Karlin Lillington California may this week give Internet service providers (ISPs) the strongest legal weapon yet in the battle against “spam” – the unsolicited mass e-mail advertisements detested by Internet users – allowing them to sue for $25 000 in damages a day. But in an odd political twist, the United States federal government is […]
Economists may need a crash rethink of the basic tenets of economic orthodoxy, writes Larry Elliot Another normal week for the global economy. Russia’s on the point of financial meltdown, the Chinese government is battling to stave off devaluation, bankruptcies are up 35% in Japan, stock markets are down almost everywhere, the biggest industrial merger […]
You may be surprised to learn that Africa’s stock exchanges have outperformed most other emerging markets in the year to date in dollar terms – and that’s despite war in the Congo, bombs in Kenya and Tanzania and the general perception of the continent as a haven for corruption and chaos. You may be further […]
The level of government pension funding may be cause for concern, writes Mike Metelits The level of funding of government employee pensions, along with the method of paying for these obligations, may be distorting how foreign investors look at the level of indebtedness of South Africa, and thus how they rate our future prospects and […]
Charl Blignaut `I’m a bit of a tart,” says Marianne Fassler as I settle against a plastic blow-up cushion embedded with pink flowers on a big old chair in her elegently kitsch Johannesburg lounge. “I think I know how to promote myself in the media. Put it this way, I’ve always had good press. But, […]
Eddie Koch Conservation authorities are so worried about tuberculosis (TB) in buffalos that they are preparing to shoot thousands of the animals in Lowveld game reserves. Rangers in KwaZulu-Natal’s Hluhluwe Umfolozi Park have already begun culling infected animals. Thousands of buffalo in the Kruger Park have been infected by TB, originally spread by domestic cattle […]
Michael Finch Athletics South Africa’s dreams of hosting the World Cup soccer competition in 2002 could well be decided in Johannesburg from September 11-13 when the athletics version of the World Cup takes place at the Johannesburg stadium. The event will be more than just the third biggest track and field festival in the world […]
Alex Sudheim `Make sharp, the picture is on!” yells the usher to the throng of patrons still jostling for popcorn and cooldrinks around the kiosk. Behind him, the 400-seater cinema is packed to capacity as the enormous screen flickers into vivid life. Its a cold, rainy Sunday afternoon in a deserted and windswept Durban city […]
Ferial Haffajee Tensions in the Midi TV consortium have come to a head because major shareholders vetoed an attempt by the board’s chair to secure a highly paid job at the station. Nomazizi Mtshotshisa has lobbied hard to become full-time executive chair, with an annual salary of over R400 000. Her efforts were shot down […]
Shaun de Waal What the Americans call “sell-thru” video -videos for sale -is beginning to take off in South Africa in a big way. The rampaging success of Disney titles such as The Lion King and The Little Mermaid, which appear to be addictive to children, spearheaded the influx into South Africa of an ever- […]