Nearly half the illegal immigrants on a repatriation train last week jumped off before it arrived in Mozambique Khadija Magardie It’s early morning on the repatriation train to Mozambique, and police Captain Pieter Cloete, clad in a T-shirt and sleeping shorts, is running bewildered through the carriages. “Where are all the people?” he shouts – […]
Graham Rock HORSE RACING A lanky chestnut with a white blaze will be entrusted with the hopes of 24 Irish prison officers in the Grand National at Aintree in Liverpool. Micko’s Dream has won nine of his 19 races and earned prize money of 104E000 for his syndicate of owners. Victory on Saturday would add […]
A landmark court judgment could force women to choose between having a family and pursuing a career Khadija Magardie The Labour Appeal Court has ruled that it is fair for employers to reject work applications for senior positions from women because they are pregnant. The judgment, delivered this week, is the first ever decision by […]
Jonathan Watts in Seoul Asian policymakers have moved closer towards accepting the need for improved social safety nets in the wake of a financial crisis that has worsened regional inequality and shaken the belief that economic development alone can alleviate poverty. At a forum in Seoul last week, finance ministers and leading economists from Apec […]
Ex-prisoner 885/63 revisits Robben Island as his book on the subject is reissued Henk Rossouw When Indres Naidoo returned from exile, his nephew handed him a tattered photocopy of his memoir, banned in 1982. “It was still full of curry marks,” chuckled Naidoo as we drove down to the harbour to catch the early ferry […]
M&G reporters Hands-free kits for cellphones do not protect your brain from radiation – on the contrary, they channel three times the dose into the skull that you receive by holding the phone next to your ear, according to the British Consumers’ Association. A report in Which? magazine will upset those who rushed to buy […]
M&G reporter Sony’s chair, Norio Ohaga, and president, Nobuyuki Idei, recently announced their company’s online banking alliance with JP Morgan and Japan’s Sakura Bank. The online bank, to be capitalised at 222-million, will be 80% owned by Sony, 16% by Sakura and 4% by JP Morgan. It is due to begin services in the first […]
Anglo-American has driven a hard bargain for the mines it acquired in the Zambian Copperbelt last week Gregory Mthembu-Salter In a historic ceremony last Friday in Lusaka, Anglo- American regained the major mines of Zambia’s Copperbelt, including Konkola Deep. A consortium led by First Quantum Minerals (FQM) acquired the Mufulira and Nkana mines on the […]
Fourteen years after coming to power in Uganda, President Yoweri Museveni remains unswerving about the course he has embarked on John Matshikiza My first encounter with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni took place in the romantic atmosphere of a guerrilla army in boisterous and compassionate occupation of captured territory. It was March of 1997, and the […]
Howard Barrell and Jaspreet Kindra Jeff Radebe, minister of public enterprises, misled the Human Rights Commission (HRC) on Wednesday when he presented the submission of the African National Congress to the HRC’s public hearings on the media. Radebe told the HRC panel that Phillip van Niekerk, editor of the Mail & Guardian, wrote an article […]
A magistrate went beyond rhetoric in sentencing a rapist, writes journalist Charlene Smith The worst thing a criminal does is remove the dignity and humanity of those he seeks to victimise. The criminal justice system is worthless unless it restores that to the survivor of violent crime. It took a magistrate in one of the […]
Andrew Muchineripi Bafana Bafana kick off their campaign for the 2002 World Cup against minnows Lesotho There is no reason why South Africa should not get off to a winning start against Lesotho on Sunday in their quest for a second consecutive appearance at the World Cup finals. Bafana Bafana are, man for man, a […]
THE ACT Brumbies on Thursday named an unchanged side for Friday’s Super 12 match with the Otago Highlanders in Canberra. ACT coach Eddie Jones unsurprisingly stuck with the same starting 15 that trampled the Cats 64-0 a week ago to lift the Brumbies into third place on the standings, just a point behind the Highlanders. […]
Paul Kirk More details about the intelligence services’ complicity in KwaZulu-Natal political violence came to light this week when it emerged that a top army spy held secret meetings with one of Richmond’s most notorious killers while the killer was being hunted by police. Bob Ndlovu, otherwise known as “Comrade Bob”, was once described by […]
Neil Manthorp CRICKET Herschelle Gibbs is to the South African cricket team what a glass of Eno is to the nocturnally reckless come the morning after – a welcome shot of effervescence and bubble. He’s the one who keeps the guys going when tours start disappearing over the psychological horizon; he’s the tension- breaker on […]
Which African books have had the most powerful influence on you or your society? The Zimbabwe International Book Fair (ZIBF), which takes place in Harare later this year, has invited nominations for a list of Africa’s 100 best books. The idea is to celebrate African writing, publishing and research. The top titles will be announced […]
Andy Capostagno GOLF It seems only right that in the week prior to the 64th Masters the name of Nicklaus has been in the news. It is 14 years since the Golden Bear won his sixth and last green jacket, but he still sells newspapers. In the week that Tiger Woods revealed he kept a […]
GAUTENG allrounder Andrew Hall will make his iinternational debut against Australia after he was included in the South African squad of 14 for the three one-day internationals against the world champions. The South Africans will play Australia in the first one-day international at Kingsmead on Wednesday. Squad: Gary Kirsten, Herschelle Gibbs, Jacques Kallis, Neil McKenzie, […]
Jane Rosenthal EMBRACE by Mark Behr (Little, Brown) Mark Behr’s first novel, The Smell of Apples, was prescribed for schools and won the M-Net and CNA Awards more or less simultaneously with his revelation of his spying activities in the apartheid era. Or so it would seem in the popular memory. His new novel, Embrace, […]
Deon Potgieter BOXING Tsietse Maretloane etched his name in the history books on November 14 1977 when he became South Africa’s first “supreme” featherweight national champion. The bout was a unification of the black and white national titles. Maretloane is a former minister who has turned his hand to promoting boxing. He seeks to honour […]
Womad, the North Sea Jazz Festival and the Sama awards last week overloaded the aural senses of the nation Nicky Blumenfeld The term “pink noise” best describes the momentous series of events which took place in our land of plenty last weekend. It refers to the sound produced when combining all the frequencies of the […]
Ivor Powell and Jubie Matlou The SABC’s entire top management will lose their jobs if the proposals of an independent consultancy into restructuring the beleaguered corporation are accepted. In a confidential report completed two weeks ago, international consultancy Gemini slams the corporation’s group executive for a shortage of skills and a lack of leadership, and […]
ARREST warrants on murder charges have been issued against six leaders of the Ugandan doomsday cult held responsible for the deaths of around 1000 followers, officials said Thursday. The director of public prosecutions Richard Buteera has listed the six leaders of the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God as Joseph Kibwetere. They are the […]
SOUTH African police have arrested more than 13000 suspected criminals in a five-day operation to clean up 124 crime hotspots, the national commissioner’s office said on Wednesday. Police have also seized more than 370 illegal guns and 550 stolen vehicles in the operation between March 28 and April 1. The operation is the first in […]
OIL prices rebounded slightly in London trading on Thursday, following the weakened prices of recent sessions. The price of Brent North Sea quality oil for May delivery was 33 cents higher at $24,08 dollars a barrel. In New York on Wednesday, the price of light sweet crude benchmark oil for delivery in May closed 38 […]
A NIGERIAN teenager has burnt herself to death in protest at a marriage imposed on her by her father. Binta Gambo, 18, set herself on fire on Monday in despair at the marriage forced on her two months ago. Kano Radio Corporation said. Gambo, from Mararrabar Musawa in Katsina State, northern Nigeria had apparently told […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Cape Town | Thursday 1.30pm. THE struggle to represent Africa at the 2002 World Cup finals in Japan and South Korea begins this weekend with 23 first-leg preliminary matches involving the mighty and the minnows, including South Africa’s Bafana Bafana who face Lesotho in Maseru. The build-up has, inevitably, been marred by club-versus-country […]
DESPITE having wild animals roaming within its boundaries, Marloth Park municipality has lost its bid to be incorporated into the neighbouring Kruger National Park. Instead, the Demarcation Board has decided to link it with the small towns of Komatipoort and Malelane in Mpumalanga, and four rural areas in Nkomazi. Marloth Park is part of a […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Harare | Thursday 2.40pm ZIMBABWE has holdings of foreign exchange cover less than one day’s imports, an opposition economist said said. Opposition secretary for economic affairs, Eddie Cross, said the critical shortage of foreign exchange is a the result of “gross mismanagement.” “Against a normal target of two to three months of import […]
The Appeal Court in Bloemfontein on Thursday refused alleged Hard Livings gang members, Solomon Staggie and Desmond Holland leave to appeal against their convictions for murdering three members of a rival gang in February 1998. Staggie and Holland were found guilty in the Cape Town High Court last year for murdering Riyaan Samsodien, Clinton Wyngaardt […]
ECONOMISTS have warned that political stability in Zimbabwe is vital for South African businesses. Zimbabwe is South Africa’s largest trading partner in the region. The Star quotes economist Majakathtata Mokoena saying it is crucial for the South African government to help resolve the crisis before it spirals out of control.”We can’t afford instability in that […]
THE recent flooding in the Northern Province has resulted in a plague of grasshoppers in Pietersburg, e.tv news reported. The Long Horned grasshoppers appeared in the province’s capital a few weeks ago and have since multiplied dramatically. Many businesses shut down for a few days as customers stayed indoors to avoid the visitors. The Department […]