Staff Reporter

The host city braces itself against high winds and the tyranny of the sponsors Grant Shimmin in Sydney One of Sydney’s more popular radio stations is running a promotion that starts: “Spring in Sydney is easy; cool nights, clear sunny days, soft city breezes.” Well, I suppose two out of three ain’t bad, because they […]

Denise Ford HIV-screening tests in state hospitals are usually referred to as “rapids” because they are fast and readily available. Positive “rapids” are usually sent on for a slightly more sophisticated test, Elisa (enzyme-linked immunoassay). It is customary to send two samples for each patient to minimise the chances of errors leading patients being given […]

to feedom A relocated bull elephant named after the former president keeps returning to the Kruger park Fiona Macleod When “Madiba”, the biggest bull elephant yet relocated from the Kruger National Park, was moved to a small game reserve in Northern Province two weeks ago, he decided captivity was not for him and set off […]

David Macfarlane Sharp disagreements among some of South Africa’s leading education experts this week indicate the Ministry of Education’s planned shake-up of higher education will be marked by bitter conflict and tense political infighting. The Council on Higher Education’s (CHE) recent recommendations for fundamental changes were the subject of a divisive panel discussion hosted by […]

How the European champions’ reckless spending, driven by their rivalry with Barcelona, has had a damaging effect on the game Paul Wilson Their home strip is pristine white, they have won the European Cup more times than any other club, and they stand for everything that is currently wrong with football. Real Madrid began their […]

The Mail & Guardian’s Cape and Durban correspondents, Marianne Merten and Paul Kirk, were runners-up in the 2000 Ruth First Courageous Journalism Awards, announced this week by Rhodes University. The winner was The Star’s Lynne Altenroxel. Charlene Smith won the prize last year for her articles on rape in the M&G, news editor Mungo Soggot […]

Three patients on life support systems died when the power failed at Baragwanath hospital Evidence wa ka Ngobeni The Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, South Africa’s largest hospital, appears to have covered up a deadly power failure that crippled the overcrowded institution this month depriving it of life-support systems for several hours. At least three patients […]

Peter Dickson On the seventh day he rose from the dead, slipped on some shades and went to collect his life policy. It was an inspired move in the desperate north-eastern Cape town of Venterstad, but not enough for another miracle in the Queenstown Regional Court last week. Former Venterstad mayor Siphiwo Nqayi, who faked […]

independence While welcoming certain aspects of a draft legal Bill, law groups point out that it has crucial flaws Khadija Magardie The legal profession and the government are on a collision course over a plan to launch a regulatory body whose effective control will be vested in the minister of justice. The draft Legal Practice […]

Proposed anti-terrorism laws could see prescribed detention for anyone suspected of involvement with terror attacks Marianne Merten The government is pinning its hopes of stemming the wave of terror attacks in the Western Cape on new anti-terrorism laws giving security forces draconian powers. Justice officials say the draft Bill could be fast-tracked and tabled in […]

Andy Capostagno rugby It might not have occurred to anyone in a position of power in South African rugby, but Conrad Jantjes has just had his life rearranged. The Lions utility back, with Blue Bulls wing Rayno Hendricks, is at the centre of the row over quota manipulations. Jantjes is one of those rare talents […]

Stephen Gray When, in 1914, Henry Rider Haggard inspected Pietermaritzburg’s newly opened Voor-trekker Museum, including the Church of the Vow and so on, he recorded in his diary that it was suitably packed with interesting mementoes of none but the “old Dutch”. Nowadays its ambit is hardly as exclusive, as I visited it for one […]

Confusion reigns about the president’s exact stance on the link between HIV and Aids Belinda Beresford, Jaspreet Kindra and Nawaal Deane The African National Congress has launched a damage-limitation exercise to counter a groundswell of criticism in the scientific community, divisions in the ANC-led alliance and public bewilderment about its stance on HIV/Aids. Triggered by […]

couture set Charl Blignaut It was a classic case of a headline in search of a story, but still, South African Fashion Week (SAFW) will one day be grateful to journalist Craig Jacobs. He may have been the subject of more elegantly hissed expletives than any other hack in the history of local fashion, but […]

Khadija Magardie A controversial column by leading political scientist Steven Friedman has been axed from South Africa’s only Jewish newspaper with the approval of the country’s chief rabbi. The column, The Other View, appeared fortnightly in the South African Jewish Report until Friedman’s unorthodox views became too much of a “kvetsh” (bothersome or needling, in […]

The tripartite alliance has not patched up its differences ahead of the municipal elections, and deeper cracks remain Howard Barrell, Glenda Daniels, Jaspreet Kindra and Barry Streek Leaders of the ruling tripartite alliance came away from their meeting at a secret venue outside Johannesburg on Monday without having resolved any of the deep- seated policy […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Harare | Friday ZIMBABWEAN police have released four officials of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change who were arrested during a raid on party offices on Thursday morning. MDC youth wing chair Nelson Chamisa and Gandi Mudzingwa, personal assistant to MDC president Morgan Tsvangirai, and Join Nkatazo and Socks Ncube were released. MDC […]

Too many coaches in South Africa have an inflated opinion of their own worth Andrew Muchineripi Coaches of Castle Premiership clubs have got to rank among the most arrogant and overrated members of the highly paid, highly pressured group anywhere in the world. They all speak with such authority on the beautiful game, although precious […]

Merryman Kunene soccer Barcelona might pride themselves on being the only major club in the world without a shirt sponsor, but for most teams those words on their chests mean vital money in the bank. But what teams wear – or don’t wear – on the front of their shirts is a thorny issue, as […]

The controversy surrounding the John Robbie interview with the minister of health has clouded the real issues about HIV and Aids Timothy Trengove-Jones We are all familiar with the details of the case Minister of Health v John Robbie. We also all know the theory that history repeats itself, first as tragedy, then as farce. […]

A group of women gathered outside the Louis Trichardt Magistrate’s Court in Northern Province on Wednesday demanding that stiff sentences be handed to three people accused of painting a teenaged girl white. The accused – Thelma Strydom, Julia Munyai and Albert Mbezi – were not asked to plead on charges of theft, assault and crimen […]

THULANI MTHETHWA, Mbabane | Thursday SWAZILAND’S royal advisory council warned that it would forcibly close the Media Institute of Southern Africa (Misa) branch if it persisted in publicly criticising the kingdom’s political system. Misa’s Swaziland national director Comfort Mabuza said members of the Swaziland National Committee appeared to be annoyed with a prominent article in […]

LIFE insurance giant Sanlam said its half-year earnings jumped 18%, and that it looked set to achieve its target of 10% growth for the year. Headline earnings per share rose to 45.1c in the six months to June 30, from 38.1c in the same period last year, boosted mainly by growth in its personal finance […]

Radio 702 talk-show host John Robbie apologised to Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang at the start of his programme on Wednesday. Robbie said he had not been under any pressure from the station’s owners, Primedia, to apologise for last week’s acrimonious interview with the minister. He said he listened to the interview again and realised that […]

AFP, Nigeria | Thursday AN Islamic court in northern Nigeria has sentenced a 17-year-old pregnant girl to 180 lashes of the whip after finding her guilty of engaging in premarital sex. Bariya Ibrahim Magazu was found guilty by the Islamic court at Isafe in northern Zamfara State, said the court’s presiding judge, Malam Idris Usman […]

AFP, Cape Town | Thursday SOUTH African MPs sent to observe Zimbabwe’s general elections in June reported that the ruling Zanu-PF was not solely to blame for violence that killed 32 people in the run-up to the poll. In a special report due to be debated in parliament on Thursday, the 20 MPs said they […]

AFP and OWN CORRESPONDENT, Cape Town | Thursday PRESSURE is mounting for President Thabo Mbeki and his health ministry to publicly state that HIV causes Aids and to clarify what steps the government will be taking against the fatal disease. While 200 chanting activists demonstrated against Mbeki’s Aids policy near parliament in Cape Town on […]

The South African Rugby Football Union (Sarfu) has fined two of its member unions after finding them guilty of breaching regulations regarding quotas for black players. According to Sarfu rules, two black players must be on the field at all times during Currie Cup matches. A black player may only be replaced with a white […]

PETER CUNLIFFE-JONES, Lagos | Thursday THE high price of oil, which is causing a furore across the developed western world, has been a “godsend” to the poor of Africa’s most populous country, says a top official. Nigeria, home to 120 million people, 90% of whom live on under US$2 a day, depends on oil for […]

Human Rights Watch on Wednesday accused Guinea’s government of inciting mob violence in Conakry against Liberian and Sierra Leonean refugees, whom authorities have accused of fuelling a rebellion. “The mobs drove refugees out of their houses, frequently beating, raping, and sexually abusing them. The attackers wielded sticks, rocks, iron bars, electric cords and knives,” according […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Cape Town | Thursday Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana says the government’s investigation into reducing working hours to 40 hours a week is expected to be released soon. Refusing to divulge details of the report, Mdladlana told a media briefing at parliament that it would be “exciting” for business and labour. South African workers […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT and REUTERS, Cape Town | Thursday ATTEMPTS to bring South Africa’s black majority into the economic mainstream have failed and must be replaced by a new law to force the pace, says leading businessman Cyril Ramaphosa. “Black people remain at the periphery of the economy. They need access to funding and markets,” says […]