‘Die wiel sal draai [The tide will turn].” The ominous words of Israelite Johan van Heerden echo through his simple house as he lights yet another Camel. Yolandi Groenewald spoke to two so-called Israelites to learn about Israel Vision, a sect that believes that non-whites are the ‘seed of Satan’.
South Africans are about to "rewrite the record books" with a R35-billion spending spree — but without the need to worry about a debt or inflation hangover, says Dawie Roodt, chief economist at the Efficient group.
Measured by progress made towards a just and peaceful world order, 2003 is thankfully over and best forgotten. Especially depressing was the spectacle of the richest, most scientifically advanced human beings on the planet lapse into a kind of high-tech barbarism.
Saddam Hussein has started "cooperating" with his American interrogators and has admitted hiding millions of dollars in secret international bank accounts, a senior member of Iraq’s governing council said this week.
The Iranian spiritual leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei this week managed to get to Bam, three days after the earthquake that may have killed 30 000 of his fellow Iranians. President Mohammad Khatami followed soon afterwards.
Education took a back seat in this week’s gala performance of that annual farce, the matric results (aka The Matrix Reloaded). However, given the continued failure of the country’s secondary education system to produce a generation of students that can meet the needs of the country’s economic and social development programmes, the farce is in fact more a tragedy.
Shopping is the new religion and supermarkets look like churches. Perhaps not.
The assumption is that God and economic growth don’t mix, and never have done, for didn’t the Bible make it clear that we should render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s, but render unto God that which is God’s? But not everybody sees it like that.
West Indies cricket captain Brian Lara made a rallying cry to his teammates on Thursday to put an unhappy year behind them and level the series against South Africa. The Windies lost the last test by an innings and 65 runs to go 2-0 down in the four match series and raise fears that they would be whitewashed once again.
He is one of the world’s most successful musicians, introduced Guy Ritchie to Madonna and has been honoured by the queen. He has written his memoirs — and doing it plunged him into deep depression. Emma Brockes meets the ‘ordinary’ superstar.
The South African rescue team, which arrived in quake-stricken Iran on Sunday, is expected to be back in South Africa on Saturday. A team spokesperson said the team had recovered some bodies, but no survivors. Fewer bodies were being found in the rubble and the bulldozers were gradually being brought in.