Civic and non-governmental groups in Zimbabwe have vowed to fight a tough new law proposed by the government, which could see them de-registered and cut off from much-needed foreign funding. The proposed Non-Governmental Organisation Bill seeks to tighten regulations around NGOs in the crisis-hit Zimbabwe, whom President Robert Mugabe’s ruling party is accusing of being embroiled in politics aimed at overthrowing his government.
They came. They saw. They bared all. And in the end, the 1 826 people who shed their clothes for American photographer Spencer Tunick on Sunday were a work of art.Tunick has been doing such nude assemblages — he calls them temporary site-related installations — around the world since 1992.
Hundreds wandered silently through devastated alleyways at the Gatumba refugee camp in Burundi on Sunday, trying to make sense of a massacre of 159 men, women and children. Victims were shot, burned and hacked to death at the camp for Congolese Tutsis in the central African state of Burundi in an overnight attack on Friday.
Burundi summit to be held this week
Burundi explodes into violence
United States and Russian scientists are planning the ultimate in fuel-economy travel: they hope to launch a space sailing ship driven only by the pressure of sunlight later this year. Cosmos 1, an unfurled fan of 15 metre sails, each far thinner than a dustbin bag but stiffened and coated with mirror material, could be launched from a Russian nuclear missile submarine.
A powerful bomb exploded during an Independence Day parade in India’s remote north-east on Sunday, killing 16 people, mostly schoolchildren, and injuring more than 40 others, despite the country’s prime minister promising to ”fight terrorism forcefully”. Reporters said the blast had ripped through the crowd without warning.
Telkom will not start offering voluntary severance and early retirement packages from Monday following a court interdict granted to three unions on Sunday. However, spokesperson Ravin Maharaj said the Sunday night sitting of the Labour Court, in Braamfontein, had also granted the telecommunications giant the right to appeal against the judgement.
The town clock was still stuck at 4.26pm, the exact time when the sleepy palm-fringed community of Punta Gorda bore the brunt of Hurricane Charley and the 230kph winds that came with it. On Sunday those who survived the storm were counting their blessings and their insurance premiums, and those who were evacuated were tip-toeing back to see what was left of their homes.
"For decades radical economists have been uneasily aware that the days of full-time employment may be over. It is not easy to admit that we have no way to ensure a job for anyone with some capacity who wants to be employed. So the issue is fudged by ‘if onlys’. What if we have to face the fact that, globally, there will never again be jobs for everyone?", writes Margaret Legum.
One of the biggest criticisms to come to light was the bureaucratic romp-slomp in processing EIAs. In some cases, it can take up to four years to get a record of decision from the government. In our last issue we explored the process required for environmental impact studies, but developers complain about lengthy delays. <i>Earthyear</i> investigates new DEAT regulations aimed at speeding things up.
"Energy is a huge problem all over the world because the world is power-hungry, as <i>Time</i> magazine put it. What is always strange to me is that people who criticise us for investigating other sources of energy such as nuclear do not realise the immense damage that our reliance on fossil fuels is causing this country." Marthinus van Schalkwyk speaks to <i>Earthyear</i> about his future plans.