Staff Reporter

John Young “The days of going into games maybe 10 years ago without a game-plan are gone,” Shaun Pollock told SA Sports Illustrated in September. The curriculum of the national academy obviously does not include South Africa’s 1952/53 tour of Australia. If it did, Pollock would know that one of the biggest cricketing upsets of […]

The Springboks wrapped up the year with a win in Houston, but they looked jaded and eager to return home for the holidays Andy Capostagno The final Springbok press conference of the year took place in the dressing room of the Houston Cougars university gridiron team. The match against the United States Eagles had been […]

Recent events provide a chance for the Democratic Alliance to make meaningful changes, argues Tony Leon In a political spectacle that was part drama, part farce, most of the New National Party national and provincial leadership recently withdrew from the Democratic Alliance to pursue cooperative government with the African National Congress. Our detractors believe this […]

But if next year’s World Cup in Korea/Japan is a flop, the Fifa president has scapegoats David Lacey Beaming benignly, Sepp Blatter approached the task with the air of a Swiss waiter in charge of the sweet trolley. The customers might get indigestion, but he was not going to drop the profiteroles. Nothing fazed our […]

Mungo Soggot The assets and accounts of the South African Diamond Board were frozen on Thursday after the board violated a court order obliging it to pay one of its main contractors. The company accusing the board of not paying up is Diamond Valuation International Company (DVIC), the government diamond valuator. It has been in […]

The Cape summer season gets into full swing on Saturday with its first grade one event, the R200 000 Cape Fillies Guineas over a mile on the Kenilworth new course. The favourite, Tatler, hails from Port Elizabeth and the daughter of Hard Up certainly has the class and the form to justify her position at […]

analysis Khadija Magardie The “a-hoppin’ on my camel versus just cruisin’ in my Daimler” problem has always been a dilemma of sorts in the Muslim world. Understandably so, considering the difficulties of marrying centuries of tradition with being a citizen of the 21st century. But few instances of what Ali Mazrui called “having the wristwatch […]

Ebrahim Rasool is regarded as someone who puts issues of social justice before privilege and prestige Marianne Merten Western Cape African National Congress leader Ebrahim Rasool long ago swopped the salaah thobe (prayer robe) embroidered with beads in ANC colours he wore in the Eighties for a collar and tie. As the Western Cape’s new […]

In response to the Robert Kirby column (November 30), the smartcard swap has been necessary to upgrade the security for decryption and reliability of our signal. Internationally, pay-TV operators are upgrading smartcards every two to three years as technology evolves. MultiChoice Africa has deployed agents across the country to facilitate convenience to subscribers. The query […]

Khadija Magardie The South African Law Commission’s (SALC) project committee has approved its discussion document and proposed draft Bill on Islamic marriages. The paper, which will be released for public comment, makes provision for the recognition of marriages contracted in terms of Muslim religious law. In addition, it regulates the proprietary consequences of such marriages, […]

Tanya Glavovic Two years from now South Africa’s regulated drinking water supplies will be fluoridated to an optimum level of 0,7mg per litre of water in accordance with regulations promulgated by the Department of Health on September 8 this year. “The cost of this programme is estimated at R30-million a year,” says the chairperson of […]

The might of Egypt stands in the way of the team from Mamelodi Ntuthuko Maphumulo They came, they saw, but can Sundowns conquer Africa by being crowned Champions League champions and winning $1-million? The answer will be revealed after 180 minutes the first 90 minutes of which take place at Loftus on Saturday as Sundowns […]

Miles Keylock 0932, Main Road, Green Point. On Sunday December 9 groove on down at a night of swinging funk with Breakfast Included, who are joined by Melanie Scholtz on vocals. Shows start at 7pm and finish about 10pm. There is no cover charge and great food specials are available. Details and bookings:Tel: 434 6306. […]

Fiona Macleod South Africans are smuggling rare and endangered wildlife species out of Zimbabwe in an attempt to “save” them from becoming victims of the political chaos in that country. In one daring “rescue”, a Potgieters- rus game farmer smuggled 24 sable antelopes into South Africa in a Dakota. The plane managed to avoid radar […]

A PROMINENT Nigerian Aids activist received death threats on Tuesday hours after appearing on television and criticising a controversial doctor’s claim to have found a cure for the disease. Former military intelligence officer Mohammed Farouk, leader of the Nigerian Aids Alliance, said the threats came after he criticised the controversial doctor Jeremiah Abalaka during an […]

CLAIRE KEETON, Cape Town | Thursday A MAN has been detained in Cape Town for questioning in connection with murder of former First Lady Marike de Klerk (64) police said on Thursday morning. Representative for the national commissioner’s office, Sally de Beer, said police believed they had enough reason to detain the man. She did […]

Pretoria | Thursday A SOUTH African farmer and a member of a local vigilante group were jailed for nine and seven years respectively on Wednesday for beating a suspected tomato thief to death and seriously injuring another. The Pretoria High Court sentenced Ockert Werner (35) and Marius van Antwerp (31) for beating two men with […]

Pretoria | Wednesday PLANS of a plot to oust South African President Thabo Mbeki proved to be untrue, the country’s safety and security minister said on Tuesday, in an about-face since the allegations surfaced in April. Steve Tshwete, who publicly accused three senior African National Congress members of plotting to oust Mbeki, told journalists that […]

EGYPTIAN archeologists discovered a Pharaonic stele bearing the image of a sun goddess near the Karnak temple in Luxor, 480 kilometers south of Cairo. “The team discovered the stele of the goddess Suwas a week ago when they were cleaning the temple of the goddess Mout,” the council’s director Gaballah Ali Gaballah said. Suwas is […]

Moscow | Thursday RUSSIAN diamond monopoly Alrosa could scale down supply to South African diamond giant De Beers, with whom it has an accord for selling Russian diamonds on international markets, a finance ministry official said on Wednesday. A governmental commission responsible for the development of the diamond industry is to call on Alrosa, supplier […]

NIGERIA’S state-run radio has banned its stations nationwide from broadcasting rap music, considered immoral by Muslim and Christian conservatives. A directive from the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) asked all broadcasters to note that “rap music is banned in all FRCN stations”. The directive, which was issued in October, violates the rights of young […]

NIGERIAN President Olusegun Obasanjo on Monday blasted university teachers as lazy, saying they never do a full day’s work, as lecturers went on strike for more pay. Visiting the Nigerian Law School in Abuja, the angry president praised the centre’s students and lecturers for ignoring a strike call by the university teachers union, known as […]

Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has sacked a senior judge of the federal high court for ‘gross misconduct’, the presidency announced late Monday. Obasanjo approved the dismissal of Justice C.C. Nwaogwugwu following complaints of improper conduct in four cases sent before him last year, Obasanjo’s office said in a statement. A panel of inquiry had found […]

Cape Town | Wednesday THREE agencies who are jointly investigating South Africa’s multi-billion dollar arms procurement deal on Tuesday said they could find no evidence to suggest a flaw in the government’s contracting position. The head of the Directorate for Public Prosecutions — one of the agencies involved — said no link between officials still […]

JAN HENNOP, Johannesburg | Wednesday FROM the car-park, the museum to one of the most tragic periods in South African history does not look like much. Across the road to the right, there’s a casino. To the left, an amusement park with an array of rides where thrill seekers scream on the way down an […]

Abidjan | Tuesday AIR France is suspending flights to Abidjan in Ivory Coast in retaliation for a go-slow by staff of the African airline Air Afrique against the French carrier, airline sources said on Monday. The work to rule by unions of airport staff has targeted Air France flights to 11 African countries to force […]

THE heads of state and representatives of five African countries decided on Monday to create a regional peacekeeping force for the Central African Republic (CAR) during a summit in the Sudanese capital, officials said. The force will be made up of soldiers from the 16 nations in the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa […]

Harare | Tuesday ZIMBABWE’S state-owned press rounded on Monday on neighbouring South Africa, accusing President Thabo Mbeki of “betrayal” for reported criticism of President Robert Mugabe’s government and policies. In a strongly worded editorial, the government daily the Herald said that the country felt betrayed that Mbeki had joined “the fight against Zimbabwe” alongside “architects […]

Cape Town | Tuesday FORMER South African president Nelson Mandela warned here on Monday that it would be “a disaster” for the United States and Britain to extend the war on terrorism to bombing Iraq. “I think that would be a disaster,” Mandela told reporters when asked if he would support such a step. The […]

Gaborone | Monday A PACT to curb the trade in “blood diamonds” has been reached with agreement on international certification for rough diamond exports and imports, officials said as talks wound up in Botswana. “Blood diamonds” or “conflict diamonds” are defined as rough diamonds which are used by rebel movements to finance their activities, or […]

SIX children, one as young as four, have been arrested in Senegal for killing a two-year-old boy by stuffing sand in his mouth, police said on Friday. The six boys were arrested on Thursday after the discovery of the young victim’s body partly buried on the outskirts of St. Louis, on the Atlantic coast of […]