Pule waga Mabe Chaos erupted at an election meeting in Seshego, near Pietersburg, last weekend, as pensioners refused to be addressed by their councillors and staged a walkout during the proceedings. The pensioners had just been told that the new council, which will kick in after the local government elections, will make them pay for […]

Anne Emslie obituary Koos Malgas, best known as the sculptor of the statues at the Owl House, died this week in Graaff Reinet of a stroke. Situated in Nieu Bethesda in the Eastern Cape, the Owl House was the brainchild of artist Helen Martins. Now a popular tourist destination, it is an example of what […]

An easy enough way of giving the ideal present is to add to somebody’s collection Everyone collects something: stamps (unlikely today), koi (ag, no, please), gloves (mmmm). Snoop around your friends’ abodes and you’ll spot a collection of something or other. Then you’ll know what to get whether it’s fairly easy to come by, like […]

Jim Beam: Smoother than some, it carries a bouquet of smoky spice given it by the oak barrels in which it is matured and has a full sweet flavour of burnt caramel and oaky vanilla. Wild Turkey (left): This whiskey is aged for eight years in charred oak barrels to give it a full woody […]

Thebe Mabanga There was a time when television dramas used to be a source of fascination for millions of viewers. Whether your fare was dished from a neighbour’s set or a battery-operated set in your lounge with neighbours’ children congregating in front of the set many dramas were a decent combination of mesmerising acting and […]

THE Lagos State government has reneged on its promise to improve power supply in the southern Nigerian metropolis due to problems it faces in implementing its accord with US energy firm ENRON. Following an agreement signed between Lagos State government and ENRON in August last year, authorities had promised to provide more than 10 million […]

CHARLES MANGWIRO, Maputo | Friday AN international team of doctors have begun arriving in Mozambique to investigate the mysterious death of an estimated 70 prisoners in the northern province of Cabo Delgado earlier this week. Prime Minister Pascoal Mocumbi told a press conference in Maputo that police reports indicated as many as 70 prisoners appeared […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Friday THE Labour Department is trying to stem allegations of negligence after it emerged that an inspector had apparently been alerted to conditions at the factory in Lenasia where 11 workers burnt to death last Friday. Labour Department director-general Rams Ramashia has reacted “with alarm” over the allegations that an inspector […]

BENIN has sought Nigeria’s support in its bid to host the headquarters of a proposed west African gas pipeline project. Four west African countries – Benin, Ghana, Nigeria and Togo – are participating in the project being implemented by west African regional grouping ECOWAS. – AFP

Zapiro distills the hopes and fears of the nation in his cartoons. Jane Rosenthal visited him in his studio The studio of Jonathan Shapiro, known to the nation as the cartoonist Zapiro, has the feel of a real workplace. It is dominated by an unpretentious “mid-century” architectural drawing table with pulley-operated parallel rule and custom-made […]