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 […]

Western Cape Premier Hernus Kriel gets a D for bedevilling race relations by playing the “swart gevaar” tune to keep his white and brown voters happy. The big question is whether the Western Cape’s above-average economic performance is because of him or in spite of him, and whether he can defend the last National Party […]

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 […]

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 […]

As we enter the third millennium, will the heavens open or will some nutter detonate an explosive device next to you? Charl Blignaut grapples with what the year 2000 means At the start of my research for this article, I eagerly typed the word “millennium” into a standard Internet search engine, hoping that it would […]

“Turning around a ship the size of the SAPS is a little bit like making love to an elephant: first of all … there’s very little pleasure in it, there’s every likelihood you could get crushed, and I know from my house doctor it takes years to see the result.” — Police CEO Meyer Kahn […]

The next generation: those who will be at the forefront of their fields in the years to come. In the first of what will hopefully become an annual Mail & Guardian feature, we have captured a snapshot of 100 people, groups and trends that will be leading the pack as South Africa heads for the […]

Steve Morris : Rugby In the uncertainties that abound in the game of rugby, this country has managed — during a year which has had more than its share of trauma and perhaps less triumph than could have been expected — to formulate a new equation. There are four distinct sides to this: an administration […]