Mungo Soggot documents the extraordinary history of the Liberian set to earn R3- million a year in South Africa’s oil industry The Liberian charged with reshaping South Africa’s state oil industry helped cream off millions from his country’s own oil business and had ties with a company which pumped oil into apartheid South Africa. Emanuel […]

Undermining the economy, including investor confidence and the currency, as well as greed-driven corruption, are all counter- revolutionary, according to the African National Congress’s draft document on strategy and tactics, prepared for its December conference. Strategy and Tactics, one of the documents under discussion at the ANC’s recent policy meeting, traditionally defines the organisation’s goals. […]

Steve Morris Rugby We would have to take Springbok coach Nick Mallett’s word on the fact that disgraced prop Toks van der Linde intended no deliberate harm during his unsavoury tap dance on the head of French Barbarian David Dantiacq. The French centre and his Gallic counterpart, referee Joel Dume, had different perspectives on the […]

The mining debate has raised its ugly head again, writes Nicky Barker It was described as “the conservation fight of the century”. The battle to save Lake St Lucia, a unique wetland system on the KwaZulu-Natal north coast, began in 1989. That is when Richard’s Bay Minerals applied for mining rights inside the Greater St […]

Lorraine Pace It should have been a media coup. A case that has grabbed print headlines internationally and been beamed to television screens worldwide was due to set a Web precedent last Monday. But a minute before the decision was to be issued, the Web service provider had a power failure. Ironically, this resulted in […]

Amanda Wright Soccer Argentina has a new, and most unusual, football hero, a man who is challenging the very essence of their approach to the game and to society. Taut, chiselled, and emotionless, the stone face of Javier Castrilli could hardly be more at odds with the fading symbol of the nation’s footballing aspirations, that […]

Opposition parties are preparing to use the death penalty to whip the ANC. Will the ANC be able to withstand the pressure, asks Marion Edmunds A political fight over the death penalty is brewing between the African National Congress and opposition parties – one in which ANC leadership finds itself at odds with majority opinion. […]

The inventor who gave the world the pollution sniffer and the microwave oven has also made a brilliant contribution to the world of ideas – the Gaia theory. Fred Pearce reports James Lovelock, independent British inventor and Gaia guru, added to his trophy cabinet this month when he went to Japan to claim the Blue […]

Charl Blignaut : Cultural sushi Perhaps the most remarkable work on the Johannesburg biennale is the installation of the embassy of an imaginary country called Elgaland-Vargaland. It was created by artists Carl Michael von Hausswolff and Leif Elggren, who move into town for major art shows, swear in new citizens, issue passports and even select […]

Sechaba ka’Nkosi For years the tiny townships of Ndaleni and Magoda in Richmond shared almost everything, from relatives and grazing lands to churches. But since April a simmering conflict has erupted into open enmity and now residents crossing the narrow road separating them do so at their own risk. At the heart of the fear […]