Mark Behr ‘I BOUGHT this huge tree to plant by the front wall,” a colleague says with a laugh: “I couldn’t get the hole deep enough so I walked across the road to where that white beggar always hangs around at the supermarket. I offered him R20 to dig the hole. He agreed and I […]
Greg Barrow in Nairobi THE Kenyan government has published a 40-page dossier defending its human rights record. The report comes as Kenyan human rights groups grow increasingly vocal about a rise in mob violence and a breakdown of law and order. In the report, The Way It Is, the government says its overall record is […]
With four teams jammed at the top of the log, working out the permutations on paper is harder than playing it out on the field RUGBY: Jon Swift PERHAPS the greatest thing about sport is its unpredictability: the propensity of competition to turn the form book on its head; the sudden lapse of concentration which […]
An historic agreement between the government and teachers’ unions will affect the jobs of thousands of teachers, reports Rehana Rossouw A GROUP of negotiators has finalised the route to achieving equality in education and breaking down apartheid’s legacy of unequal funding for different races. Unequal spending will be erased by the year 2000, following an […]
US threats to penalise businesses trading with Cuba, Iran and Libya have pitted it against the European Union. John Palmer reports from Brussels THE European Union warned this week that it is heading for a serious diplomatic and trade confrontation with the United States over laws that would penalise European businesses trading with Cuba, Iran […]
Justin Pearce GROWING anti-landmine sentiments in South Africa and abroad have prompted the Department of Foreign Affairs to announce a permanent ban on the export of the mines by South Africa, confirming a moratorium which has been in place for the past two years. A suspension has also been placed on the use of mines […]
The Constitution has become a yardstick of the success and strength of the political parties, and will do much to define them in the eyes of the public in the run-up to the 1999 general elections. Marion Edmunds reports WHERE does the Constitutional Assembly leave the African National Congress? “In a league of its own.” […]
Luan Nel abandons his miniature landscapes and transforms concrete walls into canvases for a show this weekend. He spoke to Hazel Friedman.
Admiration for Archbishop Desmond Tutu goes from strength to strength as we watch him setting about the Herculean task of cleaning out the Augean stables of apartheid-era atrocities. But even as we applaud him, we cannot help but worry about him. “Arch”, as he would have us know him, has made no secret of his […]
John M. Goshko at the UN A move by the United States to pay some of its back dues will keep the United Nations from plunging into the deep financial abyss that senior UN officials had anticipated during 1996. But the US will remain the UN’s biggest debtor, and the world body still will have […]
Cuba is reaffirming its Marxist ideology in an attempt to regain slipping state control of the economy. Douglas Farah reports from Havana Facing a freeze in Cuban-United States relations and slipping state control of the economy, Cuba’s ruling Communist Party has slowed moves toward free-market economics, raised pressure on dissidents and re- emphasised its orthodox […]
Graham Hopwood THE managing director of Namibia’s most controversial parastatal has been sacked by the TransNamib board of directors. The board issued a statement saying that Francois Uys was retiring from TransNamib at the end of April by mutual agreement. Speculation is rife that Uys was given a package of nearly N$3-million in exchange for […]
young guns GOLF: Jon Henderson AGE may be the opponent that eventually beats even the greatest champions, but in Nick Faldo’s case you suspect that it will have to go to the fifth hole of a playoff and then be made to sink a “gimme” put from five centimetres. Based on the 80 major championships […]
Nervous citizens may worry that the enshrining of the right to silence in the Constitution will encourage crime. Is this true? THE right to silence accorded to people accused of criminal offences is deeply rooted in our law, and dates back about 300 years in Anglo-American legal systems. It means that no person can be […]
Norman Kempster AT least three Liberian gunmen were killed by Marine guards this week when they tried to invade the US Embassy compound. Monrovia was swept by factional fighting and lawlessness after the breakdown of a 10-day- old cease-fire. The Pentagon said unidentified Liberian assailants fired on the embassy on three occasions, drawing return fire […]
The SABC is considering commissioning a business programme from Times Media Limited. Is this a poor reflection of the broadcaster’s own economics desk? Jacquie Golding-Duffy reports The SABC, with no immediate plans to develop its own business show, is considering commissioning a new business programme from Times Media Limited (TML), whose Business Day Tonight contract […]
Chris McGreal attends the bizarre trial of two Russian pilots in Kinshasa THE judge rattled his bell in a vain attempt to restore order in the crowded Kinshasa courtroom. But most eyes were on the Zairean television reporter who had marched to the bench and fired off the question on many lips. “Everybody knows these […]
Moyiga Nduru A banana war between two of Somalia’s main warlords is under way over the control of the lucrative banana export trade. The forces of General Mohamed Farah Aideed, the self-proclaimed president of Somalia, are pitted against the militiamen of his former financier, Ali Hassan Osman “Atto”. Aideed needs the revenues, estimated at around […]
A decision by curators will allow indigenous people to claim back body parts of ancestors which have been kept at museums, writes Eddie Koch A CONFERENCE of South African museum curators last week resolved to back demands for the body parts of a Khoisan woman whose pickled brains and genitalia are being stored in a […]
Mungo Soggot RESERVE Bank governor Chris Stals said this week he feared lifting exchange controls because of the heavy “pent-up demand” in South Africa to invest abroad that had built up in the past 30 years. Talking about the rand’s meltdown and the Reserve Bank’s relationship with the government, Stals rejected the view that the […]
As demand for South African exports increases, mining houses can expect profits, but the consumer will be hard hit, writes Bronwen Jones COAL will be in short supply this winter as overseas demand soars and the rand makes foreign sales more attractive. Add to this the lulls in production enforced by heavy rains earlier this […]
Philippa Garson talks to an adviser who is determined to help turn South African universities into world-class institutions The drive by South African universities to become world-class institutions is endangered by the number of top administrators leaving their stressed jobs for greener pastures, according to a top American educator who has been advising these campuses. […]
Amy Lawrence talks to the proud men of Croatia, a nation that has emerged from the ravages of war to create a team capable of challenging Europe’s finest SINGING the cherished national anthem with hand on heart, wearing the red and white check shirt of Croatia, is a feeling beyond description for the 11 men […]
Anger over racist teachers and the department’s failure to provide English- language classes sparked the Vryburg riots, reports Justin Pearce Policemen were everywhere in Vryburg on Tuesday. Casspirs rumbled through the streets of the quiet farming town, and coils of razor wire surrounded the local Education Department office. Armed with shotguns and assault rifles, a […]
Michael Fletcher AFRICAN-AMERICANS are more likely than the general American population to be victims of crime – a reality that fuels their support of tough criminal penalties, although they have little confidence in the criminal justice system, according to a new poll. That ambivalence reflects the dilemma facing many blacks: they feel more threatened by […]
THE advice to NGOs to “adapt or die” in a changing environment is becoming painfully repetitive. It is also superfluous, as we – the remaining NGOs –would not have survived until now if we had not constantly restructured, repositioned and transformed ourselves. In her response (“NGOs are not about to roll over”, April 19 to […]
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SOCCER: Andrew Muchineripi Star defender Mark Fish has been persuaded to make one more appearance for Orlando Pirates, and it could be his most vital yet AN important occasion was given added significance this week when Mark Fish agreed to don the black and white one last time and play for Orlando Pirates in the […]
A new document on commissioning will bring the SABC in line with broadcasting worldwide, provided internal resistance can be overcome. Eddie September reports Independent television producers say the new SABC document on commissioning is bringing the broadcaster in line with the rest of the world, but they still have reservations about the SABC’s ability to […]
Hazel Friedman and Janet MacPherson Pact unions have produced evidence suggesting that two of their representatives were involved in a sweetheart deal with Pact management to sell their comrades down the river. The Mail & Guardian is in possession of a cheque for R15 000 made out by Pact’s legal advisors to one of two […]
Shilowa Jacquie Golding-Duffy THE Congress of South African Trade Unions said it will “definitely not apologise” to Democratic Party leader Tony Leon after his assault by a protester during a Cosatu demonstration in Cape Town on Tuesday. Cosatu general secretary Sam Shilowa says: “No, we will not apologise to Tony Leon. I have made a […]
Rehana Rossouw President Nelson Mandela’s dream of a museum near his birthplace – Qunu in the Eastern Cape – has been given the green light, and should open to the public early next year. The museum is not intended as a shrine or a living monument to the president – its primary purpose will be […]