Jesus may have appeared to be walking on water when he was actually floating on a thin layer of ice, formed by a rare combination of weather and water conditions on the Sea of Galilee, according to a team of United States and Israeli scientists. Their study argues that salty springs along the Galilee’s western shore can stop surface water circulating at cold temperatures and there were unusually cold spells, lasting up to 200 years, in biblical times.
There’s an advert emblazoned on the sides of London double-decker buses for a computer game: ”Paste your girlfriend’s white bits here.” Another irritating sexualisation of public space, another insistent, insidious message of how culture shapes expectations of our sexuality.
South Africans are deeply xenophobic. This unpleasant fact has been borne out by public opinion research since 1995, and can be seen in the all too frequent attacks on immigrants and popular calls for stiffer controls on immigration. Significantly, these attitudes are not the result of first-hand experience with foreigners.
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"Not suitable for children under 17", says the box of the little Blow-Up dolls. Nothing to do with sex, the bright plastic figurines have a bomb-shaped head with a fuse, and angry eyes telling you they’re ready to blow up any minute. The display of Dunnys — little plastic creatures — on the same shelf states: "This is a work of art, not a toy."
The state of health care in the Eastern Cape under the stewardship of sacked provincial minister Bevan Goqwana had been ”deplorable”, the watchdog Public Service Accountability Monitor (PSAM) said on Tuesday. ”The PSAM calls on the premier to urgently appoint a suitably qualified replacement,” the Grahamstown-based organisation said in a media statement.
Iran’s hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared on Tuesday that the Islamic republic will ”soon join the club of countries that have nuclear technology”, state television reported. The announcement came 15 days before the expiry of a United Nations Security Council deadline for Iran to slam the brakes on its uranium enrichment programme.
A schoolbook containing some of music legend John Lennon’s earliest thoughts, drawings and poems could be sold for £100 000 when it is auctioned later this month. The 10-page red exercise book, entitled My Anthology, dates back to when the ex-Beatle was just 12-years-old and includes an illustration of a walrus, from Lewis Carroll’s poem The Walrus and the Carpenter.
A vigilant First National Bank (FNB) employee on Monday became a millionaire in this year’s Vow of Vigilance campaign, which saves the bank and customers millions of rands by preventing fraud. Mother of two Celeste Els (26) was entered in the competition for stopping a fraudulent cheque.
A decision on whether injured Proteas captain Graeme Smith will play in the first Castle Test against New Zealand at SuperSport Park, Centurion, beginning on Saturday, will be taken after he bats in the nets on Thursday. Smith missed the third and final Test against Australia after injuring the ring finger of his left hand at fielding practice before the match.