Jubie Matlou A woman pushes a wheelbarrow of cement to bricklayers, who are putting the final touches to a three-storey block of flats; a grader rumbles as it digs its way into the ground; kwaito music blasts from a hostel window across the street, and stray dogs wander around looking for left-overs. Such a scene […]

Brigitte Salino Eighteen months ago, when opposition to Jrg Haider then leader of the far-right Austrian Freedom party was at its height, Peter Zadek announced that he intended to stage The Jew Of Malta at Vienna’s Burgtheater. It would, he said, be “the biggest provocation you have ever seen”. He was right. Since the Nazi […]

Want a World Cup goalie? Ike Shorunmu can’t get a game anywhere yet he is Nigeria’s number one Ryan Oliver Coach, sorry to bother you, any chance of a word with your goalkeeper? A bit of publicity in England, you never know, can’t do any harm… “Sure, sure,” said the coach, slapping me on the […]

Getting the good stuff Riaan Wolmarans It’s a shame to see how often artists (or their money-hungry record companies) bring out a best-of compilation after the artist has only had two or three hits off, say, two albums. Thankfully there are worthy exceptions to this rule. Out now is Every Now and Then:The Best so […]

A US organisation has launched a fundraising initiative to save Africa’s animals Fiona Macleod An ambitious fundraising project in the Kruger National Park is calling on the support of environmentalists opposed to the concept that the future of wild animals depends on their ability to pay their way. The project is underwritten by the Humane […]

South Africa will have to overcome a pumped-up home team and a hostile crowd in Kayes Ntuthuko Maphumulo Bafana Bafana re-established their place in African football and regained self-confidence after they out-thought, outmanoeuvred and out-fought the Moroccan team 3-1 in their final African Cup of Nations group match in Segou on Wednesday. Now the South […]

REVIEW David Shapshak Cardscan 600c Amazingly, in the ever-increasingly wired world, not many people send digital business cards. A simple attachment on an e-mail provided you are both using Microsoft’s ubiquitous Outlook all-in-one e-mail and contacts program sends your business card to the e-mail recipient, who can then save it quite easily in their contacts […]

Nawaal Deane The spread of HIV/Aids in South Africa has contributed significantly to the decline in foreign direct investment (FDI), according to BusinessMap’s investor survey released this week. The HIV/Aids crisis has increased the risk profile for investment in the Southern African region, with investors seeking a premium rate of return of 15% to 20% […]

Kevin Scott Candidate attorney Gareth Prince has launched an attack on the highest court in the country, claiming racist motivation lay behind the decision to reject his appeal to allow Rastafarians to be exempted from the prohibition on cannabis. Prince, who lost the appeal by one vote, says the Constitutional Court’s ruling shows “Africans are […]

A SECOND LOOK Firoz Osman At the end of negotiations between the Palestinians and Israelis facilitated by South Africa at the Spier Estate outside Cape Town, Saeb Erakat and Yossi Beilin wrote that “it was an inspiring window into the South African experience of negotiated transition and replete with lessons that we believe are relevant […]