THURSDAY, 11.30AM: ITALY beat Cameroon’s Indomitable Lions 3-0 on Wednesday, breaking the deadlock in Group B of the World Cup. The Lions suffered one goal from Italy’s new star, Luigi di Bagio, and two from Christian Vieri. Unfortunately, the Africans handicapped themselves in the 43rd minute — Raymond Kalla was sent off for an overly […]
Ann Eveleth Before the 1994 elections, the African National Congress drew criticism from its opponents when it hinted that 16-year-old children should be allowed to vote. In those heady days of pre-liberation politics the youth flocked to the party’s campaign rallies and mobbed soon-to-be-president Nelson Mandela with the fervour of rock-star groupies. This year, those […]
Howard Barrell Foreign policy experts are cautioning President Thabo Mbeki against committing South African forces to peacekeeping efforts in the Democratic Republic of Congo which could result in troops being bogged down there. South Africa has been coming under increasing pressure from other African countries to play a bigger role in Congo peace efforts. The […]
THURSDAY, 11.30AM: ERNIE ELS will have to contend not only with a persistent back problem in the US Open, but with what veteran Tom Watson describes as the worst, most difficult rough he has ever seen in the tournament. “It’s tight, it’s tough and you need a lot of patience,” says Els himself, who won […]
In some areas of Ethiopia, abducting and raping a woman is accepted as the customary way to find a wife, writes Nerma Jelacic Aberash Bekele was 14 when she was abducted by seven men in southern Ethiopia, taken to a remote hut and repeatedly beaten and raped by the gang’s leader. In rural Ethiopia this […]
THURSDAY, 11.30AM: THE government is scheduled to meet synthetic fuel producer Sasol this week, where it is expected to propose cutting its tariff protection in the synthetic fuel industry. Current low fuel prices have pushed the cost of maintaining the subsidies up to an astronomical R3-million a day. In terms of a formula agreed to […]
Mail & Guardian reporters Kader Asmal (Education):Had remarkable success as minister of water affairs and forestry, despite the onset of enervating illness. Intelligent and hard working, he was a distinguished legal academic before returning from 27 years in exile. He was placed at number four on the African National Congress’s national election list, showing that […]
shock William Keegan According to the Bank of International Settlements (BIS): “A general resurgence of inflation seems less likely than further disinflation or even deflation.” This may seem a dry, even unremarkable, assertion until you consider who made it. The BIS is one of the world’s most prestigious financial institutions, the “central bankers’ bank” based […]
DANISH brewing giant Heineken has increased its stake in Nigerian Breweries to almost 37% and could be considering a full take-over, company officials said on Wednesday. A spokesman for Nigerian Breweries said the Danish concern now owns 36,34% of the Nigerian firm after purchasing the holding previously owned by Unilever. Nigerian Breweries chairman Felix Ohiwerei […]
South Africa’s World Cup semi-final was being played at the same time the M&G was being printed, so Neil Manthorp looks at the tournament’s top three teams It doesn’t matter that pressure in sport is a luxury, something that you are paid very well to experience and something to which sportsmen should be drawn, not […]
Deon Potgieter in Copenhagen Boxing The South African National Boxing Commission has controversially snatched a world title fight away from former World Boxing Union welterweight world champion Gary “The Heat” Murray. The newly formed boxing bodyoriginally tried to hamstring Murray by saying a local fighter should win a national title before being eligible to contest […]
So you’re the average small unit trust investor, the type of person who has been putting away a few hundred rand a month, typically into a general equity unit trust, ever since you’ve been earning a decent salary. Until the stock market crashed early last year you were quite happy with your investment. The Johannesburg […]
Rob Nixon’s new book is a memoir with a soft spot for the ostriches of Oudtshoorn – and Arizona. He spoke to Jane Rosenthal `Hope is the thing with wings .” This quote from Emily Dickinson is how Rob Nixon begins his book, Dreambirds (Doubleday). It encapsulates perfectly the lightness, quirky humour and heart-stopping gravity […]
Peter Bradshaw After the flop that was Johnny Mnemonic, the idea of casting Keanu Reeves in another virtual reality thriller must have taken a lot of nerve. Either that or they really wanted Ben Affleck but Ben wasn’t available. In any case, I must admit that if I had been offered a chance a year […]
Howard Barrell President Thabo Mbeki plumped for continuity and party loyalty over performance in the first big decision of his presidency: the choice of his Cabinet. He avoided any of the radical innovation urged on him by commentators, the business community and South Africa’s friends abroad, choosing by and large the old faces and mediocre […]
Evidence wa ka Ngobeni `That’s where my father’s house used to be,” says Michael Ngeno, pointing to a pile of rocks in the middle of an open field in Ventersdorp. “My parents built it in 1955, and it was a comfortable home for us. We had a school nearby, and a clinic. The soil was […]
Howard Barrell Over a Barrel One of the more remarkable pieces of reportage on the election just past was a Sunday newspaper story early in the campaign, written without a hint of irony, about Musibudi Mangena, president of the Azanian People’s Organisation (Azapo). Mangena was saying, again without a hint of irony, that whereas other […]
Mail & Guardian reporters First-time visitors to the Summit Club in Hillbrow are invariably taken aback by the sign at the entrance indicating the “gun un-loading point”. Several months ago a drunk patron took the sign rather too seriously, and left three bullet holes in the crumbling plaster. But venture beyond and up two flights […]
Charlene Smith President Thabo Mbeki is expected to provide an outline of his new government’s economic policy, and proposals for the implementation of an “African renaissance”, at next weekend’s World Economic Forum (WEF) in Durban. The forum, according to briefing papers issued to delegates, is predicting a more flexible stance on inflation under Mbeki, more […]
THURSDAY, 1.00PM: A FURORE has broken out over transport parastatal Transnet’s award of lucrative public relations contracts to Simeka TWS Communications, because Transnet MD Saki Macozoma sits on Simeka’s board. National Party MP Daryl Swanepoel has accused Transnet of a “gross conflict of interest”, and claims that Simeka was awarded Transnet contracts irregularly. Swanepoel claimed […]
Cameron Duodu Letter from the North I am extremely proud to inform you that the only reason I was able to watch President Thabo Mbeki’s inaugural speech live was because your brothers and sisters in the north have begun to pull up their socks. I was watching the ceremony on BBC World. Just as Mbeki […]
Barbara Ellen Body Language One of my strangest assignments was being asked to review an example of “erotic fiction for women”. If I remember rightly, it was called something like The Silken Flesh or Sigh Of Desire. Oddly, for a mucky book, none of the female characters appeared to have vaginas, clitorises, or any of […]
PROMINENT former trade union boss Mbhazima Shilowa was on Tuesday elected unopposed as African National Congress premier of South Africa’s powerhouse Gauteng province. Shilowa (41) last week resigned as secretary-general of the powerful Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) when it became clear that he would become premier after the ANC won 50 of […]
FOURTEEN new caps have been included in the South African Under-21 rugby squad for this year’s Sanzar/UAR Tournament in Argentina in July. The 28-man squad, captained by Natal prop John Smit, was finalised at the weekend following the match between an SA Under-21 Invitation XV and the Vodacom Cup All Stars in Port Elizabeth. The […]
DAVID SHAPSHAK, Johannesburg | Wednesday 4.10pm. NEW cap Corne Krige will captain the Springboks in his first Test on Saturday against Italy in place of the injured Gary Teichmann. But Krige, who sat on the bench three times druing last year’s Grand Slam tour, is still under investigation for leading a player revolt as skipper […]
AT least 300 Zimbabweans have died in South Africa over the past five months, according to The Herald daily. Most of those who died since the beginning of the year were robbed in Johannesburg’s high-rise Hillbrow suburb, the newspaper reported. Apparently, more than 290 bodies were repatriated from South Africa to Zimbabwe between January and […]
NOT all deputy ministers were announced on Thursday, but those who are known are: Dirk du Toit (Agriculture), Brigitte Mabandla, (Arts, Science and Culture), Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge (Defence), Smangaliso Mkhatshwa (Education), Joyce Mabudafhasi (Environmental Affairs and Tourism), Sipho Mphahlwa (Finance). Longtime stalwart in Foreign Affairs Aziz Pahad hangs onto his post. Other new appointees include Lindiwe […]
SAEED Anwar and Wajahatullah Wasti set a World Cup record opening stand as Pakistan coasted into the final with a nine-wicket win over New Zealand at Old Trafford on Wednesday. They put on 194 to beat the previous best of 186 South Africans Gary Kirsten and Andrew Hudson made against the Netherlands in Rawalpindi in […]
HERSCHELLE Gibbs said a spray used to treat a sore finger may have caused him to drop a vital catch off Australian captain Steve Waugh in Sunday’s World Cup Super Six game. Waugh had scored 56 when Gibbs spilled a simple catch, appearing to let the ball slip from his hand as he tried to […]
STEVEN NHLANE, DAN LANGEVELDT, Blantyre | Thursday 8.30pm PRELIMINARY results from 20 of the Malawi’s 26 voting districts in the country’s June 15 elections put incumbent President Bakili Muluzi ahead of his nearest rival by at least 250000 votes, the Election Commission said on Thursday night. Maluzi had won 1,63-million votes by 6.00pm on Thursday […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Thursday 6.10pm. NEWLY sworn in Water Affairs and Forestry Minister Ronnie Kasrils on Thursday said he was happy with his new post, describing it as a “mid-life change”. He said he would follow the policies laid down by his predecessor, Kader Asmal, and attempt to speed up the delivery of water. […]
FOLLOWING its extremely poor performance in the national elections, the Pan Africanist Congress seems on the brink of losing leaders disenchanted with losing status. Reports in the Sowetan on Wednesday suggest former MP Gora Ibrahim may be about to leave the PAC for the ANC, with a diplomatic service post offered as carrot. The party […]