The tripartite alliance has not patched up its differences ahead of the municipal elections, and deeper cracks remain Howard Barrell, Glenda Daniels, Jaspreet Kindra and Barry Streek Leaders of the ruling tripartite alliance came away from their meeting at a secret venue outside Johannesburg on Monday without having resolved any of the deep- seated policy […]

The controversy surrounding the John Robbie interview with the minister of health has clouded the real issues about HIV and Aids Timothy Trengove-Jones We are all familiar with the details of the case Minister of Health v John Robbie. We also all know the theory that history repeats itself, first as tragedy, then as farce. […]

Denise Ford President Thabo Mbeki appears to confuse the causes of immune deficiency and the specific syndrome associated with HIV/Aids in his interview with Time magazine. If he is quoted correctly in the article, he betrays a startling level of scientific ignorance. He says: “But the notion that immune deficiency is only acquired from a […]

Duvall Pettway and Kojo Baffoe fashion Local fashion has climbed to an all-time high with designers pulling out all the stops at the 4th annual South African Fashion Week (SAFW). September can be re- dubbed fashion month with the showing of spring/summer collections at various events hosted around Johannesburg. The season kicked off in full […]

Communities in the Hex River Valley and Worcester have united in a way never seen before to save their livelihoods Barry Streek United protests against a proposed toll road between Worcester and the Hex River Valley, European concerns about ethical trading and a major crisis in South Africa’s table grape export industry could bring the […]

Thuli Nhlapo Zanele Mbeki, wife of President Thabo Mbeki, has emerged as a key player in a saga involving the erection of temporary housing that flouted government policy and tender procedures. The lawfulness of the housing settlement, in Leeuwkop, north of Johannesburg, was addressed in the Pretoria High Court this week. The court observed that […]

Woodstock Riaan Wolmarans Unlike the famous event it is named after, there will be no mud at Woodstock. There also won’t be kwaito or jazz, despite it being billed as “the only known South African festival that incorporates all angles of pop culture”. That aside, the Woodstock Pop Culture Experience will this year present four […]

The host city braces itself against high winds and the tyranny of the sponsors Grant Shimmin in Sydney One of Sydney’s more popular radio stations is running a promotion that starts: “Spring in Sydney is easy; cool nights, clear sunny days, soft city breezes.” Well, I suppose two out of three ain’t bad, because they […]

Nawaal Deane, Jaspreet Kindra and Belinda Beresford The Mail & Guardian this week asked all Cabinet ministers whether they were working on the assumption that HIV causes Aids. On Tuesday Minister of Foreign Affairs Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, who had been one of 13 female foreign ministers who signed a letter to the United Nations Secretary General, […]