Dale T McKinley CROSSFIRE Is it a revolutionary change of course or merely a more overt expression of the predictable (if somewhat uneven) evolution of African National Congress’s socio- economic strategy and policy? President Thabo Mbeki, in his State of the Nation address, finally gave an unapologetic, institutional and public affirmation of the ANC leadership’s […]

Caroline Sullivan NOT CD OFTHEWEEK Tom Jones has spun out his “comeback”, which began with a gut-busting version of It’s Not Unusual on Jonathan Ross’s trendy Last Resort show in early 1987, for years, but has never quite overcome the novelty- oldster tag. People half his age flock to see him at Glastonbury, other artists […]

Polly Pattullo Visitors look at new places with eyes that are loaded with their perceptions about the world and where they come from. Depending on the “view”, we can be fascinated, bored or anguished. It can be unforgettable or mundane. Our hosts, who look at that same view every day, see things differently. Such confusion […]

Many go on to earn hundreds of thousands a week, but Fifa wants to halt the exodus of ‘under-age’ African players – a move that would not be popular with the players’ moms Brian Oliver Somewhere in northern Malaysia there are 12 teenaged footballers living in one large room and hoping to be selected to […]

Neil Manthorp CRICKET The only surprise the South African players have encountered in India so far has been just how predictable everything has been. Knowing what to expect is one thing, but you still expect some surprises in the land of people, chaos, enthusiasm and people. And more people. Preparations for the first Test, which […]

Charles Mangwiro and Justin Arenstein The Mozambican government appears to own 20% of the plastic pipe factory outside Maputo where police last week pulled off Africa’s largest ever Mandrax bust. The raid by a squad of South African and Mozambican police netted over 300kg of methaqualone power meant for the manufacture of at least 30-million […]

Peter Dickson More than 17 000 Bisho government employees are so indebted to loan sharks that they are only being paid 25% of their salaries in the Eastern Cape provincial education and health departments. Eastern Cape MEC for Education Stone Sizani revealed at a press conference this week that at least 1 000 government employees […]

Jack Schofield Short film and TV-style websites like to use “streaming media”, which means the movie starts within 20 to 30 seconds of clicking the icon or hot-link to display it. The advantage is that you can start watching a video without having to download the whole thing, which could take from 10 to 20 […]

Budget 2000 has something for everyone: Tax cuts for the hard-working populace, incentives for job creation, a boost for our credit rating – and fiscal discipline for state departments Belinda Beresford Trevor Manuel walked to his budget briefing with a huge smile on his face, secure in the knowledge that he was about to become […]

Barry Streek The HIV/Aids epidemic which has so far infected five million South Africans – about 11,1% of the entire population – has serious economic dangers as it would in future decrease labour productivity while increasing unit labour costs, the Department of Finance has warned. “The economic and social impact of HIV/Aids is hard to […]