John Matshikiza With the Lid Off I know it’s bad form to try and get other people to listen to your dreams, considering that you usually can’t understand the random clips that make up your own dreams anyway. Nevertheless, I’m going to share a dream I had one night in the eastern Democratic Republic of […]

Scotch Tagwireyi When Dereckison Mngomezulu (40) was found dead in his shack in Katlehong two weeks ago, his relatives, neighbours and friends were convinced that beer killed him. Mngomezulu began drinking heavily two years ago when the company he worked for closed down and retrenched all its staff. He drank mostly home-brew, a cheap but […]

Connie Selebogo The tiny south Pacific island of Guam is prepared to take on South Africa’s baseball team in a scheduled Olympic qualifier in December, but is not prepared to risk meeting the country’s muggers and murderers. A top official of the Gaum National Olympic Committee (GNOC) says because of Johannesburg’s rampant crime, the match […]

Jane Martinson Share World What do a swimsuit model, a lion and a bucketful of slime have in common? They have all featured on the most widely watched event on American TV – the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Increasing share ownership and financial awareness in the United States has meant […]

Fiona Macleod Conservation officials have given controversial wildlife dealer Riccardo Ghiazza permission to export at least 66 extremely rare and endangered wild animals to China. They are expected to be part of huge shipments of wildlife on order from a Chinese safari theme park. Ghiazza has obtained permits to export six spotted-neck otters and two […]

Minister of Sport and Recreation Ngconde Balfour has admitted that the organisation of the All Africa Games `went astray’. Michael Finch reports Like it or not, after nearly three years of preparation, the seventh All Africa Games got under way in Johannesburg this week. But not without major problems. The largest multi-sport event to be […]

Deon Potgieter traces the history of the All Africa Games As South Africa bids to become the first African country to host the soccer World Cup, the continent will be the master of ceremonies to the last, multiple sporting event to be staged anywhere in the world this millennium. It’s been a long, hard task […]

Heather Hogan The Department of Correctional Services plans to ease the overcrowding of prisons and cut costs by releasing 10 000 prisoners tagged with electronic bracelets. The first phase of releases will begin next year. Prisoners will be free to move around during their working hours, but will be under house arrest at other times. […]

factor Andrew Muchineripi and Emmanuel Chisupa Soccer One of the highlights of the All Africa Games in Johannesburg should be the eight- nation soccer tournament featuring representatives from each corner of the continent. South Africa, Algeria, Mali and Uganda comprise Group 1 and Cameroon, Cte d’Ivoire, Mauritius and Zambia are in Group 2 with matches […]

The number of women with genital mutilations visiting South African government hospitals is steadily increasing, reports Khadija Magardie Any memory Rooksana has of her “circumcision” at the age of seven is blurred. All she remembers is two pairs of strong arms forcibly holding her legs apart. But what she does remember is her wedding night […]