Stefaans Brmmer in London The fear of full-scale war in Afghanistan is threatening to unravel the fragile threads of democracy and stability in the Central Asian former Soviet republics to the north. Central Asia is dotted with small republics boasting the “-stan” suffix Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakstan, Turkmenistan, Kirghizistan home to a bewildering array of ethnic […]

Linda Martindale Using a computer is daunting enough for beginners, especially if you are forced to do it in a language that is not your own. But last week South African firm Translate.org.za released the entire computing experience in Xhosa, covering the full desktop, Web browser, word processor, spreadsheet and e-mail application. The programmes have […]

Telkom plans to provide South Africa with direct telecommunication links to the rest of Africa in the near future Jubie Matlou Apartheid South Africa’s isolation was not confined to political, economic and cultural areas alone, but also extended to telecommunications links with the rest of the world. Before 1994 direct telecommunications links between South Africa […]

Story and photographs by Fanie Jason The trigger for this photo essay was a news story. In December 2000 I covered a story about a family of three in Khayelitsha a young mother, father and their three-year-old daughter who died of Aids-related illnesses within 24 hours. At that stage, I was becoming aware of the […]

Two professionals working in corporate social investments are clear about what it takes to make it effective. Jackie Mondi spoke to them You have to have the CEO or company chairperson committed to Corporate Social Investments (CSI) for it to be effective, say Lulu Letlape of Telkom Foundation and Mercia Maserumule of Murray & Roberts. […]

Marianne Merten The banner at the New National Party’s final Western Cape provincial congress proclaimed: “NNP + DP = DA”. The elderly Cape Flats woman in the observer seats who enthusiastically waved her NNP scarf may not see things the same way. Coloured resentment of the NNP’s partner in the Democratic Alliance, the Democratic Party, […]

My name is Phumzile Dlamini. I am a postgraduate student of Museum and Heritage Studies living on Robben Island. I am writing to respond to “Lesotho steps intto Robben Island ray” (September 21) The article used a fictitious name for a survivor of sexual harassment on the island that resembles my own. The names Phumla […]

Mail & Guardian reporter After the success of its 2000 academic bridging programme, Gensec Bank has extended the programme and is now investing a further R817500 in upgrading the skills of promising formerly disadvantaged students. A year ago 20 young people who matriculated in 1999 were given the opportunity to improve their matric results to […]

Shady, quiet streets featuring bougainvillea, backgammon, coffee and persecuted felines still exist on the Greek islands, writes Angus Begg It’s late May 1987. The time is somewhere around 8am down at the harbourside in Piraeus, Athens, and hundreds of backpackers and students are milling about, smoking, sitting on pavements, hassling for cheaper tickets … waiting. […]

Michael Hartnack With the Commonwealth heads of government meeting in Brisbane, Australia, scheduled to start on October 6, hopes are high in Zimbabwe that President Robert Mugabe will face censure from world leaders. Leaders of the 53-nation grouping will consider whether Mugabe’s regime is beyond the pale on human rights after nearly two years of […]