The Mercury (South Africa) back issues from July 2006:
Travolta in drag.(Life)
Jul 03, 2006 ... NOT long after having heard he had landed a principal role in the planned film version of the hit stage musical, Hairspray, itself inspired by a cult John Waters movie of the same name, John Travolta (right) hired a makeup artist and hairstylist. The role is that of flamboyant ...
Quaid's anorexia.(Life)
Jul 03, 2006 ... ACTOR Dennis Quaid, star of the recent The Rookie and Yours, Mine and Ours, has admitted to a US magazine he was dangerously anorexic in the 90s after having dieted severely to shed some 25kg for his role as gambler-dentist Doc Holloway in the 1994 western, Wyatt Earp. The ...
This was political interference.(News)
Jul 03, 2006 ... I would like to voice my support for the opinions of letter-writers about political interference in the Comrades Marathon. This is a great event and if South Africans want to support the brave men and women who run this race, instead of attending political rallies, then this is ...
Winter warmers.(Life)
Jul 03, 2006 ... BYLINE: LIFE REPORTER ONE way to stave off the winter woes is to seek solace in some good, home-cooked food, and the abundance of winter vegetables on the market make for heart-warming and nourishing meals. Food Fanatics duo Angela Woodward and Elaine Rousseau say ...
Temptations for tastebuds.(Life)
Jul 03, 2006 ... BYLINE: BILLY SUTER THE whacky humour and lip-smacking food of South African food personality Jenny Morris, also known as the Giggling Gourmet, was a delight in her cookbook Rude Food, Nude Food, Good Food. Now this author, columnist, radio and TV presenter, celebrity ...
Fan's mission impossible.(Life)
Jul 03, 2006 ... SUPERSTAR Tom Cruise got more than a little miffed recently when a fan, with a DVD in hand, came scuttling towards him as he left the Los Angeles Scientology Centre, asking for his autograph. Cruise was reportedly happy to oblige, until he realised the man smiling at him wanted ...
Bloody embrace.(Life)
Jul 03, 2006 ... KIEFER Sutherland (right) was recently left moaning, with a bloodied lip, after a kissing scene with co-star Kim Raver in the thit television series, 24. The accident happened when the two were locked in an embrace for a scene from the series and were expecting to be interrupted ...
Rocking with Clark and Vee.(Life)
Jul 03, 2006 ... FORMER Durban-based singer-dancer Joseph Clark, whose many stage successes include Queen at the Opera, and former Idols finalist Veronique Lalouette, who was known on the hit series as Vee, are pooling vocal talents for a Philharmonic Rock concert to be staged this month by the ...
UKZN staff make slow equity gains.(News)
Jul 03, 2006 ... BYLINE: NOLOYISO MCHUNU AN Employment equity report on the racial representation of staff at the University of KwaZulu-Natal says that the institution is dominated by white and Indian academic staff, while staff from the African and coloured groups are outnumbered and are not ...
Misleading Impression Created Around Hiv Drug Safety.(News)
Jul 03, 2006 ... The article "Antiretroviral drug is highly toxic, study concludes" (The Mercury, June 27) presents clinical data out of context and in a sensational manner. In particular, the headlines are not supported by the data in the article (supplied by the Star newspaper), and are confusing and ...
Body found in hotel.(News)
Jul 03, 2006 ... THE body of a 43-year-old woman was found in her room at the Riviera Hotel on Victoria Embankment in Durban last week. Police Insp Michael Read said the woman had stab ...
Seeking local talent!(Life)
Jul 03, 2006 ... WITH news of M-Net producing a South African version of hit reality show Survivor still dominating headlines, the channel has now announced it will be producing a version of Australia's longest-running game show, to be called Temptation South Africa. The series is set to ...
Poacher to be paid compensation.(News)
Jul 03, 2006 ... BYLINE: INGRID OELLERMANN HIGH court judges found in a civil appeal lodged in Pietermaritzburg on Friday that a poacher who was mistakenly shot and wounded by a game ranger in the Hluhluwe game reserve, who had been aiming at one of his hunting dogs, was entitled to be paid ...
Despite our legacy, we live and learn.(News)
Jul 03, 2006 ... WE ALL make mistakes and errors of judgment from time to time. We speak on impulse or act without thinking carefully enough about the unintended hurts caused to others. And sometimes we fail to speak up when we should. That is life, unfortunately. We can't re-enact ...
Rape trial costs to be carried by state.(News)
Jul 03, 2006 ... BYLINE: INGRID OELLERMANN HIGH Court judges in Pietermaritzburg ordered on Friday that the state should pay the costs of an application brought by a rape accused who sought access to the files of a clinical psychologist, Prishika Pillay, who had counselled the alleged victim. ...
Pmb electricity to get more staff, vehicles and backup.(News)
Jul 03, 2006 ... BYLINE: STEPHANIE SAVILLE THE Msunduzi municipality will be pumping staff, vehicles, money and the expertise of consultants into the electricity department in the hope of remedying the crisis in the city's power supply, following a report tabled at a special executive committee ...
Accused father given bail.(News)
Jul 03, 2006 ... BYLINE: NOLOYISO MCHUNU THE 32-year-old Chatsworth man who was arrested for allegedly beating his six-year-old daughter to death for reportedly returning home late from school, was released on R3 000 bail on Friday. Raveendran Pillay was initially charged with Nikita ...
Police need help solving double murder.(News)
Jul 03, 2006 ... The police have asked people to come forward with information to help them establish the motive for a double murder in Ngwelezane on Friday. An attack at a house in Nkanyezi Road left two men dead and a third person seriously injured. Thabo Dludla, 33, Michael ...
New racism now threatens to divide us; After the World Cup in 2010, after our guests have gone home, our battle with racism will still be lurking, ready to rear its ugly head.(News)
Jul 03, 2006 ... 'The more things change, the more they remain the same." This famous French saying has never been truer for South Africa. I recall in the old regime being stopped by a police officer for speeding in a 60km/h zone. "Race?" he asked sternly. "Human," I replied proudly. ...
How to tune cool.(News)
Jul 03, 2006 ... A JUDGE has ordered that the big "Safe My Mate" billboard on Rainbow Farms next to the N3 between Durban and Pietermaritzburg must be removed, and rightly so. Whether or not the sign is a hazard, which the court says it is, "safe my mate" is surely hopelessly outdated jargon ...
The Potter Cliffhanger.(News)
Jul 03, 2006 ... Harry Potter condemned to death? For millions of readers happily under the spell of the young wizard, the very idea is intolerable. But none other than Potter's creator, J K Rowling, has hinted at such a calamity. The author has disclosed that, in the seventh and final Potter ...
Quote of the Day.(News)
Jul 03, 2006 ... "Acting is an empty and useless profession." - Marlon Brando, the Oscar-winning star of The ...
Give a thought to the runners.(News)
Jul 03, 2006 ... Once again decisions have been made without thought for the very people who make the Comrades Marathon - the runners. Having Comrades on a Sunday is going to interfere with the Christian religion. Is this again a reflection of the direction that this country is heading? ...
There's bitter irony in omission of Luke Watson from Bok squad.(News)
Jul 03, 2006 ... The ongoing cloak and dagger social engineering - passing for team selection - behind the scenes in the Springbok rugby camp is old hat. Spare a bittersweet moment, though, for the Watson family: Cheeky and son Luke. Cheeky, the brave anti-apartheid activist, ...
2006 Durban July.(News)
Jul 03, 2006 ... IF one singular event had to be credited for establishing Durban in the international tourism arena it would have to be the Durban July. Justifiably billed as Africa's greatest horseracing event, it has reached the enviable position of attracting a capacity crowd and a ...
Durban shines as fashion capital once again.(News)
Jul 03, 2006 ... BYLINE: OMESHNIE NAIDOO & XOLISWA ZULU ONE of the biggest social events of the year - the Vodacom Durban July - rocked the city for the 115th time this weekend. Durban was indeed the playground for South Africa's rich and famous, with celebrity guests representing the ...
HIV/Aids activists at loggerheads.(News)
Jul 03, 2006 ... BYLINE: NOLOYISO MCHUNU SOUTH Africa's two major HIV/Aids activist groups are at loggerheads over the administration of treatment for Aids patients, with one advocating for open access to drugs and the other calling for food security as a priority. The Treatment ...
Transnet considering port at Durban's present airport site.(News)
Jul 03, 2006 ... BYLINE: SAMANTHA ENSLIN Transnet, in its long-term plans to create future container handling capacity at the Durban port, is mulling over a dug-out port at the present Durban International Airport site. Pumi Motsoahae, a project manager of Transnet Capital Projects, ...
Religious leaders and Christians complain about new Comrades date.(News)
Jul 03, 2006 ... BYLINE: AMELIA NAIDOO The Comrades Marathon Association may have jumped out of a political frying pan into a religious fire by switching the marathon date to a Sunday. "We were not consulted," said the South African Council of Churches spokesman Jo Mdhlela in ...
White's future remains uncertain, despite meeting Hoskins.(Monday Sports Supplement)
Jul 03, 2006 ... BYLINE: Jacques van der Westhuyzen Despite a lengthy meeting with South Africa's top two rugby bosses, Jake White's future involvement with the Springboks remains as dark as the days leading up to yesterday's meeting. South African Rugby Union President Regan Hoskins ...
Athletics.(Monday Sports Supplement)
Jul 03, 2006 ... Tyre force ten Winston Park 10km run: 1 T Thabiso (Chats) 32:59, 2 P Bennad (MrP) 33:18, 3 M Dlamini (Them) 34:06 35-39: 1 I Mhlango (Lib) 34:39, 2 T Ndlovu (PDAC) 36:15, 3 M Sibakhulu (HV) 38:35 40-49: S Mokoena (UKZN) 36:57, 2 B Chettleburgh ...
Butch's punch that 'wasn't'.(Monday Sports Supplement)
Jul 03, 2006 ... BYLINE: STEPHEN NELL The Springbok flyhalf berth is there for the taking for Butch James. Instead of staking his claim, however, the Sharks's No 10 left Newlands on Saturday with renewed questions about his temperament after being sin-binned in the 28-25 win over ...
De Klerk to go home to recuperate.(News)
Jul 03, 2006 ... Cape Town: Former president F W de Klerk will return home this morning to recuperate after a month-long stay in hospital. De Klerk was admitted to hospital on June 2 and had a cancerous tumour removed from his colon the ...
Nqakula, police top brass to hold talks.(News)
Jul 03, 2006 ... BYLINE: Lee Rondganger, Solly Maphumulo & Lebogang Seale Johannesburg: As South Africans try to come to terms with the deaths of the four police officers killed in last Sunday's ambush in Jeppestown, Charles Nqakula, Minister of Safety and Security, will be meeting the police's ...
'Chaos' at Workers' Compensation Fund comes under the spotlight.(News)
Jul 03, 2006 ... BYLINE: Sholain Govender Pretoria: Managerial chaos in the office of the Workers' Compensation Fund Commissioner is resulting in the neglect of workers' rights. This is the opinion of Paula Howell of the Legal Resources Centre, who represents workers who have been ...
Parents demand compensation.(News)
Jul 03, 2006 ... BYLINE: XOLISWA ZULU Angry parents want heads to roll for what they call "complete negligence" on the part of the Department of Health and the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Hospital in Durban. This follows the release of the official report on the deaths of 40 babies ...
De Lille finally feels vindicated.(News)
Jul 03, 2006 ... BYLINE: WENDY JASSON DA COSTA Almost seven years after she first blew the whistle on possible irregularities in South Africa's multibillion-rand arms deal, Independent Democrats leader Patricia de Lille says she has finally been vindicated. This comes after the ...
Mr Price Pro hosting rights dispute still unresolved.(News)
Jul 03, 2006 ... BYLINE: SUREN NAIDOO DURBAN'S future hosting of the Mr Price Pro - the mainstay event in the Beach Africa Festival - still hangs in the balance despite an about-turn by Durban Africa, the city's marketing arm, on the issue of free concerts. Mr Price threatened to ...
McGregor wins world surf ski title.(Monday Sports Supplement)
Jul 03, 2006 ... BYLINE: Tommy Ballantyne Former senior and junior world canoe marathon champion and reigning Dusi Marathon title holder, Hank McGregor, added another considerable string to his bow by outstripping the entire band of international paddlers and the rest of the huge entry of over ...
Drowned man found.(News)
Jul 03, 2006 ... The SA Police Search and Rescue Unit yesterday recovered the body of a man who had drowned in the Umgeni River at Blue Lagoon in Durban. Insp Michael Read said the man's identity was not ...
New regulations offer increased protection for dolphins, whales.(News)
Jul 03, 2006 ... BYLINE: MELANIE GOSLING Cape Town: New laws in the offing will clamp down on people who harass whales and dolphins and will make it was easier to convict the culprits in court. Draft regulations by the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism on whales, ...
R45 000 robbery.(News)
Jul 03, 2006 ... Cash Converters in Umhlanga was held up by a gang of five armed men who made off with about R45 000 yesterday. Insp Michael Read of Durban North Police said the ...
Cosatu, ANC talks postponed.(News)
Jul 03, 2006 ... BYLINE: WENDY JASSON DA COSTA More time for preparation was needed before the ANC and Cosatu would meet to discuss a controversial document on the way forward for the alliance, ANC spokesman Smuts Ngonyama said yesterday. He said today's scheduled meeting had been ...
Commission to investigate what caused player's death.(News)
Jul 03, 2006 ... BYLINE: KAREN BREYTENBACH Cape Town: While the National Prosecuting Authority is expected to announce today whether to charge two Ceres rugby players accused of beating to death a Rawsonville flyhalf, a commission of inquiry appointed by the Boland Rugby Union will investigate ...
Olympic draw.(Monday Sports Supplement)
Jul 03, 2006 ... The draw for the first round of the African qualifying competition for the 2008 Olympic Games football tournament in China has taken place: Chad v Uganda, South Africa v Namibia, Gambia v Egypt, Mauritius v Burkina Faso, Senegal v Comoros, Ivory Coast v Lesotho, Guinea Bissau v ...
African leaders reject Zimbabwe report.(News)
Jul 03, 2006 ... BYLINE: Beauregard Tromp Banjul: As United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan praised African leaders gathered here for their positive steps towards human rights and democracy, they again rejected a report by one of their own agencies which criticised gross violations of human ...
Local surfers through to six-star first round.(Monday Sports Supplement)
Jul 03, 2006 ... BYLINE: Tommy Ballantyne Following two days of intense surfing to determine the Mr Price Pro junior men and women finalists, the action switched to the trials of the men's main event in the six-star World Qualifying Series (WQS) surfing extravaganza at Durban's North Beach ...
Shosholoza places 7th in tough tactical racing.(Monday Sports Supplement)
Jul 03, 2006 ... BYLINE: Own Correspondent Team Shosholoza has taken seventh place overall in the 2006 America's Cup Class Season Championship, and eighth overall in the Louis Vuitton Act 12 match racing event after 10 days of tough tactical racing that saw a much slicker, more professional game ...
Change lined up for Indy racing schedule.(Monday Sports Supplement)
Jul 03, 2006 ... BYLINE: Sapa-Ap The Indy Racing League is considering a schedule change for 2007, including moving its race at Kansas Speedway from July to April, to boost its US visibility ahead of the ...
Injured Gatlin out of grand prix.(Monday Sports Supplement)
Jul 03, 2006 ... BYLINE: Reuters Olympic and world 100m champion Justin Gatlin has pulled out of today's Athens Grand Prix ...
Fifa denies it has a back-up country for 2010 World Cup if South Africa fails to deliver.(News)
Jul 03, 2006 ... BYLINE: Jermaine Craig Frankfurt: Fifa has "absolutely, categorically" denied that it has a contingency plan to move the 2010 soccer World Cup to Australia if South Africa is unable to host the event. An Afrikaans weekly newspaper reported yesterday that South ...
Ex-prisoner just wants to feel the grass beneath his feet.(News)
Jul 03, 2006 ... BYLINE: Karyn Maughan Johannesburg: Barely 24 hours after he was released from a 19-year Zimbabwean prison hell, apartheid-era spy Michael Smith watched France beat Brazil - and loved it. "I'm so glad I was able to see that game," he told The Mercury at the ...
SA musicians in World Cup crash scare.(News)
Jul 03, 2006 ... BYLINE: Charles de Olim berlin: Armed German police surrounded a car within seconds after it crashed into spectators and came to rest metres from a stage on which South African musicians were about to perform. The immediate fear was that it was a terrorist attack. ...
We owe our freedom to priest, says former prisoner.(News)
Jul 03, 2006 ... BYLINE: Karyn Maughan Apartheid-era spy Kevin Woods believes he was saved from a Zimbabwean prison hell by President Robert Mugabe's priest. After spending 19 years in one of Zimbabwe's most notorious prisons, 53-year-old Woods and his fellow "Harare Three" ...
Alliance needs time to prepare.(News)
Jul 03, 2006 ... More time for preparation was needed before the ANC and Cosatu would meet to discuss a controversial document on the way forward for the alliance, ANC spokesman Smuts Ngonyama said yesterday. He said a meeting scheduled for today had been postponed because both sides needed more ...
Transnet considering port at Durban's present airport site.(News)
Jul 03, 2006 ... BYLINE: SAMANTHA ENSLIN Transnet, in its long-term plans to create future container handling capacity at the Durban port, is mulling over a dug-out port at the present Durban International Airport site. Pumi Motsoahae, a project manager of Transnet Capital Projects, ...
Born-again, porn-again church's hands-on approach.(News)
Jul 03, 2006 ... Los Angeles: A missionary group making the rounds at United States adult entertainment conventions hands out Bibles with "Jesus loves porn stars" stamped on their covers. Jesus loves porn stars just as much as he does pastors and soccer moms, the XXXchurch contends. ...
Toddler burns to death in shack fire.(News)
Jul 03, 2006 ... A 3-year-old baby girl burnt to death late last night when a fire ripped through two shacks in the Durban suburb of Sydenham. Police confirmed the incident, which took place at about 9pm in Puntan's Hill, saying that the fire had started in the shack the girl was sleeping in and ...
Parliament officer unfair dismissal.(News)
Jul 04, 2006 ... BYLINE: WENDY JASSON DA COSTA Parliament's sacked chief financial officer, Harry Charlton, wants his job back and has taken the matter to the Labour Court in Cape Town. Alternatively, Charlton wants compensation equal to 24 months of gross remuneration for "an ...
Darnall Primary festivities planned.(News)
Jul 04, 2006 ... Darnall Primary School will hold its 90-year celebration from July 28-30 and would like to hear from any past staff or ...
Pietermaritzburg chocolate factory workers still uncertain of future at plant.(News)
Jul 04, 2006 ... BYLINE: STEPHANIE SAVILLE Workers at the Nestle factory in Pietermaritzburg are still anxiously awaiting the outcome of negotiations between their union and the organisation, though no final decision has been taken on the possible closure of the chocolate factory in Winston ...
Innocent have become victims.(News)
Jul 04, 2006 ... I cried today when I heard the news. Another cruel, senseless murder. An off-duty security guard paid with his life when he went to the aid of some folk who were being robbed. Shot down in cold blood, the brave man still managed to fire one bullet before collapsing. ...
Rates dispute holds up development.(News)
Jul 04, 2006 ... BYLINE: STEPHANIE SAVILLE A LEGAL tussle is brewing over the sale of land at Woodburn Rugby Stadium after parties deadlocked in negotiations over whether or not the KwaZulu-Natal Rugby Union was liable to pay rates. The Mercury has learned that legal action is ...
Minister a disgrace.(News)
Jul 04, 2006 ... Please would the Minister of Safety and Security remind the families of the four dead policemen to "stop whinging about crime". ...
We're now prisoners in our own homes.(News)
Jul 04, 2006 ... I am afraid the figure given for the present prison population is grossly underestimated. There must be about 30 million of us living behind bars, razor wire, high walls and electric fences. Most of us are too afraid to go out after dark, stop at robots for fear of ...