David Beresford IF the British lottery is not exactly immoral, as many churchmen would have it, the story of “Cheeky” Lee Ryan offers convincing evidence that Lady Luck is utterly amoral. Ryan, a used-car salesman, would have made even Richard Nixon look virtuous. Last year he was sentenced to 18 months for handling stolen vehicles […]

feet ANDREW WORSDALE in Zimbabwe THE biggest grossing films in Zimbabwe this year are Waiting to Exhale and Showgirls. Sign of the times: Hollywood is still dominating world movie production. But at the opening ceremony of the 1996 Southern Africa Film Festival, Post and Telecommunications Minister Joyce Mujuru urged representatives to reduce dependence on foreign […]

Controversial, offensive and bizarre are a few of the words used to describe the Benetton empire. Pauline Springett looks at the family behind the name LUCIANO BENETTON, 61-year-old president and co-founder of the eponymous Italian business empire, would almost pass as a traditional tycoon. The tweed suit is of perhaps a little better than average […]

straits Jacquie Golding-Duffy THE South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is caught between a rock and a hard place with a mandate tailored to serve the needs of a diverse audience, but a lack of funds to fulfill this goal. The mandate has put financial pressure on radio stations still under the SABC’s control. SABC general […]

Iden Wetherell in Zimbabwe AIR ZIMBABWE, once a profitable little airline with an on-time record, now has a reputation for delays and debt as poor management and political interference thwart viability. Part of the problem is President Robert Mugabe’s habit of requisitioning planes whenever he needs to travel abroad – often several times a month. […]

The way in which Thulamela has been excavated has marked a global breakthrough, reports Eddie Koch THE people who built Thulamela, a medieval citadel in the far north of the Kruger National Park that has recently excited fascination in local and international academic circles, will never know it. But they may have helped resolve one […]

THOUSANDS of children are living in terrible conditions in places of safety in South Africa – often without sufficient clothing and bedding at night, without proper educational facilities and in buildings that are unhealthy and unsafe – according to a recently released government report. Of the more than 6 000 children in reform schools, schools […]

Judith Havemann and William Claiborne in Washington THE first provisions of the complex new federal welfare law took effect on Monday, requiring states to begin denying food stamps to non-United States citizens in the initial phase of a process that will ultimately strip benefits from half-a- million immigrants. Efforts to enforce the new law came […]

Anthony Egan, SJ MICHAEL LAPSLEY – PRIEST AND PARTISAN: A SOUTH AFRICAN JOURNEY by Michael Worsnip (Ocean Press, R69,99) CONVENTIONAL boundaries between the genres of political and religious biography take something of a tumble in this generally excellent new book by theologian and church historian Michael Worsnip. His subject is Father Michael Lapsley, priest of […]