OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Tuesday 6.00PM. THE justice sytstem fails the majority of South African people, Justice Minister Dullah Omar said on Tuesday, explaining why he supports the concept of community courts. Addressing a seminar in Johannesburg on alternative justice systems, Omar said: “The current justice system does not provide everyone with access to justice […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Cape Town | Tuesday 7.30PM. THE South African Rugby Football Union on Tuesday amended its constitution, despite fervent appeals to the contrary by former Sarfu president Louis Luyt. Luyt called the changes unconstitutional, and said that some of the executive mebers do not have the right to vote. In spite of Luyt’s protestations […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Tuesday 12.45PM. THE four youths who murdered American exhange student Amy Biehl in 1993 have been granted amnesty in a unanimous decision by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s amnesty committee. Pan Africanist Congress supporters Vusumzi Ntamo, Ntobeko Peni, Easy Mzikhona Nofemela and Mongezi Manqina, who were all aged between 18 and […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Monday 9.00PM. GAUTENG housing department head Mogopodi Mokoena, reacting to calls by the National and Democratic parties to a probe into the into the awarding of a R412,5 million subsidised housing project, said that the proper procedures were followed in giving the project to a developer with links to the Provincial […]
LEONARD NDZHUKULA, Ermelo | Monday, 6.00PM INKATHA Freedom Party lawyers on Monday demanded the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s amnesty committee chairman, who is presiding over the Ermelo hearings, resign immediately on charges of bias. Advocate Johan Hattingh, who is leading the IFP’s legal council, told the committee that his clients had ordered him to demand […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Cape Town | Monday 7.30PM. DR Niel Barnard, provincial director of the Western Cape, instructed his attorneys on Monday to serve a summons for libel against African National Congress provincial leader Ebrahim Rasool. Last Thursday, Rasool alleged that Barnard was involved in casino allocation bribery. He withdrew the allegations on Friday, but Barnard […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Monday 11.00AM. FORMER Lonrho head and owner of The Observer, Tiny Rowland, died in a London hospital early on Friday, aged 80, from skin cancer. A renowned maverick and brilliant businessman, Rowland has in recent years been notable for his criticisms of the way his former Lonrho empire has been run, […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Swakopmund | Monday, 9.30PM NAMIBIAN President Sam Nujoma on Sunday night called on Southern African leaders to cultivate smart partnerships crucial for the region’s economic development. Nujoma was speaking at a banquet for Southern African Development Community heads of state who are attending the second three-day Southern African International Dialogue (Said) in the […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Monday 4.45PM. FORMER Nigerian senator Polycarp Nwite — jailed last year by the late military ruler General Sani Abacha — was released on Monday. Nwite’s release comes after a general amnesty was granted to political detainees by the new ruler, General Abdulsalam Abubakar, last week. Nwite, who sat as chairman of […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Dakar | Monday 8.30PM. GOVERNMENT and rebel soldiers in Guinea-Bissau on Monday signed an accord aboard a Portuguese warship anchored in the port of Bissau to observe an immediate ceasefire. The ceasefire agreement is the result of mediation by six fellow Portuguese-speaking countries. The accord calls for formal negotiations to start within eight […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Monday 5.40PM. FORMER English skipper Mike Atherton hit 98 unbeaten runs to take England to an eight wicket victory against South Africa on the final day of the fourth Test at Trent Bridge. Midaway through the afternoon session Atherton hit the winning runs off Shaun Pollock to level the series at […]
ROB DAVIES reports | Sunday, 1.00PM THE Springbok rugby side on Saturday succeeded in breaking a 17-year drought when they beat the New Zealand All Blacks 13-3 at Athletic Park in Wellington. It was the first time since the 1981 Boks of Wynand Claasen that a South African side managed to beat the All Blacks […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Johannesburg | Monday 7.30PM. THE trial of Brigadier Jack Cronje and Captain Jacques Hechter was provisionally removed from the roll of the Pretoria High Court pending the outcome of an amnesty application before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The former security policemen are part of a group of five who gave evidence before […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Cape Town | Sunday. 1.00PM. THE 1998 Currie Cup season seems intent on producing upsets and surprises with every match, and even relatively small sides are staking their claim to the trophy. The Golden Lions’ competition woes continue after they were beaten 19-17 by the MTN Falcons at the Bosman stadium in Brakpan […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Harare | Friday, noon A NEW publishing consortium, including Independent Newspapers, plans to launch various titles in Zimbabwe to compete with the parastatal Newspaper Group and Zimbabwe Newspapers. Weekly local papers are planned for all major cities, as is the resurrection of the Daily News, banned in 1964 by Ian Smith’s white government. […]
Advocates rarely make sensational statements out of court, the Bar being a profession which prides itself on discretion and aloofness. So it was not an impulsive decision on the part of the General Council of the Bar to hit out last week at the appointment of South Africa’s first “super attorney general”, Bulelani Ngcuka. Ngcuka’s […]
Nick Varley CD of the week Way back, when The Smiths were emerging as the greatest English talent of the Eighties, they took another Manchester indie band out as support on tour. Now, 13 years later, all those who have come across James in a subsequent incarnation – from much-lauded indie kids to derided, alleged […]
For the new ANC chair in KwaZulu-Natal, peace is a priority, writes Swapna Prabhakaran The newly elected African National Congress chair in KwaZulu-Natal has vowed that next year’s elections will happen on non-violent terms – or not at all. S’bu Ndebele, who took over the reins from outgoing provincial party chair Jacob Zuma this week, […]
Tangeni Amupadhi Armed robbers have gone cerebral. Second-hand bookshops are the latest targets for an enterprising criminal duo who have hit at least six outlets in the past six weeks. The smartly dressed men, armed with their own “closed for business” sign, have made off with an undisclosed amount of money and left behind few […]
The English Academy of South Africa is inviting entries for the FNB Vita/English Academy Poetry Prize for a Translation into English. Among the conditions is that the translation be no longer than 50 lines and be written in the last three years. The closing date is September 30, and entries should be sent to the […]
David Beresford It was j’accuse flavoured with a dash of mea culpa when Adriaan Vlok this week appeared before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to explain how he contributed to “law and order” by blowing up office blocks and cinemas. Vlok, who was minister of law and order between 1986 and 1994 – the most […]
Paul Martin in London Golf `Justin Rose is Bloomen Brilliant,” read the hand-written (and misspelled) banner unveiled by 10 English schoolgirls on the sixth tee at the British Open last Sunday. It’s testimony to the way Britain has taken this 17-year-old golfing phenomenon to their hearts. It wasn’t just the astounding closeness to glory achieved […]
Is Donovan Nel, a spy accused of threatening to blow up the president, a blackmailer or the victim of an elaborate conspiracy? Mungo Soggot and David Beresford report A bizarre story about a senior intelligence analyst who allegedly threatened to blow up President Nelson Mandela in an attempt to extort R10- million from the state […]
Tamar Mason Right to Reply Visualise the following scenario: bored and out-of-scandal journalist sits at an airport and notices the only eye- catching tail design on the tarmac. He takes a closer look. Ah, an unusual sounding name. Further investigation reveals that the artist is none other than a San woman. Immediate conclusion: she’s been […]
Mail & Guardian reporter The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has come a teeny bit closer to determining which date it should set for South Africa’s second democratic elections. It’s not firm yet – but the IEC said this week the Constitution provided for the National Assembly elections to be held within 90 days of the […]
controversy Twenty-four years have passed and Cyprus appears to be no closer to finding a solution to its problem. Tracy Spencer reports Annita Georgiou can remember the fragrance from the lemon trees which used to drift through her home town, Famagusta, when she was a child of seven. Today Georgiou is 31 and the lemon […]
Orange Farm – to build houses Evidence wa ka Ngobeni A four-roomed house was once an impossible dream for an unemployed single mother living in an Orange Farm shack. But this week Sinaila Shabani and her four children moved into their dream house – built by 22 volunteer Irish students and residents of the sprawling […]
Andy Capostagno Rugby It is something which the Americans realised early. If you’re going to play games regarded as little more than school-yard pastimes in other countries, best you instil a sense of tradition sooner rather than later. The Superbowl is all of 30 years old, yet it is spoken of with awe, to quote […]
millennial deal Alan Henry Grand Prix Michael Schumacher will become the richest Formula One driver of all time after signing a new contract which could net him almost 150-million by keeping him at Ferrari until the end of 2002. The 29-year-old German, who won the 1994 and 1995 world championships in a Benetton, earns about […]
Anthea Garman experienced the !Xoe Site Specific exhibition around Nieu Bethesda in the Karoo `Do you have a believable sense of place?” is the simple, cheeky, and only bit of written information about the first installation we stop to see outside Nieu Bethesda. This is artwork number five by Marco Cianfanelli and we’ve chosen to […]
Marianne Thamm There are those who are of the opinion that art is a sacred calling and that the artist, like the young Catholic nun or Buddhist monk, should relinquish the pursuit of material gain to meet the rigours and demands of the vocation. Alone and poverty-stricken (well, at least some of the time) in […]
Consider comfort as well as cost when you choose an airline, writes Belinda Beresford Legs all the way up to heaven may be considered desirable in some quarters, but they are a definite problem when it comes to flying. Cramped legroom ranks up there with the lousy food and disgusting toilets in economy class. Given […]