Dirk Hartford : Right to Reply The Mail & Guardian last week published suggestions that Yfm radio secured its licence through improper political intervention by Deputy President Thabo Mbeki (“A short leap to dictatorship”, March 27 to April 2). Let us state at the outset that Yfm never sought, nor are we aware of, any […]
A broadcasters’ bid. That’s what Midi believes won it the right to run South Africa’s new private television station. Other bids may have been stronger on business plans (Midi’s plans were criticised for changing after the closing date) and legal agreements (other bidders suggest that they still haven’t yet seen a watertight shareholders agreement from […]
Lizeka Mdacity limits To create room for visitors to her home, Noluthando Mrasi takes out a bucket filled with soiled diapers and a laundry basket. Then she pronounces the place ready. It isn’t really. You step in and then don’t know where to go, and step out again. Mrasi’s 3m-by-2m shack is home to her […]
Dror Eyal The dust is blowing in from the east. Sand clouds that whip the air, flay my skin, sting in my eyes. Dust in each breath I swallow, grit grating between teeth, sticking in my throat. Dust in my food, dust in my beer. Winds blowing up a storm in front of the main […]
Stefaans Brmmer Mininster of Safety and Security Sydney Mufamadi has shrugged off murder claims against Superintendent Lappies Labuschagne, the member of the police team investigating Robert McBride – but now Mufamadi faces civil action for the death of one of Labuschagne’s alleged victims. Mufamadi and police Deputy Commissioner Zolisa Lavisa have resisted calls for Labuschagne’s […]
FRIDAY, 6.00PM: SUSPECTED foreign buying drove up the all share and financial indices of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange to record highs in heavy trade on Thursday. As usual, the gold index flagged, dragged by the weaker gold price. At the close, the all gold index had dropped 19,9 points to 823,1. The industrial index rose […]
THURSDAY, 1.00PM: DETERMINED to have Springbok flyhalf Henry Honiball on the Coastal Sharks’ Super-12 team for their match with the New South Wales Waratahs, Sharks coach Ian Macintosh has held back from naming his reserves. Speaking from Sydney, Macintosh explained why he is hedging his bets — Honiball’s shoulders and neck are still hurting, but […]
THURSDAY, 11.30AM: THE Independent Broadcasting Authority is coming under fire for irregular actions in awarding the first free-to-air television licence to Midi TV. Losing consortiums and commentators in the broadcasting industry are alleging that the IBA bent the rules of the registration process to allow Midi to alter its business plan after registration. “The IBA […]
IN BRIEF BABY SMUGGLER PLEADS GUILTY A SOUTH African woman accused of accidentally smothering her baby to death while trying to smuggle her into the United States will plead guilty to charges of alien smuggling, her defence attorney Dan Oliverio said on Thursday. Galiema Begg agreed to plead guilty in the hope of getting a […]
WEDNESDAY, 2.30PM: THE opening match of the Cosafa Cup mini-league competition between defending champions Zambia and Mozambique has been postponed for a month, organisers announced on Wednesday. The match has been rescheduled from April 11 to May 16 at the Independence Stadium in Lusaka, due to domestic cup commitments in Zambia. The match between Zimbabwe […]
IN BRIEF MASIRE STEPS DOWN BOTSWANA’S outgoing President Sir Ketumile Masire stepped down on Tuesday, after 18 years in office. He is succeeded by his vice-president Festus Mogae. Masire’s last official duty involved meeting American President Bill Clinton on Tuesday night before Clinton left for Senegal on the final leg of his six-nation African tour. […]
MONDAY, 5.30PM: SOUTH African cricket captain Hansie Cronje blitzed his way to the second-fastest 50 in Test cricket history, facing only 31 deliveries, to steer South Africa to a sensational six-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the second cricket Test at Centurion Park on Monday. Cronje needed only 14 scoring shots to reach his half […]
TUESDAY, 12.45PM: RAPIDLY growing Internet service provider M-Web made its debut on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange on Monday, with shares rising from R22 to R26 over the day’s trade. M-Web shares are listed jointly with its holding company MIH Holdings, with a plan for M-Web shares to be spun off at a later stage. Shareholders […]
TUESDAY, 11.30AM: SOUTH African rising surfing star Greg Emslie moved to the top of the ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS) rankings after an impressive fifth-place finish in the Mark Richards Newcastle City PRO in Australia at the weekend. Emslie narrowly missed the final when he placed third in the semifinal behind Brazil’s Peterson Rosa and […]
TUESDAY 5.30PM: THE government will save R91-million a year when four divisions of the Department of Transport are commercialised this year, Transport Minister Mac Maharaj said on Tuesday. In a commercialisation drive that is due to start this week, three chief directorates will be repositioned as independent agencies under newly formed bodies: the South African […]
MONDAY, 12.00NOON: UNITED States President Bill Clinton has called for more private investment in Africa and will ask the US Congress to raise development assistance to historically high levels, he said before leaving Johannesburg for Botswana on Sunday. He also promised to ask for $1,6-billion in debt relief for Africa from the US Congress and […]
MONDAY, 12.30PM: FIVE consortiums have submitted binding bids for 100% of Aventura Resorts, the state-owned resorts company. The bidders are Kopano ke Matla (the investment trust of the Congress of South African Trade Unions), Phalafala Leisure Consortium, Sanco Consortium, Boiketlong Consortium and Shomang Investment Holdings. The winner is expected to be announced soon after April […]
MONDAY, 12.30PM: THE Springbok sevens rugby squad reached the final four of the Hong Kong Sevens tournament, but lost heavily to Western Samoa on trying to reach the finals. The Boks were trampled 45-7 in a one-sided game, which the strong and mobile Islanders dominated from the start. The South Africans reached the semi-finals after […]
MONDAY, 11.30AM: THE National Sports Council on Saturday gave the controversial South African Rugby Football Union’s executive an ultimatum to resign within a fortnight or lose the Springbok badge and face international sports sanctions. NSC president Mluleki George, himself a rugby official, called on the Sarfu executive, including controversial rugby boss Louis Luyt, to resign […]
IN BRIEF 21 DIE IN SOMALI FIGHTING AT least least 21 people were killed and 29 injured when heavy fighting broke out between clans in the southern Somali port town of Kismayo on Monday. The fighting is reported to have died down, but the town, 500km south of the capital Mogadishu, remains tense. The renewed […]
MONDAY, 12.00PM: A DEVELOPMENT fund for Southern Africa has been mooted by officials of the Southern African Development Community. The proposal was made during a recent meeting of SADC’s finance and investment sector, which is led by South Africa’s Finance Department. There is a strong possibility that the World Bank will contribute to the proposed […]
MONDAY, 5.00PM: MPUMALANGA Premier Matthews Phosa on Sunday said that many of Mozambique’s ecomomic troubles are the direct result of the former South African government’s destabilisation policies, and that South Africa has a moral obligation to compensate Mozambique for the gap between the two countries’ economies. African Eye News Service reports that Phosa stressed, however, […]
FRIDAY, 1.15PM: THE Central Energy Fund is considering streamlining its operation by ridding itself of non-core interests and establishing itself as an integrated energy company, to be listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. According to proposals made at a CEF bosberaad, the state will retain a 50% to 60% controlling interest in the listed company, […]
Martin Scorsese’s film Kundun is one of several new Hollywood movies on Tibet, writes Ed Douglas Long ago, in a land far, far away, a gentle people who believed in the spiritual force that joins us with everything else in the universe was overrun by an evil empire that believed in nothing beyond the material […]
Babak Dehghanpisheh An Egyptianwriter who converted from Islam to Christianity and is resident in South Africa has come under fire from Muslims and is now under police protection. Known only as Mustafa, the name under which he writes, he is a scholar who fled persecution in Egypt -where conversion is illegal – making an incredible […]
Dan Wylie, academic, poet and the Mail &Guardian’s chief poetry critic, has been awarded the 1998 Ingrid Jonker Prize for his debut collection of poems, The Road Out. The prize is awarded by fellow-poets and carries a purse of R1 000, to be handed over at the Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees in Oudtshoorn on April […]
Ferial Haffajee You’ve always wanted a Landie? Virgin Atlantic gave away four Land Rovers each to more than 62 000 magazine lovers in a recent promotion. Well, OK, they’re one-dimensional and won’t take you very far, but the gimmick is clever and hey, a girl can dream! Net#Work, a medium sized ad agency, conceived this […]
Gavin Evans Boxing The idea of girding his ancient loins to beat up over-hyped young Englishmen is one that has long given pleasure to Benoni’s toughest, wiliest and prettiest granddad. The 42-year-old Thulane “Sugarboy” Malinga (he finds no offence in the boy bit) is seen as a bit of a fluke on this island, despite […]
Brenda AtkinsonOn show in Johannesburg If the word “sculpture” makes you think of bronze, discreet formal objects and Platonic Ideals, and if the words “British sculpture” send you scrambling for your Jeff Koons catalogue, take a deep breath, lock your car doors, and head off to the Johannesburg Art Gallery. A Changed World – an […]
Andy Capostagno: Rugby I am reminded of the story of the man who made his own wine. When the vintage had been trampled and bottled he threw a dinner party for the chosen few to sample his pride and joy. After a few sips his oldest and dearest friend said, “So you grew the elderberries […]
Chris Roper: CD of the week From the first smoky bars of the opening track, On Green Dolphin Street by the Dave Lithins Trio, you’re transported back to the freezing cold alleys, muggy venues and inexpressible intensity of the Grahamstown Arts Festival. A reminder of that peculiar evocative quality jazz has of perfectly encapsulating moments, […]
Felicity Wood Censorship is alive and well in the Eastern Cape, as Hogsback artist Elaine Matthews recently discovered when she submitted her painting, The Sacred Marriage, to an exhibition in the Cuyler Street Gallery in Port Elizabeth. The painting features an angel and a woman making love in a field of flowers. Matthews states that […]