Paul Kirk Durban’s R10-million metro police video surveillance system has caught out a rogue metro cop nearly three years after he attacked a handcuffed suspect for no apparent reason. This week the Mail & Guardian was given a copy of a police videotape that clearly shows an obviously defenceless suspect being struck on the head […]
Barry Streek The African National Congress has taken a strong stand against its members who regard their positions as a source of material wealth for themselves. It says its elected leaders should not only be free of corruption, but should also actively fight against corruption. This tough position on leadership within the party was taken […]
Valentine Cascarino They’re sour. They’ll get you drunk easily. And they’ll prepare you for your grave sooner than you expected. They’re called mbamba, bitla le ahlame and mqomboti, are made from fermented maize or bread and are drunk mostly by the homeless, sometimes with a bowl of sugar. This is the new stuff provided by […]
The National Arts Festival is taking place amid uncertainty, but major works show cultural maturity Thebe Mabanga The 27th edition of the Standard Bank National Arts Festival survived its tacky motif and lived to fight another year. The image used to promote the festival in print adverts, that of Ellis Person and Bheki Mkhwane clad […]
A SECOND LOOK Howard Barrell Members of Thabo Mbeki’s Cabinet were in respectable company at Sun City last weekend. I refer not to the editors with whom they spent the better part of two days but, instead, to those with whom they shared a common opinion about the media. It was apparent at the outset […]
Belinda Anderson Of the top 10 fallers on the JSE Securities Exchange in the second quarter this year, three have gone bust and most of the other seven are either restructuring or working on a turnaround. Regal Treasury Bank went from hero to zero in a matter of weeks. Although curator Tim Store has been […]
Nawaal Deane Two Mpumalanga farm workers, who were allegedly assaulted by members of a commando unit in 1996, are suing the Minister of Defence, Mosiuoa Lekota, for almost R2-million. One of them was blinded in the alleged assault. Three white farmers belonging to the Wakkerstroom Commando, a civilian army unit, allegedly assaulted the two. The […]
Wimbledon’s newest star has South African connections Neal Collins Somewhere beneath the enveloping Henmania of Brit-biased Wimbledon this week, a star was born. And he holds a South African passport. Actually, Roger Federer was born on August 8 1981, but in tennis, stardom takes a while to gestate, especially in that exclusive area of London […]
CRICKET Mike Selvey At some time during the last week in August either Steve Waugh or, less likely, Nasser Hussain, will stand on the balcony at the Oval and raise the Ashes urn in measured triumph. The crowd spread out on the grass below will strain to catch a glimpse of one of the most […]
whipping boy The merit-rating system has thrown handicaps like the Durban July wide open and any pundit who expresses confidence about the outcome of this year’s premier event is talking through his hat. So closely is the field handicapped that just about every runner has some sort of chance. Ability over the 2 200m distance, […]