Howard Barrell Serious political disputes in the Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology lay behind the resignation this week of its Director General, Roger Jardine. The rows pitted Jardine against one of his two deputies, Musa Xulu, and his minister, Lionel Mtshali, according to arts and science circles, as well as sources in the […]

Toby Walne Spending it Barbie is facing middle age. Next year she will celebrate her 40th birthday. Early Barbie fans who resisted the temptation to pull off her arms or legs can count themselves lucky: vintage first-edition Barbies sell for about R60 000. Action Man is hot on Barbie’s heels. Rejuvenated with extra muscles and […]

One of the more surreal themes to emerge from Zimbabwe in recent weeks was that of Democratic Republic of Congo President Laurent Kabila being escorted into Harare by a 28-vehicle convoy while helicopter gunships hovered overhead. His motorcade, sirens wailing, carefully avoided the townships where tear gas hung in the rubble-strewn streets after police and […]

Switching banks to get a better bond can be to your advantage, but watch out for hidden costs, warns Belinda Beresford You may not want, or be able, to move house, but it might be time to consider moving your home loan. After all, you’re encouraged to switch insurance companies to take advantage of lower […]

Neil Tovey It would come as no surprise if many members of the local soccer media look rather rotund these days, given the huge weekly helpings of humble pie they have to digest. The man responsible for the unhealthy diet is Neil Tovey, former captain of the national team, holder of a record 52 international […]

Jack Schofield Two years after it was launched, the Universal Serial Bus (USB), a connector designed to replace serial and parallel printer ports on personal computers, should start to take off this Christmas. More than 100-million personal computers have been shipped with built-in USB ports, software support has been provided in Windows 98 and Mac […]

Chiara Carter The about-face of the state’s star witness in the embezzlement trial of anti-apartheid hero Allan Boesak might mean that the court has to grapple more with questions about “struggle accounting” and lax management than personal dishonesty. Until this week, former Foundation for Peace and Justice (FPJ) bookkeeper Freddie Steenkamp was the key accuser […]

Africa’s Oscars : Andrew Worsdale Two days before the launch of South African cinema’s biggest schmooze-fest, Sithengi, the film and TV market, most local players were gathered in force with the continent’s counterparts at last Saturday’s M-Net All Africa Film Awards in Pretoria. The State Theatre is a bit monolithic but the seats are so […]

Mungo Soggot Department of Trade and Industry department officials have been soliciting thousands of rands from the cream of South Africa’s exporters by demanding R10 000 cash cheques from companies keen to bring guests to a gala dinner. The November 26 banquet is supposed to be addressed by President Nelson Mandela, who is billed to […]

Chiara Carter A visit by President Nelson Mandela this weekend sets the tone for the African National Congress’s Western Cape election campaign which is likely to ignore the thorny issue of race. The party is adopting a different strategy to 1994 when it suffered a bruising defeat at the hands of the National Party in […]