Staff Reporter

THEATRE: Andrew Wilson IN Samuel Beckett’s Endgame, currently on at the Market Theatre, the main character cries “Use your head! You’re on earth! There’s no cure for that!” No cure for language either, because as relentlessly as Beckett sought to strip life down to its most minimal, sub-atomic essence, he challenged the rigid parameters and […]

John Arlidge in Edinburgh THE pioneering British scientist who created the first clone of an adult animal – a lamb named Dolly, created from a sheep – admitted this week that the technique could be applied to humans. Dr Ian Wilmut said a human embryo, produced using the same methods, could be used to treat […]

staff Rehana Rossouw IN an attempt to build a case against two outspoken soldiers in his command, a colonel in the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) made use of a classified Military Intelligence (MI) document, a court-martial in the Western Cape has revealed. Staff Sergeant Herman Pheiffer and Corporal Dawid Booysen, both based at […]

Madeleine Wackernagel Jilted your partner recently? Upset your neighbour? And not declared your earnings? Be warned, the taxman cometh. With the amnesty out of the way on February 28, the Receiver of Revenue can now follow up on tip-offs from ex-wives, vengeful lovers and angry associates. Until now, the Receiver has been powerless to act […]

IT smacks of a cheap jibe to describe Zimbabwe this week as a “banana republic”. But, however feeble a pun it might be on the name of Canaan Banana, the scandal which broke around the head of the former president further justifies that characterisation of our northern neighbour. The story of the rape of Inspector […]

The submission to the truth commission by Independent Newspapers is a litany of failure, argues Anton Harber INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPERS has conceded that the company has much to be embarrassed about in its history. In its report to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, written by ex- editor John Patten, the country’s largest newspaper group writes that […]

Charl Blignaut THE Greater Johannesburg Central Library is about to spread its wings and enter the technological era in a big way. In a breakthrough for the city’s educational resources, this weekend sees the launch of a spanking new Multimedia Library that will steadily be building up audiovisual material until such time as organisations and […]

Prophets of doom have been predicting Australian dominance in the Test series, but South Africa can boast a combination of experienced campaigners and exciting new talent CRICKET: Jon Swift IT is astounding that the gloom and doom merchants are already predicting an Australian dominance of the Test series which gets under way at the Wanderers […]

Jacquie Golding-Duffy SEVERAL members of the government’s communications task group, Comtask, have accused the Cabinet of endorsing a “stage- managed operation” to ensure the survival of the old-guard South African Communications Service (Sacs). Deputy President Thabo Mbeki, who established Comtask last year to investigate the government’s relationship with the media, last week rejected its recommendation […]

He was the target of the boo brigade when he played in the under-23 team, now George Koumantarakis is the top scorer in the Premiership SOCCER: Andrew Muchineripi THERE was more than a touch of irony surrounding the fact that Milpark Stadium was the setting last weekend for one of the finest goals scored by […]

The two sides of Zaire’s civil war have agreed tentatively to talk for the first time, reports Chris McGreal ZAIRE’S rebel leader, Laurent Kabila, says direct negotiations with the government could soon be possible following his meeting with President Nelson Mandela this week. But Kabila ruled out an early ceasefire in the five-month civil war […]

SOUTH AFRICA’S second annual Adult Learner’s Week will be celebrated from March 3 to 9, run by the National Literacy Co-operation (NLC). The NLC views Adult Basic Education and Training (ABET) as a fundamental right of all our citizens, though only 1% of the country’s R32-billion education budget is spent on ABET. On February 20, […]

an early start Mail & Guardian Reporters MANY people were surprised when Carel du Plessis was appointed the new Springbok coach this week. With little previous coaching experience and the British Lions tour looming, Du Plessis has been thrown in at the deep end after the sudden departure of the disgraced Andre Markgraaf. The new […]

Initially banned, the movie Kids finally opens in South Africa this Friday. Our critics offer their views on the film’s bold director and its young star Charl Blignaut SUNDAY night and Sandton Cinema 8 is packed. The tall, thin film-maker stands up front, having been called up to introduce his movie, apparently uneasy in front […]

Peta Thornycroft RADIO station SAfm’s embattled manager Charlene Smith has been told by SABC radio head Govin Reddy to resign on grounds of ill health. Reddy told Smith on February 13 that he would pay her to the end of the month if she resigned “gracefully but immediately”. Smith, hired by SAfm only five months […]

In cutting university subsidies in the current manner, the ANC is reneging on its election promises, argues University of Natal philosophy professor Daniel Herwitz As an American academic recently arrived from California, I wish to speak out decisively against the funding formula put in place by the Ministry of Education this year. In the name […]

Caitlin Davies in Maun IN what appears to be an effort by the Botswana government to create more rangeland for cattle in northern Botswana, thousands of buffalo are being herded south into the Okavango Delta to make way for a massive cattle stocking exercise, following last year’s slaughter by the government of 250 000 cattle […]

Gustav Thiel A RESEARCH group established in Cape Town to scientifically research remedies used by traditional healers in malaria and tuberculosis has already had encouraging results. But, in the wake of the recent controversy about the Aids treatment Virodene, researchers are wary about drawing premature conclusions. Tramed, a joint effort of the Medical Research Council […]

Mail & Guardian Reporter IT is the end of the road for acid-burn victim Bernadette Gibson following the Appellate Division’s decision last week to spike her petition to appeal a R131000 damages award. Gibson suffered acid burns to her vagina and lower back at the hands of a negligent gynaecologist. But instead of walking away […]

Jim Day AIDS activists say Health Minister Nkosazana Zuma betrayed them with her ill- considered and premature support for the so-called wonder drug Virodene. Reacting to the report this week by the University of Pretoria and Gauteng Health Department, they say the minister’s failure to fully investigate Virodene before giving it her full public support […]

With police abusing their sick leave to score additional days off, many stations have been left ill-equipped to combat crime, reports Angella Johnson THE South African Police Service (SAPS) is planning a crackdown on widespread abuse of the service’s generous sick leave benefits as part of the efficiency drive announced by national Commissioner George Fivaz. […]

David Bowie has introduced pop investment, but will others follow in his footsteps, asks Neil Spencer The days when David Bowie represented the cutting edge of modern pop may lie back in the Seventies, but the 50-year-old Bowie proved he’s still an innovative force in the business of music when he invented the pop star […]

MARIA McCLOY discusses fame with Molo Fish star David Meyer ‘I’m not very good at this, am I?” says Molo Fish’s David Meyer half-way through our interview. After three years as a TV presenter, five months on the series set as young Daryl Malgas and three episodes, he’s shocked that people in the street want […]

Mungo Soggot reports on the justice minister’s attitude towards a gun-free South Africa JUSTICE Minister Dullah Omar says South Africans should be allowed to keep their guns until the country has a decent criminal justice system. Omar, who this week also warned against South Africa’s descent into vigilantism, said a gun-free country remained government’s long-term […]

Jane Rosenthal AL DIE WINDRIGTINGS VAN MY WERELD by Rachelle Greeff (Queillerie, R49,99) EK STAMEL EK STERWE by Eben Venter (Queillerie, R49,99) FOR a glimpse of where we are at in the Nineties in the new South Africa, one could do worse than turn to novelists. Two new post-liberation novels, which are already selling well, […]

Peta Thornycroft THE Transvaal attorney general’s office is putting the finishing touches to the case against several police generals who will be arrested and charged in the middle of next month. General “Krappies” Engelbrecht is finally going to be brought to court three years after he was forced to leave the police service, following Judge […]

Suzy Bell A young black child strokes the lilac long nails of “Aurora the Raver”, marvelling at the sight of a flamboyant marionette on exhibition. With purple spiral curls, rainbow coloured eyelashes, bellybutton and nose resplendent with shiny silver rings, it’s no wonder Winnie Mandela (marionette) couldn’t quite compete. In this joint exhibition of KwaZulu-Natal […]

Amid uproar at South Africa’s universities, evidence of state manipulation emerges Ann Eveleth MINUTES of a secret meeting allegedly between Education Minister Sibusiso Bengu, University of Durban-Westville (UDW)council members and high-flying Durban attorney Linda Zama suggest a clear political agenda lies behind an ongoing probe into campus conflict. Attorneys acting for UDW’s Combined Staff Association […]

THE government’s decision to ignore a recommendation by its own task team that the South African Communications Service (Sacs) be shut down has wider implications than the waste of taxpayers’ money. The move gives rise for concern about what could be in store for South Africa under a Thabo Mbeki presidency. The case for the […]

Nineties 1991 World Cup quarter-final: October 19, Parc des Princes France 10 England 19 England were on France’s patch. The atmosphere was highly charged. “It was the most ferocious, brutal match I have played in,” wrote England hooker Brian Moore. “It was the reason I play the game. It was the ultimate feeling of being […]

A silicosis victim’s opponent has asked the court to pay him compensation, reports Rehana Rossouw A DYING man’s five-year fight for compensation ended in Cape Town this week after his opponent stood up in court to deliberately testify in his favour. Western Cape Department of Labour director Brian Williams turned a routine Workmen’s Compensation Commission […]

Although the high crime rate was the worst feature of the Olympic evaluation commission’s report, Cape Town still has a good chance of making the final five, writes Julian Drew THERE were no real surprises when the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) evaluation commission released it’s report in Lausanne last Thursday on the 11 candidate cities […]