An extraordinary United States mission to whack a passing comet may indirectly provide a windfall for guardians monitoring any space rocks that could hit Earth. The Nasa probe Deep Impact is to eject a 372kg projectile that on Monday is scheduled to smack into Comet Tempel 1 as the heavenly wanderer flies past Earth at a great distance.
Leading Democrats on Wednesday reacted angrily to President George Bush’s address to the nation, accusing him of ”exploiting the sacred ground” of September 11 by attempting to link the Iraq war with the terrorist attacks. In his prime-time speech at Fort Bragg military base, the president mentioned September 11 five times in 30 minutes.
Pop stars and poverty in Africa will share centre stage on Saturday at the Live 8 mega-concerts, but doubts remain over whether the biggest music show on earth will be enough to spur world leaders into action. ”It is the biggest and best concert the world has ever seen,” said Oliver Buston, European director of Data (Debt, Aids, Trade, Africa).
That’s quite a cast Wimbledon came up with for the men’s semifinals: top-ranked Roger Federer, number two Lleyton Hewitt, number three Andy Roddick and … Thomas Johansson? The oldest player still in the tournament, Johansson is also the most obscure.
Israeli troops ejected dozens of Jewish protesters from a building in Gaza on Wednesday, as anger at the planned withdrawal from the territory intensified. About 30 protesters were arrested after they seized a house near the Gush Katif settlement in the Gaza Strip
The naming of the R900-million Gautrain rapid rail’s winning bidder by Gauteng Premier Mbhazima Shilowa remains on hold until further notice as the government’s three-way team continues to mull over the finer details, it emerged on Thursday.
The stark truth is this: even though the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) may rally millions on to the streets, its national strikes no longer stop the economy. And so it was this week. Life went on; most workers went to work; the shops opened, largely staffed by casual workers who generally do not belong to trade unions.
Zimbabwean doctors are threatening to down tools. They don’t want money but fuel. About 300 junior doctors countrywide face this predicament. They are classified as special services but complain that they are not getting the preferential treatment their jobs demand.
Talks to end years of rebellion in the Côte d’Ivoire resumed this week at the South African capital. But although government and rebel representatives in Pretoria may be speaking of peace, the areas they control are marked by persistent human rights abuses.
When South African Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka served as minister of minerals and energy, a large portrait of a woman miner hung above her desk. On closer examination you realise the miner is Mlambo-Ngcuka herself. “I always believe in getting into whatever I am doing,” she laughs.