For generations, African farmers have relied on local knowledge to manage and conserve water. Whether this knowledge should be recognised and promoted by the government is a matter of some debate in the Southern African region, however. The issue is also in the spotlight on Wednesday, which marks World Water Day.
Warning for landlords: beware of diminutive tenants wearing purple jumpsuits, you never know what they’re going to do to your property. American basketball player Carlos Boozer should really have had his wits about him when he let his ,9-m Hollywood home to a 47-year-old Minneapolis man with no surname.
United States President George Bush on Tuesday raised the vision of an American troop presence in Iraq that would extend for the next three years, an admission that a US withdrawal was unlikely during his term in the White House. He said: ”I’m optimistic we’ll succeed. If not, I’d pull our troops out.”
Millions of people could have to wait years for clean water as some of the world’s largest companies pull out of developing countries because of growing doubts about privatisation projects, a United Nations report reveals on Wednesday.
The events of the past month serve to remind us that the path to economic prosperity is a precarious one, filled with all manner of shocks and disruptions. The events also show, according to Merrill Lynch economist Nazmeera Moolla, how a strong rand contributes to unbalanced growth.
A Montessori school in Midrand, north of Johannesburg, has been accused of operating illegally. The independent school, which offers classes from nursery to junior primary, is also alleged to have problems with hygiene, security and parking. The school denies the allegations, claiming that some parents simply have "an axe to grind".
The sight of an elderly person caring for children with Aids-related illnesses — and grandchildren who may have been orphaned by the pandemic — has become a common one in Namibia, and the Southern African region as a whole. According to the 2004 <i>Common Country Assessment</i>, grandparents provide care for most orphans under the age of 18 who live in rural areas.
The Pentagon is trying to develop "insect cyborgs" able to sniff out explosives, or "bug" conversations, by lurking unseen in enemy hideouts with micro-transmitters strapped to their bodies. Their most immediate task could be spotting and identifying the location of roadside bombs in Iraq.
The Australian swimming team has taken exception to stinging media criticism of the men’s inability to win an individual gold medal at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games swimming competition. Aussie media have slammed the performance, coming four years after the men won 15 golds at the Manchester Games.
Australian police said on Wednesday that they are increasingly concerned for the safety of two Commonwealth Games competitors who went missing from the athletes’ village. Bangladesh 400m sprinter Tawhidul Mohammad Islam and Tanzanian boxer Omari Idd Kimweri disappeared on Monday and have not been seen since.