Gun battles raged between Lebanese troops and Islamist militiamen on Tuesday, with both sides vowing to pursue the fighting that has killed 58 people in the last three days. Black plumes of smoke billowed into the sky as troops fired tank shells and artillery at positions of al-Qaeda inspired militants from Fatah al-Islam.
South African rugby is seemingly in pole position to be the strongest challenger for World Cup honours in France later this year. Winners in 1995 on home soil, the Springboks failed badly at the tournaments in 1999 in Wales and 2003 in Australia, but are now at the top of their game.
Researchers have figured out how to spot genetic changes in the body that may help determine whether a tumor is shrinking or a drug is working. They likened their discovery to a device featured on Star Trek that, when passed over the body, revealed the molecular secrets within.
Dr Mamphela Ramphele has resigned from the board of Standard Bank because of a potential conflict of interest. Bank spokesperson Ross Linstrom said he could not disclose the exact nature of this conflict. This is the third resignation of a high-profile black director from a financial institution as a result of potential conflicts since 2002.
Up to 1Â 000 staff in game parks around the country could go on strike in the winter school holiday, inconveniencing local and foreign tourists. On Monday, the Health and Other Services Personnel Trade Union (Hospersa) said it intended to proceed with protected industrial action in all the South African National Parks reserves.
Iran is secretly forging ties with al-Qaeda elements and Sunni Arab militias in Iraq in preparation for a summer showdown with coalition forces intended to tip a wavering United States Congress into voting for full military withdrawal, US officials say.
The academic who supervised Shamim ”Chippy” Shaik’s allegedly bogus doctoral thesis has resigned from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, media reports said on Tuesday. Professor Viktor Verijenko tendered his resignation via e-mail on Monday morning.
The inspecting judge of prisons has found that fraud convict Schabir Shaik received no special treatment while in hospital. Westville prison referred Shaik to Inkosi Albert Luthuli Hospital in Durban over a month ago, after he spent two months at a prison infirmary, and 83 days at St Augustine’s hospital.
A former vice-chancellor of Stellenbosch University and a vastly experienced academic and administrator who has held senior positions in Australia, Chris Brink leaves our shores soon to take up the vice-chancellorship of Newcastle University in the United Kingdom. In this interview, he is provoked him into some plain speaking by six wide-ranging questions about the local tertiary scene.
Academic freedom cannot be taken for granted any longer, writes <b>Jane Duncan</b>.