The findings of the first clinical trial of the traditional African medicinal herb Sutherlandia could bring succour for people living with HIV/Aids, but probably not for beleaguered Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang. The trial, which will begin in September, was announced this week with the results expected in August 2009.
A race for succession is taking shape in the IFP with progressive members of the party’s youth wing calling for it to formulate a succession plan ahead of the anticipated resignation of president Mangosuthu Buthelezi when his term ends in 2009. Buoyed by a belief that the term ending in 2009 might be Buthelezi’s last as party president reformists within the party and its youth wing have begun lobbying for a deputy president.
Plans to open up parts of Tsitsikamma — South Africa’s premier marine protected area — to recreational fishing appear to have been shelved for the moment. The proposal drew criticism from environmental groups such as the WWF, which called it a ”parochial and political decision to appease highly vociferous local stakeholders”.
At Ibadan Polytechnic in Nigeria, Jonathan Adejunmobi has a hard job teaching journalism. For a start, there’s not even water to flush the toilets. Then, the school he heads has only a pair of ancient computers, and the electricity supply is more off than on. In such conditions, how do his students go on to become journalists for Nigeria’s vibrant media?
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Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula was on Wednesday given two weeks to comply with a court order that the shacks of a group of Pretoria squatters be rebuilt — or face arrest. Pretoria High Court Judge Bill Prinsloo condemned the failure of Nqakula’s department to comply with an urgent court order, granted more than a week ago.
The Supreme Court of Appeal on Wednesday reserved judgement in the dispute between Thint and the national director of public prosecutions over the seizure of documents from the French arms company. State counsel Wim Trengove argued before the Bloemfontein court for the necessity of the search warrants.
Still struggling to rebuild, New Orleans on Wednesday mourned the loss of about 1 500 lives when Hurricane Katrina ravaged the coast two years ago, as United States President George Bush vowed better days lay ahead. Scores of tiny hand bells tinkled as the city’s prominent mayor, Ray Nagin, led a poignant memorial service to the dead.
The African National Congress (ANC) said on Wednesday it knew about Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang’s dismissal on theft charges from a Botswana hospital in 1976, South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) radio news reported. The Sunday Times reported two weeks ago that Tshabalala-Msimang had been convicted of theft.
Former South African president Nelson Mandela on Wednesday announced a giant benefit concert in London next June to promote his 46664 campaign against HIV/Aids. The gig will take place in Hyde Park on June 27 to mark his 90th birthday the following month, Mandela said at the unveiling of a statue of him in London’s Parliament Square.