RUGBY Andy Colquhoun in Fremantle In 1850 building work began on a new detention centre to house 75 convicts, the first wave of felons despatched to Fremantle to begin a new life as far away as possible from the delicate sensibilities of British society. Today the building is the Esplanade hotel and houses the Springbok […]
EVIDENCE WA KA NGOBENI, Johannesburg | Friday THE Special Investigative Unit (SIU), the state’s premier investigation authority, is to shut down a string of long-standing probes into alleged fraudulent activities involving government officials and private individuals as part of a plan to overhaul its operations. The unit, which has been struggling to cope with its […]
Bongani Majola The word “battle” features prominently when South African graffiti artists talk about their work. This was evident at a recent graffiti competition in Johannesburg. The winning work, which took a R500 prize, was of a man menacingly clutching a little teddy bear in his hand. This is, according to Wealz, the sole judge […]
Alec Hogg Failure to keep losses in check forced South African-owned technology group Ixchange to issue a profit warning on Tuesday morning. But chief executive Derek Kreunen says although the bottom line number for the six months to June 30 came in $3,3-million worse than had been projected, there is enough in the results for […]
It should be noted that, after the government, no organisation in this country is doing more to handle the appalling results of the Aids pandemic, using both local and foreign funding, than the Catholic Church, led by its bishops. These men are fully aware of what is going on. They see and know all about […]
SIERRA LEONE on Thursday released 41 rebels from prison including Paolo Bangura, a former foreign minister, a government statement said. It said the detainees were freed in the afternoon from Freetown’s high-security Pademba Road prison. All were members of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebel group and had been held under a sweeping emergency law. […]
Documents suggest that Chippy Shaik did not withdraw from key arms decisions involving his brother’s interests Paul Kirk Intelligence agencies and the state attorney this week sought to stop the Mail & Guardian from publishing information about documents that expose serious irregularities in the R50-billion arms deal. Shortly after the M&G asked Minister of Trade […]
Q&A musa manzini Thebe Mabanga Musa Manzini, a graduate of the University of Cape Town (UCT) school of music, is one the latest, noticeable arrivals on the jazz scene. With class and elegance he effortlessly alternates between the electric guitar and the double bass. His self-produced, self-titled debut, New Reflections (BMG), earned him a South […]
Khadija Magardie When it comes to political chutzpah, even the most cynical would concede: Benazir Bhutto oozes it. In South Africa this week to attend Women’s Day celebrations, she made no secret of her primary raison d’tre to lobby for international support for her return to Pakistan, where she was once prime minister. Despite imprisonment, […]
THE Namibian man who had his hands and feet chopped off by his sister died in the intensive care unit at the Oshakati State Hospital on Tuesday. David Moses Halwoodi (33) survived for a week after Ndapandula Jafet hacked off his hands and feet with a panga. According to hospital sources, Halwoodi’s died as a […]
EGYPT’S attorney general will examine demands for Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to be investigated with a view to trying him for involvement in the alleged killing of Egyptian prisoners during two Arab-Israeli wars, legal officials said Thursday. The Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights (EOHR) has filed a complaint with attorney general Maher Abdel Wahed […]
As the exciting KwaZulu-Natal season recedes into the past, attention swings to the mud of Kenilworth in Cape Town, which offers this weekend’s only graded feature race, the R80000 weight-for-age Champagne Stakes for fillies and mares over 1200m. The race has attracted a few useful older sprinters but the winner could be an improving member […]
The company’s chief financial officer says the downturn was a necessary evil to shake out unsound businesses Belinda Anderson The management of Idion Technologies is more confident than ever about the strength of the business. But, on release of its half-year numbers, the market knocked another 20% off the share price taking it down to […]
Khadija Magardie The Office of the Public Protector has confirmed that it is investigating the CEO of the Commission on Gender Equality (CGE), Zith Mahaye. A representative for Public Protector Selby Baqwa’s office this week said it is in the process of investigating a complaint against Mahaye, but has not yet made any findings. The […]
THE United States has donated crime-fighting equipment worth $150 000 to the Nigerian police, officials said this week. The equipment, including vehicles, computers, generators, fax machines, fire-proof safes and VHF radios, was presented to a special fraud unit on Wednesday. Also included in the package is special training for investigators of international fraud and financial […]
DAVID LE PAGE, Johannesburg | Friday FOR two weeks the Internet has been the spawning ground for widespread, distorted rumours about the government’s alleged plan to institute Internet “censorship” measures, “similar to those introduced in China”. The Interception and Monitoring Bill about to be introduced to Parliament contains no recipe for Internet censorship, though provisions […]
David Macfarlane About 75% of schools expel girls who fall pregnant, but only 25% of schools also expel the father of the child. “There’s not a school in the country that doesn’t have to face the problem of pregnancy among learners,” says Ken Alston, acting rector of the Teachers’ Centre in East London. He bases […]
BOXING Deon Potgieter History could be made in October if the proposed clash between Cassius “The Hitman” Baloyi and Phillip “The Timebomb” Ndou goes ahead. It would be the first time two current South African world champions face off against each other and that with neither title at stake. Baloyi, undefeated after 25 fights with […]
Ntuthuko Maphumulo Bafana Bafana have played a number of games against non-African opposition but have managed to win only once. They beat Sweden 1-0 in 1999 with a goal scored in the dying minutes of the second half by the former African Wanderers and Kaizer Chiefs striker Siyabonga Nomvete. Nomvete, who now plies his trade […]
TWO Zambian police officers have been sentenced to death by hanging, after the Lusaka High Court found them guilty of murder. The senior police officers were arrested in March 1999 for murdering a truck driver after hijacking his vehicle laden with copper destined for South Africa, a Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) report said. In […]
THE Swaziland government is planning to bus thousands of rural people to a meeting called by King Mswati III on Friday, in a bid to counter stayaway calls from pro-democracy groups. Swaziland Commercial Amadoda Road Transport (Scarta) confirmed on Thursday that it planned to transport people to the meeting using petrol supplied by the government. […]
After months of uncertainty over his fate, the orphaned elephant’s future is now secure Fiona Macleod KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife authorities have given the go-ahead for the return of Sahib, the mighty African elephant bull who has been bullied and abused in a German circus for 18 years. When he comes home, he will be known as […]
Glenda Daniels Gender activists from across the spectrum of political parties, NGOs, educationists and trade unionists slammed the government at a gender summit this week for withdrawing funds from a parliamentary committee on women while spending billions on defence. The four-day summit, entitled Realising Gender Equality: Justice, Peace and Poverty Eradication, organised on the eve […]
Marianne Merten Women seeking protection from domestic violence have benefited from the 1999 Prevention of Domestic Violence Act despite overburdened courts, inadequately trained officials, lack of finance and under-resourced police. Much has depended on innovative approaches such as enlisting the help of a cleaner as translator at a police station and the personal commitment of […]
TANZANIAN police have seized 151,5 tons of marijuana, destroyed 42 hectares of the narcotic plant and arrested 1 100 suspected drug traffickers, police announced on Wednesday. Police also impounded a kilogram of cannabis resin, an unspecified quantity of bhang seeds and 150,27 grams of heroin. “What is worse are reports that in 10 regions, people […]
THE army on the break-away island of Anjouan has deposed Colonel Said Abeid, who this year entered into a reconciliation agreement with the federal authorities in Comoros, diplomatic sources in the Comoros capital of Moroni said on Thursday. Sources said soldiers had encircled the presidency and arrested Abeid. “The situation in Anjouan is however reported […]
In your ear Thebe Mabanga Recently Metro fm unveiled a new line-up three weeks after appointing a new station manager, former marketing manager Lesley Ntloko. Both changes were made with good intentions but are flawed. First the line-up. The most exciting part is the arrival of Phat Joe on the midday show (noon-3pm). Phat Joe […]
Analysis Tom Lodge At last year’s African National Congress council meeting, secretary general Kgalema Motlanthe said “the principles of democratic centralism continue to guide our structures”. Strictly speaking there is little in democratic centralism that liberals should find objectionable. The concept was used by the Soviet Communist Party to describe the organisation of its internal […]
Willem Heath’s former unit is to prioritise serious corruption investigations and dump small cases Evidence wa ka Ngobeni The Special Investigative Unit (SIU), the state’s premier investigation authority, is to shut down a string of long-standing probes into alleged fraudulent activities involving government officials and private individuals as part of a plan to overhaul its […]
REVIEW Gavin Foster Subaru Forester GX R217 950 Subaru’s Forester GX is rather different from its often-pretentious opposition. More station wagon than sport utility vechicle, it offers something that many more macho-looking four-wheel drives don’t a low-range gearset for when the going gets tough. Its longish overhangs and limited ground clearance mean that the Forester […]
PAUL KIRK, Durban | Friday INTELLIGENCE agencies and the state attorney this week sought to stop the Mail & Guardian from publishing information about documents that expose serious irregularities in the R50-billion arms deal. Shortly after the M&G, asked Minister of Trade and Industry Alec Erwin to comment on the documents, Pretoria state attorney Caroline […]
THE Angolan army (FAA) and the Unita rebel movement are engaged in “heavy fighting” in the northern part of the central highland’s province of Bie, Portuguese news agency Lusa reported on Wednesday. The report said that fighting was concentrated around Gamba, a village in the Nharea district about 100km north of the provincial capital, Kuito. […]