Q&A: rodriguez Alex Sudheim Rodriguez, the folk-rock singer who defied persistent rumours of his death by completing a highly successful tour of South Africa in 1998, is back in the country during September performing a string of dates with his new band, The Big Town Playboys. Probably most famous for his moody drug anthem Sugar […]

SOCCER James Richardson Last week a schoolboy from Naples got called up for Italy’s under-17 national side despite being just 14. Causing a stir was the lad’s name: Maradona. Yup, he’s the son of the world’s greatest player, and his mum has a court certificate to prove it. Diego Jnr’s story begins in September 1986. […]

John Naughton The greatest thinkers are always those who can learn from their mistakes. Take Fred Brooks, the engineer who led development of the operating system for the IBM 360 mainframes in the late Sixties. It was the largest software project undertaken up to that point and, like all such projects, it ran over time […]

Ngwako Modjadji Richard Chauke wants to study information technology at university after completing matric this year. But it will be a mammoth task to realise his dream because his school has not yet received textbooks and other study materials. With just two months before the start of final exams, Masedi Secondary School in the Northern […]

Khadija Magardie Just mention the word “Kurdistan” and Bakhtiar Amir’s eyes light up. Amir, a Kurdish rights activist, is at the World Conference against Racism in Durban to petition the international community to remember the Kurds of Iraq. Kurds have existed in the Middle East since ancient times, but centuries later are still fighting for […]

The company has started a comprehensively equipped deep sea rescue and recovery facility Barry Streek In the wake of the Kursk submarine disaster off the Russian coast, a Cape Town entrepreneur, Gary van der Merwe, has spent more than R120-million to establish a submarine rescue operation in the South Atlantic and Indian oceans. His Win […]

Ntuthuko Maphumulo Natasha “Iron Lady” Tishiclas of Sundowns and Irvin “Iron Duke” Khoza of Orlando Pirates wield great power in South African soccer circles and abroad and their teams have shown in recent weeks that they are a law unto themselves. Last month Pirates players protested so vehemently against a decision taken by the referee […]

An activist has spent two years trying to get an Aids nappy initiative off the ground Charlene Smith Yvonne Spain has a dream of women across Southern Africa sitting at sewing machines making adult nappies for people with Aids. The final stages of Aids is a cruel, hopeless time for those ill with the virus. […]

theatre Guy Willoughby Sorrows and Rejoicings, the latest in the astonishing treasure trove of South African experience that is Athol Fugard’s corpus, is centrally concerned with exile and its consequences for the artist a pertinent theme in a country whose best creators have so often, of choice or necessity, lived overseas. Fugard’s hero is Dawid […]

The turbulent history of Durban’s Indian community is on show in two theatre productions and a photographic exhibition in the city Alexander Sudheim The World Conference against Racism provided a moment for the international community to take a long, hard look at difficult issues. The climate also provided an opportunity for local communities to reflect […]