Staff Reporter

A 10-week old outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in northeast Gabon and neighbouring Congo has claimed its 25 victim, according to figures from Gabon’s health ministry. The latest casualty brought to 18 the number of people to have succumbed to the haemorrhagic disease in the central African country of Gabon, according to health ministry […]

PARENTS in a village in eastern Kenya kept their 400 children away from classes for two days because they were convinced the local school was haunted by spirits that would suck their blood, a schools inspector said on Wednesday. Kilonzo Musilu, who inspected the primary school in the village of Ithiani, some 130 kilometres east […]

Johannesburg | Sunday SOUTH Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) and its trades union alliance partner on Saturday presented a united front, following a first meeting to iron out differences over privatisation and Aids policy between them. In a joint statement issued by the ANC and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), the […]

comment Shirley Mabusela We feel we should provide clarification on the supposed misunderstanding that has resulted from the Human Rights Commission’s decision to withdraw as a friend of the court in an action brought by the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) aimed at challenging the government to provide free nevirapine to all pregnant mothers with HIV/Aids […]

Shyaka Kunuma’s article “It’s time to stop whining” is a great piece of work, and I am not only saying that because I agree with the message. I have been trying to say the same thing for 10 years, with very little success. May he be more successful at getting the message across. The fundamedntal […]

Marianne Merten Statues of Cape Town’s colonial history stand cheek-by-jowl with symbols of the new South Africa for example Parliament but memorials commemorating the anti-apartheid struggle are mostly off the beaten tourist track. An abstract creation by renowned Cape artist Tyrone Appolis commemorates the October 1985 “Trojan Horse” killings in Athlone on the Cape Flats. […]

A very intelligent, socially committed young man murdered a young woman and is now serving a 10-year jail sentence; a worker almost drowned in the river while removing bramble; a 24-year-old woman hit a fellow worker on the forehead with a plank; an unemployed young man with matric exemption knocks at my door and before […]

In the first of two articles David Shapshak reviews 2001 and tells us what to expect in 2002 After Stanley Kubrick’s eponymous film, the year 2001 was tipped for mighty things. Although 2001: A Space Odyssey heralded technological marvels such as the talking computer called HAL and the scenes of space travel they would prove […]

Kevin Scott Not many museums expect visitors to go on a 40-minute walk in the scorching semi-Kalahari sun to see their main exhibit in summer, temperatures can easily blast past 40. But this is exactly what a visit to the Wildebeest Kuil rock art site 15km outside of Kimberley demands. The expectation is justified, though. […]

What you need is your own sexual revolution BODY LANGUAGE Jeanette Winterson Sex who needs it? You do. New Year’s resolutions are wasted on diets and good works. Forget the year ahead and make 2002 the year to come. Why do I say this? Not because I want to turn Body Language into a cover […]

Congratulations to Sipho Seepe on another brilliant article (“Challenged by our times”, December 14 2001). It is difficult to add a word to his exposure of the inadequacy of President Thabo Mbeki. The time has arrived for the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) to confront this president instead of pleading with him. Once again they have […]

The government killed two birds with one stone this week when it announced a crafty deal to raise $479-million from Transnet’s stake in M-Cell, writes Bongani Majola. The transaction, with Dutch finance company Ice Finance BV, provides a welcome cash injection for the state’s coffers, and also signals to the markets the government’s commitment to […]

Lusaka | Thursday THE International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Wednesday promised to support Zambia’s new government, and said the country was on the right track towards economic growth. “In the last two years, the economy seems to be moving towards the (targeted) growth rate,” IMF deputy managing director Shigemitsu Sugisaki said after arriving with his […]

More barriers are needed against the disease, say critics Khadija Magardie As KwaZulu-Natal braces itself for the latest serious outbreak of cholera, critics say the government is not doing enough to contain the epidemic. The province’s health authorities have confirmed as many as 214 new cases, concentrated in Ladysmith in the north. Both the national […]

Barry Streek With more than 45% of South African schools still without electricity and more than 27% still without clean water, the call by the African National Congress’s national executive committee (NEC) for delivery in the form of the “Year of the Volunteer for Reconstruction and Development” is not a moment too late. Equally shocking […]

Glenda Daniels Interminable talks on civil service retrenchments are back to where they were a year ago, as government and unions prepare to renegotiate restructuring guidelines agreed at last year’s public service job summit. The 12 unions and the government, which employs more than a million people, failed to meet a December 12 deadline last […]

Vusi Khumalo drums for Dondo, who play at the Bassline on FridayJanuary 11 and Saturday January 12

A top government official has barred doctors from giving anti-retrovirals even to raped infants Khadija Magardie and Nawaal Deane As South Africa was reeling at the news of an alleged gang-rape and sodomising of a nine-month-old baby in Upington last November, the Northern Cape MEC for health was blasting a Kimberley hospital for giving the […]

Drew Forrest High-flying foreign affairs Director General Sipho Pityana has confirmed he will be leaving government service for the private sector when he quits the department this week. Pityana declined to say what private interests he will pursue, or why he has stepped down well before his contract expires at the end of next month. […]

Kevin Scott State-owned companies Denel and Khula Enterprise Finance Limited have spent as much as R80 000 together in advertisements wishing the African National Congress a happy 90th anniversary. The companies deny wrongdoing and say the adverts were not placed with political motives. The adverts all carry messages congratulating the party and appeared in an […]

Barry Streek Same-sex partners of members of the South African National Defence Force will in future have the same benefits as the spouses of the country’s soldiers, sailors and air force members. Regulations amending the definition of “marital status” and “spouse” to include partners in permanent life partnerships have been published in the Government Gazette. […]

these days in shopping malls, casinos and on walking trails. Mail & Guardian reporters look at symbols of the past

The German doctor who alerted the M&G to Kimberley hospital’s turnaround on anti-retroviral drugs was suspended for allegedly criticising the government’s HIV/Aids policy. Beatrix Weber was accused in her disciplinary charge sheet of “unlawfully and intentionally undermining the Office of the President by stating … that the president is confused and is misleading the country […]

Forcing unequipped black players into a national side cannot be the answer, writes Drew Forrest One might think from the comments made by Department of Sport and Recreation spokesman Graham Abrahams that South Africa’s cricket establishment is crawling with unreconstructed racists bent on keeping black players out of the national side. Racial motives are imputed […]

Your 2001 political Report Card provides interesting and informative reading, but Minister of Education Kader Asmal’s A- cannot be correct, for the following reasons: Nothing has come of Asmal’s national literacy programme. No democracy wants a monolithic, government-sponsored education monopoly for distance education. Even if the monopoly is preferred, Unisa is not a good choice […]

Peter Robinson Not so much a case of peace breaking out, perhaps, as cricket settling into an uneasy truce, but it would be churlish to deny that the United Cricket Board (UCB) moved with unusual speed this week to try and heal the mostly self-inflicted wounds that have opened since January 2. Clive Rice and […]

There is intelligent life out there after all WITH THE LID OFF John Matshikiza Two books I would like to say something about as we lift our groggy bodies out of this fleeting season of good cheer: Polish journalist Ryszard Kapuscinski’s The Shadow of the Sun and American novelist Barbara Kingsolver’s The Poisonwood Bible. Why? […]

In at least one instance recommendations of the weapons probe were watered down Paul Kirk The joint investigation team report into the controversial arms deal was changed during the drafting process, shielding a senior naval officer from a called-for sleaze investigation. Investigators involved in the drafting of the report, released in final form to Parliament […]

GOLF Andy Capostagno Tim Clark (26) made a sentimental journey back to the top of the leader board in early play at the Bells South African Open. Born down the coast in Umkomaas, Clark went round Durban Country Club in six under par 66 with seven birdies and a bogey. Clark was a star amateur […]

Riaan Wolmarans 115 AndersonStreet. This new venue provides great funky and deep house over weekends, so go check it out. Abelarde Sanction, corner of Ripley and Fulham streets, Brixton. A nicely laid-back venue with bands playing over weekends a great place to relax after a hectic week. Website:www.hixnet.co.za/home/abelarde. Tel: 837 5832. Amazon, Banbury Cross shopping […]

Missing players and dismal results have marred South Africa’s preparations for Mali Ntuthuko Maphumulo Bafana Bafana’s preparations for the African Cup of Nations that starts next week have not gone well. The South African national team have been dismal in their preparation games for Mali so far, with two draws against minnows Mozambique and Botswana […]

Andr Zaaiman was instrumental in setting up the South African gathering of goodwill representatives from Israel and Palestine Barry Streek A South African conflict negotiator and white former Umkhonto weSizwe operative, Andr Zaaiman, has emerged as the key behind-the-scenes figure in this week’s closed-door meeting between Israelis, Palestinians and South Africans aimed at strengthening the […]