Staff Reporter

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 […]

ONGERI JOHN, Dar es Salaam | Friday DROUGHT-ravaged Tanzania has introduced electricity rationing as shrinking dams begin to cutting into its hydro-electric capacity. Energy ministry permanent secretary Patrick Rutabazimbwa said major rain catchment areas had been hit by a year-long drought, drying up important feeder dams for the country’s hydro-electricity generating stations. Rutabazimbwa added that […]

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 […]

Pule waga Mabe Chaos erupted at an election meeting in Seshego, near Pietersburg, last weekend, as pensioners refused to be addressed by their councillors and staged a walkout during the proceedings. The pensioners had just been told that the new council, which will kick in after the local government elections, will make them pay for […]

Jeremy Rifkin In the years ahead, the planet’s shrinking gene pool is going to become a source of increasing monetary value. Multinational corporations are already scouting the continents to locate microbes, plants, animals and humans with rare genetic traits that might have market potential. After locating the desired traits, biotech companies are modifying them and […]

Jubie Matlou Paramount Chief Kgagudi Kenneth Sekhukhune of Bapedi-ba-Marota in the Northern Province walked slowly into a hall packed with chiefs from all corners of his kingdom to listen to deliberations regarding the role of traditional leaders after the December 5 local government elections. The blind monarch, firmly clenching his walking stick, was flanked by […]

THE Lagos State government has reneged on its promise to improve power supply in the southern Nigerian metropolis due to problems it faces in implementing its accord with US energy firm ENRON. Following an agreement signed between Lagos State government and ENRON in August last year, authorities had promised to provide more than 10 million […]

An easy enough way of giving the ideal present is to add to somebody’s collection Everyone collects something: stamps (unlikely today), koi (ag, no, please), gloves (mmmm). Snoop around your friends’ abodes and you’ll spot a collection of something or other. Then you’ll know what to get whether it’s fairly easy to come by, like […]

Anne Emslie obituary Koos Malgas, best known as the sculptor of the statues at the Owl House, died this week in Graaff Reinet of a stroke. Situated in Nieu Bethesda in the Eastern Cape, the Owl House was the brainchild of artist Helen Martins. Now a popular tourist destination, it is an example of what […]

Ntuthuko Maphumulo Joanne “Shibobo” Solomon (25) is Banyana Banyana’s top goal scorer with 19 goals. She has so far scored two goals in the African Championship for Women’s Football, but hopes to score more in their final match against Nigeria on Saturday. Her nickname comes from her ability to pass the ball through opponents’ legs […]

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 […]

CHARLES MANGWIRO, Maputo | Friday AN international team of doctors have begun arriving in Mozambique to investigate the mysterious death of an estimated 70 prisoners in the northern province of Cabo Delgado earlier this week. Prime Minister Pascoal Mocumbi told a press conference in Maputo that police reports indicated as many as 70 prisoners appeared […]

James Meek One hot day in September 1893, at the sound of the starting guns, the rich prairie soil of the Cherokee Strip in Oklahoma was darkened by a flowing wave of humanity, horses and wagons. The United States government was giving away 33000km2 of Indian territory to any settler able to race fast enough […]

Despite businesses moving from the city centre, the outgoing city manager says Johannesburg is not a city in decline, writes Glenda Daniels He is public enemy number one to the union movement, but one of the legacies Ketso Gordhan, city manager of the Greater Johannesburg Metropolitan Council, will leave behind is a long-awaited metropolitan policing […]

Philip French retro-thriller of the week No 2 John Singleton has done little of consequence since his impressive debut Boyz N the Hood in 1991. His reputation will not be greatly enhanced by Shaft, a much-hyped revival of the tough, libidinous private eye impersonated by Richard Roundtree in a series of blaxploitation thrillers in the […]

It takes two to tango, but for a good sporting event there usually has to be a third the referee or umpire Gavin Foster Mike Gajjar’s game is cricket, while Michael Katzenellenbogen eats, sleeps and drinks rugby. Ian Mcleod prefers the game that uses a round ball, and Darryl Ribbink is a boxing man. Despite […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Friday THE Labour Department is trying to stem allegations of negligence after it emerged that an inspector had apparently been alerted to conditions at the factory in Lenasia where 11 workers burnt to death last Friday. Labour Department director-general Rams Ramashia has reacted “with alarm” over the allegations that an inspector […]

Statistics show an increase in job creation over the past four years, but the real story is not so rosy Jeremy Baskin Perhaps, like me, you thought the economy was shedding jobs. Well, think again and take a close look at the figures in the table below. According to Statistics SA (in statistical release P0317) […]

The rehabilitation of state-owned sisal farms is one of the major projects of the newly established Community Public Private Partnership programme Barry Streek An ambitious and innovative programme has been launched to promote economic development in the impoverished rural areas of South Africa by linking communities with government structures, the private sector and NGOs. The […]

A group of Afrikaners has called for amendments to the Constitution to protect minority rights Howard Barrell A group of prominent Afrikaans-speaking intellectuals has called for a “new historical agreement” to protect Afrikaans and other minority languages and cultures in South Africa. It has called for urgent amendments to South Africa’s Constitution to entrench 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 […]

BENIN has sought Nigeria’s support in its bid to host the headquarters of a proposed west African gas pipeline project. Four west African countries – Benin, Ghana, Nigeria and Togo – are participating in the project being implemented by west African regional grouping ECOWAS. – AFP

Sechaba ka’Nkosi Ever wondered how much your better half spends on the phone? Or why you are only told and not shown the bill at the end of each month? Easy. Try the telecommunications company’s newest innovation, Telkom online. By dialing 10210 and following a few easy instructions, you can access even your biggest foe’s […]

Andrew Muchineripi soccer The Rothmans Cup semifinals line-up this weekend has a strange look with no Kaizer Chiefs, no Sundowns and no animated Paul Dolezar screaming instructions from the sideline. Only Orlando Pirates among the big guns have reached the last four of a competition that seems to have lost a little sparkle, perhaps because […]

Peter Dickson The Eastern Cape government has nipped in the bud an audacious plan by councils in the province to give themselves multimillion-rand golden handshakes ahead of the local government elections. MEC for Local Government and Housing Gugile Nkwinti gave the mayors of East London, Port Elizabeth, Uitenhage and Despatch less than 12 hours to […]

Zapiro distills the hopes and fears of the nation in his cartoons. Jane Rosenthal visited him in his studio The studio of Jonathan Shapiro, known to the nation as the cartoonist Zapiro, has the feel of a real workplace. It is dominated by an unpretentious “mid-century” architectural drawing table with pulley-operated parallel rule and custom-made […]

The founding father of African writing in English, he challenged the perspective of colonialist white writers and fell foul of successive regimes in Nigeria. Just turned 70 and living in the US, he returns to his troubled homeland in a new volume of essays. Maya Jaggi reports While Nelson Mandela was serving 27 years in […]

Piers Pigou Testimony from former Umkhonto weSizwe (MK) special operations commander Hein Grosskopf this week has raised further questions about the quality of amnesty findings by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). Grosskopf’s testimony casts doubt on the decision this year by a three-member amnesty committee, chaired by Judge Andrew Wilson, that granted amnesty to […]

Charl Pretorius horse racing More than R20-million is expected to be paid out in winning bets at Turffontein on Saturday on what is being touted as “an afternoon in a million”. The occasion is the running of Africa’s richest horse race, the R2-million Summer Handicap, and a record crowd is expected at the Johannesburg track. […]