East dust Winnie Mandela The year is still in nappies but already we at the Mail & Guardian arts desk have spotted the most likely candidate to lift our coveted annual Winnie Madikizela-Mandela Award for Multiple Comebacks from poppet Wendy Oldfield. Yup, Jani Allan is back. Again. While Eugene Terre’blanche sank like a very large […]

Wally Mbhele A combined police and intelligence operation is closing in on the heist gangs and may see some of the masterminds behind the spate of cash-in-transit robberies nabbed soon. Sources within both the intelligence and the safety and security departments this week dismissed claims by one of the alleged brains behind the heists, Collin […]

fiction Jeremy Cronin: Crossfire During the past months there has been kite- flying around the idea of a merger between the African National Congress and the Inkatha Freedom Party. Peter Mokaba, in the flurry of interventions he made prior to the ANC annual conference in December, punted the idea. The IFP’s Mangosuthu Buthelezi slapped down […]

Ferial Haffajee : In your ear Nothemba Madumo is no shock-jock. Her Kaya Lifestyle on Gauteng’s Kaya FM is the epitome of easy listening. Aired each day between 9am and noon, Madumo’s blend of cool music and inspirational talk now has a loyal audience, according to the latest All Media Product Survey (Amps) figures. That […]

At a time when the United States and its allies appear headed for another futile war against the seemingly indestructible Saddam Hussein of Iraq, we welcome the statement by President Nelson Mandela opposing a strike on Iraq. The US’s justification of its stance is well-rehearsed: Saddam is an untrustworthy dictator with a track record in […]

Tom Quoin : Architecture As we recover from the season of ritual ceremony, let’s glance at one of the ways we celebrate what stands all about us – buildings. It’s heartening to realise that even in Egoli – the tense, unbending Jo’burg – some architects have thought to include relief carvings or sculpted castings in […]

Werner Menges An ambitious attempt to clean up an apartheid eyesore has landed Namibia’s former housing minister – the winner of a United Nations housing award – and top officials in the Ministry of Housing in the largest corruption trial since independence. The Windhoek High Court heard evidence about confused responsibilities, denials and disregard for […]

John Grobler Muckraking for fun and profit As a newspaperman for some 40 years, Windhoek Observer editor Hannes Smith is no stranger to controversy or to charges of contempt of court – he has had more of those laid against him than he cares to remember. Controversy has always been the middle name of his […]

Managed currency funds provide limited-risk offshore investments, writes Dan Atkinson from London As the turmoil on the currency markets abates, there can still be few easier places to make or lose a million. Novice investors are ill-advised to take a ride on roller-coastering foreign exchanges. But managed currency funds will allow the adventurous to play […]

Mail & Guardian reporters Hollywood loves a spectacle – and a spectacular blockbuster goes straight to its heart. That’s why Titanic, the most expensive movie ever made and also a huge hit, has matched the record for the most Oscar nominations (14). That’s a tie with 1950’s All About Eve, though Titanic is beginning to […]