RUGBY Andy Capostagno What has happened to the rugby calendar? A sequence of three Test matches on successive Saturdays has just been concluded. During that time the only concession to provincial rugby was the Sail Running Rugby Festival in Port Elizabeth a couple of weeks ago. This Friday the Currie Cup begins, some five weeks […]
While billions are spent on arms and luxury vehicles by people in power, the impoverished still wait for land Marianne Merten and Evidence wa ka Ngobeni In the face of increasing land hunger among South Africa’s poor, the government has appealed for patience while pursuing strong-arm tactics against those who illegally invade land. Many of […]
But Junichiro Koizumi’s love affair with the public may well end in tears Justin McCurry in Osaka Election candidates hoping to boost their appeal queue up to be photographed with him. An elderly woman threatens to kill herself unless she is granted a brief audience. Just about everyone wants a piece of Junichiro Koizumi. The […]
AMERICAN NOTES Tim Wood The US economy is like a Formula 1 grand prix with many spectators attending only in the hope of seeing accidents. They’ve been given a spectacular pile-up after the technology bubble popped and yet they’re desperate for more; something fatal. The morbid obsession to lay the United States low rises and […]
Some African giants are struggling to qualify for next year’s soccer World Cup Ntuthuko Maphumulo Bafana Bafana’s 1-1 draw against Burkina Faso in Ougadougou last weekend might not have been stylish, but it was mission accomplished as South Africa joined Cameroon in qualifying for next year’s World Cup in Japan and Korea. In 1998 Phil […]
Star Trek fans are one of the many targets for an embryonic industry, writes Tim Green What is the most popular electronic game in the world? Is it Gran Turismo? Quake? Tetris? Pokmon Gold? Guess again. The answer, according to educated guesswork, is probably Snake. A simple black and white puzzler played on a mobile […]
LETTERS TO THE BEST MAN To Tony Leon from Craig Tanner I am a close confidant of Dr Essop Pahad, our leader’s Best Man. We are working together to ensure that our leader serves as president for his lifetime. My purpose in writing to you is twofold. I need to express appreciation of your role […]
Paul Kirk Durban’s R10-million metro police video surveillance system has caught out a rogue metro cop nearly three years after he attacked a handcuffed suspect for no apparent reason. This week the Mail & Guardian was given a copy of a police videotape that clearly shows an obviously defenceless suspect being struck on the head […]
President Robert Mugabe’s government declared this week’s general strike called by Zimbabwe’s trade unions illegal. That the vast majority of the country’s 1,2-million employed workers bravely chose to ignore the ban suggests that it is Zanu-PF’s choking grip on Zimbabwe that lacks legitimacy. The intimidatory threats issued by the despised “war veterans”, who have turned […]
Niki Moore ‘Politicians have forgotten what it is like to be hungry.” These are the words of 12-year-old Mbali from a poor KwaZulu-Natal South Coast family. Although Mbali comes from a poor family she does not qualify for a child support grant because she is above the cut-off age of seven. She has four brothers […]
Barry Streek Minister of Social Development Zola Skweyiya has ordered an immediate inquiry into the delay earlier this week in the payment of about 400 000 of the more than 3,5-million social grants. People receiving grants should have received a minimum 5,6% increase at the beginning of the month, but instead had to wait because […]
Barry Streek The African National Congress has taken a strong stand against its members who regard their positions as a source of material wealth for themselves. It says its elected leaders should not only be free of corruption, but should also actively fight against corruption. This tough position on leadership within the party was taken […]
They’re probably not aphrodisiacs but oysters are still reason to celebrate Jo-Ann Bekker Growing up inland, my idea of seafood was grilled sole. When someone pulled a mussel off a rock, prised it open and gave it to me to eat, I tried to keep an open mind, but it tasted slimy and horrible. So […]
Mango Groove’s Claire Johnston spoke to Adam Haupt about her debut solo album, Fearless W hen I heard that Claire Johnston had released a solo album, Fearless, my response was, “What happened to Mango Groove?” Who could forget their celebration of Sophiatown’s finest hour? Their retro-blend was typically 1980s and early 1990s pop and back […]
Despite pollution and criticism of its human rights record, Beijing looks set to host the 2008 Olympics Steven Mufson Measured against Toronto, Paris and Osaka the other finalists bidding to host the 2008 Olympic Games Beijing leaves some things to be desired. Like clean air. In the mid-1990s the World Bank declared the Chinese capital […]
Valentine Cascarino They’re sour. They’ll get you drunk easily. And they’ll prepare you for your grave sooner than you expected. They’re called mbamba, bitla le ahlame and mqomboti, are made from fermented maize or bread and are drunk mostly by the homeless, sometimes with a bowl of sugar. This is the new stuff provided by […]
REVIEW David Shapshak Rex 6000 personal digital organiser Technology is a wonderful thing, in case you hadn’t noticed. I have in my hand a device the size of a credit card (and the thickness of three) that has nearly as much functionality as my PalmPilot, and it has a touch screen on it. The Rex […]
Turn on, tune in, feel nothing. Has pop culture finally eaten itself? Charles Shaar Murray reports ‘Bloodbath,” whispers the voice on the phone from Manhattan. “It’s a killing field out there. And they’re dropping like flies.” Not junkies, crackheads, gangstas in the projects; not Aids sufferers; not even Ethiopian immigrants who’ve fallen foul of the […]
Ngwako Modjadji and Nawaal Deane Confusion reigns among squatters in Bredel, Kempton Park, with many so-called “land invaders” uncertain of what action to take. Most of the squatters have come in search of “promised land” without a clear idea of who owns it, but determined not to be evicted. Tensions are high and many promise […]
The National Arts Festival is taking place amid uncertainty, but major works show cultural maturity Thebe Mabanga The 27th edition of the Standard Bank National Arts Festival survived its tacky motif and lived to fight another year. The image used to promote the festival in print adverts, that of Ellis Person and Bheki Mkhwane clad […]
The American has overcome testicular cancer to bid for a third consecutive crown Martin Gillingham Robert Hunter is barely a household name in his own household. But on Saturday in Dunkirk, as he rolls up the start ramp for the 8,2km prologue of this year’s Tour de France, he will do so as the first […]
Barry Streek The move towards the payment of a monthly R100 basic income grant gained momentum this week when 12 non-government and religious organisations handed over a memorandum to Vivienne Taylor, the chairperson of the Department of Social Development committee investigating the issue. The principle of a basic income was endorsed in a government White […]
More arms officials admit to getting discounted cars Evidence wa ka Ngobeni Ron Haywood, the head of Armscor and one of the most influential players in the arms deal, is the latest senior figure to appear on the “Yengeni” list senior politicians and civil servants who got discounts on luxury cars from DaimlerChrysler South Africa […]
A SECOND LOOK Howard Barrell Members of Thabo Mbeki’s Cabinet were in respectable company at Sun City last weekend. I refer not to the editors with whom they spent the better part of two days but, instead, to those with whom they shared a common opinion about the media. It was apparent at the outset […]
BODY LANGUAGE Merle Colborne The difference between men and women is all in the way they approach things. A man will generally approach a thing (other than a woman or an intersection) with great reluctance, very slowly. A woman’s approach is swifter. She’ll look at the situation, access what needs to be done and then […]
David Macfarlane Divisions and infighting in the NGO sector have deepened with the recent break-up of the Non-Profit Partnership (NPP), which was established only three years ago to strengthen non-profit organisations. And the World Conference Against Racism, to be held in August in Durban, has been touched by the fallout. Mismanagement, weak leadership and internal […]
Jessica Farley Right next to the Kyalami Equestrian Centre, on Dahlia Road, lies a sanctuary far from the madness of modern-day technology. Within these walls lives a centuries-old tradition. The performing Lipizzaners of South Africa are housed here. Every Sunday morning at 11am these dancing white horses are geared up in their traditional tack and […]
Belinda Anderson Of the top 10 fallers on the JSE Securities Exchange in the second quarter this year, three have gone bust and most of the other seven are either restructuring or working on a turnaround. Regal Treasury Bank went from hero to zero in a matter of weeks. Although curator Tim Store has been […]
The five best performers on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in the second quarter of the year were all relatively small cap stocks Shirley Kemp Major price moves in the June quarter (April to June) illustrate that companies with relatively small market values are the riskiest investments. Figures show that investors with large enough exposure either […]
Legislation drafted in January gives authorities the means to crack down on organised crime Judith February A new Bill to combat money laundering, the Financial Intelligence Centre Bill, is a subject of deliberations in the portfolio committees of finance, justice and constitutional development. The Bill seeks to address administrative and procedural defaults in the The […]
Wimbledon’s newest star has South African connections Neal Collins Somewhere beneath the enveloping Henmania of Brit-biased Wimbledon this week, a star was born. And he holds a South African passport. Actually, Roger Federer was born on August 8 1981, but in tennis, stardom takes a while to gestate, especially in that exclusive area of London […]
The article about Henrietta Mqokomisa and her removal from Alexandra to Diepsloot was one person’s story analysis Chris McGreal The Gauteng Department of Housing spokesperson, Dumisani Zulu, accuses me of “blatant disregard” for good journalism for allegedly putting one side of the story in the account of the destruction of Henrietta Mqokomisa’s home in Alexandra […]