Bongani Siqoko : Soccer The World Cup tournament is only six months away and the count-down to the most prestigious soccer extravaganza in the world has begun. Travel agencies, printers and ordinary township people are gearing up for the tournament. It is the first time that ordinary people have had so much interest in this […]

culture for 1997 Compiled by Charl Blignaut The Pop Art Award for punch-ups in the art world A steady stream of local celebrities has stepped into the limelight in 1997. Some, we have found, knock and wait for doors to be opened, while others simply moer them down. It is in honour of the latter […]

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 […]

Hopes are high for a gradual rebirth of a South African film industry, writes Andrew Worsdale ‘Every year I seem to feel the film industry surging with renewed optimism, yet nothing seems to happen. It’s all a state of foreplay with no penetration. well, now I can finally say — or predict — that the […]

Against all odds, the ANC emerged from Mafikeng alive and kicking, report Wally Mbhele, Sechaba ka’Nkosi and Marion Edmunds The African National Congress emerged from its 50th national congress in Mafikeng last week invigorated and more united than it has been since taking the reins of government in 1994. This was all the more extraordinary […]

Neil Manthorp : Cricket The biggest day, the biggest Test. Friday is the start of the first Test at the MCG. Boxing Day in Melbourne, one of the biggest cricket days in the world. Seventy thousand people are expected to watch the start of the rest of Hansie Cronje’s life. Not just Hansie’s. For seven […]

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 […]

Janet Smith If only the houses in which the Molois and the Dwyers lived in SABC2’s Suburban Bliss were on the property market, and someone with a lot of money came along and offered the families a bountiful pair of cheques. Perhaps then, with those irritating people and their tacky studio furniture out of the […]

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 […]