Staff Reporter

ZIMBABWEAN writer Yvonne Vera, author of Under the Tongue, which won the Commonwealth prize in 1997 (Africa Region), has been awarded Sweden’s The Voice of Africa literary award for 1999. Vera (34) will be presented with the award at a function at the Gothenburg Book Fair. 11

Alex Dodd:LANDMARKS In February 1996 I was woken up in Dublin by the sort of phone call everyone dreads getting. “Take a deep breath. I’ve got some terrible news. Anne is dead.” One of my closest and most inspiring friends had been killed in a head-on collision. Anne’s last words to me had been: “Come […]

Sechaba ka’Nkosi Meet the Federal Alliance’s newest recruit and probably Louis Luyt’s most sensational catch. She is streetwise Elizabeth Rapuleng (50) of Zondi, Soweto. Rapuleng dumped the ailing New National Party only three days after party stalwarts such as Sheila Camerer organised a big bash to celebrate her birthday. Rapuleng joined the alliance last week […]

THE United Nations Security Council extended for six weeks on Thursday the mandate of a UN mission charged with preparing an independence referendum in the disputed territory of Western Sahara. The vote came hours after Morocco signed a technical agreement which provides for the UN forces in the former Spanish colony to be armed in […]

You don’t have to be paranoid to buy a Pentium, but it helps, writes John Naughton If you thought Microsoft was an aggressively competitive company, then you’ve never heard of Intel, the outfit which makes the processor chips inside most of the world’s computers. Andy Grove, until recently Intel’s head honcho, was famous for his […]

Committed to changing our perceptions, the Centre for Photography looks set to put South African photographers on the map. Steve Smith reports Being an artist these days is an act of dogged optimism, particularly if you hope to make a living. There is little money available, either for private purchase or from government funding, and […]

Kevin Mitchell Boxing In the movies, the fighters only bleed pretty. Slap in front of the camera means mascara, not knuckle. But not all boxers are squash-nosed pugs and, this Sunday, there are three at work on either side of the Atlantic who manage the rare feet of making both their opponents and young women […]

Evidence wa ka Ngobeni Several foreign prostitutes have been deported from South Africa after seeking police protection from vicious assaults by their local counterparts on the streets of Johannesburg. Prostitutes from as far afield as Russia and China are working in Hillbrow, but many have now moved off the streets and into clubs for shelter. […]

Loose cannon: Robert Kirby I can’t imagine why such a fuss is being made about the appointment of Mr Ramesh Vassen as consul general to India. Anyone with two eyes in his head could see it coming a mile off. The appointment of one’s political buddies into high office has always been within the purview […]

Fiona Macleod While limited legal trade in ivory was given the go-ahead this week, a report released by South Africa’s Endangered Species Protection Unit (ESPU) shows that the protection of endangered species in sub-Saharan Africa is in a dismal state. The report is based on an intensive six-month surveillance of 11 countries undertaken by ESPU […]

THE South African Insurance Association (SAIA) is to conduct a comprehensive national investigation into the effectiveness of fire services following concerns expressed by the short-term insurance industry that fire services are becoming less efficient, contributing to the severity of fire losses. SAIA chief executive Barry Scott said: “SAIA has contacted the minister of constitutional affairs […]

A shortage of forensic pathologists and a lack of post-mortem facilities have caused several miscarriages of justice, writes Sue Blaine Statistics show that three in every thousand South Africans will die an unnatural death by murder, suicide or accident – 80 000 a year. A post-mortem must be conducted on every person who dies an […]

DEMOCRATIC Party Gauteng leader Peter Leon told the Gauteng legislature on Thursday that he has information that a gambling operator paid R1-million to a Gauteng MEC to secure a casino license. Leon refused repeated requests to name the MEC. Leon subsequently came under fire from leader of the house Firoz Cachalia, who charged that Leon […]

KENYANS living in marginal areas are struggling with a drought currently ravaging some parts of the country, according to a USaid monthly publication. “If the long rains are poor this year, there will be substantial impoverishment of households in the marginal agricultural districts of the country,” it says. Kenya Vulnerability Update also predicts that even […]

Stephen Langtry The New Apostolic Church, which drew applause recently from Deputy President Thabo Mbeki for its proposed new national anthem, has a shady past which extends from a close relationship with the Nazi regime to support for apartheid. Confronted by this information, a representative for Mbeki, Titus Mafolo, said: “It is difficult for the […]

Peter Conrad Iris Murdoch, the novelist and philosopher, who has died aged 79, was one of the best and most influential writers of the 20th century. Above all, she kept the traditional novel alive, and in so doing changed what it is capable of. She was not the heir – as she early and wrongly […]

Friday night: Michelle Constant Some people do a day at the races, others a night at the opera, mine was an evening at the boxing. Past Hammanskraal, down the freeway, the evening heat lifting off the tired tarmac and the Carousel lights twinkling. Maybe it’s the heat, the almost- desert light at sunset, but it […]

A COALITION of eight opposition parties in Niger has taken the lead in weekend municipal elections, according to preliminary and partial results released in the capital Niamey on Thursday by the National Independent Electoral Commission (Ceni). The coalition, which has fared better in Niger’s main cities, has captured 318 municipal seats out out 570 districts, […]

THE South African Tennis Association on Wednesday decided to move the Euro-African Zone group 1 tie from Johannesburg to Cape Town after players expressed their concerns about playing at altitude. Despite signing a letter of commitment to hold the April 2-4 contest at Johannesburg’s Standard Bank venue, Sata has agreed to pay a penalty fee […]

A DELEGATION of the Organisation of African Unity in the separatist Comoran island of Anjouan is “stuck” between two armed factions, officials in the Mauritian capital said on Thursday. “The delegation is apparently having problems right now, stuck between two armed factions who have been fighting on the island for several weeks,” an official said. […]

UGANDAN President Yoweri Museveni has ordered his controversial brother, Major General Salim Saleh, to repay a loan he owes the troubled Uganda Commercial Bank, the independent Monitor newspaper reported on Thursday.”He [Museveni] sent me a message through someone that I should pay the UCB loan [of $1,7-million] so that I can clear this mess,” Saleh […]

TWO nominations for the vacant post of chair of the Independent Electoral Commission were forwarded to Parliament on Wednesday. Lands Claims Court Judge Antonie Gildenhuys and Johannesburg High Court Judge Ismail Hussain were nominated by a selection panel comprising Constitutional Court President Judge Arthur Chaskalson, Public Protector Selby Baqwa and the chairs of the Human […]

SEVERAL people died after tanker drivers and cattle herders clashed at a Lagos market in another episode of a long-running dispute. Nigerian newspapers reported on Thursday that up to eight people were killed at Marine Beach in Lagos’s Apapa port district and up to 18 fuel tankers and other vehicles were set on fire and […]

OIL giant Royal Dutch Shell said on Thursday that it is still trying to fine-tune an international investment of $8,5-billion in Nigeria with the Lagos government. “These are proposals that are currently being worked out with the Nigerian government,” a spokesman said after publication of disastrous company results. A Shell managing director, Philip Watts, confirmed […]

DEPUTY President Thabo Mbeki said on Wednesday the government will not delay this year’s general election, expected to be held in May, despite legal wrangling over electoral rules. “The government has no intention to ask for a postponement of the general election,” Mbeki told parliament, adding that he hopes the exact poll date will be […]

INKATHA Freedom Party leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi claimed on Wednesday that African National Congress leaders in violent KwaZulu-Natal province are arming supporters ahead of the general elections this year. Buthelezi said in Cape Town that the ANC has plans to assassinate IFP leaders and that a number have already come under attack in recent days. He […]

THE Human Rights Commission released the terms of reference for its investigation of racism in the South African media on Thursday. The full terms of reference will be published in this Friday’s Government Gazette and on the SAHRC website. In a statement the commission said it is finalising the appointment of the project’s co-ordinator and […]

SUDANESE civilians may be tried by military courts for crimes involving firearms, explosives, espionage, and military secrets, a source cited by the official Suna news agency said in Khartoum on Thursday. “If the army commander-in-chief and state prosecutor agree, civilians suspected of these crimes may be judged by the armed forces tribunal, responsible for the […]

ZIMBABWE’S short-term money market rates spiked higher on Wednesday in their first large reaction to the central bank’s weekend rates hike. However, localised student unrest at the university campus on Wednesday had no effect on trade, dealers said. The Reserve Bank lifted its benchmark bank rate on Saturday by 2,5 percentage points to 45% and, […]

POLICE have arrested four members of a suspected murder gang which terrified Northern Province residents at a popular meeting place for amorous couples 20km south of Pietersburg. The lovers’ lane gang is believed to have shot and killed three men and a woman during their six-week reign of terror at Lebowakgomo. A second woman was […]

THE African National Congress on Thursday rejected charges that its members are planning to kill leaders of the Inkatha Freedom Party ahead of the looming general elections. IFP leader Mangosuthu Butheleziclaimed on Wednesday that the ANC is arming its supporters in KwaZulu-Natal and planns to assassinate IFP leaders before the poll, due in May. Minister […]

NORTHERN Province police charged 10 farmers with attempted murder on Thursday after the farmers allegedly assaulted three stock theft officers and damaged a police van. The unnamed farmers forced three black Pietersburg police officers off the road on Tuesday afternoon. “The officers spotted a suspicious truck full of cattle near Bochum and attempted to pull […]