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The World Cup has always been a paradox of sorts. While it is supposed to be about the celebration of cross-cultural talent and the collective ability of nations, it always debunks the widely held myth that our players possess peculiar natural skills only found in Africa.
To some, it’s the symbol of one of the most powerful rugby-playing nations in the world, united by former South African president Nelson Mandela. Others remember it as an icon of racial oppression and exclusivity based on skin colour. There is even a drink named after it.
An Indian man who spits out 1 000-digit memorised numbers in reverse order has warned that speed-dial features on cellphones and other shortcuts are turning people into ”mental slobs”. Nishant Kasibhatia was named Indian with the sharpest memory in the latest edition of the Limca Book of Records on Thursday.
Cathay Pacific fulfilled a long-held ambition on Friday to gain greater access to the key Chinese market when it announced a deal to take over its smaller local rival Dragonair and cement ties with Air China, the mainland’s flag carrier. The complicated cross-sharing deal that took over two years to finalise sees state-run Air China and Cathay Pacific code-share on all routes and operate others under a profit share arrangement.
<b>NOT QUITE THE MOVIE OF THE WEEK:</b> Woody Allen’s latest offering <i>Match Point</i> is a bleak little movie, unrelieved by warmth or humour, writes Shaun de Waal.
The music industry is in a state of remix — and Hugh Masekela is the latest convert, writes Maria McCloy.
South Africa enters the worldwide digital revolution with the release of its first download-only album this week, writes Stephen Timm.
China said on Friday it was "erroneous and one-sided" to believe that it is only interested in Africa because of its energy resources, arguing it had comprehensive ties with the continent. Assistant Foreign Minister He Yafei made the remark at a briefing ahead of a visit by Premier Wen Jiabao to seven African nations.
Talks between the South African Transport and Allied Workers’ Union and the employer associations in the security industry ended at about 6am on Friday morning, with employers bringing an improved offer to the unions, Satawu said in a statement.
The Palestinian government’s security chief, a key player in rocket attacks on Israel, was killed late on Thursday in an Israeli air strike that threatened to escalate clashes between the two sides into a far fiercer conflict. The militantly anti-Israel Hamas government called Jamal Abu Samhadana’s assassination a direct assault on the Palestinian Authority.