OWN CORRESPONDENT and REUTERS, Cape Town | Saturday CAPE Town’s faceless bombers have struck for the eighth time this year, blowing up a car outside the popular Obz Cafe in the suburb of Observatory, a popular student hangout. No injuries were reported and damage was minimal. The bomb exploded barely 12 hours after anti-terrorist magistrate […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT and REUTERS, New York | Saturday ZIMBABWEAN President Robert Mugabe has vowed to press ahead with his much-criticised seizure of white-owned farms and launched a blistering attack on the world’s powerful nations, saying they should not be allowed to recolonize Africa by stealth. Mugabe’s fierce speech to a special United Nations Millennial Summit […]

James Hall Sacking Swaziland’s most powerful and feared traditional leader, Dibanisa Mavuso, for a poaching violation after a career of seriously abusing the powers of his office may seem like the FBI finally collaring Al Capone for tax evasion. The palace never reacted when the country’s traditional prime minister sent police to round up government […]

Robyn Orlin is managing to convince European audiences that she knows what she’s up to – but can she do the same at home? Matthew Krouse After years of pussyfooting around the smaller venues of the Market Theatre complex, Robyn Orlin has finally arrived on the main stage of the place where she launched herself […]

Thebe Mabanga joins the Democratic Alliance on its local government election trail through poverty-stricken Alexandra Tony Leon revels in the spotlight and looks resplendent in a pink shirt as he moves over to embrace a group of women exclaiming “re a lerata lona, retlolikissa [we love you, we want to kiss you]”. His attire, however, […]

Steven Friedman worm’s eye view Last week was a good one for those of us who insist that reality in this society is more complicated than the doom-sayers suggest. For those who insist we are on an inevitable path to authoritarianism, the national conference on racism allowed government politicians to polarise us further by demonising […]

Ivor Powell In a bid to end ongoing divisions in the Mpumalanga provincial government, President Thabo Mbeki is expected to axe the province’s controversial Premier, Ndaweni Mahlangu, next week – and replace him with Deputy Minister of Edu- cation Smangaliso Mkhatshwa. Mkhatshwa was originally tipped for the premiership, when Mbeki unexpectedly announced the appointment of […]

Howard Barrell President Thabo Mbeki is driving a R6- million project to record the history of the struggle against apartheid over the 30 years leading up to South Africa’s first democratic election in 1994. His officials in the Office of the Presidency have talked cellphone operator MTN and Nedcor, the banking group, into jointly providing […]

Patrick Craven crossfire Thami Mazwai proudly proclaims that he and his staff “are gleefully contravening the [Basic Conditions of Employment] Act” by not paying premiums for Sunday working (“Cosatu acts irresponsibly in criticising the government”, September 1 to 7). In other words he is breaking the law. Yet he accuses Congress of South African Trade […]