Robert Armstrong Rugby It was the briefest of exiles. Less than 24 hours after being thrown out of the Five Nations Championship, England were reinstated with farcical speed after agreeing this week to toe the line laid down by the tournament’s governing committee. Their expulsion was overturned shortly after Rugby Football Union representatives gave unconditional […]

Mpumalanga’s premier introduced Dolphin president Ketan Somaia to Minister of Defence Joe Modise in connection with an arms deal with Kenya, writes Justin Arenstein The Dubai-based Dolphin Group wasn’t just gunning for Mpumalanga’s game reserves when it nailed a secret R25- billion contract with the province’s parks board in 1996 – it also tried to […]

postponed Mungo Soggot The sacked rector of the Vaal Technikon, Professor Aubrey Mokadi, has told the institution’s council he is suffering from an “anxiety disorder” that justifies a postponement of his appeal against the disciplinary probe which fired him. Mokadi has sent the Vereeniging technikon a copy of a clinic’s letter that states he is […]

Donna Block:SHARE WORLD Have you got nerves of steel, a cast- iron stomach and access to a computer with a connection to the global network? If so, then you can become part of a small but growing group of independent investors known as “day traders”. Unlike traditional or online investing, where investors hang on to […]

Evidence wa ka Ngobeni It’s a hot Saturday morning in the rural village of Stinkwater, North-West province. Hundreds of residents and government officials have gathered to honour a group of youngsters committed to cleaning up their village. Stinkwater, near Hammanskraal, is among the 50% of South Africa’s townships, villages and informal settlements which do not […]

Andy Capostagno Cricket The Wanderers has been sold out for Friday’s opening match of the one-day series between South Africa and the West Indies. What does that tell us? That the South African selectors have chosen a squad with broad appeal? That the West Indies are only likely to provide token resistance? Or is it […]

Andy Capostagno Golf If there is one thing guaranteed to worry most of the world’s best golfers it is the sight of Ernie Els looking relaxed. The big man showed up at Stellenbosch Golf Club on Wednesday looking bronzed and unshaven, as if he had celebrated winning the Alfred Dunhill PGA by chilling out on […]

Donna Block The government of President Robert Mugabe has succeeded in doing what no one has done before: it has caused a strike by stockbrokers. For three working days, from January 14 until January 19, Zimbabwe’s traders, dealers and brokers agreed not to accept orders or place bids. The Zimbabwe Stock Exchange, once one of […]

Last week’s fresh fears prompted by the Brazilian debacle were replaced by a sigh of relief from world markets when Brazil allowed the real to float against the dollar. Indices and stocks which had surged after the new year and went into a dizzying tailspin when the failure of a minor Brazilian province to repay […]