Marlene Burger The marathon trial of Dr Wouter Basson degenerated into a clash of legal wills this week after the extraordinary demand by the state prosecutor that the presiding Judge, Willie Hartzenberg, step down. After searching in vain for legal precedent, lawyers on both sides concluded that this was probably the first time in South […]

Bob Fisher SAILING Days before the start of the America’s Cup, New Zealand’s defence has come under fire – and not solely from their Italian challengers. The Kiwi skipper Russell Coutts and his crew are at odds with Team New Zealand chief executive Sir Peter Blake and his team responsible for the defence of the […]

They’re fighting over your personal information, and you’ll need some armour to maintain your privacy online Rupert Neethling The unflattering picture of a person who wants to safeguard his online privacy is typically of a man who doesn’t want to get caught visiting porn sites. Especially if he’s cyber-leching on company time. But the issue […]

Khadija Magardie The government is planning to use colonial- era legislation to impose a R5E000 fine or maximum five-year jail sentence on traditional surgeons who perform botched circumcisions. The proposals are contained in a draft proclamation, drawn up under the 1927 Black Administration Act, which is currently being circulated among health authorities, practitioners and traditional […]

mail Yazeed Kamaldien As South Africa continues to promote an international image of a country in transformation and reconciliation, most citizens of the world are confronted with a contradictory image on the website www.creativewebs.co.za/apologies/. Created in 1998 to encourage white South Africans to apologise to their black counterparts for the injustices the latter suffered during […]

Adam Sweeting When the American record industry dishes out its annual awards this month, all eyes will be on Carlos Santana, the 52- year-old guitarist who has been nominated for 10 Grammys. That would be a remarkable achievement in any circumstances, but only a year ago Santana was thought of as a 1970s throwback with […]

sale Mike Loewe Transport parastatal Transnet is planning to sell scores of remote railway properties in the Eastern Cape that have become home to hundreds of evicted farm workers and retired railway workers. The inhabitants of the railway buildings have been renting them from Transnet, which is now poised to sell the properties to neighbouring […]

With a new film out and a new job as chair of the UKFilm Council, how does Alan Parker see the future for British movies? Tim Adams ‘Oh, I’m much calmer, less controlling, more relaxed these days,” says Alan Parker, smiling, telling me how he has not only written and directed the film version of […]

South African soccer is trying to clean up its image just weeks before a delegation from world governing body Fifa arrives to assess South Africa’s bid to host the 2006 World Cup Evidence wa ka Ngobeni, Jubie Matlou and Connie Selebogo South African soccer is set for a major shake-up as the government moves to […]

Paul Kirk Smuggling. The very word conjures images of drug dealers and hardened criminals. But in the United States, a special squad of dogs is trained to separate South African travellers from their smuggled biltong. Owing to restrictions on uncooked meat and vegetables the US does not allow biltong to be imported. That means South […]