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/ 26 November 2007
A rising tide of travellers seeking out the new frontier of Egyptian tourism is threatening priceless rock art preserved for millennia in one of the most-isolated reaches of the Sahara. In Egypt’s south-west corner, straddling the borders of Sudan and Libya, the elegant paintings of prehistoric man and beast in the mountains of Gilf Kabir and Jebel Ouenat are as stunning in their simplicity as anything by Picasso.
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/ 26 November 2007
One in five of the tens of thousands of young children who die each year in South Africa probably suffocate to death, drowning from pus-filled lungs as a result of pneumonia. Yet more than two-thirds of these deaths could be prevented if all children under five were given a vaccine that protects against the most common bacterial cause of pneumonia — the pneumococcus.
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/ 26 November 2007
The night Alan Johnston was taken hostage in Gaza, the kidnappers’ leader told him he would one day go free. "And," the masked figure in robes told the BBC reporter, "you will write a book about it, and get married." On July 4, 114 days later, to Johnston’s inexpressible relief, the first of these three predictions came true. And now, possibly to his slight surprise, the second is coming true too.
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/ 26 November 2007
Boardroom politics and reshuffling happen all the time, usually because of personal differences or conflicting strategic visions. In the past two years there have been numerous chief executives who have resigned for "personal reasons" or "to spend more time with the family". These reasons are often used as euphemisms by executives who no longer see eye to eye with the rest of the board.
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/ 26 November 2007
After a week of uncharacteristic silence, Nicolas Sarkozy vowed there would be no going back on reforms that have triggered nationwide transport strikes. To an Ulster Unionist’s ears, his message would have had a profound resonance: No surrender. Stern rhetoric was met with extreme action. Shortly after he spoke, unidentified saboteurs set fire to kilometres of cabling — further disrupting France’s high-speed rail lines.
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/ 26 November 2007
Recently UNAids announced a steep downward revision of the number of HIV-infected people, especially in Asia. If the latest figures are accurate, the epidemic is even more concentrated in Southern Africa than previously thought. According to UNAids, of the 33,2-million people living with HIV worldwide, more than two-thirds of them (22,5-million) live in sub-Saharan Africa. South Africa remains the country with the greatest number of HIV infections.
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/ 26 November 2007
The who’s who of world soccer converged on Durban’s International Convention Centre (ICC) on Sunday for the 2010 preliminary draw. A rumble echoed through the centre as England were drawn in the same group as Croatia — the team that recently knocked England out of Euro 2008.
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/ 26 November 2007
Bethan lives in southern England on the same street as best friend Allie (64). They are on their first holiday to Kenya, a country they say is ”just full of big young boys who like us older girls”. Hard figures are difficult to come by, but local people on the coast estimate that as many as one in five single women visiting from rich countries are in search of sex.
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/ 26 November 2007
With inflation reported at close to 15Â 000%, a quarter of the population in need of food aid and a currency so worthless even the government charges for services in foreign currency, no sitting leader should win an election. Unless, of course, he is Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe. Hard as it may be for many of his critics to figure out, especially those outside Zimbabwe, Mugabe has an open road to a sixth successive term as leader.
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/ 25 November 2007
Human civilisation is based on the value of responsibility. Without it, the very enterprise of building a society is in danger. At Polokwane next month, the ANC will debate ideas for the future. One idea, in particular, has the potential to transform and uplift our country: a Bill of Responsibilities for our schools.