Staff Reporter

Charl Blignaut THE Minister of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology, Lionel Mtshali, this= we ek finally announced the list of who will be serving on the most powerful a= rts body yet established in post-apartheid South Africa, the National Arts Cou= nci l (NAC). But, while general reaction to the list has been favourable, there= […]

What is reconciliation? Who does it benefit?Antjie Krog probes differing views on the concept THERE was Tom and there was John. Tom lived opposite John. One day, Tom stole John’s bicycle and every day John saw Tom cycling to school on his bicycle. A year later, Tom walked up to John. He stretched out his […]

Caitlin Davies in Maun GOOD rains in Namibia recently have delayed plans to pipe water from the Okavango River down to Windhoek – siphoning it off before it ever reaches the unique Okavango Delta in northern Botswana – but as far as Botswana is concerned, the controversy is not over yet. Though everyone agrees the […]

The ‘spy’ alleged to have known about Chris Hani’s assassination spoke to the M&G this week, reports Stefaans Brmmer MOHAMMED AMIN LAHER, whom the Mail & Guardian identified as the mystery “double agent” who had advance knowledge of Chris Hani’s assassination, this week claimed the death plot had been “a conspiracy on both sides of […]

An NGO which has been involved in drafting a code of ethics for the sector is in the spotlight for other reasons, reports Rehana Rossouw A PRIME mover behind the creation of a code of ethics for non-governmental organisations (NGOs) is involved in a bitter dispute with a former employee, which has dragged his organisation […]

We cannot afford to react to the market clamour by lifting exchange controls too quickly, writes Madeleine Wackernagel WITH the recent strengthening of the rand, the issue of lifting exchange controls is once again on the table. Every time the market rumours gain volume, the Reserve Bank rapidly quashes them; this time was no different. […]

Madeleine Wackernagel AFTER the sharp deterioration in October/November, the business confidence ind ex for December/January showed a recovery of one percentage point. The reason, says the South African Chamber of Business (Sacob), which compiles the index, is partly a turnaround in sentiment, thanks to the stronger rand, the prospect of a cut in interest rates, […]

MARIA McCLOY talks to Skeem, a bright new South African group who are mixin= g s tyles and doing their own musical thing SKEEM broke on to the local music scene in September last year with the rel= eas e of their song Waar Was Jy? In terms of both lyrics and style they were […]

Jim Day DOCTOR Eva Ngwenya-Seobi points to the tiny male genitals, the little feet and the thumb inserted contentedly in the mouth of the 12-week-old human foetus she keeps in a jar of formaldehyde. It is obvious, she says, that this thumb-sized boy floating in his amniotic sac was a living, kicking person before he […]

Mungo Soggot CRAIG WILLIAMSON, the spy turned media celebrity, was “contemptuous” in his attitude toward the justice system and the truth commission, the Pretoria Supreme Court heard this week. Williamson was appearing in the first round of a case that could become a landmark clash between the truth commission and the justice system. He is […]

Dennis Mair FOR the next two weeks, Gallery Mau Mau in Cape Town shifts focus from the = ost entation of the art world to the thrill of B-schlock, exploitation filmogra= phy and pure horror. Amid projections and popcorn, administrators David L Dei = and Craig E Parker describe the ensemble as “a terrorism of […]

Claudia Braude ‘MANAGING the package” is how truth commissioner Hugh Lewin describes selecting 12 statements from 150 submitted for public hearings in one community. “Which is the story to choose, the story we say you should hear?” he asks. He’s upfront about the process, difficulties and discomfort involved in narrating the role of the Truth […]

TENNIS:Jon Swift IT is well, with the weekend’s Davis Cup World Group tie at Durban’s Westr= idg e Park in view, to keep an eye on the quintessential cornerstone of the Rus= sia n psyche – hardship is not a new phenomenon, it is to be both expected and = end ured. The Russians go […]

The exhibition at South Africa’s National Gallery in Cape Town offers a spe= ctr um of insights into a troubled decade. JULIA TEAL reports LOOKING at the work presently on display at the South African National Gall= ery , there is an almost tangible sense of the weight that the institution carr= ies as one […]

THE ANGELLA JOHNSON INTERVIEW IF ever you wanted a walking advertisement in support of legalised abortion, take Glenda Bateman. Fifteen years ago, while working in Johannesburg as a student nurse, she fell pregnant after dating a student doctor for just three months. To put it delicately, it seems a too large condom slipped, and bingo! […]

Following the arrest of Dr Wouter Basson, SADF scientists are revealing det= ail s of its covert chemical programme, writes Peta Thornycroft SCIENTISTS involved in the development of chemical weapons by the former So= uth African Defence Force (SADF)have begun talking to authorities, giving deta= ils of the sale of chemical weapons technology to Libya […]

A group of Christian churches has launched a vigorous anti-halaal campaign, reports Jan Raath in Harare A POWERFUL right-wing Christian fundamentalist group in Zimbabwe has launched a campaign against the country’s modest Muslim community to halt what it believes is a “dangerous and violent” religion with its eyes on taking over the government on its […]

If a task team’s recommendations are adopted, the Cabinet will continue to decide behind closed doors to whom the arms industry sells. Marion Edmunds reports THE government plans to keep secret its most sensitive arms sales, such as the recent proposed Syrian arms deal, despite calls for greater transparency. A governmental task team will advise […]

Oliver McCall says God will be in his corner when he fights Lennox Lewis fo= r t he title. He may need him, says Kevin Mitchell HAVING been dropped on his head as a baby, Oliver McCall seems to have been= in a state of almost permanent, thumb-sucking belligerence ever since. This i= s a […]

The Black Editors Forum is adamant Sanef will not undermine its black interests. Jacquie Golding-Duffy reports EFFORTS by the South African National Editors Forum (Sanef) to unite editors, irrespective of colour, are being overwhelmed by the increasingly high profile and growing influence of the Black Editors Forum (BEF). Sanef, founded in October last year, aims […]

THE ANGELLA JOHNSON INTERVIEW PAM WHYTE has the mind of an exuberant=20 five-month-old Dobermann pinscher. Well,=20 that’s what she says. “I try to think like=20 the animal I’m helping,” explains the 55- year-old dog psychologist. “Actually, I=20 prefer the term dog communication=20 specialist,” she corrects briskly, giving=20 me a blast of the no-nonsense tone used […]

Iden Wetherell reports on the political=20 crisis facing Zimbabwe’s tourism industry ZIMBABWE’S National Parks Department, due=20 to host a summit of the Convention on=20 International Trade in Endangered Species=20 (Cites) in Harare in June, is facing a=20 leadership crisis which has badly dented=20 its reputation as one of Africa’s most=20 effective wildlife managers. The department […]

Lesley Cowling THE scientific community in South Africa=20 and internationally are speculating that=20 the active ingredient of Virodene is an=20 industrial solvent called dimethylformamide=20 (DMF). DMF is used in laboratories to=20 “denature” DNA, a process that releases it=20 from its double strand shape. Medical researchers say DMF is also the=20 agent used by Pretoria researcher […]

AT the Dante Alighieri Society in=20 Johannesburg this week, an Italian book on=20 the new South Africa was launched. The=20 collection of10 essays, Il Nuovo Sudafrica,=20 was edited by Itala Vivan, professor of=20 literature at the University of Political=20 Science in Milan.=20 The volume contains essays about this=20 country’s transition to democracy,=20 including contributions by […]

Hazel Friedman THE future of dance at the Performing Arts=20 Council of the Transvaal (Pact) – South=20 Africa’s largest arts council – is in=20 jeopardy after a spate of shock=20 resignations by senior ballet staff and=20 dancers. This comes amid growing panic over=20 the future of the Pact ballet and=20 contemporary dance companies. =20 At […]

Caitlin Davies THE Okavango Delta, mainstay of Botswana’s=20 tourism industry and home to a breathtaking=20 array of wildlife, is about to be fenced=20 in, although no environmental impact=20 assessment studies have been done and local=20 communities have not been consulted. An outbreak of cattle lung disease – a=20 fatal airborne bovine pneumonia – in the=20 […]

Mungo Soggot PLANNING some cosmetic surgery, but you=20 don’t want anyone to know about it? Why not=20 throw in a trip to South Africa, visit the=20 Kruger Park and see the fairest Cape – all=20 for half what you would pay in Europe? This is the pitch Carrie Globisch, a=20 beautician, plans to make when […]

opposed Marion Edmunds THE Welfare Ministry faces mounting=20 opposition to its recommendation that state=20 maintenance payments – which under=20 apartheid were available only to white and=20 coloured mothers – be limited now to the=20 poorest of the poor. =20 The recommendations, which came out of last=20 year’s report by the Lund Commission, were=20 well received […]

Chris McGreal reports from Kibungo prison=20 on the desperate hopes of Hutus facing the=20 firing squad for their part in the genocide=20 IF anything shakes Deogratias Bizimana’s=20 misplaced belief that he will live to see=20 his 39th birthday, it is the business with=20 his wife. Leaning against the wall of Kibungo=20 prison’s condemned cell, the […]

DR HILLARY CARMEN was at the forefront of=20 the movement to get skin-lighteners banned.=20 She says some of the first skinlighteners=20 available worldwide had mercury in them,=20 which was absorbed into the bloodstream=20 and caused kidney damage. Lotion containing=20 mercury was banned in 1975 and instead=20 hydroquinone was used. According to Carmen=20 this caused “an […]

airport Mungo Soggot ISRAELI national Zif Falk narrowly failed=20 this week to set a new record for “body- smuggling” diamonds out of South Africa.=20 Apprehended by police on Saturday night in=20 the departures lounge at Johannesburg=20 International Airport, Falk was found to=20 have uncut gems worth R2,4-million packed=20 carefully in a condom in his rectum. […]

TELEVISION: Bafana Khumalo IF you’re ever up beyond 11pm on Sunday you=20 have probably been through the arty fare at=20 varying degrees of taking itself far too=20 seriously on SABC3. At this time you might =20 have had an experience called Our Voices.=20 This is a talk show in true talking-head=20 fashion. It is no […]