Tangeni Amupadhi Armed robbers have gone cerebral. Second-hand bookshops are the latest targets for an enterprising criminal duo who have hit at least six outlets in the past six weeks. The smartly dressed men, armed with their own “closed for business” sign, have made off with an undisclosed amount of money and left behind few […]
Phillip Kakaza and Alex Dodd preview the Gift to the Nation Concert celebrating Nelson Mandela’s 80th birthday Gift to the nation indeed! And the nation is duly looking forward to tonight -Friday July 24 -at Kingsmead Stadium in Durban and Saturday night at the Johannesburg Stadium, like good children look forward to Christmas. Set to […]
Advocates rarely make sensational statements out of court, the Bar being a profession which prides itself on discretion and aloofness. So it was not an impulsive decision on the part of the General Council of the Bar to hit out last week at the appointment of South Africa’s first “super attorney general”, Bulelani Ngcuka. Ngcuka’s […]
Who is . . . Graa Machel?
out of a tree? Books were a symbol of oppression in Peru from the days of the conquistadors. Not any more. Sarah Dunant joined the farmer- librarians who trek the sierra collecting and delivering books Whichever way you look at it, the Rural Libraries of the Cajamarca valley in northern Peru is one of the […]
Iain Banks writes books about sex and drugs. Iain M Banks is a sci-fi nerd. Are they related? Phil Daoust investigates on the eve of the author’s visit to South Africa What the hell are you doing in a place like this? It’s a question you have to wrestle back down your throat when you […]
Neil Manthorp in Nottingham Cricket Napoleon may have been a great general but it doesn’t mean to say he would have been as successful today as he was then. Nonetheless, the study of Napoleon remains as intrinsic to the modern soldier as it is to the student of European history. The same applies in sport […]
Andrew Worsdale Russell Thompson says he’s not a shy person. “Hell, I’ve been known to take off my clothes and scream loudly from the tops of tall buildings,” he tells me over a demure coffee in Melville. It was a pleasure meeting the man – should I say director – who at 39 has the […]
Mariam Mayet The draft Environmental Management Bill (“Putting the people in charge”, Monitor, July 17 to 23) marks an extremely important departure from previous environmental policy and legislation. Unlike most current environmental legislation, which has been criticised for being a paper tiger, this Bill contains provisions that empower citizens to take up the cudgels for […]
David Coldwell It may be little consolation if you lose your job, but those at the top argue that downsizing is a management tool, to be distinguished from redundancy. Redundancy occurs as a result of sudden large-scale economic crises, or when large industries are no longer able to compete, for example, the decline in the […]