Howard Barrell : OVER A BARREL Nigeria and South Africa, radically different in so many ways, are similar in at least one respect: the way language, at least the English language, is used by many of their political intellectuals. This became apparent last year when I spent two months in Nigeria co-teaching a few courses […]

One of the most mysterious places in the world will be the most highly surveyed, writes Alex Bellos Cold War technology is being adapted to fight drug smugglers and illegal miners who are threatening the Amazon jungle. A surveillance system (known by its Portuguese acronym, Sivam, and being set up by the Brazilian government) will […]

This could be one of those rare concerts that goes down in history like the Amnesty International Concert in Harare in 1988. So if you’ve got some wheels and you’re in need of a restorative African musical adventure, then put that cabbie into first and head for lush Mpumalanga. About 30 minutes past Nelspruit off […]

Phillip Kakaza Can art depict a people’s identity? This was a question that I kept toying with after viewing the San Art exhibition now showing at Absa Art Gallery in downtown Johannesburg. At first the bright, multi-hued surfaces seem almost to resist analysis. One is totally taken in by the surface qualities of colour and […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Thursday 7.00am. EASTERN Province thrashed Boland by 62 runs in their Standard Bank League limited-overs cricket match at St George’s Park on Wednesday night, with their bowlers particularly devastating. Eastern Province scored 224 in their alotted 45 overs, with Louis Koen, Dave Callaghan and Mark Rushmere playing good innings. Koen again […]

Genevieve Fox: FIRST PERSON Sarah Monie is 18 years old. She lost her virginity at 15, married at 16, divorced a year later. A one-night stand in a nightclub resulted in the birth of her daughter, Olivia, now 15 months old. Monie’s aim had been to get pregnant and bring up the child on her […]

Mungo Soggot The Cabinet has given Minister of Public Service and Administration Zola Skweyiya an extra R300-million to pay civil servants and fund the transformation of the public service. The increase is about 10% of the government’s R3,4-billion budget for what the public service department terms “the improvement of conditions of service”. The increase was […]

Uganda’s president may still be popular, writes Mercedes Sayagues, but ethnic mistrust and corruption are poisoning the country When the 5Y-ANV Islander plane carrying Lieutenant Colonel Jet Mwebaze crashed in the Rwenzori mountains of southeastern Uganda last month, five lives, a stash of money – said to be US$1-million – and the reputation of the […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Lagos | Friday 9.00pm. NIGERIAN authorities have imposed an overnight curfew on the oil town of Warri after clashes there left five youths dead and five soldiers wounded, a military officer said on Friday. The dusk-to-dawn curfew was ordered late on Thursday — the day of the clashes between youths of rival communities […]

Wally Mbhele Plans for the release of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s final report were almost ambushed this week when the African National Congress attempted to use its power to prevent its publication. This followed the ANC’s blistering opposition to some aspects of the commission’s findings on the party’s activities during the armed struggle. The […]