In the history of rock star misdemeanours, it wasn’t much of an offence. ”Happy fucking New Year, Tommy,” said Vince Neil, the lead singer of glam-metal giants Motley Crue, as he congratulated the band’s drummer on December 31 last year. But the remark — broadcast live on TV — led to the group being banned from NBC.
A leading scientist warned on Wednesday that the avian flu virus is on the point of mutating into a pandemic disease and says that current estimates that such a pandemic could cause 7,5-million deaths may understate the threat. His warnings come as experts writing in Thursday’s edition of Nature voice concerns about the world’s inability to manufacture sufficient vaccines for a pandemic.
The African National Congress tried to swat away the <i>Mail & Guardian</i>’s Oilgate revelations last week like some pesky insect. But like the persistent gadflies that we are, we won’t disappear that easily. Hiding behind a paper-thin set of excuses, the party has argued that there is nothing wrong with a private company making donations to a political party.
President Robert Mugabe and his wife Grace will splash out close to R3-million on a 10th wedding anniversary party at their rural home in Kutama, about 60km west of Harare. Several Southern African regional leaders are expected to attend, including best man at the wedding, former Mozambican president Joachim Chissano.
Twelve-year-old Mfanfikile looked forward to going back to school after nearly a year-and-a-half of absence following the death of his mother. He wanted to look his best, and had found an old beige jacket in a wardrobe. Although several sizes too large, Mfanfikile thought it an improvement on the threadbare shorts and T-shirts he usually wore.
Britain and the United States are betraying the cause of human rights in pursuit of their ”war on terror”, Amnesty International says in its annual report published on Wednesday. Irene Khan, Amnesty’s general secretary, launching the report, accused the two governments of condoning torture while trying to keep their consciences clear.
Health campaigners on Wednesday dismissed claims by the Indian government that the country had shrunk the growth rate of new HIV infections by 95%. About 526 000 people were infected in India in 2003, but the latest official figures showed an increase last year of just 28 000.
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In the high-stakes nuclear game, will a radioactive waste-management policy be foisted on an unsuspecting public or will ”transparency, consultation and stakeholder participation” be a reality? A draft policy containing those words remains ungazetted while the government looks at prototype pebble-bed nuclear reactors for commercial use.
The president of the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee, Moss Mashishi, announced on Wednesday that Sascoc has appointed a three-member committee to run the affairs of rugby until the extraordinary meeting of the general council of the South African Rugby Union on June 17.