Steven Poole MUSIC AND SILENCE by Rose Tremain (Chatto &Windus) Music and silence, as Rose Tremain knows, are not necessarily opposites. They inhabit each other. Silence is given meaning by the music built around it. And much of the meaning of music resides in the unique character of silence that it engenders at its end. […]

John Naughton Here is a story to make megacorp executives choke on their muesli: eToys.com, a huge online retailer of toys based in California, has been humiliated by a civil disobedience campaign orchestrated by a community of Internet activists. Late last year, eToys made the mistake of suing a group of Swiss multimedia artists and […]

SATURDAY’S triangular one-day series final betweeen South African and England has been moved back a day to Sunday, with Monday as the reserve day, after week long rains in Johannesburg. Both captains agreed that the rain-sogged Wanderers grounds would not be ready for the scheduled Saturday match. England are in the final after Wednesday’s match […]

ALISTER BULL and SARAH BULLEN | Thursday 4.45pm LOCAL markets stumbled on Thursday, apparent victims of the country’s own success, as a buoyant gold price and upbeat fundamentals perversely dimmed their immediate outlook. At close of trade the all share index was down 1,32% — with the all gold index down 0,29% despite bullion pouncing […]

South Africa’s top women’s high jumper, Hestrie Storbeck-Cloete, was chosen as the best in her field by the influential US magazine Track & Field News. She was also listed 16th for the best women in international athletics last year. SA athletes in other fields have also been included in the magazine’s top ten lists: Hezekial […]

JUDGMENT has been reserved by the Pretoria High Court until Friday on whether loose-forward AJ Venter is contactually binded to the Golden Lions, or whether he is entitled to play his rugby for the Sharks. The Lions applied for a High Court order declaring that Venter cannot play for any other side, and that they […]

MOZAMBIQUE has appealed for $2.7-million to help victims of flooding from torrential rains that have swamped parts of southern Africa, the United Nations said on Friday. Donations will be used to purchase emergency supplies including inflatable boats, life jackets, life buoys, tents, as well as ropes, torches and pumps, the UN Office for the Coordination […]

NORWEGIAN Prime Minister Kjell Bondevik was expected to arrive in South Africa on Thursday afternoon for a three-day visit. The prime minister, on his first official visit to South Africa, is scheduled to meet President Thabo Mbeki for bilateral talks on Friday, embassy and government officials said. Bondevik, accompanied by a high-powered business delegation, flies […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Harare | Friday 8.00pm South Africa is poised to rescue Zimbabwe from its crippling fuel and looming electricity energy shortages, a Zimbabwean cabinet minister said on Friday. Nathan Shamuyarira said at the end of talks between President Thabo Mbeki and Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe in Harare on Friday that they discussed the country’s […]

TOP German cyclist Jan Ullrich heads a strong field for South Africa’s premier cycling event, the Vodacom Rapport Tour, which starts in Cape Town on Friday and ends on February 19. The 26-year-old Ullrich, 1999 Tour of Spain and 1997 Tour de France winner, leads the Deutsche Telekom team, one of 15 six-member teams competing […]