>From Paul Simon’s Graceland to the Rugby World Cup, Ladysmith Black Mambazo has brought traditional a cappella to the rest of the world, writes Lucy O’Brien ‘You can buy the biggest house in America, but it’s not home. Where the mother lives – that is home,” says Joseph Shabalala, leader of Ladysmith Black Mambazo. He […]

Thirty years ago the world as we know it changed. Simon Jeffery looks at the communication revolution that became the Internet 1958: Dwight D Eisenhower creates the Advanced Research Projects Agency (Arpa) to further American military science after the Soviet Union launches Sputnik. 1962: Arpa works on computer technology. Head scientist Dr JCR Licklider sees […]

Howard Barrell OVER A BARREL Greater numbers have never guaranteed greater quality. Four hundred MPs are as likely to include 201 fools as they are a majority of sensible individuals. Likewise, if we have a cabal of, say, 20 people making all our important national decisions, they are as likely as 400 MPs to be […]

Alan Henry Grand Prix World championship leader Eddie Irvine this week turned up the psychological pressure on his rival for the drivers’ title, Mika Hakkinen, effectively warning the Finn not to try any dirty tricks in the deciding Japanese grand prix at Suzuka on Sunday. Just days after Irvine’s Malaysian grand prix victory was restored […]

Movie of the week As in all narrative or temporal art, movie endings are very important. “It copped out at the end” is a familiar, negative judgment of a film, though in Hollywood movies especially there is often a mad rush in the final reel to tie up the loose ends strewn about the story. […]

Gavin Foster He stands there, day after day, letting the good guys in and keeping the baddies out. Well, that’s what he’s supposed to do. But the chances are he’s just a pawn in paranoid South Africa’s scam of the century – pseudo-security. It’s difficult to say how many of the 160 000 workers registered […]

Howard Barrell and Barry Streek The Cabinet has approved a wide-ranging draft law to guarantee equality among all South Africans. If passed, the legislation will give vast powers to the courts to intervene against discrimination, which it defines very broadly. The Bill, which is softer than a version that was circulated among interested parties earlier […]

company Mungo Soggot The chair of Eskom, Reuel Khoza, has a material interest in the company Eskom is paying to research and develop a new nuclear reactor. He also sits on a committee that advises the government on the nuclear programme. Khoza is the founding chair of Co- ordinated Network Investments (CNI), an empowerment group […]

Charl Blignaut ‘This is for you, Steven Cohen!” screamed a 16-year-old guitarist into the microphone as his band broke into a piece called Fight This Generation on the opening night of Durban’s biggest annual contemporary dance festival last week. Though somewhat startling the genteel audience at the Durban Playhouse, the tribute was just another salvo […]

Tham Moyo and Christine Chiweshe-Adewal CROSSFIRE ‘Although these statistics on violence against women might appear grim, thank God this happens in a country like ours, where we have very good laws and a very good Constitution. I shudder to think what would happen if this were in some other African country.” Famous last words, by […]