Wally Mbhele `These are times that try man’s soul. The summer-time soldier and the sunshine patriot will shrink from the services of the nation. He or she who stands it now, deserves the honour of the nation.” These were introductory quotes from chief land claims commissioner Joe Seremane in a controversial address he made to […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Accra | Friday 7.30pm. GHANA’S First Lady, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, has denied allegations in an Accra circuit court that she has a bank account worth $18-million in Switzerland. Defence counsel Akoto Ampaw was cross-examining Rawlings in a case in which Eben Quarcoo, former editor of the Free Press and Tommy Thompson Books […]
Howard Barrell South Africa is on the verge of postponing its biggest-ever joint military and police exercise with other countries in the region, scheduled for next month, because of problems caused by the incursion into Lesotho. The South African National Defence Force (SANDF)has told other interested government departments it doubts it can afford the exercise, […]
The battle for Kindu is crucial to the course of the Congo war, writes Ann Eveleth and Howard Barrell This week’s battle for the mid-eastern town of Kindu in the Democratic Republic of Congo marks a turning point for the two-month-old civil war. A victory for the rebels would open the way for them to […]
The makers of South Africa’s foreign policy need a long, hard think, suggests William Boot The king of Lesotho is seldom permitted to make public utterances. But sometimes his private observations are passed on by friends and advisers – like what he said when he returned from the recent Southern African Development Community (SADC)summit in […]
David Beresford Racism, it seems, is the bane of even the most civilised police forces. That, at least, is the experience of the man many would regard as the world’s top cop, who landed up in South Africa this week on something of a holiday from a race row which is threatening his job. Sir […]
Wonder Hlongwa Selling human body parts is a lucrative business in South Africa. Prices for eyes, breasts, brains or genitals range from R1 000 to R10 000 – depending on the body part up for sale. The macabre practice is shrouded in mystery. Most traditional healers are afraid to talk about this thriving bloody commerce. […]
Maureen Barnes Down the tube Until last Sunday, my acquaintance with e.tv was through the newspaper schedules. Friends, either new or old, while immensely popular with the young and hopeful, was not worth turning back the clock for, nor was early Oprah, and as with M-Net, if the movie was good – and some were […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Friday 10.30am. BJORN BORG on Thursday annihilated Argentinian veteran Guillermo Vilas to proceed to the semifinals of the MTN Champions Tournament, being played at the University of Pretoria indoor arena. Borg (42), who held his world number-one ranking for an incredible 109 weeks in his prime, outplayed Vilas in all departments […]
Andrew Marr ENGLAND, ENGLAND by Julian Barnes (Jonathan Cape) That England has become a theme-park nation is a chattering-class clich. It is also at least partly true. There is no English crisis, but there is a problem. In England, everything becomes a tradition, and that includes the confection of tradition. But the quantity of contemporary […]