Robert Kirby CHANNELVISION What I saw of last week’s television had a truly bizarre feel to it. It seemed the nuts had at last fully taken over the asylum. The Hansie Cronje affair alone produced far more than the permissible ratio of televisual dementia to sense. There was, however, one totally sane thing to emerge […]
Jean Spear It’s 32_C and it feels silly to be putting on snow boots. Sweat drips off bronzed, bikinied bodies, orange juice is consumed in large quantities and sunscreen is passed around the group in preparation for the great ascent. We synchronise watches and in the distance we can see K2. Well, actually, it’s K2 […]
Jesus bar Joseph, 33, a male Jew, was executed on Friday in the presence of family and friends. Rumours that he was seen alive two days later are rejected by the soldiers who conducted the crucifixion. “We know what we are doing. We do what we are told to do.” – Jerusalem correspondent Millions throughout […]
hearted Donna Block SHAREWORLD I can’t go anywhere these days without someone, anyone, asking me about the stock markets. It’s like they’re having a love affair with shares and all they want is to get more and more information and get involved on one exchange or another. But love affairs, like share prices, are precarious […]
The South African government wants Anglo American to hand over land containing substantial platinum deposits Jaspreet Kindra and Belinda Beresford The Department of Mineral and Energy Affairs has asked Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) to return the mineral rights to 24 platinum-rich farms located in the former Lebowa territory in Northern Province. Amplats, the world’s largest […]
Charlotte Denny Resumption of global trade talks seems unlikely following the failure of the latest attempt at compromise. Hopes that concessions to the world’s poorest countries will revive the talks were dashed this week when the big four trading powers refused to open areas of their markets. The World Trade Organisation (WTO) had backed tariff-free […]
Wemmer Pan killer Heather Hogan The police have launched a criminal investigation into two prison warders at a Johannesburg prison after they allegedly assaulted Cedric Maake, the Wemmer Pan serial killer sentenced to 27 life sentences. On March 16 this year, shortly after he was admitted to Johannesburg Medium prison, Maake was allegedly assaulted by […]
A land claimants organisation says its members are tired of waiting for their claims to be addressed Barry Streek An organisation representing 3E000 households, which claim they were stripped of their land during apartheid, have warned President Thabo Mbeki that they are considering embarking on land invasions because of the government’s delays in dealing with […]
Robert Kirby LOOSECANNON As a quintessence of the dark obscenity that is the Hansie Cronje affair we need look no further than the hastily doctored television commercial for Standard Bank, sponsors of the current one-day cricket series. This must rate as a prototype of the cheap absolutions of the marketing mind. To the well-known advert, […]
The north-eastern Cape highlands are a haven for birders, bikers, hikers, fishermen – and even skiers Angus Begg At the foothills of the southern Dra- kensberg, deep in the north-eastern Cape, is a quaint village of 25 people. Hemmed in by high, imposing mountains on one side and large rolling hills on the other, it […]