the right note John Higgins The silence was broken by a series of fragile notes from the bared mechanism of an old, abandoned musical-box. Some 80 people – crammed into a room meant to hold 50 – sat or stood in rapt attention as the British poet, Tom Raworth, fed a sheet of card through […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Friday 11.45am. SOUTH African Double Olympic champion Penny Heyns broke the 50m breaststroke national and Africa record at the South African short course championships in Cape Town on Friday morning. Heyns, who set a world mark of 30,95 seconds for the first 50m of the Goodwill Games 100m, in a regular […]

future Tim Radford Kevin Warwick has just made history. The 44- year-old professor of cybernetics at Reading University, United Kingdom, got his own doctor to implant him with a silicon chip. He then opened a doorway into the future. Actually, he opened a doorway into his own university department. As he stepped into the building, […]

Tracy Murinik On show in Cape Town ‘Put the mauve bowl with that green one, and grab that vase: they’re just fantastic together!” she screamed. Such was my humble introduction to the Beezy Bailey Art Factory and Shop, and ”she” was an obviously excited and ardent shopper who had (obviously) just discovered the perfect match […]

Khareen Pech In an extraordinary display of power, right-wing ringleader Johan Niemoeller and two hefty sidekicks, Jannie Smith and Roy Smith, tasked a private army of about 14 former security cops to intimidate me at a busy Johannesburg shopping mall last week. Jannie Smith first lured me to a meeting at Eastgate shopping mall by […]

Ann Eveleth Almost four million households could soon benefit from subsidised electricity in a move expected to save hundreds of millions of rands in health costs associated with the use of inferior fuels. The National Electricity Regulator told Parliament last week it plans to introduce a subsidy, or poverty tariff, to reduce basic cooking and […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Cape Town | Thursday 9.00pm. KAISER Chiefs left it pretty late but the Amakhosi edged Seven Stars 2-1 in a Castle Premier League match at Newlands Stadium in Cape Town on Thursday. Chiefs held a 1-0 lead for virtually the whole second half, but were shocked by a late goal by Stars to […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Ottowa | Thursday 9.00am. CANADA has given President Nelson Mandela a hero’s welcome at a rare meeting of the two chambers of the Canadian parliament in Ottowa. Mandela, at the start of a two-day state visit to Canada, thanked a packed House of Commons chamber for Canadian support in the fight against apartheid […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Cape Town | Thursday 9.00pm. WESTERN Cape premier Gerald Morkel on Thursday announced a complete reshuffle of his provincial cabinet which sees popular former Cape Town mayor Leon Markowitz taking over the finance portfolio. A second newcomer, former chief executive of the Helderberg municipality Frieda Adams will assume the post of MEC in […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, New York | Thursday 10.30pm. UNITED States Secretary of State Madeleine Albright has suggested establishing an international centre to curb arms transfers. During a United Nations Security Council session devoted to Africa on Thursday she reminded the meeting of foreign ministers that the UN was overseeing work to draw up “responsible policies for […]