Steve Morris : Rugby In the uncertainties that abound in the game of rugby, this country has managed — during a year which has had more than its share of trauma and perhaps less triumph than could have been expected — to formulate a new equation. There are four distinct sides to this: an administration […]

TUESDAY, 10.30AM: NATIONAL 10km champion John Morapedi overcame jetlag, high temparatures and high altitude to produce one of his most impressive performances in winning the Cali 10,4km road race in Colombia on Sunday. The Pretoria runner clocked a speedy 29 minutes 34 seconds, less than a day after making the 45-hour flight from Johannesburg. In […]

Ferial Haffajee “All in all, a bleak year lies ahead for [the SABC] unless it vigorously evaluates its operations.” — Raymond Louw, Mail & Guardian December 24 1996. He was spot on: 1997 was the SABC’s annus horribilis. But with the help of that 20th-century engineer of capitalism — the management consultant — the broadcaster […]

Glynis O’Hara : South African music On the one hand, there has been far more variety available in local music through 1997 than ever before, says Dave Alexander, owner of Tequila Records, but on the other hand there were “no stunners, no huge, extraordinary sales. Leon Schuster sold 130 000 (with Gautvol in Paradise), Rebecca […]

Julie Burchill For me there was only one book this year and=20that was Andrew Morton’s Diana: Her True Story in Her Own Words. The transcripts of the tapes she made are heart-breaking; hearty Sloane clich=E9s interspersed with cries of agony like something out of Samuel Beckett. The first paragraph of the first tape — “My […]

Janet Smith There was remarkably little snow and far fewer fat white men in red suits sleighing across the hundreds of Christmas cards that passed through the Mail & Guardian offices this year. It has taken some time for South African Christmas card manufacturers to realise that we’re not in the northern hemisphere, and now […]

Chris McGreal Nigeria’s military government is poised for a new wave of arrests following the detention of 11 senior officers accused of plotting to violently overthrow the country’s dictator, General Sani Abacha. A senior army source said the alleged plot extended beyond those already detained. Those arrested last weekend include Abacha’s deputy, three other generals […]

TUESDAY, 5.30PM: FESTIVE cheer seemed to help recharge the JSE on Tuesday, where the gold index climbed another 19,2 points to 810,9 thanks to the advancing international bullion price. Gold shares have climbed 45,3 points since Friday’s close. The gold price reached $292,55 in London, with some dealers predicting that it could reach $300 before […]

TUESDAY 1.30PM: FORMER Zambian president Kenneth Kaunda returned home on Sunday for the first time since a failed coup in October against his successor President Frederick Chiluba. Kaunda office said on Monday that he returned by road from neighboring Zimbabwe after a two-month lecture tour that also took him to Britain, the United States, India […]

How clued up are you on the highs and lows of 1997? Exercise your memory with this brain-teaser 1 South African arms were found in at least three African hot-spots this year. Which countries were they? 2 Which South African city is leading the pack of candidates as the future site of Parliament? 3 A […]