Mail&Guardian reporter THE third bidder for a private television licence comes under the spotlight today. Station for the Nation (SFTN) will be questioned on its bid which is led by Gladwin Marumo with the controlling consortium pulled together largely by the Thebe Investment Corporation, one of the country’s leading black investment holdings companies. That gives […]

The new academic year has arrived for tertiary students, and with it come the ever more ominous sounds of a university system about to break at its financial seams. Universities are threatening to bar students with unpaid debts, while student leaders in turn promise mass action. Competition is fierce for bursaries, scholarships and sponsorships, many […]

Peter Makurube and Charl Blignaut Johannesburg songstress Thembi Mtshali has just wrapped up shooting her role in Steven Spielberg’s ambitious new movie Deep Impact. “It’s not a big role, but it’s a big step forward in a very tough market,” she said this week in a telephone interview from Washington DC. A spin-off of George […]

Stefaans Brmmer and Ann Eveleth An extraordinary legal battle reaching to the office of Deputy President Thabo Mbeki is set to reach a climax in the Johannesburg High Court next week when ousted Zairean dictator Mobutu Sese Seko’s military elite demand continued safe haven in South Africa. The court hearing follows months of legal wrangling, […]

Mercedes Sayagues Swaziland’s claims on land south of Maputo bolstered supporters of Mozambique’s decision last year to reintroduce compulsory military service. Mozambique, one of the world’s five poorest countries, will recruit 6 000 young men and women every year to strengthen its army. The military service Bill was pushed through Parliament by the ruling party […]

Wally Mbhele A combined police and intelligence operation is closing in on the heist gangs and may see some of the masterminds behind the spate of cash-in-transit robberies nabbed soon. Sources within both the intelligence and the safety and security departments this week dismissed claims by one of the alleged brains behind the heists, Collin […]

Government’s hands-off approach has ensured an economic success story, writes Tim Trulock For 27 years, the former president of Zambia, Kenneth Kaunda, nationalised not only the large flagship companies, but also many small, nickel-and-dime operations. The government became the major shareholder in Zambia and then proceeded to run it into the ground, destroying not only […]

Computer crime costs South Africa more money than heists and robberies, yet there is no law against hacking, writes David Shapshak South Africa lost an estimated R326-million to computer crime last year, more money than in robberies or violent cash-in-transit heists, according to police statistics released this week. And police are expecting an increase in […]

Belinda Beresford The news that 20% of the world’s silver supply had been bought by one company has the potential drama of a Hollywood script, especially since the last time someone tried to make a serious killing on the metal they lost about $1-billion. And the protagonists, Warren Buffett and his company Berkshire Hathaway, have […]

THURSDAY, 6.00PM: THE Johannesburg Stock Exchange struggled for direction on Friday, tussling with profit taking. Finance Minister Trevor Manuel’s adjustments appropriations speech in Parliament was generally well received by the market. The all gold index lost 11,6 points to close at 823,8 while the industrial index fell 23,2 points to a 7 823,9 close. The […]