Howard Barrell Over a Barrel You don’t have to be a fluent Afrikaans- speaker to know that an oorleg committee is not the same as an oorlog committee. The former seeks consultation; the latter war. A Cape Town English-language newspaper, however, got them mixed up recently. Some of us might even say the confusion was […]
Barbara Ludman SA 98-99: SOUTH AFRICA AT A GLANCE (Editors Inc) This slim little volume is a publishing success for its owners – former Star editors Harvey Tyson and Richard Steyn; Rex Gibson, last editor of the Rand Daily Mail; and George Trail, a former United States diplomat. This is its fourth edition; there are […]
out of a tree? Books were a symbol of oppression in Peru from the days of the conquistadors. Not any more. Sarah Dunant joined the farmer- librarians who trek the sierra collecting and delivering books Whichever way you look at it, the Rural Libraries of the Cajamarca valley in northern Peru is one of the […]
Wally Mbhele The head of a KwaZulu-Natal prison who was recently suspended after his alleged involvement in the death of a prisoner is back at work. Minister of Correctional Services Sipho Mzimela promised an inquiry into the actions of Sipho Dlamini, head of the Ingwavuma prison. Prisoners claim they were not informed that the inquiry […]
Tamar Mason Right to Reply Visualise the following scenario: bored and out-of-scandal journalist sits at an airport and notices the only eye- catching tail design on the tarmac. He takes a closer look. Ah, an unusual sounding name. Further investigation reveals that the artist is none other than a San woman. Immediate conclusion: she’s been […]
Angella Johnson VIEW FROM A BROAD Let me establish one fact from the outset: I am not an animal-loving person. I possess two beautiful mink coats, adore wearing ivory and my dietary maxim is: if it moves, kill it, cook it and eat it. So why, you might ask, have I opted to partake in […]
Tangeni Amupadhi A Northern Cape doctor has called for the mandatory use of protective clothing after an outbreak of chemical poisoning affecting dozens of farmworkers. Many labourers in the Kakamas and surrounding areas have fallen ill during the past month after coming into contact with Dormex, which contains a highly toxic chemical called cyanamide. The […]
Paul Martin in London Golf `Justin Rose is Bloomen Brilliant,” read the hand-written (and misspelled) banner unveiled by 10 English schoolgirls on the sixth tee at the British Open last Sunday. It’s testimony to the way Britain has taken this 17-year-old golfing phenomenon to their hearts. It wasn’t just the astounding closeness to glory achieved […]
Is Donovan Nel, a spy accused of threatening to blow up the president, a blackmailer or the victim of an elaborate conspiracy? Mungo Soggot and David Beresford report A bizarre story about a senior intelligence analyst who allegedly threatened to blow up President Nelson Mandela in an attempt to extort R10- million from the state […]
For the new ANC chair in KwaZulu-Natal, peace is a priority, writes Swapna Prabhakaran The newly elected African National Congress chair in KwaZulu-Natal has vowed that next year’s elections will happen on non-violent terms – or not at all. S’bu Ndebele, who took over the reins from outgoing provincial party chair Jacob Zuma this week, […]