Mukoni T Ratshitanga While political parties are busy grappling with programmes on racial equity, authorities in the NorthWest appear blissfully ignorant of the damage that could be caused by their failure to change the names of places. On the N14 highway outside the town of Coligny, a sign points the way to Kafferskraal, 12km away. […]

Wally Mbhele Former minister of law and order Adriaan Vlok will be called to testify before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s amnesty hearing of 10 security policemen who claim they are responsible for the chilling murder of prominent anti-apartheid activist Stanza Bopape. TRC sources this week could not confirm if Judge Louis Harms – who […]

Bongani Siqoko There was a time when all the Letlake twins knew about squash was that it was a flavoured drink mixed with water. Now they have become national stars in the game. James and Jonathan Letlake, from Chiawelo in Soweto, have been playing for more than 10 years, winning many trophies and medals. They […]

Wally Mbhele There is a distinct sense of urgency in the office of the African National Congress’s “chief executive”, secretary general Kgalema Motlanthe. With less than 15 months before next year’s general election, Motlanthe knows a difficult task lies ahead. He has to ensure the ANC scores a decisive victory at the polls on behalf […]

Nicholas Fraser: Down the tube Oprah Winfrey is Chicago’s sustaining local deity, a queen of popular consciousness whose every alteration of size or mood is avidly followed. Green signs direct proud bus drivers under the E1 to the Harpo (“it’s her name spelled backwards”) studios. You enter a marble and cream lobby, traverse a human […]

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, […]

Anton Harber: Crossfire George Lai Thom was South African open and welterweight judo champion in 1965. The Sunday Times wrote that “Mr Thom is said to have done more to further judo in the republic than any other man.” He had won a title every year since 1962 and, at 24, was described as the […]

Suzy Bell Allegations have surfaced that the newly appointed deputy director general in the Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology, Musa Xulu, has given false testimony and participated in a fraudulent substitution of documents in an attempt to prove a case of misconduct against a former colleague and teacher. Jeff Robinson, who has taught […]

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 […]

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 […]