Staff Reporter

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Harare | Tuesday 3.45pm. THE International Monetary Fund has suspended $55-million in aid to Zimbabwe after the government’s seizure of 841 white-owned farms last week, Western diplomats said on Tuesday. The IMF believes that the seizures contradict decisions reached during round-table talks held in Zimbabwe in September where it was agreed that an […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Tuesday 11.00am. THE government has agreed that South African Airways will take responsibility for R1-billion of Transnet’s pension fund deficit and debt, laying the groundwork for SAA’s partial privatisation and balance sheet restructuring. Business Day reported on Tuesday that the government and Transnet will absorb SAA’s remaining R3-billion portion of Transnet’s […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Sunday 11.30pm. KAIZER Chiefs once again overran their opposition on their way to the top of the Castle Premier League table when they beat Supersport United 4-2 at the Rand Stadium in Johannesburg on Sunday. Chiefs scored early in the match when Mark Batchelor blasted in a penalty after Siyabonga Nomvete […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Sunday 5.00pm. THE widow of Alan Paton, the champion of black rule and renowned author of Cry, the Beloved Country, said on Sunday that she is leaving South Africa because she is too terrified to live in such a crime-ridden environment. Anne Paton, 71, said in an article published in Britain’s […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Harare | Monday 1.10pm. POLICE in Zimbabwe have arrested 12 villagers for failing to comply with court orders to vacate white-owned farms they have invaded. The villagers were last week served with eviction orders to leave the farms they had seized and occupied in recent weeks. The Herald reported on Monday that on […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Bloemfontein | Monday 2.00pm. SOUTH African captain Hansie Cronje handed down a warning to the West Indies just three days ahead of the first Test here on Monday when he led his Free State provincial side to a remarkable two wicket win over the tourists. Cronje, who was unbeaten on 158, and fast […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Sunday 1.00pm. ORLANDO Pirates suffered a disappointing defeat on Saturday at the FNB Stadium when they went down 2-1 to Mamelodi Sundowns in a somewhat one-sided Castle Premier League Soccer match. The Buccanneers took an early lead when striker Steve Lekoelea, who interchanged passes with Dumi Ngobe, scored in the eighth […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Tipoli | Sunday 5.30pm. ZIMBABWEAN President Robert Mugabe and his wife arrived in Libya on Saturday aboard a private aircraft in violation of the United Nations air embargo in effect against Tripoli since 1992. Radio news reports that Libyan leader Moamer Gaddafi commended Mugabe for his “courage”. Shortly after his arrival Mugabe met […]

SHARON HAMMOND, Secunda | Sunday 6.30pm. MANAGERS at Sasol’s Middelbult Colliery near Secunda in Mpumalanga, could face criminal charges after their alleged negligence cost the lives of 53 miners in an underground explosion in May 1993. In a report released by the department of mineral and energy affairs last week, the mine’s manager, the shaft […]

ROB DAVIES, Johannesburg | Saturday 8.00pm. THE South African rugby team on Saturday broke free from a mediocre first-half performance to beat a spirited Scottish side 35-10 at a windy Murrayfield. At first it seemed like a bad nightmare when the Boks were overrun in the first couple of minutes, but then they started to […]

SARAH BULLEN, Johannesburg | Monday 5.20pm. SOUTH AFRICA’S real Gross Domestic Product fell a weighty annualised 2,3% during the third quarter of 1998, compared with the second quarter of 1998, according to the latest figures released by Statistics South Africa on Monday. The figures surprised even the most pessimistic economists, falling way below the market […]

DICKSON JERE and SAM MUJUDA, Luanda | Monday 2.45pm. Angolan rebel leader Jonas Savimbi is still receiving arms from the international community, his former secretary general and leader of the Unita splinter group, General Euginio Manuvakola, has charged. Manuvakola, speaking at the celebrations to mark the 4th anniversary of the stalled Lusaka Peace Protocol on […]

LEONARD NDZHUKULA, Nelspruit | Sunday 7.00pm. THE African National Congress has accused police of direct complicity in the assassination of a senior party leader and the poisoning of another in Mpumalanga last week after officers allegedly ignored desperate pleas from the party for protection. Police confirmed they were aware of the allegations on Friday but […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Harare | Sunday 6.30pm. ZIMBABWE’S increasingly vocal labour movement on Saturday stepped up its demands in a confrontation with the government, and reserved the right to take further strike action. The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, which has paralysed the country through two national strikes in the past two weeks, refused say whether […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Mbabane | Sunday 7.00pm. AN unknown group calling itself The Tigers has claimed responsibility for the Swaziland bomb blast two days ago which killed one person and injured nine others. An anonymous caller told the Times of Swaziland that the group had planted Friday’s bomb, which destroyed part of the offices of Deputy […]

DENIS BARNETT, Gabarone | Sunday 7.30pm. TALKS to convince Democratic Republic of Congo rebels to adopt a ceasefire plan ended in Botswana’s capital Gabarone on Saturday, with rebels and officials from a four-nation contact group saying progress has been made towards peace. Southern African Development Community official said the rebels had behaved “like a group […]

a ‘snowplough’ a few millionths of a millimetre wide. Michael Brooks reports As your eyes move across this text, you are performing a task that remains beyond the understanding of modern science. The simple movement in the muscles that control your eyes is still a mystery; inside the muscles, tiny proteins called myosins are doing […]

Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world, yet it’s desert was recently flooded with high-fashion. Adam Levin reports on a fabulous folly Alphadi mounts the podium. His trademark embroidered fez is askew as usual, his pupils alive with excitement. “This,” he announces, wringing his hands passionately, “is pure folly”. All around us, […]

The first Ashes Test begins this Friday. Former England captain Mike Brearley recalls this specific kind of cricket animal Vulture Street, Brisbane: an aptly-named location for the start of an England tour. Wherever one finds it, a hostile sporting crowd embodies the stuff of nightmares. Batting or bowling, the player does his best. And what […]

CD of the week : Peter Makurube The great bull of South African jazz, Winston Mankunku Ngozi, has released a new album, Molo Africa (Nkomo). This is Mankunku at his very best, on an album which introduces him as a multi- instrumentalist. But the tenor sax is still there, bellowing fiercely and with conviction. Not […]

Dan Wylie ECHO LOCATION by Karen Press (Gecko Poetry) With Snailpress bowing out, other small presses are lumbering in to fill the vacuum, and Durban’s Gecko Books has produced two substantial and handsome volumes. What a pleasure to encounter, in Karen Press’s latest collection, winsome fun balancing the intimate tragedies of ordinary folk. Echo Location […]

Belinda Beresford People have been boring themselves silly for decades spotting trains, hunting autographs or lurking in bushes in the pursuit of rare birds. If they’re looking for new excitement they can always join the ranks of the telametrists – phonecard collectors to you and I. These are people who find more than simple utility […]

Howard Barrell Serious political disputes in the Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology lay behind the resignation this week of its Director General, Roger Jardine. The rows pitted Jardine against one of his two deputies, Musa Xulu, and his minister, Lionel Mtshali, according to arts and science circles, as well as sources in the […]

Toby Walne Spending it Barbie is facing middle age. Next year she will celebrate her 40th birthday. Early Barbie fans who resisted the temptation to pull off her arms or legs can count themselves lucky: vintage first-edition Barbies sell for about R60 000. Action Man is hot on Barbie’s heels. Rejuvenated with extra muscles and […]

Angella Johnson : View From a Broad They say that money can’t buy you love. Well, it can at least get you the body and face of your dreams. I had been considering cosmetic surgery for some time – nothing radical, mind you, just a little liposuction on the adipose tissue in my stomach. But […]

Africa’s Oscars : Andrew Worsdale Two days before the launch of South African cinema’s biggest schmooze-fest, Sithengi, the film and TV market, most local players were gathered in force with the continent’s counterparts at last Saturday’s M-Net All Africa Film Awards in Pretoria. The State Theatre is a bit monolithic but the seats are so […]

Swapna Prabhakaran It is common knowledge that South Africa has one of the highest rates of road death in the world. Less well known, however, is that much of the carnage is caused by trucks and could be prevented if heavy freight vehicle regulations were brought into line with world safety standards. South Africa has […]

Stuart Hess and Mukoni Rashitanga Peninsula Technikon (Pentech) has drawn a flurry of criticism following its extraordinary decision on Wednesday to expel student journalist Max Hamata. Hamata’s fallout with the institution comes in the wake of a report which was published in the Mail & Guardian and which this week led to him being booted […]

Mungo Soggot Department of Trade and Industry department officials have been soliciting thousands of rands from the cream of South Africa’s exporters by demanding R10 000 cash cheques from companies keen to bring guests to a gala dinner. The November 26 banquet is supposed to be addressed by President Nelson Mandela, who is billed to […]

Friday night : Jean Barker `Big, bloody indie beats!” the flier promised. “Dress as your favourite victim and get in for R15 …” sounds just right for Friday 13. My imagination is aroused. I picture strange people, weird conversations, tribal dance, excessive make-up. Unfortunately, none of my friends are keen to go. So the evening […]

site David Larsen Ndumo game reserve, on the border with Mozambique in northern KwaZulu-Natal, is the centre of a land-claim dispute that could set a precedent for numerous community land claims in game parks throughout the country. The KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Traditional and Environmental Affairs, Nyanga Ngubane, has agreed to temporarily allocate 10ha of land […]

Douglas Rushkoff online So, am I, like the last kid on the block to get my Hotline server up and running? It sure seems so. Not since I logged on to the Internet for the first time, back in 1988, and encountered the already-populated chat rooms, bulletin boards, and hacker groups, have I been so […]