Ruaridh Nicoll in Kinshasa reports on the return of President Mobutu Sese Seko after months of convalescence in France EMERGING on to the steps of his chartered plane, Mobutu Sese Seko, in a leopard-skin hat, looked out happily on the country he has pillaged for 30 years. He was greeted by an enormous roar. Thousands […]

Ann Eveleth With the first anniversary of last year’s Christmas Day floods in Pietermaritzburg looming, much remains to be done to prevent a repeat of the tragedy that cost 169 lives and left nearly 6 000 families homeless. And the National Disaster Relief Fund, which has already spent its R14,7-million budget for the year, will […]

After years of civil war, Mozambique’s hydro-electric plant is being refurbished for R575-million. Max Gebhardt reports For nearly 12 years, as civil war ravaged our eastern neighbour, five massive hydro-electric generators, with the power to light up a small city, have been sitting idle ‘ waiting for the moment when they could return to operation. […]

Your front-page headline ‘Top firms in huge medical aid scam’ (December 13 to 19) is not really news. The whole medical aid business is one huge scam. Why should anyone be forced to help pay for the sleeping-pill and Prozac addictions of others? And why should anyone have to pay for the consequences of the […]

Angella Johnson A GANG of con artists has ripped off senior citizens to the tune of hundreds of thousands of rands after accosting them in shopping centres and offering to double their savings instantly. Police say they are baffled that so many old people have fallen prey to the scam in Gauteng, the Free State […]

BOXING: Gavin Evans Philip Holiday has always been the bridesmaid of South African boxing. He’s the nice fella who’s historical role is to give a brave showing before making the way for one deemed worthy, like Jan Bergman or Dingaan Thobela. So far though, it has to be said that young Flippie, as they call […]

Ann Eveleth The special amnesty mooted for KwaZulu-Natal may help African National Congress chairman Jacob Zuma’s bid for the party’s deputy presidency, but the idea is still highly controversial within ANC ranks. ANC leaders say details of the proposal to grant a special amnesty to KwaZulu-Natal’s warlords has not been discussed by either the party’s […]

A junior mining group is boldly entering the ‘mining majors’ territory. Bronwen Jones reports MINING company Metorex normally keeps a low profile, but its bold moves as the only South African junior to tender and pre-qualify for the Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines’ privatisation mark it out as unusual. With a stack of tender documents piled […]

Benjamin Pogrund COSTA GAZIDES has travelled a long political road from the days when, 32 years ago, he was charged alongside Braam Fischer with membership of the underground Communist Party, to last weekend when he was a delegate to the Pan Africanist Congress conference. The Sharpeville killings in 1960 were a first turning point in […]

Magic Johnson and his ‘All Star Team are in South Africa to do more than ‘just play basketball Basketball: Julian Drew t’s in his smile. It’s a happy, spontaneous, infectious smile, an inherent response to the joys of living. It has always been that way for Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson. Ever since he burst on to […]