Closing Valkenberg hospital would involve a sacrifice by the people least able to bear it, writes Lin Sampson Valkenberg: one alights rather than arrives on its pulsating terrain, as if on another planet. It is an eccentric place, a hovering satellite of hope and despair, dishevelled in part, but with pretty gardens that stretch down […]

Swapna Prabhakaran Imagine a condom that can be washed after sex and hung out to dry with your stockings. Imagine being able to re-use that condom the next time you have sex, and the next. This is what the reproductive health research unit at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital is investigating. They’re looking at the possibility […]

Madeleine Wackernagel : Taking Stock Anglo American interims are not the most exciting event on the business calendar but on Tuesday this week it was standing room only. The markets had been abuzz with rumours, but even the seemingly wild speculation didn’t come close to the real thing. In one elegant move, Anglo rid itself […]

Andy Duffy Universities and technikons are bracing for the worst as they await news of how the government plans to spend its money on campuses next year. Several institutions warned this week that they expect a cut in their government funding, and are already making plans to axe staff, scrap courses, and hike student fees. […]

Dan Glaister Innovation You are a concert pianist. You sit at your piano, carefully building up the tension in the hall as you deliver your definitive version of one of the core pieces of the classical repertoire. You approach the climax, playing pianissimo as you prepare for the shock of the fortissimo ending. Suddenly there […]

support Many black farmers with new land are struggling to survive. Ann Eveleth reports When Dorah and Josiah Matlou took out a lease on 200ha of farmland in Rust de Winter, they dreamed of one day becoming part of Africa’s “breadbasket.” But for now the best they can hope for is to turn a tiny […]

into poverty and confusion Jan Raath It’s official. The people don’t want land. They want jobs in a market economy, and an opportunity to work for a decent living. This information is tucked away in a comprehensive study on poverty released two weeks ago by the Zimbabwean Ministry of Social Welfare. Members of about 18 […]

processors Steve Shipside It’s a depressingly familiar scenario. Your film comes back with 10 underdeveloped pictures, 10 overdeveloped, three shots of your thumb, and four cases of red-eye that make close family members look like Zoltan, Hound of Dracula. Precisely that disappointment is driving the digital photography market, says Steve Hoffenberg, director of the Digital […]

Grassroots culture in Sharpeville is under threat, but out at Dlomo Dam the show goes on, writes Janet Smith Someone wants to turn Dlomo Dam into a tourist destination: a place, perhaps, where intrepid foreign types who are not quite brave enough to spend the night in an actual township, can get close enough to […]

Andrew Muchineripi : Soccer The first final of the richest domestic club competition in African soccer demands worthy participants, and Kaizer Chiefs and Sundowns certainly fit the bill for the Rothmans Cup climax at FNB Stadium on Saturday. Sundowns lead the national championship by one point from Bush Bucks as the halfway mark approaches and […]