The proposed amendments to the Film and Publications Act have created an impression, and justifiably so, that government is trying to sneak censorship in through the back door, writes Fred Khumalo.
Equating the state of press freedom in South Africa to that of the United States is a misrepresentation, writes Mark Thomas. South Africa is far better off.
A large public gathering of civil society organisations and government officials in the Swiss capital city of Berne on July 7 marked the halfway point to the 2015 date for achieving the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. The Berne event highlighted one critical dimension of the strategy needed to achieve the goals set by world leaders in 2000.
This is going to sound like a story I’ve made up to make a point. But it’s the truth. Last week I accidentally went on Iranian cable telly. I thought it was just AN Other cable telly station, and arrived to review Carl Bernstein’s book about Hillary Clinton. So we were sitting there, chatting away nicely waiting to start, when a woman ran on and said: "Can I just do your jacket up?"
Michel Hayek, a butcher’s boy who has risen to the status of an Arab media celebrity, has the knack of making accurate predictions in an anxious and uncertain Lebanon looking for answers. "I believe everyone has what I have. It’s a sense like your eyes, or your ears. If I feel something strongly, I follow my instinct," says the man nicknamed the "Nostradamus of the Middle East".
The former unionist turned businessman and media mogul, Marcel Golding, hardly ever grants interviews. But he recently spoke to journalist and member of Parliament Ben Turok in a wide-ranging interview about his company, its owners and the ordinary workers who are benefiting. Turok started by asking him about when he first conceived of a trade union-owned company.
Virgin Money has turned one. The newborn got off to a brilliant start. But, its toddler years might prove to be a bit more challenging. So far, Virgin has signed up 180 000 card holders. This is ahead of its original business forecast of 150 000 cards in the first year.
Matthew Buckland predicts that newspapers of the future will be luxurious, pricey items.
The promulgation of certain sections of the new Children’s Act on July 1 has caught the attention of the public and media. Some have applauded, others have said it is controversial and they are up in arms about it. Those in favour say the Act deals effectively with the pragmatic concerns of our time — HIV/Aids, burgeoning numbers of orphans, writes Ann Skelton.
"There is no magic wand that can solve transport issues," says Rehana Moosajee, the Johannesburg mayoral committee member for transport, "but we can begin to change things." While road rage, safety, traffic congestion, public transport strikes and minibus-taxi violence have grabbed media headlines, solutions to transport crises are quietly under way.