Mighty McDonald’s — with some 16 000 restaurants in 84 countries — has been outwitted by a crafty South African who this week won a court battle for the right to use one of the world’s best-known brand names. At the end of the first stage of the hamburger war, there’s ketchup on the floor […]

To trace the course of the Olifants River is to trace a history of appalling environmental degradation, writes Eddie Koch Look at a map of South Africa and you will see sprinkled over it names that reveal how rivers were once venerated by the early inhabitants, black and white, of this country. Amanzimtoti, the Sweetness […]

Classical Music: Coenraad Visser MAIN interest in Johannesburg this week was in two symphony concerts featuring Laura Mikkola, the young Finnish winner of last year’s Unisa/Transnet Piano Competition and recently silver medallist in the prestigious Queen Elizabeth Competition in Brussels. Her performance of Schumann’s piano concerto, with the Transvaal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Christopher Dowdeswell, […]

The sad loss of Fanie de Villiers through injury has been tempered by the return of Brett Schultz to once again form a deadly bowling double with Allan Donald CRICKET: Jon Swift OVER the next nine days, we will be able to gauge the preparedness or otherwise of Hansie Cronje’s team to fulfil the expectations […]

CRICKET: Jon Swift LIKE many other eight year olds in this country, young Wynand is a cricket- mad kid. It drives his mother — proud as she obviously is of his abilities — to distraction. So, when the new set of four coaching videos entitled The Woolmer Way were released featuring the national coach and […]

Eddie Koch South Africa’s “oil baron” Marino Chiavelli earned US$7,5-million a month for brokering a clandestine deal in 1980 that ensured thousands of barrels of oil a day was shipped into South Africa in contravention of the international embargo. This is one of the details contained in the new book Embargo: Apartheid’s Oil Secrets Revealed […]

HEAVY METAL: Christian Figenschou COLONEL Jonker of the occult squad better be worried — Iron Maiden, veteran heavy metal outfit and pet target of the satanist-hunting brigade, packed the Standard Bank Arena in Johannesburg to its capacity with black-clad, angst- ridden youth last Thursday night. The British rockers, who have released 10 studio albums since […]

Neil Bierbaum Delays are expected in the issuing of new commercial radio licences in order to ensure the sale of South African Broadcasting Corporation stations. The Independent Broadcasting Authority has been accused of intending to delay the licensing of new commercial radio stations in order to ensure the sale of the SABC radio stations at […]

The Economist magazine has devoted a lengthy article to Anglo American’s staunch advocacy of conglomeration, which it points out is long out of fashion in business schools and American boardrooms. The Economist reports the reaction of Anglo chairman Julian Ogilvie Thomson to the 20 percent or so disparity between Anglo’s net asset value and the […]

Karen Harverson Real estate company Seeff plans to launch its own bank within two years based on its latest venture, launched in Gauteng this week, to offer home loans through the company. With Boland Bank as its partner and financial backer, Seeff offers a one-stop operation where customers can buy and sell property, register property, […]