THURSDAY, 12.15PM: BAFANA Bafana may be out of the World Cup finals, but they have reason enough to hold their heads high, writes ROB DAVIES. The fact that the South Africans qualified for the tournament is testimony to their spirit and their commitment to South African soccer. For a side that has only been playing […]

Matthew Krouse The Encounters Swiss South African Documentary Film Festival is the first of its kind in South Africa. Given our proud history of documentary film-making it’s surprising that no others have preceded this major event that launched on June 20. An initiative of the film department of the Swiss cultural organisation Pro Helvetia and […]

It’s irritating to be accused of stifling debate while debating. “Aids-denial” scientists are like Holocaust-denial historians. Of course they have a constitutional right to be heard – but Holocaust denial didn’t get cranked up until the 1980s, when every thinking person had known for 40 years that the Holocaust actually happened. Here, the government was […]

‘Long ago, in a far, far galaxy …’ So began a 1977 film that spawned a hundred imitators, billions of dollars in profits, two sequels and, now, the first of three planned prequels. What is it about George Lucas’s Star Wars films that has so captured the imagination? By Mark Lawson In 1977, a promising […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Cape Town | Thursday 10.00am. MANCHESTER United have appointed Cape Town club FC Fortune as their player development representatives in southern Africa, the English champions announced on Wednesday. FC Fortune will look out for talented young footballers in the region while in return Manchester United will offer advice and technical assistance and take […]

WITH the announcement on Tuesday by Northern Province Premier Ngoako Ramatlhodi of his 10-member executive, the full line-up of MECs across the country is now in place. The Northern Province executive includes Thaba Mufamadi (Finance, Trade and industry, Tourism), national treasurer of the SA Communist Party and a relative to Sydney Mufamadi (Minister of Provincial […]

BOB Woolmer, South Africa’s World Cup coach, has agreed a three-year contract to return to Warwickshire as director of coaching from January 2000. He enjoyed a successful spell with the English county side in the early 1990s. The deal appears to rule Woolmer out of the job of England coach until after the next World […]

OLD MUTUAL is to axe some 5000 workers in line with recommendations by an independent audit into its demutualisation programme. Old Mutual spokesman Steven Bowey confirmed that the audit has recommended staff reductions, but refused to name the exact number of employees expected to be affected. Business Report quotes a South African Commercial Catering and […]

DAVID SHAPSHAK, Johannesburg | Thursday 3.00pm. CONTROVERSIAL former Springbok James Small on Thursday announced his retirement from rugby. The fiery winger, who once held the South African record for Test caps (42) and tries (22), became something of a folk hero after closing down his giant All Black opposite number, Jonah Lomu, in the 1995 […]

FORMER England fast bowler Peter Lever has been asked by the Kenyan cricket authorities to mastermind their build-up to the 2003 cricket World Cup. The 58-year-old, who played 22 tests between 1972 and 1974, has already been involved in the development of Kenyan cricket and he acted as their bowling coach in the World Cup, […]