A French newspaper broke the embargo on the new Harry Potter book on Friday by revealing the fate of the principle characters. Le Parisien printed a brief summary of the conclusion of Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows — but upside-down so that unwary readers could avoid the spoiler.
The protagonist of one of Portugal’s most gripping courtroom dramas has died after almost 20 years in which she fooled everyone, including her live-in companion, that she was actually a male army general. Maria Teresinha Gomes cut a dashing figure as the respectable and charming General Tito Anibal da Paixao Gomes.
The Mail & Guardian has been gagged. Again. In the early hours of Friday morning in the Pretoria High Court, a judge interdicted the M&G from publishing the details of an explosive final draft of an internal report into alleged corruption, abuse of power and intimidation at the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC).
Slower house-price growth, repeated interest-rate hikes and uncertainty about new credit laws and systems have contributed to a slowdown in home-loan applications. Bond originators, however, see their industry becoming increasingly important. Six weeks after the introduction of the new National Credit Act its impact on the property market remains unclear.
Jacob Zuma’s theme tune, the not very rousing "Bring me my machine-gun", is certainly a questionable campaign jingle. But that bit of musical demagoguery has nothing on the latest edition of the South African Communist Party song book. South African politics, in a period of spy scandals and conspiracy claims, is a brutal game and there is a certain honesty in naming your enemy.
Social transformation depends on people and their actions. Too often dogma, simplistic metaphors and inappropriate examples have been the staple answers of socialists and communists to the challenges facing our society. South Africa’s national democratic revolution in the context of our negotiated transition and the strength of global capitalism require not dogma but critical thinking, writes Phillip Dexter.
The wait for Apple’s iPhone in the United States was a non-story — but also, perhaps, the moment when teleÂvision news changed forever. In the queues were people with small cameras hooked to laptops using mobile phones to upload live video to the internet. They are ”lifestreamers”, people who simulcast their lives 24 hours a day.
Zimbabwe has been placed last for the second year running in a league table ranking 178 countries by how happy and long-lived their citizens are. But South Africa is not far ahead, at 156th. The European Happy Planet Index used carbon efficiency, life satisfaction and life expectancy to rate the countries.
About 5,2-million children under seven are not catered for in South Africa’s early childhood development (ECD) programmes. Only 1% of the R104-billion education budget is allocated for ECD. Yet a major report released recently shows that investment in ECD pays massive dividends in the health and emotional wellbeing of the children — and in national economic terms.
The Democratic Alliance is drawing up a secret 14-day programme to oust controversial Western Cape politician Truman Prince, after his successful appeal for reinstatement as Central Karoo District municipality manager. DA provincial leader Theuns Botha refused to give details, but said the plan would be put into operation next Monday.