I’m sitting on a rough wooden bench beside Eero, a large Finnish man, next to a traditional smoke sauna in the middle of an island, in the middle of a river (in which we’ve just swum), in the middle of a forest, in the middle of Finland, which right now feels, blissfully, like the middle of nowhere. Naked. Vapour steams from our shoulders and thighs while my head appears to have floated free of my neck, writes Owen Sheers.
United States President George Bush’s plans to establish a European missile defence system suffered a big setback on Thursday when a Congressional committee slashed the funding. The House appropriations committee cut -million from the -million the Bush administration wants for preparatory work on the missile project in Europe.
Washington is seeking closer ties with Libya now that the Bulgarian medics case is resolved and the first tangible sign is a likely visit this year by top diplomat Condoleezza Rice. There are also other expected plans to boost cultural and educational exchanges between the two countries while increasing business links.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy, on his first visit to sub-Saharan Africa, proposed a ”Eurafrica” partnership between the continents to tame the harmful effects of globalisation. Sarkozy acknowledged the damaging effects of colonialism but he said it was not responsible for all of the continent’s ills.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) will on Friday lay criminal charges against vitamin salesperson Matthias Rath, the party said on Thursday. Mike Waters, the DA health spokesperson, said Rath had contravened the law by masquerading as a medical doctor.
Riaz Kadwa, charged with murdering his parents at their Crown North home in October 2005, was found guilty at the Johannesburg High Court on Thursday. Judge Fritz van Oosten described Kadwa as a ”self-confessed master of deceit” and rejected his version of the events.
Beating the air with her homemade net, Aicha Ali chases a swirling black and turquoise butterfly. Far from indulging in a frivolous pastime, this Kenyan mother is earning crucial family income. "I like capturing butterflies; it’s fun because I make some money," she says, puffing as she wipes the sweat pearling on her nose after a frantic chase in the forest’s sandy trails.
Recently Zimbabwean business leaders met President Robert Mugabe in an attempt to persuade him to halt a crackdown that is ruining the country’s economy. This is the first meeting between business and Mugabe since he ordered a 50% cut in prices in June, causing a massive shortage of goods and deepening the country’s economic crisis.
We love our jobs. South Africa is going through a complex, often fraught, but ultimately very exciting transition, and we are right in the heart of the hurly-burly. The paper we bring you each Friday is the product of thousands of decisions, some of them very difficult, and a process of gathering, sifting and managing information on a baffling scale.
Telkom recently flew 393 clients with spouses, senior executives and management to Mauritius for a strategy session. Although Telkom did not disclose the amount spent, based on the average cost per person of a three-day corporate trip to Mauritius, including flights and activities, it would have cost in the region of R7-million.