John Aglionby in Jakarta The future of the Indonesian economy hung in the balance this week as President Suharto refused to adhere to conditions laid down by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Suharto is risking the termination of the IMF lending programme as he continues to draw fire from the institution for establishing a currency […]

Marion Edmunds Two former Western Cape housing officials are skimming hefty profits off the provincial low-cost housing programme in exchange for processing subsidy information for the state. The Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has appointed RR, a Cape- Town based consultancy run by two former senior departmental officials, to help manage electronic subsidy […]

Njongonkulu Ndungane: Ubuntu We stand on the threshold of opportunities which range from building on the economic strength of a country that arguably has one of the most developed infrastructures in Africa, to the challenge of ensuring that our fledgling democracy works. But we also face many other hurdles. All the good intentions and wise […]

Andy Duffy Two signposts on the road to Muizenberg in Cape Town look hopelessly out of place. The first is a typical developer’s billboard – an eye-catching affair, beaming optimism about an exciting new development called Westlake. The second, metres away, is a far smaller, typical council sign, advising in three languages that no squatting […]

Brett Davidson Another newcomer on the South African media scene is Hal Interactive, an online electronic media buying system. It’s a one-stop shop where media organisations can promote themselves and sell advertising slots, while media planners and buyers can check schedules and availability and buy space. Hal provides information on all major radio stations and […]

Robert Kirby LOOSE CANNON If, like so many of us, you are a wide-eyed apprentice democrat, you will have been following the fascinating television edutainment series, presently being mounted “collectively” by the Department of Labour, the SABC and Wits University’s Centre for Applied Legal Studies – or Cals. The series is called Buang: Let’s Talk. […]

Marion Edmunds The Eastern Cape government is allowing the province’s natural assets and tourist attractions to go down the tubes, because of a lack of funds, skills and political will to preserve the environment. Despite official denials of collapse, the picture of conservation in the Eastern Cape – the only province in the country which […]

David Shapshak Push technology hasn’t had the kind of reception in South Africa that it deserves. An innovative means of disseminating information by “pushing” information to people’s computer desktops has great potential for the advertising world. With this in mind Kagiso Media has updated South Africa’s first push channel, Newzdesk, and are using it to […]

Tim Radford Wounds might be persuaded to heal without scarring, and limbs persuaded to grow again after amputation, according to scientists in Philadelphia. They have found a race of laboratory mice whose livers regenerate after surgery and whose tails grow again after being severed. Amphibians can lose limbs and grow new ones. Mammals, however, cannot. […]

Peter Beaumont and Shyam Bhatia Who is . . . Saddam Hussein? Saddam Hussein doesn’t take chances. Two weeks ago when the United States first threatened to rain bombs on Baghdad, he moved the young thugs of the amn al’rais, the presidential security force that always accompanies him, out of their barracks and into quarters […]