Andrew Worsdale The first South African “movie” was produced in 1896, 10 years before Hollywood even kicked off the ground. Edgar Hyman simply filmed scenes of Johannesburg and President Kruger and showed the film at Oom Paul’s home in 1899. In 1916 Harold Shaw wrote and directed the first local epic De Voortrekkers. He was […]

Mukoni T Ratshitanga South African Housing Trust chair Reverend Frank Chikane has ordered a forensic audit into corruption allegations levelled against the trust’s subsidiary, Khayalethu Home Loans (KHL). The audit was prompted by a Mail & Guardian report last week in which KHL management was accused of paying a consultant for work he had not […]

Angella Johnson Mouths gaping in shock, Bongani Ngubeni and Mpho Lebese stared at their faces on the front page of the newspaper. “Missing children: Muti-killings of 13 children feared”, screamed the headline. The boys, who live within metres of each other, were idly playing in the street, unaware that a massive police hunt had been […]

The issue in Microsoft’s attempt to rule the browser market is a fear of tomorrow’s cheap, simple, ‘networked’ computers, argues Philip Machanick The only puzzling thing about the fact that the United States Department of Justice is pursuing a case against Microsoft is why it took so long to find a reason to tackle it. […]

Paul Verhoeven took a tumble with Showgirls, but bounces back with Starship Troopers — a gore-fest full of battles with giant bugs. Phil Daoust met the controversial director. You’re a big-budget Hollywood director who was once known as a bit of an auteur. You work with Arnie, Sharon and Rutger but are getting sick of […]

curious tale of three schools Bengu’s school falls on hard times Andy Duffy The school Minister of Education Sibusiso Bengu established and ran before he went into politics has been hit by funding cuts, forcing it to close its doors to hundreds of schoolchildren. The KwaZulu-Natal provincial education department has told Dlangezwa High School that […]

Mail & Guardian reporter The South African National Editors Forum (Sanef) begins its launch conference outside Johannesburg today with the finger of President Nelson Mandela wagging over it. At the ANC’s conference in December, Mandela accused black editors of being the hand-maidens of white owners and newspapers in the main of a lack of balanced […]

Bongani Siqoko: Soccer When the new national soccer team caretaker coach Matsilele Jomo Sono named his squad for the Confederation of Southern African Football Associations (Cosafa) Cup match against Namibia in Windhoek on Friday, one player whose call-up was long overdue is Mamelodi Sundowns defender Themba Mnguni. Mnguni has been awaiting the call-up since the […]

Andrew Muchineripi: Soccer The national team returns to its African roots on Saturday with a regional championship first-round match against Namibia at the Independence Stadium in Windhoek. Since clinching qualification for the World Cup last August with a tense home victory over Congo, the African Nations Cup holders have met France, Germany, Brazil, Czech Republic, […]

Janine Stephen ‘I tell you what,” said local resident Jean George in a hushed tone, “that American lady was half bare.” Nominated for the 1997 Adult Video awards’ Best Group Sex Scene and Best Female Performer of the Year, United States porn star Christi Lake brought reporters flocking to Parow Industria on the dusty outskirts […]