Cameron Duodu LETTER FROM THE NORTH The term “senseless war” should be a contradiction in terms. Because humanity was given the power of reasoning by Mother Nature, war should not be in our vocabulary at all. But Mother Nature also gave us the power not to use our reason! And more often than not, we […]

Ups: Cheery Cape clone that’s Jo’burg’s current favourite. Colourful, clean, safe to walk around at night. Great restaurants, cafes, bars, clubs and some interesting shopping. Downs: The people. Rich hippies, media kids and ever-so-slightly-smug residents. More cool than culture ensures an empty- headed experience. What the Estate Agents say: “Melville’s looking good. High demand and […]

Barry Streek The government is pressing ahead with its plans to establish an independent Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA), which it hopes will start operating in the middle of next year. It also says considerable consensus about the basic principles of the new agency has already been achieved, ahead of the publication of a […]

Soundtracks are an integral part of movies and their promotion. Scott Hughes traces their track record They’d never done it before. But, with a screening of some rough footage, and, no doubt, a big white grin, Tom Cruise managed to persuade United States rock giants Metallica – for the first time in their two-decade career […]

Brenda Atkinson MARKETING THROUGH MUD AND DUST by Muzi Kuzwayo (Ink Inc) One would think that the advertising industry in South Africa would be at the frontier of research into selling products to black South Africans, the so- called “emerging market” of the post- apartheid era. But a pervasive cultural ignorance lingers and plays out, […]

Evidence wa ka Ngobeni The South African Association of Youth Clubs (SAAYC), the national youth organisation that boasts four-million- strong membership, has refocused its course again – this time it is working on changing the attitudes of millions of young people and motivating them to take charge of their fortune. “Gone are the times of […]

The scenery in the Pilanesberg is exquisite: a mix of undulating granite hills and broad plains Angus Begg I’ve had an itch to go camping again for a good while now, thinking I might take my five-year-old nephew, Tadeu, away to one of the bigger game reserves, where he can have his first glimpse of […]

South Africa Paul Kirk A new survey of the muti industry shows that trade in traditional medicines tops R500-million a year and concerns 27-million South Africans. The study, by the Institute of Natural Resources, found that in KwaZulu-Natal alone more than 4E000 tons of indigenous plants are traded a year, while the value of the […]

Stephen Gray I, TITUBA by Maryse Cond (Faber &Faber) THE ABYSSINIAN by Jean-Christophe Rufin (Picador) As one of their first books dated 2000, Faber have reissued one of Maryse Cond’s novels in their Caribbean Series, chosen by Caryl Phillips. The short title is I, Tituba, although this had previously been followed by the subtitle Black […]

SOUTH African Airways has turned an operating loss last year of R130-million into a profit of R557-million this year, SAA chief executive Coleman Andrews announced on Tuesday. The national air carrier cut costs by more than R300-million and increased its revenue from R8,5-billion to R9,8-billion in the past year. More than 1200 staff have left […]