Andy Capostagno : Rugby Spring has always been a time of celebration. The time when John Barleycorn, cut down in the summer, returns to the fields with renewed vigour. But Gawain didn’t think much of spring, since it signalled the return of the Green Knight, who had a licence to chop off his head. And […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Kinshasa | Friday 11.30pm. FIGHTING is on in earnest between Democratic Republic of Congo troops and rebels in the south-eastern province of Katanga. President Laurent Kabila’s troops and their allies launched an attack with heavy weapons on rebel forces in the region of Kabalo and Nyunzu in the north of the province, according […]

Niki Barker It was the most unusual setting for a miracle. A dusty school hall, with pitted concrete floor, scattered desks and scrawled chalk on the blackboard. A small group of expectant German tourists sat sideways in the small school chairs in the damp heat of a Zululand afternoon. And then the sound came from […]

Renowned cultural writer Mark Gevisser talks to Matthew Krouse about his journey to the essence of one of Johannesburg’s unique forgotten heroes In the city of Johannesburg, overrun with live chickens and minibus taxis, Anstey’s building retains its stark majesty. Not only because it’s a well maintained survivor of the city’s New York age, but […]

CD of the week: Shaun de Waal Bob Dylan sure started something when he allowed previously unreleased material and outtakes to be released as The Bootleg Series in 1991. The huge success of that collection encouraged the likes of The Beatles, who, once they’d finally wound up their legal wranglings, released all their leftover bits […]

Maureen Barnes : Down the tube Last week, in what was the most riveting programme to date, Special Assignment dealt with the extraordinary affair of Vito Palazzolo, the man who seems to have enjoyed special consideration not only from the Nats, but from the present establishment. The team did a neat investigation of the background […]

Anthony Orliange Manga and Sori are youngsters about to finish school. In the evening they meet, “to revise for exams”, as they tell their parents. Actually, they share amorous moments of tenderness in Sori’s car, or outside cafs. Tired of concealing their relationship, they try to come out. But under such dire circumstances they are […]

David Gleason : A SECOND LOOK Anglo American Corporation chair Julian Ogilvie-Thompson’s announcement last week that it is to become a United Kingdom registered company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange poses as many questions as it does answers. The decision to shift Anglo’s head office to Britain follows the path blazed […]

Poor West African fishermen, prevented by an international treaty from fishing off their own shores, are forced to buy their own sardines in European cans, reports Paul Brown Mauritanian fishermen sit in the harbour gazing out to sea. In the distance, where Africa bulges out into the Atlantic, they watch sunlight glinting off other men’s […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Bujumbura | Friday 9.00pm. BURUNDI’S government, opposition and rebels on Thursday wrapped up a third round of talks aimed at ending six years of civil war with an agreement to meet again in January, but with few concrete decisions. The next round is set for January 18 to continue a peace process begun […]