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/ 13 December 2004
Setting up a new computer always involves a little work that, by most accounts, is a lot of fun and gratifying too. You get to learn new things, and that custom set-up you achieve a few months down the line, is deeply satisfying. So too is the new A6 from Audi and, in this case, a rather explosive 3,0 V6 turbo diesel. The Audi A6 Tdi couples the latest electronics, high performance and fuel economy.
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/ 13 December 2004
Imagine the advertisement: "Wanted: CEO for national motor distributor. Must be able to cook!" Okay, so that wasn’t really a requirement for the job, but Ray Levin, CEO of Kia Motors South Africa, really is a fully qualified chef. Levin reckons that there’s a huge divide between his previous career and the one he pursues now.
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/ 13 December 2004
"If you’ve ever wondered why journalists write ‘claimed’ or ‘approximately’ about performance and economy figures supplied by the manufacturers at a vehicle launch, it’s because we haven’t tested that particular vehicle." How does the VW Caddy Life live up to its manufacturer’s consumption claims?
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/ 13 December 2004
South African cellphone giants Vodacom and MTN are not sitting ducks for takeovers by international players, says Merrill Lynch’s Meloy Horn. She shot down rumours that United Kingdom-based Vodafone, the world’s largest cellular phone operator, might take a controlling interest in its South African subsidiary, Vodacom.
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/ 13 December 2004
"Our main aim is to increase the tourism economy of Johannesburg. We’re starting off a strong base — six million tourists come into the city per annum. The total value of this to the economy is valued at R7-billion. The question is: how do we get more tourists?" Deon Viljoen, CEO of Johannesburg Tourism Company, speaks to <i>Earthyear</i> about his role in putting Johannesburg on the world map.
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/ 13 December 2004
Eskom recently launched the Dindi Fish Farm in the Dindi community near Pietermaritzburg, as part of its programme to establish sustainable projects in needy communities. The fish farm is a small remote facility specifically for the raising of African catfish, <i>Clarias gariepinus</i>.
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/ 13 December 2004
"I heard a solitary lion roar close by in the early hours of my first night (which had left spoor through the camp just the night before), a hyena laughing the following morning, fish eagles while I was enjoying my very first cup of morning coffee next to the campfire…". A few days at Sebe-Sebe’s bush camp restores an <i>Earthyear</i> journalist’s soul.
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/ 13 December 2004
A swarm of locusts on the horizon usually spells doom to most societies, but the VhaVenda people in South Africa’s Limpopo Province welcome this natural phenomenon. In fact, it is seen as a blessing from the ancestors. <i>Earthyear</i> takes a closer look at these creepy crawlies … and how to cook them.
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/ 13 December 2004
In most circumstances we find racial profiling — making a decision about an individual based on statistical assumptions relating to his or her race — despicable. But is it any better when class becomes a determinant in situations where our very humanity is at stake? When one person is comforted and another lies shivering on the pavement?
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/ 13 December 2004
Convertibles have never been my favourite cars. They’re often noisy, the cloth tops are sometimes a mission to get up and down, and they lack the security offered by a normal car. The recent trend towards hard-tops that fold themselves neatly away into the boot eliminated most of my objections, however, and the new Renault Megane Coupé-Cabriolet has just won my heart.