Samantha Weinberg, author of a biography of Bob=20 Denard, looks at the background to his latest=20 LAST Thursday, ”Colonel” Bob Denard rose from the=20 ashes of his mercenary career. Bolder and ballsier=20 than ever, he raised a finger in the air to the=20 French judicial system, political pundits and=20 keepers of the ”new world order”. […]

Justin Pearce MARIA SEKATANE proudly points out the photograph on the wall of her tiny sitting-room in Meadowlands, Soweto. In the picture, her son Montsheng stands next to Chris Hani. Both are in MK camouflage gear, and the tropical vegetation in the background tells that the photo dates to the years of exile. These days, […]

Meshack Mabogoane The National African Federated Chambers of Commerce (Nafcoc), the main black business organisation, which formed the African Bank and has been its main supporter, has spoken out on the bank’s difficulties. Nafcoc president Joe Hlongwane this week announced his organisation, whose members hold 35,3 percent of Afbank’s equity, is determined to get involved […]

Itumeleng oa Mahabane MeMBERS of the small community of Kagiso will no longer have to taxi-hop if they want some entertainment. They have just had Hollywood delivered to their doorstep, courtesy of Amos Zwane, and the Right Reverend Joseph Mabuela. Zwane (48) and Mabuela (42) are the owners of a Maxi Movies franchise, in Kagiso […]

CINEMA: Stanley Peskin LADYBIRDS are conventionally associated with children, fire and loss and it is these associations which are brought to bear upon the female protagonist in Ken Loach’s Ladybird Ladybird. The rhyming title does not in any way soothe the audience’s feelings. Rather it is submitted to a harrowing account, based on a true […]

President Mandela receives so many gifts that his staff cannot cope and he may have to build on to his house to accommodate the regular truckloads. Hazel Friedman peered into the treasure chest

Cutting the costs of bad debt is high on the agenda of the telecommunication giant Telkom, reports Karen Telecommunications giant Telkom plans to implement a new strategy to stem the millions of rands lost each year through bad debt. Last year, the company wrote off 2,1 percent of its R9,6-billion turnover to bad debt — […]

One of the more refreshing aspects of the new South Africa is the sight of government bureaucrats being called to account. Johnny de Lange’s justice committee this week gave a particularly vivid demonstration of the contribution parliamentary oversight can make to good governance with its hearings on the offices of the The highlight of the […]

Molefe Matlou WORKERS at the remote Vametco mine, which produces vanadium on the outskirts of Brits in the North West Province, say they and their kin in surrounding rural settlements are being poisoned by the mine, and that 10 former workers have already died. “We heard of workers dying, children and old people becoming ill […]

Justin Pearce THE Department of Foreign Affairs insists that South Africa this week became a world leader in the move away from the use of landmines — but human rights activists are outraged at the government’s failure to support an outright ban on these weapons. South Africa’s position came as a surprise to many who […]