Toby Walne Spending it Barbie is facing middle age. Next year she will celebrate her 40th birthday. Early Barbie fans who resisted the temptation to pull off her arms or legs can count themselves lucky: vintage first-edition Barbies sell for about R60 000. Action Man is hot on Barbie’s heels. Rejuvenated with extra muscles and […]

One of the more surreal themes to emerge from Zimbabwe in recent weeks was that of Democratic Republic of Congo President Laurent Kabila being escorted into Harare by a 28-vehicle convoy while helicopter gunships hovered overhead. His motorcade, sirens wailing, carefully avoided the townships where tear gas hung in the rubble-strewn streets after police and […]

The Human Rights Commission’s (HRC) announcement that it would not proceed with its investigation into complaints of alleged racism at the Mail & Guardian and the Sunday Times – but was instead expanding the inquiry into racism in the media as a whole – was made as we were going to the printers last week. […]

Ferial Haffajee The Independent Newspaper group’s golden boy, Shaun Johnson, has stepped down from his executive position to become a specialist writer for its 14 newspaper titles. Johnson’s move has come at the same time as unprecedented trouble at the Irish-owned media group, but he swears that the timing is coincidental. “There are some people […]

Neil Tovey It would come as no surprise if many members of the local soccer media look rather rotund these days, given the huge weekly helpings of humble pie they have to digest. The man responsible for the unhealthy diet is Neil Tovey, former captain of the national team, holder of a record 52 international […]

Switching banks to get a better bond can be to your advantage, but watch out for hidden costs, warns Belinda Beresford You may not want, or be able, to move house, but it might be time to consider moving your home loan. After all, you’re encouraged to switch insurance companies to take advantage of lower […]

Mungo Soggot Department of Trade and Industry department officials have been soliciting thousands of rands from the cream of South Africa’s exporters by demanding R10 000 cash cheques from companies keen to bring guests to a gala dinner. The November 26 banquet is supposed to be addressed by President Nelson Mandela, who is billed to […]

Chiara Carter The about-face of the state’s star witness in the embezzlement trial of anti-apartheid hero Allan Boesak might mean that the court has to grapple more with questions about “struggle accounting” and lax management than personal dishonesty. Until this week, former Foundation for Peace and Justice (FPJ) bookkeeper Freddie Steenkamp was the key accuser […]

a ‘snowplough’ a few millionths of a millimetre wide. Michael Brooks reports As your eyes move across this text, you are performing a task that remains beyond the understanding of modern science. The simple movement in the muscles that control your eyes is still a mystery; inside the muscles, tiny proteins called myosins are doing […]

Review of the week : Miles Keylock There are several reasons why Janet Jackson’s Cape Town performance on her Velvet Rope Tour was the massive success it was. It’s been close on a decade since she emerged from brother Michael’s shadow and the Nineties has seen her constantly re(de)fining her musical and stage personae. In […]