analysis Judith Streak In principle all children in South Africa have a set of socio-economic rights that includes social security. The Bill of Rights and signed international treaties give children the right to social services, including social security, basic health and nutrition, basic housing and shelter, and basic education. A recent study commissioned by the […]

Marianne Merten At the end of a week of bizarre zig-zags in the Western Cape politics, Premier Gerald Morkel stands alone in the political wilderness while axed Cape Town mayor Peter Marais looks set to stage a political comeback. Hours after Morkel was suspended from the New National Party for defying his political bosses and […]

NO blows BARRED Sipho Seepe To defend the indefensible one must resort to some twisted logic. To maintain and reproduce its values the apartheid government relied on the big lie of white supremacy. To sustain this big lie it had to marshal other lies. This included misrepresentation of the Bible to provide theological justification of […]

Simon Kuper Luxembourg were on a roll. They had just taken a 2-1 lead in Belgrade and were being cheered on by the Yugoslav fans. But then, in an unfortunate 14-minute spell, they conceded five goals and it was all over. Last month, just three days after that match, Luxembourg manager Paul Philipp was called […]

How keeping fit is different for girls BODY LANGUAGE Rachel Cugnoni Men are weird in so many ways but they are at their weirdest when they play football. I’m not talking about the freaks who make a living out of it but the kind who spend their Sunday mornings shouting things like “man on” and […]

Marianne Merten Teenagers are wearing it. The elderly are wearing it. For weeks the only visible member of Muslims against Illegitimate Leaders, Abduraghman Khan, has been sporting it while claiming to have signed up about 1 000 volunteers for the war against the United States. It is, of course, the Osama bin Laden T-shirt. Various […]

Martin Gillingham At least two of Australia’s top rugby league clubs are trying to tempt troubled Wallaby winger Andrew Walker into making a return to the 13-man game. It’s barely five months since Walker was the toast of Canberra when he kicked 21 points for the Brumbies in their 36-6 triumph over the Sharks in […]

David Macfarlane Unisa will receive its government subsidy this month but the university’s controversy-ridden council continues its open defiance of the government. Unisa staff fear the council’s stance jeopardises the university’s future, in particular the role defined for it in the national higher education plan. Confrontation between Minister of Education Kader Asmal and the Unisa […]

Relations between the ruling party and religious leaders strained over arms deal and what action to take on HIV/Aids Jaspreet Kindra President Thabo Mbeki has joined the chorus of African National Congress criticism of church leaders, suggesting that they have abandoned the common struggle against the legacy of apartheid. And in a further salvo in […]

Who is Winnie Madikizela-Mandela: an ambitious rabble-rouser, or a champion of the poor? An ungovernable spendthrift, or a misunderstood woman persecuted for her criticism of government? Madikizela-Mandela spoke to Sipho Seepe, RehanaRossouw andDrew Forrest about the economy, Aids, the arms package, the tripartite alliance, women, her debts and her fraud case Rehana Rossouw: What do […]