ROB DAVIES, Johannesburg | Thursday 8.30pm. WESTERN Province under Bobby Skinstad will be hoping for a scorcher when they meet a fired-up Blue Bulls side in a vital Currie Cup match on Saturday at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria. The Bulls are already assured of a spot in the semifinals, and the defending champs will need […]

Evidence wa ka Ngobeni and Swapna Prabhakaran The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) this week faced the difficult task of finding the families of nine South African soldiers killed in action in Lesotho. The SANDF statement on the deaths listed the names, ages and home towns of the soldiers and included a brief message […]

A pioneering operation has given new hope to accident victims, writes Sarah Boseley The world’s first arm transplant has been carried out by a multinational team, giving hope to those who have lost limbs in accidents and disasters all over the world. Clint Hallam (48), a New Zealand-born businessman, woke up on the morning of […]

In Andr Brink, Africa meets Europe. He talks about his latest novel to John Higgins `There he stopped, and turned his back to the precipice, and …” The audience gasped in horror as Andr Brink completed the sentence from his new novel, Devil’s Valley (Secker &Warburg). Genuine horror: Brink’s narrative had captivated everyone, no mean […]

There is an easy way to combat the burgeoning business of cellphone theft, write Belinda Beresford and David Shapshak Cellphones are particularly enticing to the brotherhood of thieves, whether acquired in muggings, hijackings or straightforward burglaries. Cancelling the SIM card will stop anyone else running up your telephone account with calls to friends and acquaintances […]

West Coast Ann Eveleth looks at plans to make economic well-being more than a brief tourist boom Most Septembers a sea of wild flowers drowns the rugged protrusions of the Cedarberg mountains that separate the quaint mission villages of Wupperthal from the Atlantic seaboard. In that lucky month, the narrow roads lead bands of tourists […]

Michael Metelits Despite the market’s negative reaction to Customs & Excise’s monthly trade figures released on Tuesday, South Africa’s outlook may not be as gloomy as indicated by the August statistics. The figures showed a deficit of nearly R3-billion, a surprise to most analysts. They had expected a slight trade surplus. Exports dropped massively in […]

Mungo Soggot The United States evacuated Liberia’s leading opposition politician from its embassy in Monrovia last week, ending a confrontation with President Charles Taylor, who had demanded the US hand over his rival to his troops. The rival politician, Roosevelt Johnson, sought refuge in the embassy two weeks ago after a shoot-out on the pavement […]

Angella Johnson: VIEW FROM A BROAD I had always considered exercise to be way overrated. Not for me the panting ache of pushing my body to the maximum, or the orgasmic high of an endorphin rush. At least that was before I bought into South Africans’ fitness obsession and started working out like a lunatic. […]

Phillip Kakaza Diva shouts, harmonic sounds and thunderous rhythms swept through the remote village of Taung during the North West Cultural Calabash Festival last week. The high-pitched voices of the undisputed queen of gospel Rebecca Malope and her backing group Pure Magic resonated from the Mmabana (mother of the children ) Cultural Centre where the […]