Fiona Macleod:A Second Look During the debate in the past fortnight about whether the resumption of the ivory trade has led to an increase in poaching of elephants, both the Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Pallo Jordan, and his deputy, Peter Mokaba, have come out in favour of “sustainable utilisation” of natural resources as […]

Admitted to a clinic with a broken nose, Minas Michael left `a vegetable’. His parents, however, refused to give up hope. Angella Johnson reports A neglected basketball net hangs forlornly over the garage door of Minas Michael’s home. It was here that the teenager practised the shots which made him a Transvaal provincial player. Today […]

FRIDAY, 1.30PM: THE National Education, Health and Allied Worker’s Union said on Thursday that the national health budget’s deficit of R1,5-billion could mean thousands of employees will soon lose their jobs. The health department is apparently considering outsourcing its catering, cleaning and laundry and security services, which may involve retrenching 11 000 employees. Meanwhile, the […]

Sauces from the Far East are tickling taste buds around the world. Michael Fitzpatrick sifts the superior beans from the has-beens As taste buds begin responding favourably once again to the taste of the Far East, this time the preferred flavour enhancer is, thankfully, not monosodium glutamate but soy sauce. In Japan there’s not a […]

Undermining the economy, including investor confidence and the currency, as well as greed-driven corruption, are all counter- revolutionary, according to the African National Congress’s draft document on strategy and tactics, prepared for its December conference. Strategy and Tactics, one of the documents under discussion at the ANC’s recent policy meeting, traditionally defines the organisation’s goals. […]

Melvyn Minnaar While no local wine estate or winemaker has yet cracked true international vino stardom, there are a few on the outside looking in. Perhaps not yet in the league of the famous French “First Growths”, or producers such as Germany’s Schloss Johannesberger, Italy’s Antinori, Australia’s Penfolds, the United States’s Joseph Phelps or even […]

Charl Blignaut : Cultural sushi Perhaps the most remarkable work on the Johannesburg biennale is the installation of the embassy of an imaginary country called Elgaland-Vargaland. It was created by artists Carl Michael von Hausswolff and Leif Elggren, who move into town for major art shows, swear in new citizens, issue passports and even select […]

For a more critical analysis of imported beer, read BJ’s Imported Beer Drinkers’ Guide (R24,95). BJ Lankwarden, a self- confessed beer lover, has catalogued all the beer imported into South Africa. It has a breakdown of the beer’s origin, colour, alcohol percentage, strength, style of beer, a brief summary of its flavour, and, in some […]

Andrew Worsdale sampled some of the products and ideas on offer at the Second Film and TV Market, held in Cape Town If a tidal wave had hit Cape Town’s Long Street last week, most of the South African movie industry would have been wiped out. More than 1 500 local producers, directors, professional schmoozers […]