Nicole Fritz Television critics at South Africa’s largest daily newspapers have generally given the thumbs-up to the SABC’s new programme line-up on its three television channels. But Beeld’s critic Andries Cornelissen is critical of the continued use of dubbing. If the SABC wants to reflect South African society, it musn’t look to dubbed programmes. Afrikaans […]

Philippa Garson The government is in a double bind over whether to screen pregnant women for HIV, and key policy decisions are being delayed by intense debate around the issue. Although new research shows that steps taken during and after pregnancy can reduce the risk of HIV- positive mothers transmitting the virus to their babies, […]

BALLET: Stanley Peskin IT would be silly to expect any ballet (or, for that matter, film or stage play) based on Leo Tolstoys majestic Anna Karenina to be Tolstoyan in impact. In fact, Andre Prokovskys adaptation of the novel for ballet in 1979 (now a standard work in Pact Ballets repertory) owes more to Clarence […]

Its not only top batsmen and bowlers the South Africans have to face in the World Cup, but the threat of bombs and violence on the volatile Indian sub-continent CRICKET: Jon Swift AGAINST a background of violent instability, Hansie Cronjes blend of hardened veterans and exciting new talent have voiced a collective determination to emulate […]

A one percent party has taught the Inkatha Freedom Party a lesson of biblical proportions, writes Ann Eveleth When push finally came to shove it took a political David to bring Goliath to his knees and turn KwaZulu- Natal’s interminable constitutional process on its head. Holding out for a controversial clause prohibiting abortion, the minuscule […]

Nicole Fritz and Rehana Rossouw Mongezi Stofile was one of thousands of former MK members who reported this week to the Doornkop military base outside Johannesburg to demobilise from the South African National Defence Force (SANDF). He no longer wishes to serve in the military, and went to Doornkop to take advantage of a package […]

Lynda Loxton The huge disparities in income distribution in South Africa make it vital that any tax system takes into account ways in which to lessen the impact on the poorest of the poor. One easy and obvious way would be to zero-rate as many basic necessities from value-added tax (VAT) as possible. At the […]

Pallo Jordan has outlined ambitious plans to modernise South Africas telecommunications essential for joining the information highway, reports Jacquie Golding-Duffy Telkom has set itself the phenomenal target of connecting five million new phones by the year 2000. They have the backing of the Telecommunications Ministry which regards widespread access to telecommunication services as central to […]

The all-white Potgietersrus Primary School is invoking the constitution in its efforts to remain exclusive, writes Justin Pearce OUR tradition-rich school is our pride reads the slogan in the prospectus for Potgietersrus Primary, a booklet illustrated with photographs of verdant school grounds and industrious white children. Just what this pride entails will be examined before […]

Madeleine Wackernagel Thabo Mbeki and his team returned tired but triumphant from the World Economic Forum in Switzerland on Wednesday. The deputy president was well-received, with fund managers clamouring to get a slice of the most popular emerging markets cake. While nothing concrete in the form of rands and cents came out of the five-day […]