Suzanne Wilton and Sasha Nagy Canadian fugitive Patrick Steven Ryan’s ties to extreme right-wing groups in South Africa have become part of a Calgary police investigation into his role in the violent armed robbery of an armoured car last March. Ryan, whose connections to white- supremacist groups are also part of the investigation, visited South […]
at bay Ferial Haffajee It is a peaceful Saturday afternoon at a women’s shelter in the inner city in Johannesburg. Two women sit in the lounge and chat to a friend who is ironing. There is a calm about the place – it is here that battered women find refuge from abusive relationships and forge […]
Ferial Haffajee The wife of the SABC editor who commissioned the soapie Avenues stars in the programme and had a leading role in its casting and scripting. Penny Rodel also rents office space from A&P Productions, which makes the weekly soap. She used the name Penny Smith for this programme alone. Pieter de Vos, the […]
Just pop down to the hardware Stuart Hess The world was shocked by the Oklahoma bombing in the United States in 1995, and the FBI was severely rattled by an explosion at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. In both instances, pipe bombs were the weapons of choice. More than 80 pipe bombs have exploded in […]
Hazel Friedman Where there’s smoke there isn’t always fire. But there could possibly be a free air ticket. This is what panic-stricken passengers discovered this week after their flight was twice aborted as a result of a fire alert on board. Passengers at Johannesburg International airport had boarded their Virgin Atlantic aircraft en route to […]
Tensions are running high in Lesotho as an ongoing vote recount reveals evidence of election fraud, writes William Boot Long-simmering dissatisfaction over Lesotho’s May 23 elections finally reached boiling point this week, and it is clear the political temperature is not going to come down until the issue is resolved. Supporters of opposition parties marched […]
Gill Moodie The government has taken the first steps towards unravelling the mess that is its information technology (IT) – and the good news for taxpayers is that government services are likely to become cheaper and faster as a result. The master plan, unveiled recently by the Department of Public Service and Administration, kicks off […]
Robert Kirby: Loose Cannon I must confess to feeling a bit ambivalent about Dr Nkosazana Zuma’s latest anti- smoking crusade. As a three-years-on ex-puffer, my wife assures me I have all but emptied my well of self- righteous reformist zeal. I now tend to let people get on with their tobacco undisturbed by pious sermonettes […]
herStoriA and Quality Life magazines have announced the winners of their story competition. Lise Day of George took first place with her story Malgas Point, Henrietta Rose-Innes of Cape Town came second with Conservation, and Graeme Friedman of Johannesburg came third with The Finger of God. The winning stories are published in this month’s edition […]
Bridget Hilton-Barber looks at South Africa’s achievements in women empowerment Have women in Parliament done more than add a dose of colour and culture change to the staid Parliament of old? Has life changed for the average South African woman? If laws and government policies were the sole barometer of improvements, yes. Equality is guaranteed […]