MONDAY, 11.30AM: SOUTH AFRICA’s under-23 squad went down 2-0 to their Australian counterparts in Canberra, Australia on Saturday, in the first of their two friendly international encounters. Coach Mich D’Avray said he was very impressed with the way his charges performed even though they lost. D’Avray and the squad are in Australia on a two-week […]
The plot to overthrow Mobutu Sese Seko originated not in the Congo but in Rwanda, before the campaign actually began. John Pomfret reports from Kigali, Rwanda RWANDA’S powerful Defence Minister Paul Kagame has acknowledged for the first time his country’s key role in the overthrow of Mobutu Sese Seko in the Democratic Republic of Congo, […]
FRIDAY, 3.00PM UNITED Nationa officials on Friday said Unita forces had attacked and occupied Angola’s north-east frontier post in Lunda Norte province, in contravention of the 1997 Lusaka ceasefire accord. Members of the United Nations Observer Mission (Monua) who travelled to the area said in a statement they found the post had been occupied by […]
FRIDAY, 1.30PM COSATU has hit back at Labour Minister Tito Mboweni for his threat to pull the employment Bill out of parliament if a business-labour agreement is not reached. Cosatu, the country’s major trade union alliance, says the withdrawal of the disputed Basic Conditions of Employment Bill “will reward business for its intransigence”. It will […]
David Macfarlane TRANSGRESSING BOUNDARIES: NEW DIRECTIONS IN THE STUDY OF CULTURE IN AFRICA edited by Brenda Cooper and Andrew Steyn (University of Cape Town Press, R74,94) THIS scintillating collection of essays derives from a conference organised in 1993 by the Centre for African Studies at the University of Cape Town. The “boundaries” of the title […]
This weekend ANC heavyweights visit Richmond to win support in the coming council by-elections. Wonder Hlongwa reports P0LICE and army forces will be on guard in Richmond, KwaZulu-Natal, this weekend when the African National Congress launches its campaign for local council by-elections. The elections should have been held in May, but were postponed because of […]
Authorities appear to be baffled by the rise of one of the scariest illnesses around, writes Ann Eveleth THE horrible death of a West Rand man from a sickness linked to the one which sparked Britain’s “mad cow disease” scare prompted a flurry of anxious denials this week from South African authorities. Ironically, the authorities’ […]
Hazel Friedman THE future is looking upbeat for local music as M-Net gets planning on its first pan- African satellite music channel. The as yet unnamed channel will be broadcast from the beginning of September for 24 hours a day. It joins an already substantial international bouquet which includes Carlton Network, BET on Jazz and […]
Young guns Ernie Els and Tiger Woodswill be battling each other, but the tough Royal Troon course might be the winner in the British Open GOLF: Andrew Spencer IT is nice to know that in a world dominated by the big buck and the superstars of the US PGA tour, a quietly deceptive layout on […]
A new industrial strategy shows Gauteng’s future lies in hi-tech industries, reports Charlene Smith GAUTENG has no hope of achieving the 6% growth target set out in the government’s growth, employment and redistribution (Gear) strategy if it continues on its present course, according to a study commissioned by the Gauteng Economics Department. The year-long study […]
FENCING:Julian Drew NEXT week the first-ever world championships in an Olympic sport to take place in South Africa will be held in Cape Town when the World Fencing Championships are staged at a newly constructed venue in Culemborg. Just weeks before the 2004 Olympic Games decision in Lausanne it is important for Cape Town that […]
champion TENNIS:Richard Williams THE means were predictable, the method was not. The Wimbledon final was certainly won, as advertised, by Pete Sampras’s serve but not, in this instance, by the 208km/h fireballs that had reduced his opponents to cinders in the earlier rounds. In a match falling some way short of greatness Sampras demonstrated his […]
FENCING:Julian Drew ALTHOUGH there will be more than 60 countries taking part in the Fencing World Championships in Cape Town next week, the medals are likely to be divided between only a few nations. The traditional fencing powers of France, Italy and Hungary, along with Russia – who have won more medals than any other […]
Wally Mbhele GENERAL Bantu Holomisa this week blasted the African National Congress’s “witch- hunt” of its Womens’ League leader, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, and its silence on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s investigation into her. His attack followed what seems to be an increasingly futile search by the commission for a key witness, Katiza Cebekhulu, who can […]
Ferial Haffajee `NOW my friends it is time for you to come to your friend in order to understand. The cattle have udders, come and milk them!” It is 1899, and around the reef which was to become Johannesburg touts put up notices like this one to entice black labourers on to the mines. At […]
FRIDAY, 8.00AM A SECURITY company manager in Harare opened fire on 200 employees on Thursday who were stoning the company’s offices, demanding 50% pay rises. He injured 18 workers. The workers burnt a dozen company motorbikes before police arrived to quell the riot and arrest the manager. THURSDAY, 4.00PM MORE than 11 000 Zimbabwean railway […]
Gwen Ansell on Steven Berkoff GRAHAMSTOWN adores Steven Berkoff (right). Even after he referred to their quaint town as a “dump”, festinos still packed the theatre and gave the man a gushing standing ovation. The media, echoing the festival programme, have proclaimed him this year’s emperor. Problem is, despite the mildewed tailcoat, the Hamletian black […]
… one giant leap for Earthlings, who are exploring Mars with interactive technology, write Mail & Guardian Reporters THE first stage of the invasion of Mars reached a climax on Sunday when a robot scout rolled its six little wheels down a ramp and parked itself on Martian soil. But the events of this week […]
Stand-up comedian John Vlismas is heading for the international stage. ALEXANDER SUDHEIM laughs along HE skids on to stage, a lunatic druid on bad speed. Collides with the microphone. Glares at the audience with gargoyle eyes; shaven head; undertaker’s suit. Weird beard; hideous raptor leer. Explodes into bursts of language like a runaway catherine wheel […]
CLASSICAL:Coenraad Visser WHILE the first season of the National Symphony Orchestra of the SABC was marked by some outstanding conductors, the second belonged to some magnificent soloists. Two of the world’s leading string players dazzled Johannesburg audiences. Cellist Torleif Thedeen, on his third visit to this country, gave a passionate account of Dvork’s masterly cello […]
THERE will be a seminar at the Market Theatre on July 8, where Cathy Robinson and Michael Ward of the Australian Film Commission will talk about the current industry structure and funding conditions in the country. Producers Tristram Miall and Pauline Clague, director Margot Nash and international market development manager Sabina Finnern will share their […]
FRIDAY, 4.30PM NAMIBIA’S president Sam Nujoma has faced widespread criticism in Windhoek for a television speech on Wednesday night which announced a ban on all public gatherings held without permission from the police. Nujoma made the announcement after several weeks of demonstrations around the country by former guerrillas who fought for Swapo during the war […]
Writer Timothy Garton Ash was a student and journalist in Berlin in the 1970s and 1980s. Recently he returned to the city to find the file kept on him by East Germany’s secret police. In this extract from his forthcoming book The File, he tells of finding the buff-coloured binder detailing his activities – and […]
ASMAL BACKS CEASEFIRE NATIONAL Conventional Arms Control Committee chair and Water Minister Kader Asmal has agreed with the Ceasefire Campaign that the SA armaments industry is overemphasising its contribution to the economy. Ceasefire representative Heike Spiegelberg said: “The income generated by arms exports last year was a mere R900-million, which still needs to be balanced […]
FRIDAY, 11.00AM STOCKBROKER Gerrit Steenkanmp, a former director of two broking firms, on Thursday pleaded guilty before a SA Institute of Stockbrokers disciplinary inquiry of fraud involving the misappropriation of R5-million in client funds between August 1994 and April this year. The institute expelled Steenkamp from its ranks and he may now face criminal and […]
THURSDAY, 6.00PM THE Producer Price Index fell to an annual 8,4% in May, 0,4 of a percentage point lower than the figure for April, the Central Statistical Servise said on Thursday. The PPI for locally produced commodities stood at 8,9%, 0,8 of a percentage point lower than the corresponding annualised rate in April. The PPI […]
FRIDAY, 10.30AM: MICHAEL CHEESMAN on Thursday increased his overall lead by 5 min 22 sec, in the second stage of the KWV Berg river marathon. Cheesman finished second and pre-race favourite Graham Bird won the second stage. Bird, who finished ninth in the first round on Wednesday, clocked in 3:08:51 to Cheeman’s 3:08:52. Donnie Malherbe […]
FRIDAY, 1.30PM EXPLOSIVES and chemicals giant AECI has been found causally negligent in relation to the huge fire at its Somerset West sulphur stockpile on December 16 1995. The Desai commission of inquiry into the fire published its report on Thursday, in which it noted that since the stockpile’s establishment in 1967 to the time […]
Whether or not he allows political reform in Kenya, Daniel arap Moi’s days as ruler are numbered, reports Ken Opala from Nairobi PRESIDENT Daniel arap Moi’s 20-year unbroken hold on power in Kenya is under siege, and probably in its terminal phase, following waves of public protests to reform the Constitution. The key demand is […]
The Cape Town 2004 Olympic Bid’s attempts to `Africanise’ its programme may be too little, too late, argues Julian Drew DEPUTY Foreign Affairs Minister Essop Pahad has shared a vital fact with Deputy President Thabo Mbeki, a fact that has so far eluded the bid company: the first known records of organised sport are from […]
The falling gold price has shattered the fortunes of the South African mining industry, and the lives of hundreds of thousands who depend on mining jobs for their survival Angella Johnson THE round metal Lesotho pot was boiling nicely. Makabelo Ntaote added more cow dung and wood to the fire. She used to have a […]
Top new local band Skeem last week severed their newly formed ties with Sony Music. MARIA McCLOY and CHARL BLIGNAUT find out why WAAR WAS JY? was one of the most popular tunes of the past year. It came off Skeem’s debut album; won them a 1997 South African Music Award and established them as […]