Some South Africans are hoping to introduce a new religion during census month, like their British counterparts David Shapshak All it took was one e-mail and a new religion has been born. Jedi Knight is now on the list of religions for the 2001 United Kingdom census. What seemingly started as a prank has made […]

Nancy Sephairi was 14 in 1966 when the bulldozers moved in and destroyed the homes of her community at Metsimatshwe, near Kuruman in the Northern Cape. The police dumped the families on a patch of dry veld near Reveillo with a packet of salt, a bag of mielie meal and a tent each. “We were […]

Evidence wa ka Ngobeni and Jimmy Matyu A distraught Eastern Cape family is suing the provincial blood transfusion service and a doctor at a public hospital after their child was allegedly given a transfusion without their consent – and the blood was contaminated with HIV. The family’s lawyer, Bantu Njamela, claims the one-year-old child was […]

NO blows BARRED Sipho Seepe Had it not been for adverts in the media, the recent International Conference on Indigenous Know-ledge Systems: African Perspectives hosted by the University of Venda would have gone unnoticed. Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) refer to intricate knowledge systems acquired over generations by communities as they interact with the environment. It […]

No one can stay young for ever, but if you’re happy with your body, you’ll always be beautiful BODY LANGUAGE Jeanette Winterson The late Mrs Winterson had a bathing costume made from blackout material. This home-made suit was a descendant of those Victorian beach effects worn by women to conceal their modesty, known in the […]

The rand looks unlikely ever to recover Sarah Bullen The fall of the rand is terminally depressing. It is like a light drizzle that just keeps on coming until a particularly bad shower reminds us that it’s actually still raining. South Africans are going to have to face up to the reality of living with […]

Kenya proved they aren’t always the whipping boys Peter Robinson Of all the international captains currently tramping through world cricket, easily the most engaging is Kenya’s Maurice Odumbe. Put it this way, if you were planning to throw some steak on the braai and pass a few beers around, then the cricketer to call to […]

Michael Hartnack Zimbabwe’s in-your-face Department of Information was at it again last week, fulminating on everything from first lady Grace Mugabe’s right to keep secret her abysmal London University law exam results, to the alleged conspiracy of whites behind South Africa’s planned deportation of Zimbabwean farm workers. Playing the race card, an unnamed “authoritative source” […]

REVIEW David Shapshak Quicken 2001 Deluxe, about R429 Once Microsoft has its eye on your particular segment of the software market, you might as well pack up your bags and go home, many in the information technology industry believe. Like its now dominant Internet Explorer, through which Microsoft took on Netscape and won, the feeling […]

After a week of high tension over the future role of controversial mayor Peter Marais in the Democratic Alliance, matters come to a head at the party’s national management committee meeting on Friday. DA deputy leader Marthinus van Schalkwyk spoke to Marianne Merten Marianne Merten (MM): Is there a war of nerves and words between […]