Staff Reporter

The way in which Thulamela has been excavated has marked a global breakthrough, reports Eddie Koch THE people who built Thulamela, a medieval citadel in the far north of the Kruger National Park that has recently excited fascination in local and international academic circles, will never know it. But they may have helped resolve one […]

JAZZ: Gwen Ansell IT’S the Wednesday before his first Johannesburg concert and Courtney Pine shivers beside a wall outside the Parktonian Hotel as rain clouds loom. “The guys all brought shorts and stuff. Is the weather real?” Courtney Pine ambles out from side-stage at Mega Music, casually blowing soprano sax, about halfway through the first […]

SAA is now a `global player in a global market’ and Zukile Nomvete is going to lead the airline into the 21st century, reports Max Gebhardt ZUKILE NOMVETE is working himself out of a job. If at the end of five years he is still leading the transformation of South African Airways (SAA), he believes […]

JUDITH WATT takes men’s corsets out of the closet and into the parade IN her book Fabulous Nobodies, Lee Tulloch had her protagonist give all her dresses names and characters. Tulloch says it’s not just about trying on frocks, but about becoming them: “When people criticise fantasy clothes on the runway, I always defend it […]

The growing lopsided trade deficit between China and the US is highlighted by the Barbie doll, writes Rone Tempest in Beijing A BARBIE doll is for sale at the Anaheim, California, Toys R Us store in a bright cardboard-and-cellophane box labelled “Made in China”. The price is $9,99. But how much will China make from […]

With advertising averaging R166-million, the local tobacco industry has refused to voluntarily withdraw its ad campaigns, reports Gillian Farquhar THIS week the Tobacco Institute of Southern Africa denied that the countries’ tobacco companies would voluntarily withdraw their advertising next year. It was speculated in advertising and marketing circles that this move, recently attempted by American […]

Stefaans Brmmer WHEN the National Party walked out of the African National Congress-dominated Government of National Unity earlier this year, the Afrikaner Broederbond – now called the Afrikanerbond – lost its last members in Cabinet. A body that for almost half a century had direct access to the levers of Afrikaner nationalist government power, and […]

Primedia Broadcasting, in THE MARK GEVISSER PROFILE Comrade Capitalist `IF we don’t get the bid here,” said Stan Katz to Rina Broomberg as they stood waiting, for hours, for the Independent Broadcasting Authority to decide who would get Radio Highveld, “we’ll take it to the supreme court.” Broomberg and Katz, the gurus behind 702 Talk […]

Olympic 800m silver medallist Hezekial Sepeng was asked to sign a contract which stipulated how often, how fast and against whom he would race in South Africa, writes Julian Drew ATHLETICS SOUTH AFRICA (ASA), the body with overall responsibility for the sport in the country, tried to rig races for the forthcoming season involving Olympic […]

DANCE: Thule Malgas THE international showcase on the Arts Alive dance programme, celebrated United States company Donald Byrd and The Group, was received with resounding critical acclaim. A performance highlighting the marriage of American modern dance and classical ballet opened with a send-up of Giselle, a “romantic ballet”, and had a good part of the […]

While South African companies establish themselves in China, they should prioritise upholding human rights in that country, argues Nol van Breda SOUTH AFRICANS, and in particular the business community, should take stock of the atrocious human rights record of China, one of the permanent members on the United Nations Security Council, just as China is […]

`THE isolation cell is usually a small, windowless room, perhaps with a tiny observation window or peephole in the door. It generally has no carpeting or furniture, and either a cement block or a thin mattress or mat on the cement floor provides the sleeping space. There is usually an open toilet and sometimes a […]

Despite losing, Transvaal and Western Province proved they can still provide tough competition in the Currie Cup, but some of the lesser unions are not so fortunate RUGBY:Jon Swift IT IS perhaps one of the supreme ironies that so often mark man’s sporting endeavours, that the nub of last weekend’s rugby came from the performances […]

Anthony Egan, SJ MICHAEL LAPSLEY – PRIEST AND PARTISAN: A SOUTH AFRICAN JOURNEY by Michael Worsnip (Ocean Press, R69,99) CONVENTIONAL boundaries between the genres of political and religious biography take something of a tumble in this generally excellent new book by theologian and church historian Michael Worsnip. His subject is Father Michael Lapsley, priest of […]

Two South African women have been nominated for Boutros Boutros-Ghali’s job, reports Ann Eveleth TWO South African women – parliamentary Speaker Frene Ginwala and Judge Navi Pillay – have been nominated for the position of secretary general of the United Nations. Women’s rights activists proposed them, and they are among six candidates put forward by […]

As the city of gold looks forward to Baba Maal’s concerts, our critic considers other recent shows HE was picked up from the airport in a limo, because that’s what he requested. And he’s over half an hour late for the interview. In fairness, his flight was delayed by three hours. He walks into the […]

Judith Havemann and William Claiborne in Washington THE first provisions of the complex new federal welfare law took effect on Monday, requiring states to begin denying food stamps to non-United States citizens in the initial phase of a process that will ultimately strip benefits from half-a- million immigrants. Efforts to enforce the new law came […]

Stuart Hess AS the shattered community at Stilfontein started recovering from the violence which left at least 24 dead, it emerged that police at the miners’ settlement have been told to shoot any miners caught inciting violence. “Police have been given the right to kill,” said Sixtus Sethunya, senior hostel personnel assistant at Scott Hostel, […]

Madeleine Wackernagel THE European Commission has not blocked a $74-million loan to the Saldanha Steel project, merely reserved judgment, says Erwan Four, the European Union’s ambassador to South Africa. The EC has sent the file back to the European Investment Bank, says Four, for further consideration; the EIB will review the issue and then decide […]

THOUSANDS of children are living in terrible conditions in places of safety in South Africa – often without sufficient clothing and bedding at night, without proper educational facilities and in buildings that are unhealthy and unsafe – according to a recently released government report. Of the more than 6 000 children in reform schools, schools […]

Mungo Soggot ACADEMICS and legal professionals this week described Judge Hennie van Heerden as having an exceptional legal mind with an impressive track record on the bench. He has a low profile — several lawyers were unable to offer an opinion of him — but most of those who had had contact with him sung […]

FINE ART: Hazel Friedman I’M not sure whether Laura Godfrey-Isaac’s Evolution deserves to be dived into, pigged-out-on or treated like a pimple and popped. But that’s precisely the initial beauty of her (mis)anthropomorphic forms. Depending on a whole host of factors — some of them genetically determined — they can be seen as runny ice-cream […]

Gaye Davis A DELEGATION from Indonesian-occupied East Timor left South Africa this week with an assurance from President Nelson Mandela that donations to the African National Congress by the Indonesian government would not make “a hostage” of South African foreign policy. Jorge Ramos Horta, who represents the East Timorese resistance movement, said Mandela gave the […]

Alex Bellos THE makers of a new “alcopop” have defended their decision to put half-a-million bottles in British shops and bars, despite protests that the labelling would encourage underage drinking. Carlsberg-Tetley ignored demands to withdraw the first batch of Thickhead — 4,9% proof, tangerine-flavoured and with the consistency of hair gel — although it said […]

The revelations that Swiss banks accepted Nazi gold show how history has become more a concatenation of symbols than a memory of experience, argues David Cesarani in London One of the intriguing questions arising from the latest “revelations” about the conduct of Swiss banks during and after World War II is why it took so […]

JAZZ: Gwen Ansell Forget screams, moans and squishing noises. The sexiest sound in the world is a big fat horn line playing jazz. Irakere, or “The Forest”, last week’s jazz guests for Arts Alive, feature four horns. On saxes, Cesar Lopez provides the intellectual acrobatics and an ironic take on the more florid ballad numbers […]

SOCCER: Andrew Muchineripi ‘VISION 2000″ screamed the headlines when ambitious plans were announced to ensure the qualification of the national Under-23 side for the Sydney Olympics in the year 2000. But when the the names of the Sasol Super Squad were announced for last week’s friendly against Namibia, there was definitely no vision, but more […]

Jim Jarmusch’s films have finally arrived in South Africa. The director and star Johnny Depp talk about their latest movie ‘WHY don’t you take a year off from this film stuff and play Hamlet?” Marlon Brando asked his co-star in Don Juan DeMarco, Johnny Depp. “I was very honoured,” says Depp. “I think it would […]

It should be said at the outset that the controversy which has developed over the appointment of South Africa’s chief justice does not involve great issues of principle. It is little more than a petty squabble, essentially over personalities. But it is nevertheless a damaging one for the judiciary. Perhaps the most unfortunate aspect of […]

Mungo Soggot Judges across the country are taking sides in the furious controversy over who is to succeed Michael Corbett as South Africa’s chief justice. In one of the most divisive rows to hit the judiciary since the 1950s, some 100 judges have backed appeal court Judge Hennie van Heerden against Ismail Mahomed — the […]

The Springboks recently lost a test series on home soil against the All Blacks for the first time in their history, but it’s not the first time Louis Luyt has been embroiled in controversy. Katy Bauer reports A CROWDED Johannesburg bar during one of the recent matches between South Africa and New Zealand. The Boks […]

Johannesburg’s annual Arts Alive Festival might be alive and kicking, but several Gauteng-based artists are digging in their heels over the alleged flagrant “disrespect paid to local talent”, while overseas participants are “treated like royalty”. Poets Lesego Rampolokeng, Lisa Combrinck and Boitumelo Mofokeng are just three of a growing number of enraged artists who have […]