The HRC’s conference was characterised by much soul-searching about the definitions of racism Sechaba ka’Nkosi South Africa’s whites went on trial this week on charges of racism when black leaders attending the Human Rights Commission (HRC) conference on racism questioned their attitude towards black citizens and their willingness to reach out and reconcile. Unease and […]

Ivor Powell Abattle is developing between the government and Parliament as the state prepares a package of new laws to remove checks and balances introduced in the armaments industry to prevent corruption. If accepted, the already tabled Conventional Arms Control Bill and the draft Armscor Bill and Defence Related Industries legislation will allow the government […]

Jaspreet Kindra The tensions within the tripartite alliance are increasingly being blamed on President Thabo Mbeki, who is perceived by other alliance leaders as having systematically cut them off from debate on economic policy. Notwithstanding this view, expressed by several senior members of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu)and the South African Communist […]

Nawaal Deane and Ntuthuko Maphumulo Statistics show that over the past 15 years South African youth have been having sex at an increasingly younger age. Of sexually experienced children polled in the Beyond Awareness Campaign survey, 10% said they had had their first sexual experience at or below the age of 11 years. In the […]

Neal Collins olympics For those of you who think nandrolene was the bad guy with a cheap torch in Captain Scarlet, think again. It is, in fact, a steroid which helps build muscle, reduce fat, increase stamina, and disappears from the system in two weeks – and has been an enduring Olympic star. That said, […]

Nawaal Deane and Ntuthuko Maphumulo The first in-depth investigation into the efficacy of South Africa’s Aids awareness campaigns on the country’s youth shows that while the information is getting through, few believe it applies to them. The survey, conducted by the Beyond Awareness Campaign, reveals that most young people see HIV as a threat to […]

Tim Radford Scientists claim this week to be on the track of a “universal” cancer vaccine. They have targeted a natural protein that makes tumour cells immortal and therefore lethal. The scientists have isolated part of the protein and used it to trigger immune system cells into killing both mouse and human cancer cells in […]

Cape Flats residents who were left homeless after last year’s tornado feel that the municipality has not done enough to provide new housing Marianne Merten A year to the day after her daughter Ghaironisah Moosa was killed when a tornado hit Manenberg on the Cape Flats, Maraldia Ajam died. The elderly woman lived for much […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT and REUTERS, Johannesburg | Friday JOHNNIC Communications, which is preparing to bid for South Africa’s second fixed-line telephone licence, has raised R3.8bn from a rights offer to consolidate control of acquisitions and eliminate debt. The offer, which was 78.78% subscribed, saw more than R800m rand raised from minority shareholders, with the balance being […]

INFORMATION technology giant Dimension Data (Didata) has become the third largest South African company in terms of market capitalisation, replacing diamond giant De Beers. This comes in the wake of Didata’s share price increase of nearly 5% to R68 a share, which brings the market capitalisation to R78.77bn. De Beers’ market capitalisation stands at R77.40bn. […]