The Mercury (South Africa) back issues from September 2008:
Tattoo for the past.(Life)
Sep 01, 2008 ... SHIA LeBeouf, the handsome young star of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Disturbia and Transformers, has a tattoo on his wrist that reads "1986-2004", reportedly indicating the bad years in his life. A US report states that the actor was born into poverty in ...
Party is its own worst enemy.(News)
Sep 01, 2008 ... Michael Mabuyakhulu, MEC for local government, housing and traditional affairs, describes the enemy of the new South Africa as ethnicism and racialism (The Mercury, August 20). The ANC is held up as a beacon of non-racialism while luminaries such as Fatima Meer are accused of ...
ANC business forum was not thought out properly.(News)
Sep 01, 2008 ... Someone in the ANC woke up one morning and struck on an idea of how to raise funds for the party and hence the Progressive Business Forum was born ("ANC business forum let me down" - The Mercury, August 20). Like many things in this country all that is needed is a dream or ...
Street name signs get more protection than citizens.(News)
Sep 01, 2008 ... Deputy mayor Logie Naidoo has said he would set traps to catch the "write-(w)ing" vandals responsible for defacing the new street signs. Such resolve clearly demonstrates these signs deserve more protection than the citizens. In response to this vandalism municipal manager ...
Ezemvelo will not repair damage.(News)
Sep 01, 2008 ... I write on behalf of People, Acting, Caring and Thinking (Pact) which is an animal rights and environmental organisation. A recent newspaper report stated: "Another roaming hippo successfully trapped," with the emphasis on the words, "another" and "successfully". It ...
Advertising is a waste of money.(News)
Sep 01, 2008 ... Top marks to Devi Rajab for lambasting the KZN Department of Community Safety and Liaison's Bheki Cele for his costly advertisements to celebrate Women's Month (The Mercury August 26). This trend is the flavour of the day. Two months ago, I ...
Stay-At-Home Moms The Real Heroines.(News)
Sep 01, 2008 ... Thankfully the month of August, Women's Month, is over. We have heard and read of women of substance, women at the head of large corporations, women in government posts, women in the armed forces. What we have not heard of are the real heroines, the women who ...
Living legacy.(Life)
Sep 01, 2008 ... THE work of current and past masters is being featured in an exhibition opening at 6pm tonight at Gateway's Kizo Gallery on the Palm Boulevard. Titled A Living Legacy, it's an unusual mix, brought together by curators Bongi Bhengu and Nathi Gumede, their aim being to showcase ...
Oh, brother! More bother.(Life)
Sep 01, 2008 ... 'I can't stand women and I hate my neighbours." These were the opening words of Botswana housemate Tawana Lebani in her introductory video clip before she entered the house in which she will live with 11 others in the third season of DStv's Big Brother Africa. "Luckily she ...
Double standards or drop in quality? While there could be scientific validity in Durban's self-determined sea water quality standards, the city appears to have narrowed the safety margins, writes Tony Carnie.(News)
Sep 01, 2008 ... WHEN Durban pulled out of the international Blue Flag beach scheme recently, city officials raised concern about "Eurocentric double standards". Eventually, city manager Mike Sutcliffe and water and waste chief Neil Macleod bailed out of Blue Flag entirely and put in place a ...
'Renegades' of the runway.(Life)
Sep 01, 2008 ... INTERNATIONAL runway standards have set the bar on beauty far above most of us. Apart from specified height and weight requirements, which are too rigid and unrealistic for the average person, the fashion industry - feeding off the airbrushed age technology has inflicted upon us - joins ...
Women gather for month's grand finale.(News)
Sep 01, 2008 ... BYLINE: LATOYA NEWMAN & GUGU MBONAMBI WOMEN gathered at Absa Stadium, Durban, yesterday to celebrate South Africa's women as the backbone of society during the final Women's Month celebrations. Organisers of The Wonderful Women Gathering said their vision was for ...
Spring gets off to a rough start.(News)
Sep 01, 2008 ... BYLINE: Mercury reporter & sapa SPRING has arrived this year, accompanied by forecasts of snow on the southern Drakensberg and a warning from the South African Weather Service of dangerous conditions countrywide. The service said conditions were conducive to the ...
SAS Pinafore.(News)
Sep 01, 2008 ... I BRING you now a song of the sea . . . there is something decidedly Gilbert & Sullivan about this story of the frigates that were bought at great expense - R4 billion a piece - from Germany, and which the navy now cannot use because, it is suggested, they cost too much to operate. ...
Challenge of changing the civil service mindset.(News)
Sep 01, 2008 ... BYLINE: David Canning A lack of public accountability is one of the greatest challenges we face in South Africa, and it has been so for a very long time. I was reminded of this recently while looking for the services of a builder. One of the builders I met referred me ...
Preparation pays off for Daly's.(Sports)
Sep 01, 2008 ... BYLINE: Alex Petersen Cape Town: Theewater Sports Club's boat Daly's Insurance sailed to a superb win on the final day of the Lipton Cup Challenge, holding off a tenacious bid from Royal Natal's Orion Challenger to take the trophy back to Theewater for a third consecutive year. ...
Russian giant gets title back.(Sports)
Sep 01, 2008 ... BYLINE: Berlin Russian giant Nikolai Valuev said he was pleased to win back the vacated WBA belt after his unanimous points win over fellow former champion John Ruiz in Berlin on Saturday night. The 35-year-old Valuev eventually won the fight 116-111, 116-113 and ...
Greed, lack of competition hurt consumers; Food prices are unlikely to come down despite a decrease in the fuel price.(News)
Sep 01, 2008 ... BYLINE: LYSE COMINS A lack of real competition in the economy, along with efforts to maximise profit - rather than pass the benefits of lower fuel prices on to consumers - are given among the reasons food prices are "sticky" at high levels. According to the National ...
Death of Oscar Dhlomo.(News)
Sep 01, 2008 ... BYLINE: YUSUF MOOLLA INFLUENTIAL KwaZulu-Natal political figure and businessman Oscar Dumisani Dhlomo died on Friday after having a heart attack at his home in Amanzimtoti. He had been fighting an illness for a while. Dhlomo, 64, made his mark in politics ...
Relief mobilised for India.(News)
Sep 01, 2008 ... BYLINE: GUGU MBONAMBI DURBAN businessmen and well-wishers have embarked on a fundraising campaign to help millions of people left destitute in the Indian state of Bihar by the monsoon season. The Bihar relief campaign is headed by Durban transport tycoon Ranjith ...
Loeb wins in NZ.(Sports)
Sep 01, 2008 ... HAMILTON: Frenchman Sebastien Loeb clawed his way back after a dramatic spin on the final day of Rally New Zealand to win the event 17.5sec ahead of his Citroen teammate, Dani Sordo. It was a dream result for Loeb, who left second-ranked Mikko Hirvonen of Finland trailing in third with a ...
Many going hungry.(News)
Sep 01, 2008 ... BYLINE: Lyse Comins & David Canning RISING food prices are threatening the household "food security of the poor" - and leaving many more people hungry. This has emerged from surveys showing shocking food price trends, the worst being in South Africa's rural areas. ...
Better Prospects.(News)
Sep 01, 2008 ... At last there is some good news on the inflation front after all the bad news of the past couple of years. Although CPIX (the inflation measure that the Reserve Bank uses to decide on monetary policy) rose to a new high of 13.4% a year in July from 11.6% in June, and producer price ...
You've got to give it to the Boks.(Sports)
Sep 01, 2008 ... Whatever the explanation for Australia's decision to treat Saturday's Test match as little more than a game of beach rugby in the sunshine, certain facts are undeniable about the South Africans' performance. Despite their coach's denials, manifested by a sullen "it wouldn't be ...
Boks get tactics right.(Sports)
Sep 01, 2008 ... BYLINE: Jacques van der Westhuyzen It ended on a high, with a 53-8 victory over a team that just a week earlier had comfortably beaten them 27-15. What a turn-around for the Springboks and under-fire coach Peter de Villiers. The resounding victory, just ...
Senior players' form made the difference.(Sports)
Sep 01, 2008 ... BYLINE: Jacques van der Westhuyzen JOhannesburg: What a pity Peter de Villiers's World Cup stars took nine Tests to finally strike top form. While certain individuals performed consistently well throughout the season, too many players, especially those who were part ...
Sharks set to face full-strength Blue Bulls side.(Sports)
Sep 01, 2008 ... BYLINE: VATA NGOBENI Pretoria: The Blue Bulls could be at full strength for their much anticipated Currie Cup battle against the Sharks in Durban this Saturday with the return of their Springboks. Victor Matfield is expected to take over the reins as Bulls captain ...
Members urged to unite party.(News)
Sep 01, 2008 ... Pretoria: ANC treasurer-general Mathews Phosa has appealed to members to stop destroying the ruling party in their contests and fights for power and wealth. He was speaking at the weekend at the funeral of defence secretary January Masilela, who died in a car crash. ...
IsiZulu literary project takes shape.(News)
Sep 01, 2008 ... BYLINE: YUSUF MOOLLA AT the funeral of the late Mazisi Kunene two years ago, government representatives announced their intention to establish the Mazisi Kunene isiZulu Language and Literature Hall of Fame. Yesterday, at a remembrance ceremony for the poet and key ANC ...
Zimbabwe sticking points remain.(News)
Sep 01, 2008 ... BYLINE: Basildon Peta Zimbabwean negotiators returned to Harare again at the weekend after another unsuccessful attempt by President Thabo Mbeki to achieve an agreement on a power-sharing unity government. But Mbeki has succeeded in persuading Robert Mugabe to ...
C-Max inmates 'using cellphones to plan crimes'.(News)
Sep 01, 2008 ... BYLINE: Graeme Hosken PRETORIA: South Africa's most secure prison, C-Max, is allegedly being used as a centre to plan criminal activities, using smuggled cellphones. The Mercury has established that there have been a number of serious security breaches at C-Max ...
Usuthu only blot in KZN's copybook.(Sports)
Sep 01, 2008 ... BYLINE: KAMLESH GOSAI AMAZULU provided the anti-climax of the opening round of the Absa Premiership for KwaZulu-Natal teams when they lost 1-0 to Platinum Stars at KwaMashu's Princess Magogo Stadium yesterday. Of the four KZN teams, AmaZulu were the only side to lose ...
'We're barred from Zuma jobs'.(News)
Sep 01, 2008 ... BYLINE: Siyabonga Mkhwanazi Hardly two weeks after returning from suspension, SABC news head Snuki Zikalala is accused of removing two political reporters from covering Jacob Zuma because of their apparent allegiance to the ANC president. The two political ...
Rossi equals Agostini's record.(Sports)
Sep 01, 2008 ... BYLINE: Misano Seven-time world champion Valentino Rossi won the San Marino Grand Prix yesterday, ahead of teammate Jorge Lorenzo and Spaniard Toni Elias. The victory allowed the Italian to equal compatriot Giacomo Agostini's record of 68 victories in the top Moto GP ...
First lesbian divorce finalised.(News)
Sep 01, 2008 ... CAPE TOWN: What is believed to be the first lesbian divorce in South Africa since gay marriages were legalised in 2006, was finalised in the Cape High Court on Friday. Elaine Burnett from Gordon's Bay and Esther Groenewald from Strand were divorced before Acting Judge Sven ...
Extension granted.(News)
Sep 01, 2008 ... JOHANNESBURG: Employers and businesses in the country were being granted more time to submit payroll information without penalties, the South African Revenue Service announced yesterday. The original deadline ...
300 IFP 'veterans' arrested.(News)
Sep 01, 2008 ... BYLINE: Sinegugu Ndlovu MORE than 300 IFP "veterans" are to appear in court today after being arrested at the weekend following a confrontation with police. All 340 members of the South African unintegrated forces, who were arrested at a camp just outside Ulundi in ...
Nokwe's feet firmly on the ground.(Sports)
Sep 01, 2008 ... BYLINE: Jacques van der Westhuyzen Johannesburg: He scored a record-breaking four tries on Saturday, but Jongi Nokwe is a reluctant hero. "I'm still inexperienced at this level of the game and need to play many more Tests," said the humble left wing yesterday, a day ...
Fires ravage KwaZulu-Natal.(News)
Sep 01, 2008 ... BYLINE: Sinegugu Ndlovu, Jeff Wicks, COLLEEN DARDAGAN, LATOYA NEWMAN & SAPA Ten people are thought to have been killed by several fires in KwaZulu-Natal at the weekend. Among the dead is an elderly man and his wife. The 85-year-old man and his 58-year-old wife died ...
SABC in dock over 2010 rights.(News)
Sep 01, 2008 ... BYLINE: Baldwin Ndaba JOHANNESBURG: The SABC board is on a collision course with the high court and the ANC after it awarded the 2010 soccer World Cup broadcasting rights - worth R300 million - to a Japanese company. This is in spite of the SABC procurement ...
Ramadan begins.(News)
Sep 01, 2008 ... THE moon was sighted in Johannesburg yesterday, signalling the start of the Muslim fast of Ramadan. For a month, Muslims will abstain from ...
Couple shot by police make progress.(News)
Sep 01, 2008 ... BYLINE: BONILE NGQIYAZA JOHANNESBURG: A woman who was shot five times by police reacting to a house robbery in Meyersdal, Alberton, is out of the intensive care unit, Alberton's Union Hospital said yesterday. However her husband, who sustained 10 gunshot wounds in the ...
Proteas face ODI whitewash.(Sports)
Sep 01, 2008 ... BYLINE: PATRICK COMPTON KEVIN Pietersen lit the touchpaper and then man of the match Andrew Flintoff finished off what had effectively become a Twenty20 match at a gloomy, dank Lord's yesterday. On a dismal, rain-interrupted London day, the home crowd were finally ...
Federer trounces Stepanek.(Sports)
Sep 01, 2008 ... NEW YORK: Four-time defending champion Roger Federer advanced to the fourth round of the US Open yesterday by defeating Czech Radek Stepanek 6-3 6-3 6-2 in 61 minutes. The Swiss superstar was replaced atop the world rankings two weeks ago ...
F1 chief backs Mosley to stay on.(Sports)
Sep 01, 2008 ... LONDON: Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone yesterday called on the sport to forget the controversy surrounding International Automobile Federation president Max Mosley. He had previously called for his long-time friend Mosley to resign after newspaper stories about his private ...
US tourist shot at Victoria Street market.(News)
Sep 01, 2008 ... BYLINE: Sinegugu Ndlovu & SAPA An American tourist was shot at Durban's Victoria Street market yesterday morning. The 22-year-old Californian had been sightseeing with his girlfriend when they lost their way. According to witnesses, the two were walking ...
A Fine Line.(News)
Sep 01, 2008 ... In his speech accepting the Democratic nomination for United States president, Barack Obama had to negotiate a fine line. Some of his proposals were familiar: a rewrite of the tax code to benefit working families and small businesses, and to end breaks for "corporations that ...
Chelsea frustrated by Bent's smash and grab.(Sports)
Sep 01, 2008 ... BYLINE: London Chelsea and Liverpool, the only teams to start the Premier League season with two wins, lost their 100% records yesterday when they drew with Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa respectively. Chelsea had scored five goals and conceded none in their ...
ANC to discuss infighting.(News)
Sep 01, 2008 ... BYLINE: Siyabonga Mkhwanazi The agenda of the ANC's meeting today will be dominated by the infighting tearing the organisation apart and threatening its chance of winning next year's elections. The infighting will distract the ANC's national working committee - the ...
Holomisa should lead opposition.(News)
Sep 02, 2008 ... Political opposition in South Africa is in a parlous state, divided along ethnic and sectional interests. The only opposition that rises above this is the United Democratic Movement. One should consider Bantu Holomisa's ...
Beware of milking ratepayers.(News)
Sep 02, 2008 ... Municipal manager Michael Sutcliffe talks about sustainability in his latest political venture, Cornubia (The Mercury, August 22). The man does not know the meaning of sustainable. He thinks sustainable means the amount of money he can squeeze out of ratepayers. ...
Is Sutcliffe ringmaster or clown?(News)
Sep 02, 2008 ... Surprise, surprise, Durban's new street signs are being vandalised. Deputy mayor Logie Naidoo says "traps will be set to catch right-wingers". By dictionary definition, right-wing is "the conservative faction of an assembly". Conversely "left-wing", to which one ...
Chavez's democratic approach is a lesson for Southern Africa.(News)
Sep 02, 2008 ... There is a wonderful moment in the documentary The Revolution Will Not Be Televised. The filmmaking team accompany the resolute, newly reinstalled attorney-general loyal to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, to the basement of the presidential palace in Caracas. There he reads from a ...
Mbeki Killed The ANC Of Mandela, Tambo, Plaatjie . . .(News)
Sep 02, 2008 ... NInety-six years after it was born, the ANC is dead. The ANC, that is, of Pixley ka Isaka Seme, Sol Plaatje, John Dube, J T Gumede, A B Xuma, J S Moroka, Albert Luthuli, Oliver Tambo and Nelson Mandela, is dead. Amazingly no one seems to know. It has been a slow, ...
Proud of Olympic athletes.(News)
Sep 02, 2008 ... Why should our Olympic athletes return home hanging their heads in shame? Do any of the whining "wise guys", who are full of criticism and negativity, think the athletes enjoyed not winning medals? Our people went to the Olympics and ran, swam, rowed, cycled, jumped ...
Who's who of the new street names; Who was Problem Mkhize, you might wonder as you drive along the renamed Cowey Road? Or Albert Dhlomo, as Willowvale Road is now called. Matthew Savides takes a look a the information provided by the eThekwini Municipality about the people behind Durban's new street names.(News)
Sep 02, 2008 ... 1. Khoto Mkhunya (Adams Road): AN ANC youth activist who was among the first eThekwini Municipality councillors after 1994.2. Ingcuce (Albert Street): Refers to the young women who refused to have relationships with King Shaka's warriors.3. Samora Machel (Aliwal Street): First president of ...
The price of 'cool'.(Life)
Sep 02, 2008 ... BYLINE: LIFE REPORTER FOR her entire high-school career, Emma (not her real name) has carried her heavy schoolbag the "cool" way - dragging off one shoulder. She does her homework sitting cross-legged and hunchbacked on her bed. Now, as she faces the biggest ...
Making memories.(Life)
Sep 02, 2008 ... Oh well, after a week of parties, I guess it is time to call an end to my self-indulgent celebration of 40 years on this mortal coil. The weekend provided the ultimate climax as I worked as roadie for the visit by Cape Town band Bed on Bricks at three concerts around town. ...
It could be your child.(Life)
Sep 02, 2008 ... Last week, I met two people whose story had a profound impact on me. It shook me to the core and shattered my complacency. Their story is one every parent should hear and learn from. While his mother was having her hair done, this young man (I subsequently learnt he is 18), Max ...
One of the Barnyard's best!(Life)
Sep 02, 2008 ... IT'S great to report that advance booking for this latest Barnyard entertainment is the most brisk the venue has experienced all year. Dancing Queen is unquestionably the finest production seen at this popular Gateway venue in many a month - and it's well deserved of the full ...
My, my - how can I resist ya!(Life)
Sep 02, 2008 ... YES, it is cheesier than a chunk of feta and gooey and globby with as much sugar and schmaltz as you're likely to find anywhere. Certainly a no-no for people who hate musicals and/or Abba. But if you're a fan of all of the above - and, face it, precious few musicals aren't ...
Prof to answer to corruption charge.(News)
Sep 02, 2008 ... BYLINE: TANIA BROUGHTON FORMER University of KwaZulu-Natal dean Prof Pumela Msweli-Mbanga will have to answer to a charge of corruption after she failed in her attempt to have a damning forensic audit declared inadmissible as evidence against her. The audit, done by ...
There is a need to promote local tourism; The lack of synergy between the competing tourism bodies within KZN must be overcome.(News)
Sep 02, 2008 ... BYLINE: BONKE DUMISA September is tourism month in South Africa and it is also the month in which we celebrate Heritage Day, on the 24th. The Johannesburg Tourism Company has a powerful head in Lindiwe Mahlangu, who has already made her mark in positioning that city ...
Seeing the potential in street children; A true 'rags-to-riches' story to come out of India could be an inspiration for South Africa in tackling its own urban dilemma, writes Devi Rajab.(News)
Sep 02, 2008 ... DURBAN is experiencing an amazing opportunity to share its history with that of India. Musicians, artists, painters and culinary experts have descended on our shores to show their expertise in a celebration of mutual talent. The organisers of this month-long event, Celebrating ...
Loose Cannons.(News)
Sep 02, 2008 ... MORE questions than answers continue to surround the role of the so-called "unintegrated forces", whose members were arrested at a training camp just outside Ulundi in northern KwaZulu-Natal on Friday. What seems remarkable is that, whereas the camp has been in operation for ...