A post template

No image available
/ 14 November 2005

Fuel’s paradise?

It seems too good to be true: a new source of near-limitless power that costs virtually nothing, uses tiny amounts of water as its fuel and produces next to no waste. If that does not sound radical enough, how about this: the principle behind the source turns modern physics on its head.

No image available
/ 14 November 2005

Explosion in the suburbs

In late 1991, after riots between youths and police scarred the suburbs of Lyon, Alain Touraine, the French sociologist, predicted: ”It will only be a few years before we face the kind of massive urban explosion the Americans have experienced.” The fortnight of consecutive violence following the deaths of two young Muslim men of African descent in a Paris suburb show that Touraine’s dark vision of a ghettoised, post-colonial France is now upon us.

No image available
/ 13 November 2005

Private guards for cop shops

The South African Police Service is spending R66,5-million a year on hiring private security companies to guard its stations and police buildings. The 10 security firms benefiting most from this bonanza include three that appear not to be registered with the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority — a statutory requirement.

No image available
/ 13 November 2005

Stories that make the cut

The stereotypical editor is a grumpy old man who talks in grunts and whose desk is full of dirty coffee cups. It’s an enduring image, fuelled by journalists who seem to take pride in having worked under awful bosses. Get a group of them together, and the chances are they will begin trying to trump each other with war stories. My editor was worse than yours — that sort of thing.

No image available
/ 13 November 2005

Inventor of gamma camera dies at 85

Hal O Anger, a pioneer of nuclear medicine who is credited with inventing the gamma camera, has died. He was 85. Anger died at his Berkeley home on October 31. He developed his most noted invention in 1957, employing gamma radiation to depict metabolic processes within a living body.

No image available
/ 13 November 2005

Fresh demonstrations over Liberian election

Supporters of Liberian presidential candidate George Weah, who appears destined for defeat at the hands of economist Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, took to the streets of Monrovia for a second day on Saturday. With more than 99% of votes counted, Unity Party candidate Johnson-Sirleaf has maintained a comfortable lead over Weah.

No image available
/ 13 November 2005

Burkina Faso votes amid opposition protests

The West African cotton state of Burkina Faso was set to choose a president on Sunday amid opposition charges of vote rigging and abuses by the president, widely expected to return to power. President Blaise Compaore, in office for 18 years, is standing for a third time in one of the poorest countries of Africa.