Staff Reporter

The shutdown of <i>The Daily News</i> is an assault on the values the people of this region believe in. Such acts are a cancer that must be fought by all who believe in democracy and freedom of expression. The <i>Mail & GuardianM</i> commits to providing a platform for the voices Robert Mugabe does not want to hear

The challenge to the creation of new national institutions is the strength of the grip that some elements of society have on them. What must be placed on record is that our country is about to take a turn for the worse and the claim of "a better life for all" will prove itself to be another empty election promise in 25 years time.

I know I’m going to lose friends over this one. But then again, that’s only because some of my friends have lost me. I am at a loss, for example, to understand what is going on at Johannesburg’s elaborately over-named African Bank Moyo Restaurant Market Theatre.

SAB Ltd, the South African subsidiary of SABMiller plc (SAB), the world’s second largest brewer by volume, confirmed on Thursday that given the rapid growth in the premium beer market in South Africa, the company foresaw double digit growth over the next 10 years.

The prospects for agricultural revival in Zimbabwe in the new farming season have been thrown into doubt following reports that a parastatal charged with implementing the tillage programme among resettled subsistence farmers is facing serious problems.

Rival companies have accused Microsoft of cynical commercialism for pulling the plug on its internet chatrooms. MSN — the internet arm of Bill Gates’s Microsoft empire — said it took the decision after a series of high-profile cases involving children being abused by adults they had met in internet chatrooms.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=20972">Microsoft silences internet chat rooms</a>

The good news is that according to the latest Amps survey, media consumption appears to be on the rise again. However, is this quantitative improvement tempered with an improvement in quality? In this context, Guy Berger examines the Bulelani Ngcuka spy allegations, Zimbabwe’s silenced <i>Daily News</i> and the Bristow-Bovey plagiarism scandal.

Diamonds buried deep in the rich heritage of South Africa’s arts are ready for polishing. The challenge for arts projects is to bring to completion the process from a rough diamond to a polished, income-generating and community-uplifting product.

Professor John van Zyl Professor John van Zyl served as head of media studies at the University of the Witwatersrand for 20 years. Van Zyl was the co-founder of Classic FM, and is presently executive director of ABC Ulwazi, an educational radio production and training house. He has been programme director of the Direct Cinema […]

US President George Bush appealed to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday for international support to guide Iraq to democracy while calling on Palestinians to take new steps toward statehood by embracing new leaders committed to peace.

Quick action taken by TelkomInternet has saved its users from a major virus onslaught, after a new virus, called W32.Swen.A, appeared last Thursday and started ramping up even faster than the sobig.f and blaster worms. The virus masquerades as a Microsoft security patch.

If you’re a fan of history, I’m sure you’re also familiar with the great William J Le Petomane who farted professionally (and in tune) for very happy audiences at the Moulin Rouge. You can even download a clip or two of a wind instrument of the sort that the ANC should be using for their Moral Regeneration choir fetish idiocy.

All Blacks captain Reuben Thorne said his team is cranking up their training in order to hit the ground running at next months rugby World Cup. The New Zealanders have held a series of training camps around the country during the past fortnight and have been overwhelmed by the support of the public, Thorne said.

South Africa will need to create 3,5-million new jobs and lift some six million people out of poverty if it wants to reverse the tide of unemployment, according to Rand Merchant Bank Group (RMH) chief economist JP Landman.

The Ministry of Health has said good progress is being made on tabling an anti-retroviral treatment plan for South Africa. It also hit out at the media reports alleging the opposite, saying it had "noted with concern a false newspaper report that there will be a delay in the provision of anti-retroviral treatment".
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=20834">Cosatu concerned about Aids delay</a>

African religious leaders attending the <i>13th International Conference on Aids and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Africa</i> have admitted that their own institutions are sometimes guilty of spreading the stigma attached to HIV/Aids. They spoke of damning attitudes spread by their churches and mosques.

Replying to a question in the National Assembly about Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, President Thabo Mbeki has rejected the notion that term limits for people in high office is a vital principle to promote strong democracy and economic well-being.

Market capitalisation of all securities listed on the JSE Securities Exchange South Africa amounted to R1,446.1-billion at 28 February 2003, ranking the JSE as the 17th largest stock exchange in the world in terms of market capitalization, the Financial Services Board (FSB) indicates in its latest annual report.

A company that was contracted to manage government funds donated to the taxi industry in Gauteng channelled money into the personal bank account of provincial Transport Minister Khabisi Mosunkutu.

The Zimbabwe government said late on Thursday it would appeal against a High Court ruling overturning the forced closure of the country’s only independent daily newspaper. Earlier the High Court ruled that the outspoken <i>Daily News</i> could resume publishing.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=19686">Zimbabwe daily to reopen</a>

On Monday of last week Mbeki cheerfully set off in his spanking-new Boeing, launching the "Spring Collection" in his popular "Personable African Statesman" international appearances. Each time he jets off, Mbeki installs a try out for the Cabinet reshuffle he’ll be making next year.

If any elected leader was asking to be overthrown, it was President Kumba Kobde Yala of Guinea Bissau. And last Sunday a 32-member military junta siezed power. Within a day-and-a-half of Yala’s fall, life was back to normal in Guinea Bissau: traffic was back on the streets and it was business as usual.