A post template

No image available
/ 10 December 2004

From assegai to peace pipes

KwaZulu-Natal Premier S’bu Ndebele has questioned whether reconciliation among blacks is proving ”more difficult than fighting the oppression of apartheid” . He has blamed the divided leadership between the African National Congress and the Inkatha Freedom Party for infusing the province with ”hatred”. Ndebele has also made an unprecedented call for unity in the province.

No image available
/ 10 December 2004

A sulk in search of a big stage

There are some players who make you angry. Robbie Savage, Dennis Wise, Patrick Vieira, the old Roy Keane, the even older Vinnie Jones. But then there are the bloody silly. Robbie Fowler springs to mind, but he scored a cracker this week so we’ll leave him be. Ironically, it’s his Manchester City strike partner Nicolas Anelka who must suffer the icy blast this week.

No image available
/ 10 December 2004

If it’s really worth saying, try a T-shirt

In Newcastle at weekends you can hardly move these days for blokes wearing T-shirts emblazoned with their nicknames -”Cidergut”, ”Sumo”, ”Nobby”. It’s as if they need a constant reminder of who they are and the mayhem they are bent on. A visceral need to celebrate and affirm through the medium of screen-printing afflicts footballers, too.

No image available
/ 10 December 2004

A Red revival

”The goal was … worth millions.” The carefully expressed thoughts of Liverpool’s slightly starchy Spanish coach Rafael Benitez capture the essence of this week’s final round of Champions League group matches. And that essence is Steve Gerrard, arguably the best player in the Premiership right now.

No plane, no gain?
/ 9 December 2004

No plane, no gain?

South Africa will sign a deal for a fleet of new military aircraft worth R8-billion before Christmas. The Department of Transport released a press statement on Thursday afternoon confirming the deal, after the Mail & Guardian had already gone to print with its report on the acquisition.

No image available
/ 9 December 2004

Militants survive Gaza Strip air strike

The wanted leader of a Palestinian militant group and two of his lieutenants survived an Israeli assassination bid on Thursday after an air strike targeted their vehicle in the southern Gaza Strip. An unmanned plane fired a rocket at the white-coloured vehicle that was carrying three members of the militant Popular Resistance Committees.