Ferial Haffajee Investigative journalists Max du Preez and Jacques Pauw have been commissioned to produce a weekly investigative programme for the SABC. “Special Assignment will carry on the tradition of TRC Special Report,” says Du Preez. His weekly programme on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and related issues has kept the probe into the country’s […]

Thabo Mbeki is an intelligent man with long experience of the press. When he complained this week that the press was failing to inform the public – pointing out that only 17% of Nelson Mandela’s Mafikeng speech had been conveyed to readers – we initially assumed he was making a joke. In the absence of […]

Lizeka Mda: CITY LIMITS In Diagonal Street shopkeepers give a good impression of being eager for your custom. None of the sulky reception here, nor the grudging service that one often gets in the fancier stores. “Come in and see,” touts urge from surprisingly – for Johannesburg – uncluttered pavements. And if you should be […]

Arguing about the rights and wrongs of cloning humans ignores the fact that it’s not technically possible at present, writes David Shapshak Sensationalising human cloning ignores the simple fact that, at the moment, it cannot be done. Claims last weekend that South Africa was ready to start cloning humans have not only been met with […]

The Mail & Guardian continued its steady growth with the latest ABC circulation figures showing a 5% year-on-year increase. The paper’s ABC figure from July to December last year was 34 144 copies, compared with 32 510 for the last six months of 1996. The paper experienced its highest sale ever over the Christmas period, […]

Tim Radford Humans have underestimated their closest relatives. They cannot form words, but that does not mean they cannot speak. Bonobos – pygmy chimpanzees observed in the wild – post directions and leave notes for each other when they disperse on the forest floor. And recent research has shown something unexpected: a special area of […]

FRIDAY, 12.30PM: AFTER sharing the lead with five other players on Thursday, defending champion Zimbabwean Nick Price has taken the lead in the $2-million Dimension Data Pro-Am tournament at Sun City on Friday. Starting the second round on three under par, Price was eight under after 12 holes on the Lost City course. Overnight co-leader, […]

The Vita awards have been reorganised, but they could still do with a tweak or two, writes Brenda Atkinson If South Africa’s annual FNB Vita Art Prize can achieve the degree of angst, ecstasy and public attention surrounding its British counterpart – the prestigious and controversial Turner Prize – local contemporary art might just be […]

Tim Phillips The annual computer virus season began last month and the next few weeks will be filled with new viruses with lurid names. But at least three of these -Valentine Greetings, Penpal Greetings and Join the Crew – are hoaxes. Michelangelo and Jerusalem – two of the most feared viruses in the history of […]

Neve Gordon in Indiana We had just left the headquarters of Arthur Andersen, a consulting and accounting firm that employs more than 50 000 people, as I said to my friend: “The proof is in the cubicle.” In 1996, short of space, Arthur Andersen had relocated to a nicer building in downtown Chicago. Many of […]