Gustav Thiel : In your ear Punt Geselsradio’s claim that it is the first Afrikaans talk radio station in the world is much the same as saying that Pretoria University is the biggest Afrikaans university in the world. ”Firstness” is after all a relative concept. But when this new station hits the air in Gauteng […]

THURSDAY, 9.15AM: FORMER Springbok prop Guy Kebble and former Northern Transvaal coach Chris Buitendach, who heped coach Nick Mallet with scrum work at Wednesday’s training session, said they were not very impressed with the Boks’ work rate. They, however, believe that given more time, Springbok would be a formidable side. After the intense training Buitendach […]

Lizeka Mda finds a surprising amount of ignorance about anatomy and reproduction among urban teenagers Lindiwe Mthelezulu is writing matric this year. She cuts a very confident figure as she glides through the Carlton Centre, the playground for youth in Johannesburg. When a man sniggers about the length of her shorts to his friend, she […]

THURSDAY, 9.40AM: SOUTH AFRICAN paceman Alan Donald will not be coming home to rest during the duration of the on-day tournament as reported last week. The South African camp have had a change of heart following Brian McMillan’s return to South Africa yesterday. South African convenor of the national selection panel Peter Pollock said last […]

WEDNESDAY, 8.30PM: THE LAWYER for Truth Commission investigative head Dumisa Ntsebeza, accused of driving the getaway car after a 1993 bomb attack on a pub (see below), revealed that the sole witness, a gardener, owns a house worth R180 000. The witness, Guguletu gardener Bennett Sibaya, acknowledged that he owned the house, which he said […]

THURSDAY, 5.30PM A NEW inquest into the murder of Swapo member Anton Lubowski will be staged in Windhoek in February next year, it was announced on Thursday. An earlier inquest into the death of the Windhoek lawyer, who was gunned down outside his home on September 12 1989, named Civil Cooperation Bureau operatives Ferdi Barnard, […]

n Nelson’s Dictionary (1st edition). “Haggis. A meal-on-wheels which the Scots keep as pets preparatory to devouring them amidst scenes of great cruelty on the evening of January 25 each year, under the pretext of feeding the poetic impulse.” Dear Walter, Where did I leave you ? Ah, yes, in the desert with Gertrude the […]

THURSDAY, 3.20PM MORE than 78 million shares worth R1,3bn were traded in a busy day on the JSE today. The market took a dip following a global trend, and local traders were nervous about what Wall Street would do. There were indications the US markets were heading for another nosedive. The all share index closed […]

Marion Edmunds A top Department of Foreign Affairs lawyer has backed President Nelson Mandela’s controversial stance on Libya, advising him to support Moammar Gadaffi’s refusal to hand the Lockerbie bombing suspects to Britain and the United States. The department’s chief legal adviser, Albert Hoffmann, told Mandela’s office that according to international law, Libya was right […]

THURSDAY, 11.00AM: The long-delayed Lotteries Bill was finally approved by Parliament on Wednesday, and chances are good South Africa will have a national lottery by early 1999. The Bill, which was first drafted five years ago, has undergone repeated amendments since then to accommodate South Africa’s already flourishing casinos and horse racing pools. The Bill […]