More than four-and-a half thousand people have applied to take part in a joint Russian-European venture in which six people will be locked inside a mock spacecraft for 520 days to simulate an expedition to Mars. Russia’s space agency is sifting through piles of applications from would-be astronauts.
It has been the <i>Mail & Guardian</i>’s view always that the South African Communist Party has more historical credibility than any other opposition party. Its positive influence on the country’s history is undeniable and its policy positions and leaders must be taken seriously. It is the future of the SACP we worry about.
The electoral campaign started ahead of schedule in Sierra Leone. It was due to start last week Tuesday, but by last Saturday the ruling Sierra Leone Peoples Party was already holding rallies all over the capital, Freetown. Saturday was the last day for political parties to register for the August presidential elections.
The green dump truck stood out against the brown mud-brick homes and shops in the bustling market, and then in a flash everything was dust and blood and thunder. The Iraq war had just blown into one of the poorest and most isolated parts of the country, and nothing would ever be the same again.
Protestant churches reacted with dismay to a new declaration approved by Pope Benedict XVI insisting they are mere ”ecclesial communities” and their ministers effectively phonies with no right to give communion. Coming just days after the reinstatement of the Latin mass, the document left no doubt about Benedict’s eagerness to back traditional Roman Catholic practices and attitudes.
Driving alone on Gauteng’s highways might soon be unaffordable. Tolls, big brother cameras for traffic offenders and electronic devices attached to cars are to become the rage if the provincial government has its way. This is one of government’s strategies to force Gauteng residents to make use of public transport.
SACP general secretary Blade Nzimande definitely does not lead the life of a ”horny-handed son of toil”. The Mail & Guardian understands that his salary is equivalent to that of deputy ministers, who earn between R700 000 and R800 000 a year. Nzimande lives in a large home in the upmarket Johannesburg suburb of Emmarentia and has been known to have up to four luxury vehicles in his garage.
The world’s carbon dioxide emissions did not plummet to zero after Live Earth and rock stars did not rise as one to trade their private jets for bicycles. Yet the scandalous possibility presented itself that Al Gore’s seven-continent, 24-hour concert series had been rather impressive and might yet prove important.
There might be method in the madness going on in Harare — reports suggest the government is considering slashing the salaries of public-sector workers by 50% in line with the price cuts that have rocked the retail industry. Business, the government and the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe are behind this latest move to control money supply, says the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions.
While peace in Côte d’Ivoire might be delayed because of the attempt on Prime Minister Guillaume Soro’s life, it will not be denied, President Thabo Mbeki said on Friday. July 2007 should register itself as an important month in Côte d’Ivoire’s history, as the flame of peace is lit in Bouake, Mbeki said in his weekly newsletter on the African National Congress website.