Andy Capostagno Cricket A collective sigh of relief echoed through the corridors of power in the smaller unions this week when the United Cricket Board (UCB) decided not to impose a two-tier system on the Supersport Series. It was, by all accounts, the most conciliatory UCB meeting for years. The outcome was that, while note […]

CD of the week Michael Odell Sweeting Of course we knew there were two Ringos in the group. The Fugees, the biggest-selling rap group in the world, comprises two blokes employed to shout “One time!” and Lauryn Hill – who combines the singer/songwriter talents of Lennon and Macca. The Fugees was never the arena to […]

The battle for Kindu is crucial to the course of the Congo war, writes Ann Eveleth and Howard Barrell This week’s battle for the mid-eastern town of Kindu in the Democratic Republic of Congo marks a turning point for the two-month-old civil war. A victory for the rebels would open the way for them to […]

The makers of South Africa’s foreign policy need a long, hard think, suggests William Boot The king of Lesotho is seldom permitted to make public utterances. But sometimes his private observations are passed on by friends and advisers – like what he said when he returned from the recent Southern African Development Community (SADC)summit in […]

David Beresford Racism, it seems, is the bane of even the most civilised police forces. That, at least, is the experience of the man many would regard as the world’s top cop, who landed up in South Africa this week on something of a holiday from a race row which is threatening his job. Sir […]

Ian Wylie Aside from a little bruising, Kevin Warwick is feeling no side-effects from last month’s operation to remove the silicon chip implanted under the skin inside his left elbow. The skin chip has the capability to become a household aid: turning on lights, opening doors or switching on the television as you approach. But […]

Andrew Marr ENGLAND, ENGLAND by Julian Barnes (Jonathan Cape) That England has become a theme-park nation is a chattering-class clich. It is also at least partly true. There is no English crisis, but there is a problem. In England, everything becomes a tradition, and that includes the confection of tradition. But the quantity of contemporary […]

Wonder Hlongwa Selling human body parts is a lucrative business in South Africa. Prices for eyes, breasts, brains or genitals range from R1 000 to R10 000 – depending on the body part up for sale. The macabre practice is shrouded in mystery. Most traditional healers are afraid to talk about this thriving bloody commerce. […]

Ferial Haffajee South Africa’s delegation to the annual World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) meetings in Washington this week jet home on a buoyant note. Certainly they are more buoyant than their East Asian and Latin American counterparts, who return to economies more damaged by the quakes in the world system than South Africa […]

Howard Barrell: OVER A BARREL I was not alone in thinking it must be April 1. As I stared at the early morning sun – or was it my egg yoke? – my radio was telling me that Louis Luyt had formed a political party and expected us to support him in next year’s election. […]