I was recently asked whether REM had made any other albums like 1992’s beauty, Automatic for the People. That moody, ballady hit album had a carefully worked quasi-acoustic surface that made it sound almost mainstream. Trouble is, REM tend not to repeat themselves very often. Out of Time, the album before Automatic for the People, […]

Nevanji Madanhire The farce goes on at Town House, seat of the Harare City Council, but the government is reluctant to fire executive mayor Solomon Tawengwa. The city is tottering on the brink of collapse and all fingers point to one man. Recently, half the city went without water for three weeks and a quarter […]

Sechaba ka’Nkosi Agusta, the company which won a R2,2- billion contract last week to supply the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) with 40 A109 helicopters, has been implicated in a multimillion- dollar corruption trial in Belgium. The company has been accused of bribing politicians in an attempt to win defence contracts. Last week it […]

Anew Viking anthology commemorates Nadine Gordimer’s 75th birthday. She spoke to Peter Godwin With the tentative tread of the dancer she once wanted to be, Nadine Gordimer steps noiselessly down the stairs from her afternoon nap. Dressed in black, she sits, taut as a sparrow, elbows on knees, chin on fists. She is quick to […]

go’ Chiara Carter A damning report on the conflict-ridden University of the Transkei (Unitra) recommends that its principal, Alfred Moleah, take early retirement and the university’s finances be investigated. The report by independent assessor Louis Skweyiya was requested by Minister of Education Sibusiso Bengu. Skweyiya found that the relationship between Moleah and the rest of […]

The David Gleason Column The great conundrum for all South Africans as the year winds down is what will happen to interest rates and why are they still so incredibly high. Before May this year, international investors saw South Africa as one of the more reliable and stable of the emerging markets. They invested heavily, […]

There were so many irritating presumptions in Joan Smith’s column, “Why women don’t cruise” (November 13 to 19), that it’s difficult to know where to begin to protest them. Shaun de Waal’s response in last week’s First Person took a considered look at the implications of Smith’s article for the nature/culture debate, but was, in […]

Jardine Howard Barrell There is growing concern in government circles over the extraordinary public attack this week by the Minister of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology, Lionel Mtshali, on his Director General, Roger Jardine, who recently announced his resignation. In a statement from abroad on Wednesday, where he is on a visit, Mtshali implied that […]

Andrew Worsdale Movie of the week Is director Brian de Palma a sick puppy? I think not. Often vilified for his obsessive use of violence and his voyeuristic style of exploitation, he is nevertheless a master cinematic stylist. De Palma, whose latest film Snake Eyes opens next week, has directed 25 movies, all exquisitely visually […]