John Matshikiza with the lid off I had been living on the Senegalese island of Gor’e all through August. The day I was due to leave, another dramatic thunderstorm had come raging up from the south-west, with such force this time that even the islanders, accustomed to all the changing moods of the winds and […]

Nawaal Deane In the week that Angola prepares to celebrate its 25th anniversary of independence, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) has published a blunt account of the horrendous mutilation and terror suffered by civilians during the country’s lengthy civil war. Contrary to the claims of the Angolan government that the situation has stabilised, the MSF says […]

Now in its sixth season and firmly ensconced as one of the fashion musts in the country, the Durban Designer Emporium (DDE) Summer Collections 2001 happens this year under the title Joy. A British Council initiative with DDE, it takes place in Durban on November 11. Hot on the heels of South Africa and London’s […]

Andrew Muchineripi soccer Football is a funny game. Funny enough for Africa Sports of Cte d’Ivoire to be pipped for first place in Group One of the Champions League this weekend by Sundowns, the team they put six goals past a week before. A draw between Esperance and Africa Sports in Tunisia would open a […]

Marianne Merten ‘Beware, this bitch bites!” says the logo on the T-shirt of a sex worker attending a play about prostitutes – but it could just as well have been a warning to the two actresses to expect tart advice from the audience. The prostitutes who arrived at the Nico theatre to watch Sweat on […]

David Beresford Another Country One of the most enjoyable pieces of television I have seen recently was a video recording of an attempt to interview JM Coetzee for Dutch TV. The writer’s distaste for the public limelight has become almost legendary since he failed to pick up his second Booker Prize – the first person […]

The multimillion-rand African hair industry is thriving on the street corners, taking its inspiration from Hollywood and tribal life Valentine Cascarino Elizabeth Moloto, who hails from Orange Farm, is a newcomer to the pavement salon business. Having closed a small “Westernised” hair salon in the township, she took to the streets of Johannesburg. First she […]

Charlene Smith wine In one of the world’s best known wine countries, why is it so impossible to get a glass of decent wine at a restaurant? Gone are the days when businesspeople would attempt to clobber a bottle of wine over lunch and reel out to face an afternoon written off in a dull […]

Martin Kelner wrestling There is a wrestler called Mike Awesome – which I suspect may not be his baptismal name – who has been labelled “That Seventies Guy” by the commentators because his hip-hugging jeans and floral shirts, they say, make him look like a throwback to that era. Well, excuse me, but did you […]

settlements Barry Streek The government has swiftly settled substantial land claims in the Southern Cape in the wake of threats by local residents to carry out land invasions. On Saturday Minister of Agriculture and Land Affairs Thoko Didiza will restore land to 1 100 coloured and black households in Knysna at a cost of about […]