Sudan has expelled the European Union and Canadian envoys from the war-torn African country, state radio and Western officials said on Thursday. The Sudanese Foreign Ministry had declared them persona non grata ”for involving themselves in activities that constitute an interference in the internal affairs of the country,” Sudan radio reported.
We have bemoaned the weakening of Parliament over the years due to the loss of skilled personnel and their replacement by what we called B-grade politicians. It is therefore appropriate that when work such as the comprehensive review of the Chapter Nine bodies and other state-supporting institutions is performed by parliamentarians, they equally deserve our plaudits.
With the latest recall of millions of unsafe toys by the world’s biggest toy company, Mattel, a stark truth has come home to roost for the $60-billion global toy industry: you cannot have dirt-cheap production thousands of kilometres away from home in China without incurring huge risk. It is a truth that could cost the industry dearly, not just in immediate costs.
Imagine a telephone company that pays you money to receive calls — sound like pie in the sky? Well then you haven’t heard about Vox Telecom, the new Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) teleÂphone services, which offer a real, cut-price alternative to Telkom’s fixed-line offering.
I have been using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) — or more specifically voice over broadband — services for a long time and the usual culprits on my list are the free messenger programs, such as Skype, MSN Messenger or Google Talk. These are available online for free and they provide a great way to keep in touch with family and friends, writes Rudolph Muller.
The Sunday Times legal team plans to counter legal action by the health minister on the grounds that her right to privacy is overridden by the public’s right to know whether she is competent to exercise her duties. At the core of the newspaper’s defence is debate over whether she is fit to hold office in the Cabinet.
Strict conditions placed on the merger of two giant publishers of school textbooks have not eliminated concerns that the market still fails to provide schoolchildren with reasonably priced, high-quality books. The Shuttleworth Foundation, which strongly opposes the merger, has recommended that the government investigates the whole school textbook
Lolling on a ragged carpet in his cupboard-sized shop in the heart of old Peshawar, Wahhab the money-changer beckoned customers with a sly smile. ”Best rate,” he said, fingering a fat wad of banknotes over a low glass counter. The portly man also offered another, more discreet, service: black market money transfers, any amount, to anywhere, in almost no time.
A notorious security policeman, retired Lieutenant General Sebastiaan ”Basie” Smit, might soon rue the day that he turned down an offer from the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to join former law and order minister Adriaan Vlok in the dock recently. Speculation about whether Smit will be prosecuted has been rife.
Suspended South African Communist Party member and former treasurer Phillip Dexter confirmed this week that he could find no bank statements reflecting at least R1,1-million cash, allegedly given to the general secretary of the party, Blade Nzimande. Dexter said that ”on the face of it there appears to be a connection” between his suspension and the missing funds.