A post template

No image available
/ 18 October 2007

Agreement on Doha ‘extremely close’

World trade talks appeared to be making progress on Wednesday as the leaders of Brazil, India and South Africa said they were committed to reaching a deal. The leaders said differences with rich countries were still blocking agreement in the Doha round, launched nearly six years ago to help developing countries grow out of poverty and boost the world economy by opening up global trade.

No image available
/ 18 October 2007

Despite sewage progress, Swazis still use septic tanks

Located on the outskirts of Swaziland’s commercial hub, the state-of-the-art Manzini Waste Treatment Centre was built to end the city’s sewage disposal problems. A World Bank loan was secured by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development to construct the $16-million facility: a spotless, landscaped plant that has a lifespan of 25 years.

No image available
/ 18 October 2007

A dirty war

The arrest or otherwise of <i>Sunday Times</i> editor Mondli Makhanya on charges of breaching the Health Act is not the key media freedom issue. The newspaper denies stealing or paying for Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang’s hospital file and argues that its publication of details contained in it was justified on public interest grounds.

No image available
/ 18 October 2007

Media24 comes clean

Media24 confirmed on Wednesday that five Touchline Media magazines inflated their circulation figures between July 2005 and June 2007 and that three senior managers including managing director Marc Blachowitz resigned in connection with the irregularities.

No image available
/ 18 October 2007

Godfather stars have lost fire, says director

Film director Francis Ford Coppola has attacked three of the biggest stars in Hollywood, denouncing them for being lazy and uninterested in taking risks. Coppola told GQ magazine that Al Pacino and Robert De Niro — both in his Godfather trilogy — and Jack Nicholson had been spoilt by success and lost the fire that had made them raging bulls.

No image available
/ 18 October 2007

Sex pest is Mbeki ally

The disgraced and sacked former ANC chief whip and sex pest, Mbulelo Goniwe, is being “protected” by a long and protracted disciplinary process so that he can attend the national conference in Polekwane as an ANC member, party insiders say. Goniwe, one of President Thabo Mbeki’s strongest allies, was expelled from the ANC last year after the party’s national disciplinary committee, headed by Kader Asmal, found him guilty of sexual harassment.