Staff Reporter

Thuli Nhlapo The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) in Mpumalanga has deposited tens of thousands of rands in tribal authority bank accounts as part of a scheme to get tribal leaders to help reach voters. The IEC in Mpumalanga confirmed this week that it had given seven traditional leaders R10 000 each for hosting “imbizos” at […]

Guy Clapperton A photographer who takes a picture retains the copyright unless it is signed over to someone else. But if the picture is held electronically, international copyright law becomes null and void. Sounds ludicrous? Not according to Sygma, the French picture library that was recently acquired by Bill Gates_s picture giant, Corbis. The company […]

Elisabeth Lickindorf South Africa pushed the frontiers of science this week, with the launch of new satellite measuring technology that can provide accurate measurements of the physical changes of sub-Saharan Africa for the first time. It will allow South African scientists to monitor the potentially devastating El Nio effect, where ocean warming can raise sea […]

Paula Howell A second look The recent tragedy at the ESS Chemicals factory in Lenasia where 11 workers, the majority of them women, burnt to death imprisoned in an inferno, is a horrific consequence of the failure of an employer to adhere to even minimum safety regulations and the inability of the Department of Labour […]

Amid fear and many hardships, Zimbabwe is an exciting place, writes Mercedes Sayagus I am on a high. I am Wonder Woman. I feel like I have had one line of coke and one orgasm. Make that three lines and three orgasms. What happened? I filled up my tank with fuel and the queue was […]

It’s head-smashing, thumping, shaking time again. This year, like every year, you need to know how to get the better of a dreadful festive season hangover. Dehydration caused by the alcohol you consumed combined with the effects of congeners (the other ingredients and flavourings in drinks) cause the hangover. Some of them are natural to […]

John Aizlewood CD OFTHEWEEK Whatever darkness Sade Adu has embraced since 1992’s distracted Love Deluxe, she has certainly undergone a musical re-evaluation. Much derided, more often than not correctly, as brazenly coffee-table, Sade (the never-changing band as well as its singer) have tapped into a new seam of inspiration on the newly released Lovers Rock […]

Fiona Macleod The population of wild dogs in the Kruger National Park, the only viable refuge of these endangered creatures in the country, has shrunk from 450 to 200 in the past few years. The Kruger park says it is not certain of the reasons for the decline, but there has been a high mortality […]

Emil Zatopek, arguably the greatest distance runner of all time, died this week in a hospital in Prague Duncan Mackay Between them, Sohn Kee-Chung, Waldemar Cierpinski, Carlos Lopes, Gelindo Bordin, Hwang Young-cho, Rosa Mota and Valentina Yegorova can claim to have won eight Olympic marathon gold medals. Ever since the moment they triumphed on the […]

Carlos Cardoso, Mozambique’s foremost investigative journalist, was assassinated on Wednesday night Christina Horte and Justin Arenstein Mozambique lost one of its bravest anti-corruption campaigners on Wednesday night when outspoken independent editor Carlos Cardoso died in a hail of bullets. Police and eyewitnesses report that the murder was a well-planned assassination involving at least two vehicles […]

Brenda Atkinson The Prophetic Nun by Guy Butler (Random) It’s not an easy task to review a book which, although evidently written as a work of great personal interest and passion, has (or so I imagine) limited appeal for most people. The Prophetic Nun is such a book. A well-researched document of the artistic and […]

Howard Barrell A company employing the brothers of Western Cape African National Congress leader Ebrahim Rasool produced a controversial poster distributed in Muslim areas of the Cape Flats two weeks ago carrying the slogan “A vote for the DA [Democratic Alliance] is a vote for Israel”, according to sources in the printing industry in Cape […]

Riaan Wolmarans ‘When you play for two hours, the big numbers have got to be played to get the crowd moving.” That’s top United Kingdom DJ Tall Paul’s failsafe recipe to charm clubbers worldwide and it’s brought him top honours in his profession. We’ll get to see his towering 1,95m frame behind the decks when […]

Good ol’ gal Jane van Renen has a few swigs, wipes her mouth and tells it all Tradition is turning into trend drinking bourbon is especially for those who spend time in cigar bars. Surrounded by an age-old romantic atmosphere, these sweeter whiskeys are ever-growing in popularity. As American as apple pie, and with the […]

Fiona Macleod THORNS TO KILIMANJARO by Ian McCallum (David Philip) On one level Thorns to Kilimanjaro is a tale of adventure about climbing the highest free-standing mountain in the world; on another it is about a man’s quest to lay to rest a few bothersome personal ghosts. The main character, Hamish Malcolm, sets off to […]

Grant Shimmin February 24 2001 may well turn out to be a red letter day in the history of South African sport. That’s the day that the quadrennial meeting of the National Olympic Committee of South Africa (Nocsa) takes place and it could, given the goings-on this week, conceivably be the day Sam Ramsamy is […]

Jack Schofield The PC industry, neglected during the past two Comdex/Fall computer trade shows in Las Vegas, Nevada, returned to prominence with a vengeance. Both Microsoft and Intel showed products that will take the PC to a new level of capability, while those promoting appliances and other alternatives were faced with what Bruce Stephens, group […]

Fiona Macleod By this time next year, visitors to the world-famous Kruger National Park may be able to cross into neighbouring Mozambique without a passport, to witness one of the greatest wildlife spectacles in Africa. Plans being considered by the government mean that tourists will need their passports only if they use Mozambique to exit […]

Jessica Piombo crossfire Over the past few weeks a debate has emerged in the pages of the Mail & Guardian over what people who fail to see a viable alternative to the African National Congress should do with their votes in the upcoming local elections. Glenda Daniels, describing the dilemma of voters disillusioned with the […]

Legal advice offices will again face crisis if the government does not take the initiative Piers Pigou Poverty is arguably the greatest challenge facing South Africa, and the urgent need to address the inequities of South Africa’s racial economy was clearly recognised by the drafters of the Constitution through specific provisions for a range of […]

Sammy Moretsi An Inkatha Freedom Party local election candidate appeared in court this week for allegedly stabbing and killing an IFP comrade at a squatter camp in Bekkersdal township. Victor Roliyathe (32), who is in jail, remains on the party’s candidate list at Westonaria Independent Electoral Council. He appeared in the Westonaria regional court on […]

Neal Collins soccer Charlton Athletic are set to sign a second South African in their bid to keep the unfashionable South London club riding high in the Premiership. Manager Alan Curbishley is on the verge of luring Bafana Bafana striker Shaun Bartlett from Swiss club FC Zurich. Curbishley, the highly rated Latics boss who was […]

Deon Potgieter boxing Despite losing a week’s training because of the rantings of Glen “The cry baby” Catley, Dingaan Thobela says he is approaching readiness for the first defence of his World Boxing Council (WBC) super- middleweight world title on December 15. Thobela had to fly to Paris last week to defend himself at a […]

Police have long suspected Russel Ngubo of involvement in a string of bloody murders in KwaZulu-Natal Paul Kirk In less than two weeks Russel Ngubo, a top correctional services official in Pietermaritzburg, has severely assaulted his boss for not processing his leave forms in time and been implicated in the murder of a 15-year-old child. […]

With diamonds sponsoring guns in West and Central Africa, Nechama Brodie explores the options for girls (and guys) in need of a new best friend. Are diamonds the new ivory? Cut, colour, clarity and carat. Words to set any girl’s pulse racing. But the famous four “Cs”, used to judge the quality of a diamond, […]

Ntuthuko Maphumulo soccer Banyana Banyana will be hoping to emulate the South African men’s team, Bafana Bafana, by winning the African Nations Cup in front of their home fans but Lady Luck might not be on Banyana’s side. In 1996 the Super Eagles of Nigeria did not defend their men’s African Cup of Nations title […]

Five South African artists are exhibiting at Havana’s sexy Biennale this year Sue Williamson Each of the world’s great art biennials have their own character. The oldest and best known, the Venice Biennale, is highly commercialised, characterised by infighting between the local city officials and visiting art people, and only the curators and the most […]

Thebe Mabanga There was a time when television dramas used to be a source of fascination for millions of viewers. Whether your fare was dished from a neighbour’s set or a battery-operated set in your lounge with neighbours’ children congregating in front of the set many dramas were a decent combination of mesmerising acting and […]

Without a website, you’re just a physical presence. The South African Web design industry is happily changing that Sheree Russouw The whistling sounds of budgies and cockatiels resonate through the corridors of Randburg-based Web design company Webpaint Designs. Music is blaring from the decibel-cranking radio, interspersing with the birdsong. There’s a veritable jungle of plants […]

Neil Williams One Step Behind Mandela by Rory Steyn and Deborah Patta (Zebra) One Step Behind Mandela is the story of the journey Rory Steyn made from being an apartheid supporter to being responsible for the protection of Nelson Mandela’s life between 1990 and 1994. Steyn, who had served with pride in the security branch, […]

Duncan Mackay olympics ‘Don’t worry about the delays back home, mate,” said the Greek taxi driver in London. “Things are always done in Greece at the last minute. Why should the Olympics be any different?” It is true that appears to be pretty much standard operating procedure in Athens but not one that the members […]

Jim Beam: Smoother than some, it carries a bouquet of smoky spice given it by the oak barrels in which it is matured and has a full sweet flavour of burnt caramel and oaky vanilla. Wild Turkey (left): This whiskey is aged for eight years in charred oak barrels to give it a full woody […]