Mail & Guardian reporter The Elle and Elizabeth Arden Visible Difference Award for the contribution of women to South African society enters its third year, calling on the public to rally behind those remarkable women who work tirelessly to make a difference in their communities. At the launch of this year’s awards Elle and Elizabeth […]
Sean O’Toole The golden mielie fields of Bronkhorstspruit, 40km east of Pretoria, are a rather unexpected setting for a Buddhist Temple. This might explain why certain visitors have been attracted to the ornate Nan Hua Temple thinking it is a casino. Situated on 15-hectares of land donated to the Taiwanese Fo Guang Shan (Pure Land) […]
NAWAAL DEANE, Johannesburg | Friday THE state-owned Strategic Fuel Fund (SFF) is again under the spotlight for its controversial R1-billion Iraqi oil deal with a dubious firm investigated by the United Nations and previously owned by dodgy oil dealer Marc Rich. This week Dr Renosi Mokate, chief executive of the SFF, denied allegations that Swiss-based […]
REVIEW David Shapshak DStv interactive TV service It’s hard to remember what we did without remote controls, but now you can interact with your TV using a keyboard. It looks much like a computer keyboard but it is made of transparent blue plastic and is completely wireless. You can, of course, use the usual remote […]
Clients who were conned by a broker are facing a lengthy wait for their money Nawaal Deane “I invested money with a legitimate company. Now it’s gone. When am I going to get my money back?” Duma Mpotulo, a lawyer, invested R50 000 on March 15 last year, with a broker who at the time […]
Bongani Majola Minister of Intelligence Lindiwe Sisulu and the Department of Justice openly contradicted each other on the whereabouts of thousands of sensitive Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) documents this week, heightening speculation that the documents have been sanitised or shredded by the National Intelligence Agency (NIA). The Mail & Guardian reported last week that […]
Abidjan | Tuesday LIBERIAN security forces have committed torture and rape since the government imposed emergency rule two months ago, ostensibly to stop a rebel advance, Amnesty International charged on Tuesday. The London-based human rights watchdog said in a statement that “international bodies must take concrete steps to address human rights protection as a matter […]
2002 marks the Liberty Foundation’s 31-year involvement in social responsibility. The early work of the Liberty Foundation was strongly welfare oriented, highlighting the plight of the aged, the disabled and children in need of care. However, from 1983, this was complemented by a growing educational focus. Today the Liberty Foundation supports education and skills training […]
The South African government, represented by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Aziz Pahad, summoned Israeli ambassador Tova Herzl, spoke sternly to her and demanded immediate action from Israel. Why was the same action not taken with Zimbabwe? Put differently, why did the government not use its “silent diplomacy” to try to bring the Israeli government […]
EWEN MACASKILL | Friday Israel was in near diplomatic isolation this week as United States Secretary of State Colin Powell prepared for his trip to Jerusalem to confront Israeli Prime MinisterAriel Sharon. In a show of international solidarity, the United Nations, the US, the European Union and Russia turned up the heat on Israel by […]
Old lefties, illiterate township dwellers and a marathon runner are the driving force behind the Treatment Action Campaign Belinda Beresford Part of the heart of the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) will be pounding its way through the London marathon on Sunday. Ploughing through three-and-a-half hours of pain will be TAC deputy head Mark Heywood, his […]
The end is near for the delegates negotiating a peace deal at Sun City, writes John Matshikiza After a month and a half of dragging their heels and getting bogged down with grandstanding, showmanship and irritable nitpicking, the 361 delegates to the Inter-Congolese Dialogue hosted by the South African government at Sun City finally came […]
JASPREET KINDRA, Johannesburg | Friday ONE of the world’s most successful black rhino breeding farms was occupied by war veterans last weekend in Turk Mine, located in the Bubi district of Matebeleland, and farm owner Richard Pascal was arrested for attempted Murder. Pascal’s 22 000ha farm is home to 33 black rhino and has a […]
HORSERACING Whipping Boy An uncommonly close four-cornered contest for the South African jockeys’ championship is developing with less than four months to go to the end of the season on July 31. At this time of year the title race is usually all over bar the shouting. This season, however, Gerrit Schlechter, Kevin Shea and […]
Gordon Igesund’s People’s Team need one more win to clinch the league title Ntuthuko Maphumulo Barring an upset of enormous proportions, Santos will be crowned Premier Soccer League champions this season, taking over from Orlando Pirates and giving coach Gordon Igesund his third title in the six years of the league’s existence. Jomo Cosmos have […]
KHADIJA MAGARDIE, Johannesburg | Friday THE conflict in the Middle East has produced a ripple effect in South Africa. The Jewish community has been brought closer together and Muslims are finding solidarity across racial and religious divides. The latest Palestinian uprising or intifada has produced a range of strong reactions from South Africa’s Jewish and […]
Ntuthuko Maphumulo The much-awaited interim report on the Ellis Park soccer disaster a year ago contains no recommendations on preventing a recurrence. And, although the report released this week establishes errors on the part of several officials that significantly contributed to 43 deaths, it steers clear of naming any individuals. Transvaal Judge President Bernard Ngoepe […]
Will the real pop idol please stand up? Alexis Petridis Three weeks ago Will Young topped the British charts with the biggest-selling single in that country’s history. The show that spawned him promised to discover a pop idol, someone colourful, larger-than-life and slightly unpredictable Marc Bolan, Boy George, Madonna. Instead, we have ended up with […]
Ntuthuko Maphumulo The South African Football Association, players and coach seem less than eager to make it to the second round of the World Cup, if recent results and planning are anything to go by. Bafana Bafana have managed to win just one game ? a penalty shoot-out victory against minnows Botswana in the Cosafa […]
You can now use your TV satellite decoder to buy sushi, lingerie and much more, writes David Shapshak First there was e-commerce, then came m-commerce and now there is t-commerce. All have evolved through technology revolutions via the Internet, mobiles (cellphones) and interactive television, hence the e-, m- and t- prefixes. Shopping via the Internet […]
Jaspreet Kindra A violence monitor has highlighted “continuing low-intensity conflict and gross human rights abuses” in rural KwaZulu-Natal, warning that the 2004 election in the province may be no freer than Zimbabwe’s. University of Natal academic and violence monitor Mary de Haas called for the immediate intervention of the government, including the deployment of the […]
Jaspreet Kindra Minority Front (MF) leader Amichand Rajbansi continued his cat-and-mouse game with the African National Congress in the Durban council by saying he had formed a “working relationship” with the ruling party, instead of an “alliance”. Rajbansi said this meant that he would decide his support for the ANC on an issue-by-issue basis. However, […]
RUGBY Andy Capostagno The difficulties faced by South African teams in the Super 12 were etched in sharp relief last week. In an attempt to put a positive spin on the situation, various people have suggested that 40 minutes of good rugby from the Sharks, a narrow defeat for the Stormers and a more comprehensive […]
A programme aimed at supporting previously disadvantaged commerce students is showing good results William Ramwell Education accounts for 40% of First National Bank’s (FNB) focus on coporate social investment, and the rest is spent on supporting health, community service and training, job creation, arts and culture, the environment and public policy initiatives. In education the […]
The polluted river that flows through Dhaka holds the key to life and death for millions of people, writes John Vidal The Buri Ganga river in the centre of Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka, is to Western eyes a most extraordinary sight. It swills through the capital of one of the poorest countries in the world, a […]
Your article “Public libraries strapped for cash” (April 5) refers to the need for goodwill and political will to find money to prevent closures of public libraries. The Department of Education is blamed in the process. The real threat to these libraries cannot be separated from a new “total onslaught” on the public sector that […]
Marlene Burger South African chemical warfare expert Dr Wouter Basson was acquitted on all charges against him in the Pretoria High Court on Thursday. Much of the day was taken up by Judge Willie Hartzenberg’s laboured judgement which comprised a highly detailed summary of about 30 months of evidence. The judgement is bound to cause […]
Mail & Guardian reporter Business is booming in the informal settlement of Nomzamo in Somerset West, where shops and small businesses are thriving from a rewarding partnership with the city of Cape Town. The community is hard at work on a project to build supermarket premises to complement the 13 shops and six container shops […]
Mail & Guardian reporter A new “suspect” the Reserve Bank, custodian of South Africa’s currency and reserves is emerging in the quest to understand the rand’s nosedive late last year. Suspect number one Deutsche Bank, fingered by South African Chamber of Business CEO Kevin Wakeford in a letter to President Thabo Mbeki in January has […]
Sizwe samaYende and Justin Arenstein Mpumalanga’s largest hospital, Philadelphia, broke ranks this week and announced it would provide nevirapine to pregnant women, regardless of the province’s policy on the issue. Eighty doctors, nurses and support staff signed a memorandum to MEC for Health Sibongile Manana on Wednesday warning that further delays in providing nevirapine were […]
M&G reporter In a historic ceremony in Piet Retief, Mpumalanga, last month Mondi handed over land for development to three communities of Thokozane, Maphapheni and Rustplaats/Mayinini. In each case, the land has been sold either to a government agency or to a developer with the proceeds of the sale being returned in full to the […]
Senior African National Congress MP Peter Mokaba’s claims that the United States government gave $1-million to South African trade unions to distribute nevirapine in their structures was shot down this week by an NGO handling the donation, writes Jaspreet Kindra. The head of the US-based Solidarity Centre, Fisseha Tekie, said the money was being used […]