Samu Zulu Zimbabwean women have no rights in their country and should be considered virtual sex slaves. That is the effect of two recent court rulings. Last month the Zimbabwe Supreme Court ruled unanimously that “the nature of African society” dictated that women are not equal to men. According to cultural norms, the court said, […]
Alex Brummer in Omaha, Nebraska A record 15 000 shareholders in Berkshire Hathaway – the world’s most eclectic investment group – gathered in Omaha, United States, recently in the hope of catching the sage words of their chair and CEO Warren Buffett at the group’s annual meeting. The crowds attending the meeting at the Ak- […]
Internet Duncan Campbell European Commission documents obtained this week reveal plans to require manufacturers and operators to build “interception interfaces” into the Internet and digital communications systems. The plans, drafted by a United States-led international security organisation, will be proposed to European Union justice and home affairs ministers at the end of May. They appear […]
Salman Rushdie tells Sam Wollaston why his new novel is about the greatest band in the world – from India On a warm August evening, Salman Rushdie walked on to the stage and looked out over a sea of screaming fans. It was hard to see much beyond the first row, the photographers and security […]
Name: Kary Mullis Institution: Independent Field: Invented polymerase chain reaction Only rarely can you say of a scientist that, without him or her, the world would be a different place. But it is true of Kary Mullis, who is an integral part of the history of the genetic revolution. Mullis is an unlikely member of […]
Alex Sudheim Though it only turned 10 this year, Splashy Fen is in the advanced stages of a mid-life crisis. As a person approaching their twilight years often chooses between growing old gracefully or disgracefully, so must one of South Africa’s largest music festivals decide whether to embrace the recklessness of youth or the quiet […]
South Africa’s gold producers are pooh- poohing the effects of the IMF’s proposed gold sale, but such a sale would set a dangerous precedent. Donna Block reports The proposed sale of 10% of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF)gold reserves to fund debt relief for poor developing countries is by no means a foregone conclusion. In […]
CD of the week Caroline Sullivan Until Catatonia came along – or until their breakthrough second album, International Velvet, did – few realised British rock had a niche shaped just like them. Now that they’ve filled it, the question seems obvious: how did pop get by without a Cerys Matthews? Catatonia’s singer and co-lyricist is […]
Andrew Worsdale Movies of the week What’s scarier: something growing inside you or a chainsaw-wielding monster around the corner wanting to cut you to bits? One of the scariest movies of all time has to be Alien, Ridley Scott’s 1979 flick that I dumped out of school for – to see John Hurt having a […]
a hard sell Ivor Powell Recent opinion polls indicating a slide in support for Bantu Holomisa’s United Democratic Movement could be misleading. According to Human Sciences Research Council statistics released this week, the UDM’s share of the vote has halved from 6% last December to 3%. The Institute for Democracy in South Africa’s latest Opinion […]