Staff Reporter

the racing world An often dogged and sometimes disheartening slog from the ranks of the Formula One has paid off for 1998 world champion Mika Hakkinen. Alan Henry reports Mika Hakkinen of Finland clinched the 1998 Formula One world championship with a flawless flag-to-flag victory in the Japanese Grand Prix, a success which also gave […]

Not CDs of the week: Shaun de Waal It was reported a while ago that David Bowie had declined to be involved in Todd Haynes’s new glam rock movie, Velvet Goldmine. The reason given was Bowie’s desire to hang on to his seminal Seventies creation, Ziggy Stardust, for future exploitation by himself. I suspect, however, […]

Andy Capostagno Cricket Whatever the outcome of the ongoing talks between the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and its players association, the squad preparing for a five Test tour of South Africa will not be representative of the best the islands can muster. At the time of writing the captain, Brian Lara, and the vice-captain, […]

Giulio Biccari started out in the movie business tearing tickets. These days he captures some of the most startling images in South African film. Andrew Worsdale reports You saw Zola Maseko’s The Life and Times of Sara Baartman on TV a couple of weeks ago, but do you know who gave you its luscious images? […]

Loose cannon: Robert Kirby It is with grim amusement that we have watched the lumbering egg-dance – or should we rather say egg-toyi-toyi – which has attended the release of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC) final report. As a display of professional political hypocrisy, this one has been a winner all the way. First […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Cape Town | Friday 1.30pm. THOUSANDS of people from across Africa are streaming to South Africa seeking refugee status, most of them under false pretences, Home Affairs Deputy Minister Lindiwe Sisulu said in Parliament on Thursday. Speaking during debate on a new Refugees Bill that will bring the country’s laws dealing with refugees […]

On a Warner Brothers press junket to Los Angeles Alex Dodd found a flip side to the dream factory For someone as hopelessly addicted to the glittery escape of celluloid as I am, the prospect of a trip to Los Angeles had me surfing waves of fantasy. Images of wild, wild Nicholas Cage cruising down […]

Review of the week: Matthew Krouse Classical music always garnered a heap of bad press in the old South Africa. Great works of Western music were, we were informed, part of a Eurocentric dominance – an unnecessary aberration in the lives of poor Africans. Apparently, so we’re told, times have changed. Today, a generation of […]

After a tiring week creating the universe, the earth and us, God rested. And being God, he foresaw that one day there would be war and high-rise buildings and traffic and technology that would speed up human life beyond endurance. And he said: “Let there be the Seychelles.” These 92 islands and islets, spread over […]

John Crace It goes without saying that your choice of holiday destination is a statement of your aesthetics. After all, there’s precious little point in going to Ibiza if it’s peace and quiet and a few old masters you’re after. And an eco-tour to the Amazonian rain forest immediately identifies you as the caring, thoughtful […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Harare | Thursday 9.30am. THE Zimbabwean army has been deployed in Harare townships following violence on Wednesday that developed from protests over petrol price rises. Zimbabwean state television news has shown heavily armed soldiers conducting foot patrols. It is believed the troops were requested by police struggling to contain the violence. Meanwhile, protest […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Thursday 1.30pm. JOMO Cosmos and Moroka Swallows deadlocked to a 2-2 draw in their Castle Premier League match at the George Goch Stadium on Wednesday. The match was replayed on Wednesday after Swallows players were struck by lightning during the first clash between the the sides a fortnight ago and the […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Thursday 3.45pm. WHITE right-wing farmers are joining a growing black vigilante group in a bid to deal with the crime plaguing South Africa, a Johannesburg daily reported on Thursday. The group, called Mapogo a Mathamaga, was Thursday due to launch a new branch in Ventersdorp, west of Johannesburg, a bastion of […]

SARAH BULLEN, Johannesburg | Wednesday 5.00pm. THE Johannesburg Stock Exchange gave a good rally on Wednesday in a strong session sparked by an announcement by major commercial banks of a rate cut. Nedcor, ABSA, Saambou and Standard Bank announced one percentage point reductions in their prime lending rates. The expectation of a rates cut has […]

MUNGO SOGGOT, Johannesburg | Thursday 4.50pm. KOBUS van Zyl, the former general manager of the strategic fuel fund, says he will challenge in court the fund’s decision to fire him this week – 20 months after he was suspended. Van Zyl was axed by an internal disciplinary panel on Monday after being found guilty on […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Thursday 12.00noon. A BATTLE royal awaits Sundowns on Sunday when they take on Bush Bucks at home in Umtata, on an Independence Stadium pitch which at the best of times is almost unplayable. The Brazilians will be weakened up front as their star striker Raphael Chukwu will not be playing in […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Wednesday 4.30pm. THE mini-league phase of the African Champions League reaches a climax this weekend with four clubs chasing places in the two-leg final. Hearts of Oak from Ghana must win by at least two goals away to Dynamos of Zimbabwe in Group A to prevent the Harare club becoming the […]

ROB DAVIES, Johannesburg | Wednesday 10.10am. STATISTICS on the incidence of serious crime for the period between January and June 1998 released by the South African Police Service’s Crime Information Management Centre in Parliament on Tuesday shows that violent crime has increased in South Africa, with farm attacks in particular shooting through the roof. Attacks […]

SIZWE samaYENDE, Messina | Wednesday 1.30pm. Northern Province farmers and police are set to defend themselves on charges of systematic abuse of labourers in the province during a two-day Human Rights Commission hearing beginning in Messina’s Agricultural Hall on Wednesday. The hearings are a continuation of damning testimony from labourers heard before the commission in […]

MIKE METELITS, Johannesburg | Wednesday 11.20am. LOCAL markets opened stronger on Wednesday, as Asian exchanges registered strong gains and Nedbank cut prime lending rates. Other commercial banks are likely to follow suit, leading to higher liquidity in the marketplace. The all share joined in the general global cheer, picking up 48 points to 6007 at […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT and AFP, Harare | Wednesday 10.45pm. THE violence that erupted on the streets of the Zimbabwean capital Harare on Wednesday morning had subsided by the afternoon, although buses and minibus taxis satyed off the roads for fear of coming under attack by protesters boycotting public transport after fare increases. Wednesday’s rioting and boycott […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Wednesday 11.00am. THE Independent Broadcasting Authority on Tuesday hit out at newly-launched free-to-air television station, e.tv, accusing it of contravening up to seven of its licence conditions in its first seven days of broadcasting. According to the long-delayed IBA report, e.tv flouted its African language requirements, and failed to broadcast any […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Monday 6.00pm. AFTER a disastrous Currie Cup season, Louis Luyt’s Golden Lions Rugby Union have bought nearly half of the Free State side, it was reported on Monday. Flyhalf MJ Smith confirmed on Saturday night that he will be relocating to the Lion’s Johannesburg home, Ellis Park, Business Day reported. He […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Tuesday 1.00pm. OIL group Engen on Monday posted a 36,2% rise in headline earnings a share and a 4,4% rise in turnover to R13,1-billion for the year to August, Engen CE Rob Angel said on Monday. The rise in headline earnings brings Engen’s earnings per share to 312c, added to which […]

DUDUZILE NKOMO, Harare | Monday 11.00am. THE Zimbabwean fuel price has been increased by 67% with effect from Friday night, President Robert Mugabe’s government announced at the weekend. Leaded petrol now costs about US$0,28, from 17c per litre, while the price of diesel now costs 23c, an increase of nearly 68%. Additional increases are expected […]

OWN CORRESPONDENTS, Lubumbashi and Harare | Monday 10.30pm. ZIMBABWE and the Democratic Republic of Congo on Sunday signed a technical, scientific and co-operation agreement that is expected to pave the way for economic and trade relations between the two countries. Zimbabwe’s foreign minister, Stan Mudenge, and his Congolese counterpart, Victor Mpoyo, signed the accord at […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Monday 10.10pm. DIAMOND conglomerate De Beers may be considering offering rival diamond producer Russia a loan to help the financially stricken government, officials at Russia’s State Treasury said on Monday. De Beers chairman Nicholas Oppenheimer is due to visit the Russian capital Moscow this week, and is scheduled to meet Prime […]

SARAH BULLEN, Johannesburg | Monday 5.30pm. LOCAL markets had a strong day across the board on Monday, bouncing off stronger international markets that found touch with news of US support for an International Monetary Fund relief package. Dealers said the announcement that the United States Senate has passed an IMF plan to assist ailing economies […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT and AFP, Dhaka | Monday 1.00am. SOUTH Africa’s cricket side continued its good run of form in Dhaka in Sunday, beating the West Indies to claim the Wills International Cup. South Africa finished at 248 for six in 47 overs, led by captain Hansie Cronje’s 61 and his astute leadership. The South Africans […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT and AFP, Johannesburg | Monday 7.00pm. WINNIE Madikizela-Mandela, former wife of President Nelson Mandela, was on Monday nominated as a parliamentary candidate for the African National Congress. This emerged on Monday when the ANC released a list of Gauteng nominees for the 1999 general election. Madikizela-Mandela — who last week hit the headlines […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Pretoria | Monday 7.00pm. RUTH First had turned away from active involvement in the African National Congress to concentrate on her academic career at a university in Maputo in Mozambique some time before she was killed by a letter bomb sent by the apartheid security forces, Transport Minister Mac Maharaj said on Monday. […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Monday 1.00am. VAAL Professionals earned three valuable log points when they beat Moroka Swallows 1-0 in a Castle Premier League soccer match at Iscor Stadium in Sebokeng on Sunday. The was not exciting by any stretch of the imamgination, but it was tough and physical enough to see the first half […]