Fiona Macleod The next time you raise your glass to Bacchus, ponder this: you may be poisoning yourself with the remains of chameleons which get mulched in the wine-making process. The organisers of a campaign to save chameleons in the Western Cape say they are being decimated by mechanical harvesters which have been imported from […]

Stefaans Brmmer Irish funding agency representative Chris McInerney this week “returned from the dead” to say he stands by allegations of maladministration he made eight years ago against Gauteng Premier Mathole Motshekga. Motshekga’s past as director of a non- governmental organisation, the National Institute for Public Interest Law and Research (Nipilar), is among matters under […]

Cecil Abrahams: A Second Look Predictably, South African universities have once again been embroiled in the annual nauseating spectacle of disadvantaged students trying to register at cash-strapped universities where the management must refuse admission. And, as usual, the “culprits” for this stand-off are the same. Intransigent students believe the managements of the various historically disadvantaged […]

THURSDAY, 6.00PM: THE Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) has terminated financial assistance to the South African Foreign Trade Organisation (Safto). The IDC said on Thursday that it had sponsored Safto’s maintenance of essential export expertise to the tune of R20-million, hoping that Safto would become a national promotion agency. But IDC chief executive officer Khaya Ngqula […]

Jay Naidoo’s bid for greater broadcasting control has caused an outcry in and out of Parliament, reports Ferial Haffajee Broadcasting minister Jay Naidoo this week fired the first salvo in a battle for greater state control of broadcasting when he rushed badly drafted legislation before Parliament to commercialise the SABC. He also came under fire […]

David Shapshak Cloning’s advantages are numerous, from reproducing endangered animal species to breeding human organ transplant material. The public fears of cloning do not differ much from those expressed by science fiction writers in the last century, mostly the self-replication of dictators. Saddam Hussein could resist any American smart bombs’ attacks by cloning himself infinitely. […]

Craig Bartholomew tracked down Rodriguez, who is alive, well, living in Detroit and planning to tour South Africa next month ‘Thanks for your time, and you can thank me for mine, and after that’s said, forget it!” were the poignant last words spoken, live on stage, before blowing his head off. That, at least, was […]

Madeleine Wackernagel Taking Stock Funny how mere mention of the arms industry has the power to stop a conversation. It’s a classic case of guns versus butter (Economics One), and the divisions run deep. Should we be selling weapons at all? And who decides which country qualifies and on what criteria? So it was with […]

Plans for development and foreign investment may be at the expense of the rural poor, writes Craig Bishop ‘The Eastern Cape development train is in motion – don’t be left behind” was President Nelson Mandela’s rallying cry at the International Investors Conference in East London late last year. It was designed to build confidence in […]

Bongani Siqoko When Makhaya Ntini led the South African national cricket team on to the pitch in New Zealand recently, black South Africans were filled with pride. People who could hardly tell the difference between a goalpost and a wicket were glued to their television sets to witness the lad from KwaMdingi near King William’s […]