The mayor of Cernobbio was feeling a little frayed. ”We are at the end of our rope,” wailed the town spokesperson, Giuseppe Salvioni, after a weekend in which the waters of Lake Como frothed with paparazzi, pranksters, helicopters and police launches.
Allegations of incompetence, conflict of interest and inadequate consultation are being levelled at fisheries authorities as appeals against the allocation of R70-billion in long-term fishing rights flood in. Some 4Â 000 appeals are expected from 20 fisheries, from deep sea hake trawl to south coast rock lobster
Alternative media has a more definite understanding of "convergence" than its mainstream cousins. For this sector, it’s about dominating the spaces where people and unfilled time come together. Kim Novick speaks to the media executives and marketing bosses that get the concept.
Watching one of the most awesome cricket matches of all time, Bruce Hemphill was understandably tense. Along with other South African cricket fans, he was pleasantly shocked by South Africa’s win. His appointment to the top job at Liberty came as no less of a surprise. The new chief executive said: "I knew that I was possibly in line for the job, but it came a lot sooner than I anticipated."
Following United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan’s visit to South Africa recently, it is worth assessing his 10-year legacy as he steps down from his job in December. Annan was elected secretary general in 1996 under controversial circumstances.
Charles Taylor, the fugitive former leader of Liberia who gained notoriety for masterminding brutal armed conflicts in West Africa, is back in the news. Speculation is rife that Nigeria may extradite the former warlord to his homeland. In 2003, Taylor was forced into exile in a peace deal that had the broad support of African Union leaders.
As standards of living in Zimbabwe continue to deteriorate, the use of child labour on farms has risen sharply, with more than 10Â 000 children estimated to be working in the agricultural sector. Irin recently reported that new commercial farmers, the beneficiaries of the government’s controversial land redistribution programme, were struggling to pay labourers.
Medicine price reform will, on average, save consumers between 13% and 15% this year compared with 2003 prices, says the Department of Health, saying that pricing reform is working. Medicine costs a total R13-billion and R3-billion annually in the private and state sectors respectively.
If you want to make a quick buck, so the saying goes, stay out of media. If your heart’s set, we could add, stay out of business media. The stumbling blocks to profit in the sector are legion, and it’s not as if there’s a lack of competition. Here Kevin Bloom looks at some brands that have come up with innovative responses to the challenges.
Guillaume Soro, leader of the New Forces rebels who occupy the north of war-divided Côte d’Ivoire recently attended his first Cabinet meeting in more than a year. Up to now Soro has refused to travel to the main city, Abidjan, in the government-controlled south since President Laurent Gbagbo’s forces broke a long-held ceasefire agreement in November 2004.