Marianne Merten Taxi warlord turned local government candidate, Victor Sam, died this week the way he had lived – by the gun. But his death has left many wondering what hat Sam was wearing when he was gunned down in Crossroads in his car. The controversial taxi boss, township businessman and community figure was brought […]

Friday is reviewing the format of its television pages. We’d like to hear from you. Fax (011) 727 7111 or e-mail [email protected] with answers to the following questions and any other comments: n Would you like to see more DStv schedules, or are the current highlights sufficient? n Do you prefer complete schedules for the […]

Local artists are looking to surgery as a means of creation Michelle Matthews It is tempting to use the clich’ “cutting edge”, but surgery as art is at least a decade old. French artist Orlan is its most famous proponent, having undergone 10 cosmetic operations in her expression of carnal art. In her latest she […]

The Gear policy introduced five years ago had implications for growth, but it was aimed more at stabilising the economy, writes Howard Barrell South Africans stand on the cusp of a period of strong economic growth. To propel the economy into sustained high growth, however, the country now needs to make some bold choices and […]

The Egyptian Coptic Church sticks to ancient traditions in spiritual and material service to its congregation and the community, writes Osita Nwajah ‘In the beginning, God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve.” That is Father Hedra Eshak Bisada’s simple answer to the question on where the Coptic Church stands on homosexuality. That position […]

Unlike the Yugoslavs, the Zimbabweans have yet to develop an effective culture of mass protest Iden Wetherell It has been called “the Milosevic effect”. But comparisons with Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic’s fall from power may be premature. Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare, was this week the scene of riots over food prices. Bread has gone up by […]

Roshila Pillay Joseph Mashiloae always knew he was a man – until he tried obtaining proper banking facilities. He has been turned down by five different banks on the grounds that he is posing as a female. The reason for his rejection is simple – Mashiloae’s identity document classifies him incorrectly as a female. Seven […]

Belinda Beresford The fight between Aids activists and the government intensified this week when an NGO that helps rape survivors in Mpumalanga issued court papers against the provincial health MEC after being banned from state hospitals. The MEC for Health, Sibongile Manana, also accused the NGO, the Greater Nelspruit Rape Intervention Project (Grip), of illegally […]

Paul Kirk Pension officials in KwaZulu- Natal are in hot water after an ageing pensioner was called a baboon while waiting in a pension queue and the official representative for Prince Gideon Zulu, Mike Gumede, claimed that pensioners enjoyed queuing in the hot sun as it gave them a chance to gossip with their friends. […]

Guy Willoughby Collaborations 2000, a month-long season of new South African plays jointly presented by the Cape Town Theatre Laboratory and Artscape, opened at the Nico Arena last week with Bheki Mkhwane and Grieg Coetzee’s riveting one-man play Solomon’s Pride – an extraordinary piece of performance art that deserves much more than its brief five- […]