Montpellier was the place to be on Wednesday. Not for the sun, or the sandy beaches, nor the fine cuisine and local wines. And not even because this beautiful southern town is reputed to have one of the most attractive populations in France, thanks to its three universities. No, there was a football match taking place, and it wasn’t the usual second-division fare served up by the locals.
My cellphone illuminates the time, beeps at me. 4.45am. I get up in the dark — the power is off again — and fumble my way to the car, scooping up Jasper, my Jack Russell, as I go. He’s comfort, a slab of warmth across my lap as I wait. There are rumours of petrol at some shack of a garage out on the fringes of the industrial sites, owned by some crony with ties to the army. I ought to have a conscience: I don’t.
National carrier South African Airways (SAA) will remain in state hands, but government ”may bring in another partner”, Public Enterprises Minister Alec Erwin said on Thursday. Erwin said that the airline industry was critical for Africa and he said that in the next year some ”extremely interesting announcements” could be expected from SAA.
It is just one month since the Springboks flew home from Australia with their tails between their legs, having been drubbed 30-12 by the Wallabies in Sydney. Back then Bok coach Jake White was being castigated for playing too few players of colour, and for imagining that he could beat Australia by kicking the ball to them.
At last! You’ve worked all year long for this and you’re finally heading off on that much-needed holiday of which you’ve been dreaming. Fantastic. Of course, you’ll need to be fully prepared and packing wisely is the first step. So make a checklist: mobile phone, laptop, Blackberry, printed itineraries, workout clothes, video camera and fat-burning pills.
It is the ultimate conundrum for vegetarians who think that meat is murder: a revolution in processed food that will see fresh meat grown from animal cells without a single cow, sheep or pig being killed. Researchers have published details in a biotechnology journal describing a new technique, which they hailed as the answer to the world’s food shortage.
The Credit Bill, which is currently being tabled before Parliament, has highlighted the practice of credit life insurance when purchasing a vehicle. The aim of this insurance is to pay out the outstanding debt on the vehicle should you die or are unable to make some of your repayments, either through disability or retrenchment.
The Democratic Alliance’s hopes of regaining control of the Western Cape legislature were dashed recently when three New National Party members pledged their seats to the African National Congress during the upcoming floor-crossing period. The move will give the ANC an overall majority of 22 of the 42 seats in the Western Cape legislature. They are already ANC members.
Human beings, in nearly all cultures, have long engaged in a strange activity. They take a literary text, give it special status and attempt to live by its precepts. These texts are usually of considerable antiquity — yet are expected to throw light on situations their authors could not have imagined.
Louis Trichardt residents are attacking the validity of the rural Limpopo town’s name change to Makhado in a case being fought in the Pretoria High Court. There was an outcry by thousands of inhabitants of the town when the decision was gazetted in June 2003.