The war in Angola is over, and the rebuilding has supposedly begun. But the people of this vast country are a long way from normal life, writes Mercedes Sayagues Such an odd sight: a woman pushing a brand- new, lavender-coloured, padded pushchair, more at home in a Johannesburg shopping mall than in a dusty quartering […]

Wally Mbhele With less than a week before Winnie Madikizela-Mandela faces a special Truth and Reconciliation Commission investigative inquiry, it has emerged she is linked to 18 cases of gross human rights violations including abduction, assault and murder. The subpoena summoning her to the in-camera hearing at a secret venue in Johannesburg next Thursday calls […]

Italian fashion giant Benetton has relaunched in South Africa. The clothes are fine, but it?s the ad campaign that should really be welcomed back, writes Charl Blignaut A picture of the pope picking his nose with the headline ?I flick my snot at you?. A gold toilet seat: ?The rich have to marry someone ? […]

Glenn Adler Cosatus fifth national congress is its most important deliberation since the federation was founded in 1985. It is undertaking a comprehensive, quite critical review of its affairs while debating innovative strategies for achieving its long-standing goals in a new democracy facing the pressures of a global economy. At the centre of the discussion […]

Suzy Bell The only independent radio station that was a breath of fresh air in KwaZulu-Natal with lively, off-the-wall DJs, controversial talk shows and excellent news coverage, was the old Capital Radio station in Durban, which closed last year on November 29. It looks like old Capital will be back if all goes well for […]

The people who should answer for the medias apartheid past were absent from the commission hearings, writes Ferial Haffajee Ironically, those who represented the media at this weeks Truth and Reconciliation Commission probe into their past were its brightest symbols of the future. Times Media Limiteds (TML) Cyril Ramaphosa, the Independent Groups Moegsien Williams and […]

Promising oil discoveries offer hope for Africas poorest economies but raise the political stakes, writes Richard Cornwell Excitement is growing about the prospects for Africas hydrocarbons industry. Even with the present relatively modest oil price, the growth in African production has been remarkable.What has really caused a stir, however, are the discoveries in the Gulf […]

Raincoats are the only protection schoolchildren in Meadowlands have from the clouds of dust that blow off a disused slimes dam, writes Ferial Haffajee The children wear raincoats. Not to keep out the rain, but to ward off the dust. It blows and then settles everywhere. In the ceilings, on the rose-bushes and in the […]

FRIDAY, 1.00PM THE US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has joined the fray over callback operations in South Africa. The commission says it has “serious concerns” over the manner in which the SA Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (Satra) is seeking to ban South African callback operators from offering cheaper international calls to consumers. The FCC is braodly […]

The ANC in the Western Cape did not jump. It was pushed. Andy Duffy reports The African National Congress in the Western Cape is struggling to justify a decision that has opened the door to the partys eviction from the provincial Cabinet. Senior party members are putting a positive spin on the ousting, talking about […]