Bafana Khumalo ONE of the most enduring images I have of Hugh Masekela is that of stocky man surrounded by a band, hand raised and confronting an audience of rowdy revellers who would rather be sitting at a shebeen regaling each other with stories of sexual conquest than listening to jazz music. This would sometimes […]

revamp Andy Duffy THE Gauteng provincial government is to revamp its maternity services – a move which could lead to the closure of poorly supported units in Soweto. The plans, to kick in next year, include attaching new maternity facilities to overloaded hospitals and, according to department sources, closing some of the 20 existing outlying […]

Chris Dunton THESE THINGS HAPPEN by Shaun de Waal (Ad Donker, R59,95) AT over 200 pages, this is a generous collection a dozen stories, one of them, “Dave”, a wonderfully sustained piece, taking up a quarter of the book. All but four of the stories are on gay life, one way or another even so, […]

Tic Tic Bang has shown that there is room for competition in the local music industry. Glynis O’Hara reports TWO idealistic young men, who loved what South Africans might call alternatief (alternative) music, have proven that being big in the distribution business is not necessarily better. Anybody who knows anything about the music industry will […]

We have a lift-off – of a multitude of satellites and enormous profits. Adam Sweeting looks at the amazing growth of the space business THE Apollo programme is history now, and Neil Armstrong’s “giant leap for mankind” seems about as newsworthy as the Gettysburg Address, but there is still a mystique about Cape Canaveral, like […]

Former Robben Island prisoners are bitter at not being consulted about its development, reports Rehana Rossouw FORMER Robben Island prisoners have slammed their leadership for excluding them from plans to transform the island into a monument celebrating the struggle against apartheid. They claim promises that they would benefit from the island’s development have not been […]

Many South African companies still appear to be awarding their executives increases way above the rate of inflation. Max Gebhardt reports SOUTH AFRICAN captains of industry have yet again rewarded themselves pay increases far above the rate of inflation. While calling on unions and employees to “take the pain” for the good of the economy, […]

Mungo Soggot THE latest batch of temporary judges appointed to the Transvaal Bench includes two leading lights from the Black Lawyers Association, one of whom has seven years’ experience at the Bar. Johannesburg advocates say the appointment of Vincent Maleka and Ismail Semenya, who started at the Bar in 1989 and 1986 respectively, confirmed that […]

Angella Johnson THOUSANDS of people in Mpumalanga and the Western Cape have lost millions of rands following the collapse this week of a Cape Town pyramid investment scheme which targeted born-again Christians. Liquidators are to be appointed to deal with the Two H Group: they estimate that more than R100-million is involved. A police docket […]

ANDREW WORSDALE reports on Ties of Blood, a new TV documentary NIGHT after night television viewers are subjected to a barrage of material about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. So why make a 40-minute documentary about the guilt and violence of the past? Ties of Blood, which flights on SABC3 at 8.15pm on December 16 […]