Staff Reporter

NEW Zealand have axed scrum-half Justin Marshall for their World Cup semi-final against France at Twickenham on Sunday and delayed a decision on the fitness of fly-half Andrew Mehrtens. Inexperienced Byron Kelleher was Thursday named to replace Marshall at scrum-half with Marshall dropping down to the bench. Kelleher, 22, will make only his second test […]

Just back from Sweden, Howard Barrell reviews the role that the government and the solidarity movement played in the anti- apartheid struggle Ronnie Kasrils needed a haircut. This was Harare in the mid-1980s, a time of close shaves for Kasrils and other operational chiefs in the African National Congress. So someone needed to keep watch […]

Andy Capostagno in London Rugby World Cup The munching noise is the sound of humble pie being consumed in vast quantities. Not only did South Africa not lose to England in the World Cup quarter-finals, they brushed aside the strongest of the northern hemisphere competitors with something approaching disdain. If Nick Mallett could tap into […]

>From New York to Darling, Pieter-Dirk Uys has been riding high on people’s fears. Andr Wiesner reports ‘Who’s writing all this crap? Is it me?” asks Pieter-Dirk Uys, in exasperation at South Africa’s absurdities. An apartheid- era Cabinet minister, for instance, is reinvented as a titan of the struggle; or a former South African Police […]

THE Mozambican opposition Renamo party has accused the ruling Frelimo of fomenting violence in the southern Gaza province ahead of upcoming elections. Renamo spokesman Gulamo Jafar ascribed recent clashes between supporters of the two parties in the Gaza provincial capital, Xai-Xai, and in at least three other Gaza towns: Manjacaze, Chibuto and Chokwe, as Frelimo […]

Ebrahim Harvey gives a left view of the ANC-led government’s policies and programmes Many among the left outside of the African National Congress-led alliance are prone to attacking and dismissing the ANC-led government as nothing more than bourgeois, reactionary and so on. In so doing, they fail to place the ANC, the changes that have […]

A proposal to ease restrictions on the sale of South Africa’s rhino and elephant products is likely to top the list submitted to Cites, writes Fiona Macleod A South African proposal to lift restrictions on the sale of rhino products could be met with heated opposition from international environmental bodies. The country is also proposing […]

Civil wars, civilian bloodshed and Western inaction – these are the hallmarks of a 21st-century conflict, write Richard Norton-Taylor and Owen Bowcott There is a deadly new pattern to the world’s armed struggles, in which civil wars are escalating into regional conflicts while the international community is increasingly reluctant to intervene, according to a military […]

PIETER Strydom’s hard hitting century led Border to a respectable total of 324 for six wickets at the close of play on the first day of their SuperSport Series match against Griqualand West at Buffalo Park on Thursday. Strydom’s innings was split into two distinctive halves with the first 50 being a quietly composed affair […]

Reg Rumney and Janet Wilhelm offer tips gleaned from research for their book, Movers &Shakers: An A-Z of South African Business People What makes a “captain of industry”? Our encounters with the top people in business suggest that touching 2m tall would help. The heads of our major corporations often tower over lesser mortals, like […]

Economists say the recent spate of liquidations are a sign that an 18-month recession is over. Donna Block and Mungo Soggot report The gold price has slumped below $300 again, there is a spate of liquidations and world markets are jittery – but economists remain bullish about South Africa’s growth prospects next year. The liquidations, […]

Mirjam Asmal takes umbrage at Brenda Atkinson’s review of towards-transit: new visual languages in South Africa, a recent exhibition in Zurich Out of anxiety for aesthetic, political or cultural ghettoisation, South African art critics seem to escape into shouting “colonial misappropriation”, “voyeurism” or “European gaze” instead of facing the challenge of an international art discourse. […]

Shaun Harris South Africans’ relatively new, partial freedom to invest offshore has been warmly welcomed this year, providing a growing flow of business for financial consultants and global unit trust management companies. Increased investor knowledge and sophistication here now closely follow the wisdom that a long-term, low-risk portfolio must be well diversified, and that means […]

>From Paul Simon’s Graceland to the Rugby World Cup, Ladysmith Black Mambazo has brought traditional a cappella to the rest of the world, writes Lucy O’Brien ‘You can buy the biggest house in America, but it’s not home. Where the mother lives – that is home,” says Joseph Shabalala, leader of Ladysmith Black Mambazo. He […]

finals? Andy Capostagno in London Rugby World Cup Francois Pienaar and Nick Farr Jones were very insistent. “Don’t write off France,” they said. “They may be a shambles at the moment, but they have a habit of getting it right when it matters.” They didn’t say that this week, they said it three months ago […]

THE office of former president Nelson Mandela on Wednesday issued a statement denying that Mandela has purchased a house in Cape Town on behalf of Libyan President Moammar Gadaffi. The statement denied that a Libyan delegation had met Mandela or anyone connected to his family to discuss the purchase of the Cape Town home. It […]

LABOUR Minister Membathisi Mdladlana is expected to relax aspects of the Basic Conditions of Employment Bill, particularly as it applies to small business, the Business Day reports. The paper reports an announcement is expected on November 4. Mdladlana insists the changes won’t deprive workers of their rights and will not remove the protection guaranteed by […]

THE National Assembly has congratulated the Springboks for trouncing England 44-21 in the World Cup quarter-finals at the weekend. In a formal resolution, MPs also congratulated fly-half Jannie de Beer on his record-breaking performance with the boot. The politicians wished the Boks good luck for their semi-final against Australia and called on all South Africans […]

MORE than 400 people in the Northern Province are over 100 years old, and they will be honoured by business and welfare leaders on Friday. The National Federated Chamber of Commerce and the health and welfare department are laying on a party for them — 404 in all — at Pietersburg’s Gateway International Airport. Provincial […]

THE Central Energy Fund (CEF) announced on Tuesday that it has secured international loans amounting to $333-million to develop the Mossgas EM gas field. The project, which was approved by government this year, will extend the life of South Africa’s synthetic fuel producing plant at Mossel Bay until 2007. Mossgas currently produces about 7% of […]

THE Springboks are peaking at exactly the right time as they bid to retain their World Cup title, coach Nick Mallett said on Thursday. The Springboks, who have never lost a World Cup match, face Australia in the semi-finals at Twickenham on Saturday and Mallett believes the team have so much confidence they can beat […]

KEY New Zealand fly-half and goal kicker Andrew Mehrtens may miss the Rugby World Cup semifinal against France although an injury to his left knee is not serious. Mehrtens had a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan at Frimley Park Hospital in Surrey, near London, and was cleared of serious injury, Wellington’s Evening Postnewspaper said in […]

AVIS Southern Africa, the Auto rental group, on Thursday reported steady earnings growth in the six months to September and posted a 24% rise in fully diluted earnings per share. Operating income was up 13,3% at R88,2-million on a 9,6% increase in revenue to R348-million. Attributable income rose by 24% to R44,4-million. Fully diluted earnings […]

PRESIDENT Thabo Mbeki will visit Zambia at the weekend for his first state visit since taking up the reins of leadership in June, his office said on Monday. Mbeki will leave on Friday from Pretoria for the three-day visit. The trip will be his first state visit since taking over from former president Nelson Mandela, […]

SOME 100 soldiers from Sierra Leone’s ousted junta are believed to have been killed during a week of clashes with their erstwhile rebel allies in northern Make ni, commuters and journalists said on Wednesday.”These once friendly forces have now turned sworn enemies,” said textile businessman Al lieu Sank oh, who has just returned to Freetown […]

JONAH Lomu’s future remains in doubt at the conclusion of the World Cup tournament. The blockbusting New Zealand wing, who has already scored six tries in four matches in the tournament, is certain to receive a swag of offers to switch codes when his current contract expires. Leading English rugby league club Leeds head Lomu’s […]

SARAH BULLEN, Cape Town | Thursday 5.30pm A STRONG day on local markets was boosted in the late afternoon by the announcement of a surprising large trade surplus, combined with positive growth figures from the United States. At close of trade the all share index had gained 0,86% — pushed primarily by a 4,24% climb […]

COMPANY liquidations rose by almost 8% to 1080 in the third quarter of 1999 compared with the same period a year ago, Statistics South Africa said on Thursday. It said that the rise in the total number of liquidations in the third quarter of this year was largely due to a 72,2% increase to 639 […]

AUSTRALIA coach Rod Macqueen is not expecting to be hit by an avalanche of drop goals in Saturday’s World Cup semi-final against South Africa. Springbok flyhalf Jannie De Beer kicked a world record five field goals in the Springboks’ 44-21 quarter-final win over England but Macqueen said he would be surprised if the world champions […]

FORMER Australian national team coach Bob Dwyer believes South Africa will make a major error if they start Saturday’s World Cup semi-final with Jannie de Beer at fly-half instead of Henry Honiball. Springbok coach Nick Mallett has said De Beer will start the match ahead of Honiball after his 34-point haul in the quarter-finals against […]

BUTTERWORTH, the former industrial capital of the Transkei, crippled by service payment protests and a municipal workers strike last year, has run out of water. Businesses, schools, homes and the hospital have been without water for a week, after the town’s three municipal water pumps were reported “broken”. Businesses are ferrying supplies from East London, […]

THE recovering spot gold price is pressing up against resistance at $300 a troy ounce in early European business on Thursday. Analysts said that this level, briefly exceeded in Asian trading, looked set to prove tough but had to be clearly overcome before gold could aim for the next upside targets at $305,00, $315,00 and […]