THE Zambian government denied on Thursday allegations that it was responsible for the weekend bombings in Lusaka, to divert attention from gunrunning claims by the Angolan government. Denouncing the claims, Information Minister and chief government spokesperson, Newstead Zimba, said agents of confusion were deliberately twisting the facts about the bombings. He added that the water […]
The Mail & Guardian cover price will increase to R5,00 this week. This 11% increase has been made necessary due to increasing costs. The subscription price of the paper will remain at the current level of R3,50 a copy, and home deliveries are available in most metropolitan areas. The paper continues to be a leader […]
Two views of a new book that looks at the legacy of the mythical first woman – and what men have made of her FOR Natasha Fairweather THE STORY OF EVE by Pamela Norris (Picador) The history of human society might have followed a rather different course if the theologians of both the Jewish and […]
PFIZER, the manufacturers of anti-impotence drug Viagra, said on Friday morning that the long-awaited release of the wonder drug has been delayed until next week. Cape Talk radio said that Pfizer cited logistical problems as the reason for the delay. The little blue pill was due to hit the shelves of pharmacies on Friday, retailing […]
Andrew Muchineripi Soccer The analysis of a soccer match usually centres around the skill, strength and speed of the footballers and the tactics of the coach. Luck is a word rarely mentioned. Yet luck often plays a significant role and the African Nations Cup qualifying tie between South Africa and Gabon at Odi Stadium last […]
Andrew Worsdale Movie of the week The opening scene of Todd Solondz’s Happiness, which deservedly won the International Critics Prize at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, is just an indication of what’s to come in this devastatingly brilliant, unsettlingly mordant mix of comedy and tragedy. In a simple shot that lasts about three minutes, the […]
THE small Drakensberg town of Underberg will host a battle royale for the vacant KZN K1 River canoeing title this weekend. With defending champion Wayne Volek sitting out on a doping suspension, scores of the country’s top paddlers will tussle on the upper Umzimkulu River in the two-day Strops Drakensberg Challenge. Contenders for the K1 […]
Emeka Nwandiko It is 1pm and a muezzin issues a wailing call to prayer from a mosque in Dlamini. The faithful come from all around – Klipspruit, Rockville, Meadowlands – to give praise to Allah. But being Muslim in Soweto requires more than His Mercy. “It is difficult to be a Muslim because people think […]
dark’ Thokozani Mtshali Born in South Africa, Ayanda Moatshe (19) has lived all her life in the country. She holds a valid identity document, speaks four African languages and English, studies engineering at Wits Technikon, and plays on the national softball team. Her mother works at the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. But Moatshe has been picked […]
election with 101% Matthew Engel The Equatorial Guinea Gazette Edited by Matthew Engel Incorporating the Malabo Mail, the Fernando Po Flyer and Rio Muni Reporter Today we bring you the first English-language newspaper devoted entirely to the affairs of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea. It fulfils a long-felt need because Equatorial Guinea apparently does not […]
SMALLHOLDER Nicholas Steyn was on Thursday convicted in the Delmas Circuit Court of culpable homicide for shooting dead six-month-old baby Angelina Zwane last April, SABC radio news reports. Angelina was being carried on her 11-year-old cousin Fransina Dlamini’s back when Steyn (43) shot at them on his plot near the East Rand town of Benoni, […]
Cathy Jenkins Craig Williamson’s amnesty application hearing ended in Pretoria this week after a marathon seven days of legal argument – with warring lawyers and evasive witnesses making no attempt to reconcile in the spirit intended by Truth and Reconciliation Commission. George Bizos, SC, for the families of Ruth First and Jeanette and Katryn Schoon, […]
Ferial Haffajee The government will spend just over R310- million on the arts this year. The amount budgeted for arts is about R7-million more than last year’s arts vote. But in real terms, state support for the arts will be cut. Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology Director General Roger Jardine said the cut […]
THREE of Russia’s best pole vaulters will be in South Africa to test Okkert Brits during the Engen Grand Prix Summer Series. Vadim Strogolev, Yevgeny Smiryagin and Pavel Burlatsenko have confirmed their participation in Pietersburg on March 13, Roodepoort on March 19 and in Cape Town on March 26. Joining them will be woman highjumper […]
The abduction and killing of a group of tourists by interahamwe show the militia is intent on settling scores, report Chris McGreal and Anna Borzello The Britons and Americans among the tourists killed in Uganda this week probably had no idea why they were singled out by their captors. It’s doubtful they even knew that […]
Ted Leggett After years of withdrawing from the sex lives of South Africans, the government is considering poking its nose into the bedroom again. The Law Commission is presently circulating a discussion paper on the “need for a statutory offence aimed at harmful HIV-related behaviour”, or rather, the need for criminalising the spread of the […]
John Matshikiza:WITH THE LID OFF I’m summoned to appear in the magistrate’s court at 8.30am. It’s a simple matter. My car was broken into, the culprits were caught a few minutes later with my property still hot in their hands, and the case has finally come before a magistrate. I am obliged to testify. The […]
CD of the week:Neil Spencer Even in their prime, Blondie always were better at making singles than albums. It’s Picture This, Heart of Glass and Rapture for which the New York New Wavers are celebrated, not Parallel Lines or Eat to the Beat. Reconvened 16 years after their acrimonious split amid the usual regroup talk […]
reality Philippa Garson:CLASS STRUGGLE When a country’s legislative and policy framework is totally at odds with the reality on the ground, sober mutterings about anarchy and “meltdown” begin. Compared with the mayhem in some of the disintegrating, war-ravaged countries to the north, it would appear South Africa has nothing to worry about in this regard. […]
David le Page Product: ICQ free e-mail software. Requirements: PowerMac or 68K Mac; 486-SX or higher PC; Windows 3.11, Win95 or WinNT3.5/4.0; any Java-enabled computer As the great South African diaspora continues, it becomes increasingly likely that we lingering diehards have not only obscure and happily forgotten relations overseas, but also a number of people […]
THE SA Reserve Bank said on Thursday resignations by an undisclosed number of employees in its Business Systems and Technology department will not affect operations. Deputy governor responsible for IT, Dr Chris de Swardt, said the staff who resigned from the department were involved in the development of a new national payment system (NPS) for […]
THE Democratic Party said on Thursday that party leader Tony Leon does not appear on the voters’ roll released by the Independent Electoral Commission, despite having registered last November. DP spokesperson Jack Bloom accused the IEC of “outrageous inefficiency”. Leon will re-register on Friday morning.
They’ve been murdered, raped and mistreated for 3 000 years under India’s caste system. But now the untouchable women of rural Bihar are fighting back – with bullets. Jason Burke reports Two scenes from rural India. The first from the summer of 1996. Bhuli Devi, a 30-year- old peasant woman, stands naked in a field […]
Shaun de Waal The Time of the Writer festival, held by the Centre for Creative Arts at the University of Natal, is set to become a regular feature of Durban’s cultural life. This year’s festival, the second, began on March 1 and runs until March 6 at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre. The opening address was […]
THE Department of Correctional Services on Wednesday grated Janusz Walus permission to marry his girlfriend of three years next Wednesday. Walus is serving a life sentence for the 1993 murder of South African Communist Party leader Chris Hani. Walus’s fianc, Berril Roy, is a qualified church minister and gospel singer. Walus and two fellow prisoners […]
Howard Barrell Opposition leaders have united in a bitter row with the African National Congress over a government publicity campaign which they say is promoting the ANC and threatening to undermine the integrity of the coming elections. The heads of the opposition parties – the New National Party, Democratic Party, Pan Africanist Congress, African Christian […]
Rupert Jones A cellular phone which thinks it is a cash machine is about to go on trial in Britain. The hybrid handset brings the dream of access to one’s cash any time, any place, anywhere a big step closer. Cellphone banking is not new, but the customer is unable to do much more than […]
Karlin Lillington Computer-generated worlds where people can interact in real-time over the Internet came closer to reality recently. This was the effect of MCI WorldCom’s quadrupling the capacity of its Very High Performance Backbone Network Service (vBNS) in California. “In essence this is a distributed Holodeck,” says MCI’s lead engineer for vBNS, Rick Wilder, referring […]
Charlene Smith In 10 years, the average life expectancy of South Africans may be 40 years, there will be fewer children and many will be in orphanages. Prison populations will be mostly sick and dying, there will be greater absenteeism in the workplace, and farmers will battle to find enough well people to harvest crops […]
The launch on Sunday of a new title is the first clear shot in a newspaper war likely to radically change the face of the South African media. The Sunday World, aimed at a wealthy, top-end black readership, hits the streets this weekend, drawing counter-attacks from its competition, the Sunday Times and City Press. Eight […]
Keith Henderson Prodigy will soon be in South Africa. Possibly one of the world’s most successful electronic/rock cross-over outfits, they will be taking to the stage and blasting their unique sound out in an audio and visual performance many South Africans have been itching to see for some time. Their manic, beat-invested brand of electronica […]
Matthew Krouse Down the tube The term makwerekwere has seeped into our diction over recent years, becoming descriptive of a range of foreign Africans that, as the lie has it, are easily identifiable. Stereotyped in popular culture as drug dealers, unwelcome street traders and corrupt businessmen, the foreigner is emerging as a stock symbol of […]