Communities near state forests are upset about not being consulted about proposed sales Fiona Macleod The government’s multimillion-rand sale of commercial state forests could literally go up in flames if the rights of the rural communities who own the land where the forests are growing continue to be ignored. Critics say threats of the forests […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Friday 10.00am. NEGOTIATORS in close contact with Muslim rebels holding 21 people hostage in the Philippines, including two South Africans, said on Friday that all the hostages are still alive. They have apparently been moved to a single location after being split into smaller groups earlier this week. Negotiators said medical […]
Thebe Mabanga IN YOUR EAR The Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) is an interesting figure in South African broadcasting. It was established in 1993 to regulate the broadcasting industry and has made considerable, but sometimes jittery, strides in fulfilling its duties. One of its successes is the deregulation of the airwaves, with radio now reaching an […]
NET WATCH British director Mike Figgis’s latest film, Time Code, claims to be the first digital film shot in real time. The website at www.time code2000.com gives a demonstration of what downloading short movies is all about. The world’s biggest game of Tetris has been played by a group of Brown University students. They used […]
Marianne Merten A debt-collecting company, International Debt Control (IDC), chaired by former minister of finance Barend Du Plessis, has been expelled from the industry control body after being found guilty of unconscionable behaviour, acting dishonestly and failing to account for collected money. It is the second time IDC has been censured by the Association of […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Bulawayo | Friday 1.30pm. PRESIDENT Thabo Mbeki and Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe greeted each other with bear hugs in Bulawayo on Friday ahead of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair. The two leaders walked hand-in-hand along a red carpet and waved to a crowd of about 200 of Mugabe’s supporters before being whisked off […]
Howard Barrell President Thabo Mbeki said this week that the crisis in Zimbabwe was the result of a failure to redistribute land in the country – rather than a violent manipulation of a grievance for electoral purposes by Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe. In an address to the nation on Thursday night, Mbeki also rejected calls […]
South African teams might not make the Super 12 semi-finals, but their improved play is a boost for the Boks Andy Capostagno If only the wake-up call had come sooner. For most of the first six weeks of the Super 12, South African teams induced a sense of unremitting gloom with one- dimensional game plans […]
Khadija Magardie A DAUGHTER OF ISIS by Nawal El Saadawi (David Philip/Zed) Islamic feminism is a virtual candy jar of typologies, incorporating pragmatists, radicals, secular feminists and even “neo- Islamists”. With the backdrop of Islamic laws and traditions, the different camps have one common concern – the empowerment of women within a rethought Islam. What […]
DURBAN Roodepoort Deep announced on Wednesday that executive chairman Roger Kebble is standing down and would become a non-executive director of the company. It said that Mark Wellesley-Wood will take over the reins as non-executive chairman and Mike Prinsloo will remain as chief executive officer. Wellesley-Wood, a mining engineer with 20 years experience in investment […]
Evidence wa ka Ngobeni Senior members of South Africa’s biggest vigilante group, Mapogo a Matamaga, want the notorious organisation to abandon its hallmark policy of viciously sjamboking suspected criminals. The Mapogo members have accused its controversial president, Monhle Magolego, an enthusiastic proponent of corporal punishment, of behaving like a dictator. They say the unlawful beating […]
John Matshikiza WITH THE LID OFF The plane (I know you’re beginning to get bored with this plane, but so am I) is getting ready to take to the skies. This is no ordinary airline. It is part of the infrastructure of what should be Africa’s pre-eminent carrier, Air Afrique, named after the continent itself. […]
Without funds from the provincial government, some farm schools in the region have been forced to close Lynda Gilfillan Schoombee Trust School is one of the luckier farm schools in the Eastern Cape. It’s still open. But throughout the province schools are closing because the provincial education department has paid neither boarding nor transport subsidies, […]
DAVID SHAPSHAK, Johannesburg | Friday 9.15pm. THE Cats engineered a late fightback to beat the Blues 34-27 win at Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg on Friday. The home side were trailing 20-22 with 13 minutes remaining, before fullback Thinus Delport set up two tries, capping a sterling performance which saw him make the only try […]
Glenda Daniels and Barry Streek The African National Congress and the government tied themselves up in knots this week, trying to reconcile ANC secretary general Kgalema Motlanthe’s call for a war against capitalism with the country’s investor-friendly macroeconomic policies. At a Workers’ Day rally, Motlanthe commended the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) for […]
James Montier SHAREWORLD The European Central Bank (ECB) finally managed to get internal consensus last week and raised rates to 3,75% from 3,5%. Essentially, the bank was in a lose-lose situation. If it raised rates it could be seen as panic induced by the weakness of the euro. A decision not to raise rates would […]
Two top British poets are among those coming to Durban’s poetry festival Merle Colborne There was a time when poetry was thought of as something only people who spoke posh, wore tweed skirts or jackets with leather elbow patches and drank their tea from bone china cups could enjoy. Now aficionados include those who talk […]
ROB DAVIES, Cape Town | Friday 2.00pm. THE Cats will face up to the Auckland Blues at Ellis Park on Friday night looking for a maximum haul to steer them closer to a play-off spot as the Super 12 enters its final two rounds. After a disastrous tour of the Antipodes, the Cats have managed […]
Ebrahim Harvey LEFT FIELD What future do trade unions have? The recent conference of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) in Durban was the most important international union meeting held in South Africa. But coming at a time of the birth of a new millennium, as rapid globalisation is threatening unions as never […]
Bill Elliott GOLF The blazered battalions of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club (R&A) of St Andrews will be defrocked for this year’s Open in July. In a remarkably forward-thinking move for the conservative R&A, the famous blazers will be dispensed with for on- course officials and replaced by … windcheaters. For the first Open […]
Lack of international experience could thwart Siyabonga Nomvete’s plans to move to Sunderland Neal Collins in London Sunderland’s bid to sign South African striker Siyabonga Nomvete could be derailed by work permit problems. Manager Peter Reid has let it be known that he is “very interested” in the Bafana Bafana goalgetter – but fears the […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Thursday 4.35pm NEW car sales in April were encouraging despite the number of public holidays during the month, according to the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa. Latest figures released by Naamsa showed that 14827 new passenger cars were sold in April, some 1354 units or 10% more than […]
Angry residents in the Northern Province are threatening to take action over delays in land claim settlements, reports Jaspreet Kindra Land claimants in the Northern Province are threatening to boycott the local government elections, and have joined other claimants across the country in threatening “Zimbabwe-style” invasions. The disgruntled claimants have found an unlikely ally in […]
Has Old Skunk Head gone soft? America’s foremost writer, critic and cultural guerrilla has a new book out – an historical romance Maureen Freely In the Sixties she was the high priestess of the avant-garde, and America’s most Parisian intellectual. She took the French New Wave to New York and forced the American Old Wave […]
A legal battle over a genetically modified rodent is putting the lucrative mutant mouse industry under the microscope James Meek In October a jury in San Francisco will make a decision in one of the new millennium’s most bizarre and complex court cases. Teams of elite lawyers will have spent weeks studying and arguing over […]
Michelle Matthews One of the more recent flyers advertising Soft Serve 2: Art at Play posed a riddle to Capetonians: “Q: What are squares scared of? A: Vicious circles.” The queue outside the National Gallery on Friday will be a long one. While the flock instinct is strong, however, it doesn’t fully explain why an […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Pretoria | Thursday 6.00pm. PRESIDENT Thabo Mbeki on Thursday expressed confidence that South African hostages, Callie and Monique Strydom, who are been held by Muslim rebels in the Philippines, will be rescued. In a special address to the nation, where he focused on the crisis in Zimbabwe, Mbeki expressed the government’s sympathy to […]
FORMER Springbok fullback Gavin Lawless has been charged with assault after allegedly beating up a man who he claims tried to steal his Jeep. Cape Town police spokesman Captain Jacques Wiese said on Wednesday that Lawless and a friend apparently caught the man reversing Lawless’ vehicle out of the driveway of the friends’ house in […]
IRICHELLE Duran, daughter of the legendary Roberto Duran, will not make her professional boxing debut in South Africa as hoped. Instead, her brother, Roberto Duran junior will make his debut at the Carnival City Triple world title bill on May 24. Duran junior, who like his sister has signed a promotional deal with Golden Gloves, […]
FORMER Land Bank managing director Helena Dolny is suing former chairman Bonile Jack for R650000 in a defamation suit. Business Day reports that the summons was expected to be delivered to his home by a deputy sheriff. In a letter to President Thabo Mbeki, Jack accused Dolny of racism, nepotism as well as mismanagement. The […]
BRITAIN is to halt the export of weapons and spare parts to Zimbabwe amid pre-election violence and the illegal occupation of white-owned farms. British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook said the move will include all licences for spare parts for equipment previously supplied to Zimbabwe, including Hawk aircraft. The supply of 450 Land Rovers to the […]
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT, Cape Town | Thursday 10.47pm AJAX Cape Town achieved a notable Castle Premiership double over Kaizer Chiefs with a 1-0 victory at Newlands Stadium courtesy of an early goal by Carlo Scott. It was the second time in four days that the young striker scored the winner – he struck in injury time […]