In March 1991, after more than 10 years of being locked up by Saddam Hussein, a small, bearded figure escaped from his cell. He was Iraq’s most famous nuclear scientist. Helped by the man who brought him his food, Hussain al-Shahristani jumped into a car used by the Mukhabarat, Saddam’s feared secret intelligence agency, and drove out of Abu Ghraib prison.
Britain denies rift with US over Iraq
Last weekend I flew from Johannesburg to Cape Town on South African Airways, and I can recommend the experience to anyone. If you are a lobotomised deaf-blind dwarf with a stapled stomach, it is a marvellous way to spend two hours. It has become passé to complain about airlines and their tenuous grasp of anatomical realities, but somewhere over Kimberley I began to fantasise about kicking an SAA executive in the shin until he cried.
The past two or three weeks have been filled with the thrill of discovery. It has taken no more than the reading of a few popular newspapers, the watching of a few local television news broadcasts, the listening to of a few radio talk shows. I now see how easy it is to achieve what so many think is unattainable personal glory and riches, fame and desirability.
"What is driving this tide of destruction and does it spell the ultimate death of the swamp forests of Kosi Bay, which form part of a wetland system recognised as being of international importance?" Agriculture in the peatland swamp forests of northern KwaZulu-Natal can’t be stopped, but there are ways to minimise its destructive impact. <i>Earthyear</i> investigates.
Behind the controversy surrounding the shooting of the tahrs of Table Mountain lies an issue on which the National Council of SPCAs (NSPCA) has been campaigning for several years: opposing the trade in wild, exotic animals. The NSPCA believes their place is in their natural habitat.
This week the <i>M&G</i> throws a harsh spotlight on the growing practice of politicians’ spouses and other immediate family members landing fat government contracts to found and build their private businesses. And on another topic, it can be said that one swallow doesn’t make a summer, and the launch of the African Peace and Security Council this week is only the beginning of the bird’s long migration.
Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11 won the Palme d’Or at Cannes last weekend. Can it win the US presidential election? The film examines the relationship between the Bush and Saudi dynasties, and offers a critical view of the experiences of soldiers and their families in the Iraq war.
The United States men suffered their worst Grand Slam showing on Wednesday when outsider Olivier Mutis dumped second seed Andy Roddick out of the French Open in their second-round tie. Roddick’s 3-6, 6-3, 6-7 (5/7), 6-3, 6-2 defeat to world 125th-ranked Mutis follows that of former champion Andre Agassi.
”Once you start to find the balance between what you are actually disturbing and the benefits that you are going to bring in, the disturbance is minimal.” The planned N2 toll road through Pondoland in the Eastern Cape is a hotly debated subject. Earthyear quizzes Nazir Alli, CEO of the South African National Roads Agency, about the impact, consequences and potential benefits of the road.
”One of the major factors that motivated me and my husband to move to South Africa was the private ownership of wildlife. In Kenya, you have no control over wildlife, for either conservation efforts or as an asset for ecotourism ventures.” Milimani Game Sanctuary in KwaZulu-Natal has offered hundreds of orphaned wild animals a second chance. Co-owner Lois Kuhle describes what it’s all about.