Rehana Rossouw Pope John Paul II’s historic service at Gosforth Park last Sunday is in danger of going down in the history books as a reverse of the miracle of the loaves and Jubilant officials in the Catholic Church claimed the event was one of the biggest public gatherings ever in South Africa, estimating that […]

Karen Botha Age: Old enough to have backache. Appearance: Heidi meets Hercules. All apple cheeks and blonde curls on a muscle-packed frame. Occupation: Wife of rugby legend, now making a come- back as a golfer, Naas Botha. South African long-jump hopeful. Two roles that have called on that Herculean strength to remain cool in the […]

Cinema: Justin Pearce Rue Princesse, by Ivorian director Henri Duparc, appears at first like a made-for-television movie. It takes the form of an extended situation comedy with a judicious dose of sticky moments, escapist glamour and mild sexual innuendo — not to mention a happy ending. But its script has an edge to it that […]

SHAUN DE WAAL listens to the music of Isma’l Lo, about to tour SA, and that of his compatriot, Baaba Maal IN the panoply of African music, special honours must go to the west-coast/Sahel countries, chiefly francophone, which have given us their distinctive version of the African sound and such greats as Salif Keita, Mory […]

Some shops at Johannesburg’s airport may be grounded because they are overcharging for their goods, writes Lungile Madywabe SOME duty-free shops at Jo-hannesburg International Airport have been ripping off airline passengers and a shake-up has been pro-mised. Overcharging has been conceded by the Airports Company, the government-owned company which owns all the country’s airports, in […]

ATHLETICS: Duncan Mackay THIS season will be remembered as the one when athletics was consumed by a global revolution; the year when you needed an atlas more than a stats book. Never before have so many athletes from so many different countries been so successful. At the world championships, there was a greater spread of […]

With Colin Montgomerie in top form, the experienced European team can wrest the Ryder Cup back from the United States GOLF: Jon Swift THE shift of power — or rather the power to win consistently in top company — from being a wholly owned subsidiary of Golf USA is perhaps nowhere better evidenced than in […]

The supreme court this week heard the heart-wrenching case of a mother suing her gynaecologist for allowing her extremely ill baby to be born. Pat Sidley and Annicia Reddiar report ‘THEY placed Alexandra on my tummy after the birth. Then a sister grabbed her and quickly took her to the furthest side of the room. […]

FINE ART: Hazel Friedman USING mild terminology to describe Moshekwa Langa’s debut solo exhibition at the Market’s Rembrandt van Rijn Gallery would be tantamount to defining a tidal wave as a ripple. Here’s this newcomer from KwaNdebele, barely out of his high- school blazer — he recently matriculated from the Waldorf School — who is […]

Meshack Mabogoane reports on the political and racial issues that have arisen as the African Bank closes its doors The closure of the African Bank (AB), pioneering black financial institution, has sparked off racial emotions, political heat and personal anguish. The AB has been more than just a business venture; its symbolic value — reflected […]