How clued up are you on the highs and lows of 1997? Exercise your memory with this brain-teaser 1 South African arms were found in at least three African hot-spots this year. Which countries were they? 2 Which South African city is leading the pack of candidates as the future site of Parliament? 3 A […]

extinction William Makgoba Comment Eighty-five years of struggle, pain and experience have weaved a solid movement whose traditions, values and culture are unparalleled and rooted within the grassroots. The African National Congress as both a liberation movement and political party has refined its own complexity with African simplicity to produce a transformation machinery whose vision […]

The autobiographical stories in Deliver Us from Evil by Johnny Masilela focus on a rural upbringing. In this tale, young Johannes meets someone exciting on a train, but embarrassment follows My heart is filled with joy, for you have finally seen the light. You say in your letter he’d rather come and stay with me […]

Emanuel Shaw II may be the king of sleaze, but South Africa is not without its own homegrown sleazeballs, writes Mungo Soggot While discussing Liberian politician Emanuel Shaw II’s spectacularly corrupt track record in the West African country, a Liberian journalist based in Washington told the Mail & Guardian last month: “You must watch out. […]

The Electronic Mail & Guardian, the daily online sister to the print edition, won a Loerie design award for best Internet news site, beating almost 100 rivals. eM&G editor Irwin Manoim became the first journalist in the history of the Loeries to win the advertising industry’s most prestigious award. Antjie Krog was the joint recipient […]

Chris McGreal Nigeria’s military government is poised for a new wave of arrests following the detention of 11 senior officers accused of plotting to violently overthrow the country’s dictator, General Sani Abacha. A senior army source said the alleged plot extended beyond those already detained. Those arrested last weekend include Abacha’s deputy, three other generals […]

Andrew Muchineripi : Soccer South Africa realised the dream of every football nation this year by reaching the World Cup finals for the first time, but a key figure behind the success will not be in France come June 1998. Clive Barker resigned as national coach last weekend following a disastrous showing by Bafana Bafana […]

TUESDAY, 5.30PM: FESTIVE cheer seemed to help recharge the JSE on Tuesday, where the gold index climbed another 19,2 points to 810,9 thanks to the advancing international bullion price. Gold shares have climbed 45,3 points since Friday’s close. The gold price reached $292,55 in London, with some dealers predicting that it could reach $300 before […]

Ferial Haffajee “All in all, a bleak year lies ahead for [the SABC] unless it vigorously evaluates its operations.” — Raymond Louw, Mail & Guardian December 24 1996. He was spot on: 1997 was the SABC’s annus horribilis. But with the help of that 20th-century engineer of capitalism — the management consultant — the broadcaster […]

Gwen Ansell Jazz ‘You know,” says Damon Forbes, “with all my artists, right up to now, I couldn’t tell whether any of them played a bum note.” This bluff philistine act might just fool you if you didn’t know who Forbes was. He looks the part: six-foot, rugby-player shoulders, ruddy face — the kind of […]