The announcement last month by the Medicines Control Council (MCC) that nevirapine should not be used as monotherapy to prevent mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV has caused much consternation, both in South Africa and abroad. Despite new doubts about the drug, it has saved the lives of thousands of babies in South Africa.
Children go to bed on empty stomachs because maintenance defaulters shrug off their duty to support them. When women are frustrated in their attempt to access maintenance, their children are denied the only source of income that stands between them and starvation. Too often maintenance becomes a battle between the parents, when it is should be about the rights of the children.
When British honey farmer Willie Robson blew the whistle on a fellow beekeeper, Richard Brodie, for potting Argentine honey and passing it off as Scottish borders honey, the resulting court case exposed some of the tough realities of an intensely competitive international business. Stinging accusations of foul play in the
beekeeping world have exposed the ruthless side of a global trade.
Since the start of a United Nations disarmament programme in Liberia in December 2003, much attention has been paid to the painfully difficult process of reintegrating the country’s rebel troops into society. Another — and equally important — operation is also underway, however: the reform of Liberia’s police force, blamed for a significant number of human rights abuses during the country’s civil war.
In city markets across China you will hear the following: ”Look at this beautiful silk shirt, made in America.” ”Look at these, real leather shoes made in Japan.” ”The very best chocolate, made in England!” On a publishers’ tour of China in April, my Western friends asked me what it was that people were shouting. I never knew what to say. If it says ”made in China” on the label, most Chinese don’t want to know.
Eight American states and New York city have launched an unprecedented civil action against five of the United States’s largest power companies, demanding that they cut carbon dioxide emissions because of global warming. Attorneys general from California, Connecticut, Iowa, New Jersey, New York and other states filed a public nuisance lawsuit on July 21 in the federal court in Manhattan.
The purpose of the South Africa Rugby Football Union (Sarfu) board meeting in Johannesburg on Monday was not, as reported earlier, to lure deputy president Keith Parkinson back into the fold. Parkinson resigned last week following a series of recent incidents that have further tainted the image of the sport in South Africa.
Springbok coach Jake White and Blue Bulls lock Victor Matfield have, according to both men, kissed and made up after a successful meeting between the two at Loftus in Pretoria on Tuesday. Relations between the two became strained last week after Matfield was sent home from Australia suffering from an apparent leg injury.
Former two-time champion Andre Agassi advanced to the second round of the Cincinnati Masters when Mardy Fish retired in the third set with a back injury on Monday. Agassi, the last back-to-back winner in 1995/96, was leading 4-6, 7-6 (3), 4-1 when Fish quit.
United States presidential candidate John Kerry wears one. President George Bush has one, too. So do several movie stars. One of the hottest fashion trends in the United States is the ”Live Strong” yellow wristband produced by the Lance Armstrong Foundation, the cycling superstar’s cancer-fighting organisation.