OWN CORRESPONDENT, | Friday 4.00pm. THE Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration has not brought about a reduction in labour disputes, nor is it operating at optimum efficiency, CCMA senior commissioner Sarah Christie said on Friday. Christie told a South African Labour Law Society conference in Stellenbosch that the CCMA’s success is frequently measured by […]
MIKE METELITS, Johannesburg | Friday 6.00pm. WITH the Dow losing its early momentum to lose 74 points, the FTSE-100 down 100 and the DAX off 260 points, pressures on SA markets remained high Friday. A few Asian markets were closed due to China’s National Day and the Nikkei managed a small gain of 26 points […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Hoedspruit | Sunday 11.00pm. A STUDY of bovine tuberculosis has begun in the Kruger National Park, KNP director David Mabunda announced on Sunday. The survey aims to find out more about the disease, its geographic spread through the park and the risk to animals. Buffalo are the carriers of BTB and other animals […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Kisangani | Sunday 9.00pm. THE rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo have announced that they have entered the strategic town of Kindu, the forward headquarters for troops supporting Presdient Laurent Kabila, after launching an attack on Sunday. A rebel spokesperson said: “Our forces have been fighting inside the town since 11.00am and […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Maseru | Sunday 10.00pm. RIVAL Lesotho political parties were are preparing for a fierce debate on Monday on whether or not Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili’s government should continue to rule the kingdom until new elections in 15 to 18 months’ time. The debate will take place at continuing Southern African Development Community-led talks […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Friday 7.15pm. POLICE commissioner Suiker Brits confirmed on Friday that Colin Chauke, one of South Africa’s most wanted criminals who allegedly masterminded several multi-million rand cash-in-transit heists, is not among the nine suspects arrested in connection with a heist in Namibia this week. Reports on Thursday claimed that Chauke was among […]
Robert Kirby: Loose cannon Like many of my fellow citizens, I am now sleeping much more comfortably at night. After South Africa’s much maligned defence force so commendably and so swiftly trounced one of the poorest, most fragile countries on the African continent, I find instilled in me a feeling of enraptured patriotic self-esteem. Not […]
A group of leaders are exploiting a lull in the fighting in Central Africa to broker a peace agreement, reports Howard Barrell African leaders have been involved in a series of hush-hush meetings and manoeuvres over the past fortnight aimed at giving fresh impetus to the search for a comprehensive agreement to end the continent’s […]
Ben Laurance Share World It was Lewis Carroll’s Humpty Dumpty who created the precedent. “When I use a word,” he said, “it means exactly what I want it to mean – neither more nor less.” Now, 127 years after Through the Looking Glass was published, Alice has come to Wall Street. A hedge fund – […]
cellphone What to do before and after your phone is stolen: l Turn on your phone and type *#06# – you will see your 15-digit IMEI number. Record it. l If your cellphone is stolen, phone your service provider to cancel the SIM card so the thief cannot dial out. Get a case number from […]
#Ferial Haffajee `I’ve got an aunty like that!” hooted a member of the audience at a recent Johannesburg performance of A Coloured Place, the side-splitting play that has brought its twentysomething writer/director Lueen Conning into the cultural limelight. Side-splitting, that is, until you think a little and then the reflection sets in. “It’s too close […]
politics Cameron Duodu: LETTER FROM THE NORTH The Democratic Republic of Congo has always aroused two contradictory emotions in me as an African: the ecstasy created in the soul by appreciation of some of the best music on the continent, and the fear and anger aroused in the mind by irrational, blood-spattered politics that resurfaces […]
LEONARD NDZHUKULA and SHARON HAMMOND, Nelspruit | Friday 10.00pm. THE leopard that attacked six Northern Province villagers in Huntington village near Hazyview on Wednesday was in a healthy condition, but had not eaten for four or five days before the attack, the state veterinarian at the Kruger National Park, Dr Dewald Keet, said on Friday. […]
invasion Swapna Prabhakaran Some political allies of the African National Congress have remained strangely silent in the wake of the destruction of Maseru that resulted from South Africa’s military intervention in Lesotho last week. While the ANC’s highest organs have supported the intervention, its alliance partners appeared unable to draft a quick response. Human rights […]
A pioneering operation has given new hope to accident victims, writes Sarah Boseley The world’s first arm transplant has been carried out by a multinational team, giving hope to those who have lost limbs in accidents and disasters all over the world. Clint Hallam (48), a New Zealand-born businessman, woke up on the morning of […]
Phillip Kakaza If there is one African city that keeps abreast of the latest fashion trends, it is Johannesburg. And it’s not only clothes that count, but hairstyles too. The busy streets of Johannesburg have become catwalks. A stroll downtown or in Soweto is like a trip down a Parisian boulevard, with clothes and hairdos […]
Samuel L Jackson has played some seedy lowlifes in his time, yet we love him. It’s the drawling charm, the cool … But don’t be fooled: this is a man who kicked a 20-year drug habit to vie with Hollywood’s aristos. And he’s not done yet, writes Jim Shelley Now that his name has started […]
Friday night Nathan Zeno There is no Saturday night in Cape Town – or rather Saturday night is for losers. Let me qualify that. If you know anything about this town, you’ll be in bed recovering on Saturday night. There is enough on any given Friday night to exhaust you and if not there’s always […]
Howard Barrell Over a Barrel When good intentions land you belt- high in excrement with nothing firm underfoot, it is probably best to delay wondering what persuaded you to walk into it. Self-flaggelation can come later. Now is the time to plan a way out – so that you emerge as dry as possible, preferably […]
Shaun de Waal THE NOVEL: LANGUAGE AND NARRATIVE FROM CERVANTES TO CALVINO by Andre Brink (UCT Press) Anthony Burgess warns us against anyone who inserts an apostrophe into the title of Finnegans Wake, so it is a bit worrying that this apparent lacuna gets filled no fewer than three times on a single page of […]
Dan Jellinek Have you ever stayed up all night on the Internet? Do you live to go online? Is your partner threatening divorce? Internet addiction affects around one in 10 regular Internet users, reports what is claimed to be one of the most extensive reviews of the field. The paper, by Janet Morahan-Martin, psychology professor […]
under way Matthew Krouse There were many more brides than usual at the gay pride march this year. As the procession wound its way through Berea, five young men in white satin gowns were spotted reclining on the steps of a synagogue. Their faces masked by veils, they chatted while nursing tired feet that had […]
English is globally dominant. But it is not always the Queen’s English, reports Anthea Garman A German businessman visits the Middle East and meets an Arab woman. He speaks no Arabic, she speaks no German, so they conduct their relationship in English. Eventually they have a child. This child is raised speaking second language English […]
Cheryl Carolus looked set for a high post in the ANC government; instead she opted to be South Africa’s first female high commissioner in London, writes Liz McGregor Cheryl Carolus is not your average diplomat. She travels by tube, wears mini-skirts and parties into the small hours. She has strong opinions about her host country […]
The Congolese war is rehabilitating previously unpopular heads of state, while muddying the reputations of the popular and virtuous, writes Gregory Mthembu-Salter War in the Democratic Republic of Congo is having curious consequences. There are the unholy alliances, like Congolese President Laurent-Desir Kabila’s courting of the same Rwandan Hutu interahamwe militia that his troops helped […]
Angella Johnson: VIEW FROM A BROAD I had always considered exercise to be way overrated. Not for me the panting ache of pushing my body to the maximum, or the orgasmic high of an endorphin rush. At least that was before I bought into South Africans’ fitness obsession and started working out like a lunatic. […]
Remember Pop Shop: “Put your feet on the ground and reach for the stars”? What some poor monkeys like myself didn’t realise while flailing our arms at the heavens was that the Pop Shop galaxy was a ridiculously limited one. Beyond stars like Duran Duran and the Pet Shop Boys was a multitude of other […]
Evidence wa ka Ngobeni Black students at Rand Afrikaans University (RAU) in Johannesburg are being subjected to vicious assaults and humiliating harassment by white students. Black students also say some “no go” areas for them at the university include white residences at the university. A document handed to black students early this year by university […]
Chris Barrie The transformation of the television set from humble programme provider to multi- purpose information hub has continued with the announcement that the box will soon be able to make and receive your telephone calls. As if 200 channels of programming combined with interactive services such as shopping and gambling were not enough, development […]
Ferial Haffajee The chiefs in fatigues from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) jetted into Luanda this week to talk war. They could send soldiers to provide military assistance in Angola as the SADC did in the Democratic Republic of Congo last month and in Lesotho last week. The SADC’s new role is a triumph […]
handouts Jacqui Boulle Since 1994 there has been much talk about developmental social welfare and the need to move away from grants and handouts to more sustainable programmes. While this approach – which underpins the Department of Welfare’s campaign during welfare month – has had some success, its impact is limited: nearly half the poor […]
Phillip Kakaza Diva shouts, harmonic sounds and thunderous rhythms swept through the remote village of Taung during the North West Cultural Calabash Festival last week. The high-pitched voices of the undisputed queen of gospel Rebecca Malope and her backing group Pure Magic resonated from the Mmabana (mother of the children ) Cultural Centre where the […]