Stefaans Brmmer DEFENCE Secretary Pierre Steyn came under intense pressure from the defence establishment after the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s public release of details from the “third force” report which Steyn made in 1992. After the truth commission bombshell last week, vultures gathered to pick De Klerk’s political bones – how else could it be […]

John Daniszewski in Cairo SUDANESE rebels claimed this week to have killed hundreds of government troops and pushed to within 65km of a key hydroelectric dam in a mushrooming military campaign to topple Sudan’s Islamic government, long criticised internationally as a sponsor of global terrorism. The offensive that began two weeks ago has spread quickly […]

Israel’s political storms have put radical economic changes on the back burner, writes Alex Brummer ISRAEL’S economy appears intent on mimicking the Italian model. Despite political assassination, terrorist bombings and reprisals, a soldier running amok on the West Bank and a government, under Binyamin Netanyahu, apparently determined to win prizes for impetuousness and incompetence, the […]

Executive Outcomes is the world’s first corporate army and – some argue – an effective peacekeeping force, report Khareen Pech and David Beresford EXECUTIVE OUTCOMES has fought many gun battles in Africa. Today the controversial company, having brought new meaning to the concept of the “corporate state” by mustering what is arguably the world’s first […]

The run-up to the ANC’s provincial conference has spawned new tensions, reports Rehana Rossouw IN another salvo fired at the African National Congress’sleadership, the branch members in the Free State town of Bothaville this week condemned national leaders’ “arrogance” and nominated former premier Terror Lekota for the position of provincial chairman. The ANC’s Bloemfontein branch […]

IT may be that President Nelson Mandela is genuine in his desire to draw other parties into his Cabinet and we should accept at face value his statement that there is a great deal of talent in all parties which can contribute to government. But however benign his motivation, the effect will be malevolent: other […]

SABC this week hastily unbanned a Prophets of da City video after it won a prestigious international award.Charl Blignaut reports CAPE Flats hip-hop outfit Prophets of da City scooped the prize for Best Music Video/Clip from Non-Francophone Africa at the prestigious annual Cannes Midem international music awards this week. But, while in France a clip […]

Gillian Farquhar DURING the past six months the Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa (BCCSA), which consists of 14 committee members and operates on an annual budget of just less than R500 000, has received a total of 130 complaints. Some of these complaints are listed below: Biased reporting: SABC 3 – The Chief, August […]

Jim Day The phenomenon of unions and their related investment companies making major investments in the South African economy has only emerged in the past couple of years. But in that time, unions have become major shareholders in a wide range of industries, from breweries to media outlets. Among the best-known of unions’ ventures into […]

Bafana Khumalo on Rebecca Malope `I always wanted to be singer, ever since I was a child,” she responds to my first question as she stretches her black leather-clad legs across to the coffee table in front of us in the offices of her record company. She is Rebecca Malope and this always “wanting to […]