Thomas Olver THE MOMENT by Stefanus Stephanus Nel (Mortem Post) The realm of “experimental writing” is littered with the burnt-out corpses of many a poor volume of poetry or stories. So it is gratifying to discover new colour (albeit it black and white) in the local literary landscape. Stefanus Stephanus Nel’s booklet is such a […]

Things are changing at Nasa. In October it saw the launch of a spacecraft with an engine that thunders with all the force of a small piece of paper resting on your hand. But, according to researchers working on the mission, the almost imperceptible thrust of this ion drive could be the key to the […]

Ann Eveleth: IN THE ACT The public health system must have heaved a sigh of relief when the Cape High Court turned down a challenge to Minister of Health Nkosazana Zuma’s Medical Schemes Bill. Cleared of the legal hurdle created by Business South Africa’s attempt to shift the debate into the National Economic Development and […]

Ferial Haffajee Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel will unveil the 1999 state spending plan on November 2, removing the surprise factor from next year’s budget. The event will mark the change from annual to multi-year planning, and is one of the significant post-apartheid changes made by the Department of Finance. Monday’s announcement of a medium-term […]

Justin Arenstein Mpumalanga’s government battened down the hatches this week and refused to release any information about its dealings with a shadowy business network reported to be channelling funds into the African National Congress’s 1999 election coffers. The network was reportedly set up in 1996 under the control of three holding companies and relied heavily […]

As the Japanese Grand Prix looms, two teams will be aching to celebrate victory -in their own separate ways. Maurice Hamilton reports If Michael Schumacher brings the world drivers’ championship to Ferrari this weekend, the town of Maranello in northern Italy will go berserk – even in the early hours of Sunday when the results […]

Loose cannon: Robert Kirby It is never quite possible to store up enough cynicism for use as a protective membrane between oneself and advertising. Membrane be damned, these days you need armour-plating to keep the witness of the creative directors, the visualisers and the rest of the snake-oil salesmen from getting through to you. It […]

Belinda Beresford You’ve taken a deep breath and made the leap. You’ve made a commitment. You’re sharing the toothpaste, the washing-up and the telephone account. Now you’ve decided you want a joint bank account, either to pay the household bills or so you can truly express the unity of your relationship. True joint bank accounts, […]

Katharine Whitehorn: FIRST PERSON So Arthur Koestler, giant thinker, whose Darkness at Noon helped to turn a generation of intellectuals away from communism, whose Thieves in the Night can make one almost understand Israel, whose forays into science and mysticism teased and intrigued us for three decades, turns out to have been a compulsive womaniser, […]

Andy Capostagno Cricket Against all odds, the Mini World Cup in Bangladesh is set to be a huge success and the development committee of the International Cricket Council (ICC) headed up by our own Ali Bacher should pat themselves on the back. Before proceedings began there were questions and worries aplenty. Why, if it was […]