Stefaans Brmmer THE controversial Church of Scientology has bestowed a ”freedom medal” on Lawrence Anthony, KwaZulu-Natal businessman and confidant of Mangosuthu Buthelezi, shedding new light on the close links between the church and the Inkatha Freedom Party. The Mail & Guardian reported in November 1994 that Anthony and Businesswise Management Consultants, a management consultancy then […]

JG Ballard WHAT happened to the Space Age? Its once heroic vision of our planetary future now seems little more than a mirage. Yet in 1957, I remember listening to the radio call-sign of Sputnik 1, relayed on the BBC bulletins, and the sense I had that this was the only news that mattered. As […]

The resignation of Springbok coach Andre Markgraaff is bound to affect the players, which is good news for South Africa’s opponents in the tough season ahead RUGBY:Jon Swift AS the dust rises in ever thickening clouds to turn whatever hint there was of transparency in South African rugby into an even murkier soup, it is […]

Controversy surrounds the proposed Bill to convert the Development Bank of South Africa into a company, writes Lynda Loxton NEW parliamentary finance committee chairman Sipho Mpahlwa had a baptism of fire this week when the committee once again flexed its muscles and refused to rubber stamp an important Bill. Appointed on February 17, Mpahlwa almost […]

South African companies are under pressure to take a stand on the Swazi strike, reports Max Gebhardt SOUTHAFRICA’S Transport and General Workers Union has vowed to intensify its campaign against South African companies invested in Swaziland as the Swazi general strike moves into its fourth week. The union will meet shop stewards next week to […]

Rehana Rossouw THE law requiring members of Parliament to declare their assets and financial interests and extra-parliamentary income may be well-meaning but it is nearly impossible to uphold, according to the person responsible for administering the register. Acting registrar of members’ interests, Peter Lilienfeld, said that without funds to hire investigators to check out MPs’ […]

THE stench arising from the administration of rugby in South Africa is over-powering. If the coaching career of the Springbok coach, Andr Markgraaff, is the immediate casualty of this week’s rugby race row, the putrefaction which gives rise to the stink lies with the South African Rugby Football Union (Sarfu). It has been obvious for […]

The universe is bigger and older than first believed, but sci-fi writer JG Ballard sees space as a vacuum New evidence shows that previous assumptions about space were wrong, reports Lesley Cowling A SOUTH AFRICAN astronomer this week presented evidence to international cosmologists that the observable universe is 10% larger than previously supposed. This means […]

The Dolphin Group which has secured huge interests to develop tourism in Mpumalanga is struggling to defend its chief, reports Justin Arenstein THE public relations drive by nature reserve heavyweight Dolphin Group stumbled this week after Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi’s office denied it had issued letters vindicating Dolphin chief Ketan Somaia. The supposed letter […]

Mature economies are battling to expand rapidly; while this may mean nirvana for some theorists, it could spell hell for Britain’s Labour Party, writes Victor Keegan in London LOOSEN your seat belts, the world is slowing down. According to the latest figures from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the 15 economies of […]