an angel of death When American doctor Michael Swango successfully sued his bosses at a rural Zimbabwean hospital for wrongful dismissal, he was aided by one of the country’s most eminent human-rights lawyers and a host of Christians who believed he was a victim of malicious rumours and professional jealousy. They little suspected that the […]

Ferial Haffajee ‘It’s difficult getting the message through by committee,” says Dominic Ntsele, managing director of ad agency Young & Rubicam. Last year, Ntsele headed a creative team working to highlight the endemic levels of child abuse, rape and battery in the country, ahead of the Men’s March in November, through a high-profile media campaign. […]

Lynda Gledhill Compassion, caring and commitment has kept a non-governmental organisation in Pietermaritzburg alive despite a severe shortage of donor funds. While other organisations close down when the funding tap is switched off or fail to report properly to funders when extraneous spending occurs, Winnie Kubayi has kept her project alive and manages to report […]

Jack Schofield Three leading members of the computer industry, several United States-based telephone companies and two dozen other suppliers got together at last week’s ComNet conference in Washington DC to back a new communications standard that works 30 to 50 times faster than today’s modems. The new system, called DSL Lite, also enables phone companies […]

Feminist hero or sex-fantasy figure? An icon for our times or archetypal goddess? Richard Kelly Heft discusses Barbie’s appeal She’s disparaged by feminists, studied by academics and is a subject of artists. Two Barbie dolls are sold every second of every day and now she is a cultural icon of our times. Barbie can inspire […]

Palme d’Or winner A Taste of Cherry is now showing on the Cannes mini-festival. Dinah Arnott introduces its brilliant director. The award of a Cannes Palme d’Or to A Taste of Cherry, a film by Abbas Kiarostami, will hopefully bring the work of this astounding Iranian director greater prominence. From a background in painting and […]

Neil Manthorpe : Cricket He was desperately keen to tour England again, to finish his remarkable career in the land where the game of cricket began and where he would have time to ease an understudy into the job. But now Dave Richardson has gone, just like that. No fuss, no fanfare, no tears. None […]

Afrikaner patriarchy gave men a ‘God-given’ right to abuse children as well as women and black people. Glynis O’Hara speaks to Diana Russell about her book on the subject You’re four years old, lying in bed dreaming about Winnie-the-Pooh and Piglet, when suddenly you’re awakened by the hot breath and fumblings of your father. Or […]

Alex Brummer and Larry Elliott Radical changes in the operations of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank are to be proposed by finance ministers at a meeting in London later this month in response to the Asian crisis. The plans for adjusting the role of the IMF and the World Bank, to put […]

Adam Haupt On stage in Cape Town The Buwa Theatre Company is currently hosting the FNB Vita/ City of Cape Town/ Ikhwezi Community Theatre Festival at the Baxter Theatre until February 7. This festival is singular because community theatre seldom finds its way into mainstream theatre spaces such as the Baxter. Apart from the fact […]