Staff Reporter

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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. […]

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

Cedric Mayson spirit level Faith comes in two versions. There is faith as a focus and faith as a force, faith that imparts knowledge and faith that imparts experience, faith that informs your thinking and faith that kicks you in the bum. Neither of them is limited to religion. Faith as a focus deals with […]

If you were in flood-ravaged KwaZulu-Natal or Mozambique this week, you would have seen the effects of global warning first hand. Sea-level rise and more frequent extreme weather are no longer theory but reality. Most climate scientists now agree that human activity is the main cause of global warming. Millions of people across the world […]

Jaspreet Kindra ‘Use condoms and do not sleep with just anyone!” President Thabo Mbeki is warning the amaQadi community of the dangers of HIV/Aids. The significance of this piece of advice from a man who has been questioning the link between HIV and Aids for about a year eludes the nodding rural community gathered in […]

Last weekend’s match against the Kiwis will be remembered for Allan Donald’s 300th Test wicket and Makhaya Ntini’s coming of age Peter Robinson On the day that The Star in Johannesburg chose to devote much of its front page to the changing hairstyles of Bobby Skinstad, the world’s best non-playing loose forward, Makhaya Ntini actually […]

Tim Radford Life is what you make of it. Right now, what you make of it is money. You can isolate a length of DNA, describe it, make something inventive, propose a use, pay some money and claim it as yours at a patent office. Congratulations. You have joined the 21st-century gold rush. You have […]

Ebrahim Harvey Left Field The recent commemoration of the death of Steve Biko, founding father of the Black Consciousness Movement (BCM), put the spotlight on the movement and came at a time when, represented by the Azanian People’s Organisation (Azapo) and the Socialist Party of Azania (Sopa), it is faced with very difficult times. Both […]

Paul Kirk An ingenious scheme to make millions out of Road Accident Fund claims has backfired after a smooth-talking lawyer skipped the country with stolen funds in excess of R34-million. Before leaving South Africa last month Ian Stokes disposed of his expensive assets for a fraction of their value, selling his penthouse to Springbok rugby […]

Zenzile Khoisan New evidence has emerged of how the national head of violent crimes, Commissioner Leonard Knipe, used his senior position in the police to intimidate witnesses and threatened to topple the African National Congress government. According to tape recordings in the possession of the Mail & Guardian, Knipe threatened to “bring down” the ANC […]

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 […]

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 […]

Andrew Worsdale Sithengi, the fifth Southern African Film and Television Market, was held at the Spier Wine Estate near Stellenbosch, 45 minutes from Cape Town, from November 13 to 16. Although the organisers boasted an increase in attendance with 1?420 delegates, in comparison to previous years, the atmosphere felt less charged and more cautious. Added […]

Tangeni Amupadhi The last hunter-gatherer Bushman/San community in Namibia is facing total extinction after authorities announced plans to build a refugee camp in the eastern part of the country. Environmentalists and senior !Kung leaders, including politicians and traditional chiefs, have expressed concern that an area that can barely sustain 6?000 San people is now expected […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]