Sarah Penny INTO THE HOUSE OF THE ANCESTORS by Karl Maier (John Wiley & Sons) EATING THE FLOWERS OF PARADISE by Kevin Rushby (Constable) Last year Nelson Mandela made the following statement: “The time has come for Africa to take full responsibility for her woes and use the immense collective wisdom it possesses to make […]

Ferial Haffajee Strike action in South Africa is on the increase – but it is fuelled less by party political tension and more by the shrinking economy. “This is not Cosatu [the Congress of South African Trade Unions] sending warnings to the [African National Congress/South African Communist Party/Cosatu] alliance. But the strikes are political if […]

Swapna Prabhakaran The tale of Cato Manor has always been a tragedy – an old South African tale haunted by the horror of forced removals and the ghosts of families split asunder. Old men remember it with nostalgia as a once special place and a community which was crushed to nothing under the weight of […]

Miles Keylock Live in Cape Town Since the demise of Mannenberg’s and the ongoing sabbatical of Klaus’s Jazz Club, Cape Town city centre has not had a regular venue devoted to the popularisation of jazz and the showcasing of quality South African jazz talent. Club Salsa’s decision to host Virtual Jazz Reality during August was […]

Chiara Carter Image may not be all, but the brew of perceptions and policy that translates into voter support looks decidedly murky for the African National Congress and the National Party in the Western Cape. A MarkData survey released by Professor Lawrence Schlemmer indicates the haemorrhage of support for the NP countrywide has not stopped […]

Leander Kahney Amid reports that computer-literate kids are learning to type before they learn to write, software publisher Knowledge Adventure plans to release new multimedia software for nine- month-old babies at the end of October. Jump Ahead Baby is at the forefront of a growing market for ”lapware” – software aimed at children under three […]

Tracy Murinik On show in Cape Town Joyous myths that are conventionally touted around the institutional roles of family; of the experiences of motherhood, fatherhood and childhood, most often attempt to preclude those questions or observations which might challenge them. Framed within sentimentality and much religious moralising, the complex range of experiences that people endure […]

SARAH BULLEN in Johannesburg | Thursday 2.30pm. BLACK CLOUDS are gathering over the Johannesburg Stock Exchange on Thursday as Wednesday’s 6,2% fall has accelerated, with 8,55% wiped off the market by 2.00pm. With the contagion of what is being termed the ‘Russian flu’ hitting global emerging markets, the price of local stock is falling with […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Thursday 10.00pm. A LOBBY of labour, sport and business groups on Thursday threatened to apply for an urgent court order forcing Health Minister Nkosazana Zuma to withdraw the Tobacco Products Control Amendments Bill because they say it is unconstitutional. The Bill is due to be tabled in Parliament on Monday. The […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Wednesday 8.30pm. SECURITY officials assigned to the Non-Aligned Movement summit to be held in Durban at the weekend on Thursday warned people to be wary of bogus convention co-ordinators who are issuing false invitations and accreditation cards. Police said on Thursday that people masquerading as co-ordinators are issuing fraudulent documents for […]