human Rights Commission’s proposed inquiry into the media is the worst news possible. It is a view not coloured by […]

Benjamin Pogrund Laurence Gandar, who died in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, on November 14, was an unlikely South African hero. Appointed editor of the Rand Daily Mail in Johannesburg in October 1957, nothing out of the ordinary was expected of him. Yet he transformed the newspaper into a vehement opponent of apartheid and gave hope of change […]

Sutracide Cameron Duodu : Letter from the North Nigeria’s political lexicography is one of the most colourful in the world. This is because Nigerian politicians delight in showing off during public speeches what they consider to be the English “grammar” they learned at school. But since this grammar was taught to them by people who […]

SARAH BULLEN, Johannesburg | Thursday 5.45pm. THURSDAY brought a pleasant change to the directionless few days on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, with all indices ending in positive territory. Dealers said the market responded well on news of a 0,1 percentage point drop in the Consumer Price Index to 9%, pleasantly surprising the market which had […]

Ferial Haffajee A senior SABC radio executive has resigned from a strategic elections committee amid staff fears of African National Congress interference at the broadcaster. Franz Kruger, the national news and current affairs editor, quit the elections team when a story he wrote which painted a picture of dwindling ANC support provoked a heated response […]

diamond The managerial heirs to Tiny Rowland have inherited something of his fighting spirit, as they battle to maintain board control of the conglomerate’s newly demerged division, reports Laurie Laird The late Tiny Rowland was never a man to shy away from a battle – his feud with Mohamed al-Fayed, owner of Harrods, over control […]

With a host of new releases, kwaito looks to be the holiday soundtrack this year, writes Phillip Kakaza Jingle Bells might be blaring through the malls, but this season it’s the latest kwaito and d’gong releases that are getting party animals geared for the hot nights ahead. If you ask anyone, from producers to DJs […]

CD of the week : Peter Makurube The great bull of South African jazz, Winston Mankunku Ngozi, has released a new album, Molo Africa (Nkomo). This is Mankunku at his very best, on an album which introduces him as a multi- instrumentalist. But the tenor sax is still there, bellowing fiercely and with conviction. Not […]

Friday night : Jean Barker `Big, bloody indie beats!” the flier promised. “Dress as your favourite victim and get in for R15 …” sounds just right for Friday 13. My imagination is aroused. I picture strange people, weird conversations, tribal dance, excessive make-up. Unfortunately, none of my friends are keen to go. So the evening […]

Andy Capostagno Cricket The South African selectors must be breathing a sigh of relief. First Adam Bacher stuck his hand up and said, “Pick me”, by scoring a century and two 50s in successive SuperSport Series matches, then both Gary Kirsten and Mark Boucher made the three figure mark and finally Shaun Pollock got 30 […]