Barry Streek The proposed merger of the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) and the South African Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (Satra) has been changed to ensure that the new body, now to be called the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa), has constitutionally entrenched independence. The Democratic Party’s Dene Smuts said the amended Bill recognises the […]
The beauty of the game of cricket lies in its complexity, of which one becomes acutely aware when facing the difficulties of explaining the game to a newcomer. “It’s like baseball with two hitters,” is a familiar starting point, “except the ball bounces.” Ah, but what permutations lie behind that small qualification … The terror […]
Tim Radford United States chemists and engineers have developed a polymer which could trigger another revolution in computing and communications – and bring Star Trek-style 3D hologram fantasies a step closer to reality. Using the new material, they promise an “opto-chip” that will process signals at 100 gigabytes a second. This is the equivalent of […]
the doldrums Donna Block The political turmoil surrounding the Zimbabwean government is on the brink of destroying the country’s economy. The second most powerful economy in Southern Africa after South Africa has been plagued by crisis after crisis, which has more recently been made worse by the invasion of white-owned farms by veterans of the […]
The pharmaceutical goldrush triggered by Viagra has forced female sexual dysfunction out of the bedroom and into the market place Maureen Rice Viagra started it. When the drug went on sale in 1998, it changed the sexual landscape as significantly as the birth control pill. Suddenly men were talking about their impotence in public and […]
Thebe Mabanga The Sammy Davis Jnr Entertainer of the Year for 1999, Mary J Blige, heads our way with R&B duet K-Ci and Jojo and saxophonist Kirk Whalum. In a telephonic interview from Germany, where she is on a promotional tour, Blige points out that, “In America, people give me love and appreciate my work. […]
Racked by war and a famine that sucked up Live Aid funds in 1985, Ethiopia faces starvation again Jason Burke As the desert sun began to dip towards the hot horizon, Bashir Ahmed Abdi died. The three-year-old had spent his last day unconscious in a tiny hut, in the middle of a barren, red-earthed plain. […]
SOUTH Deep gold mining joint venture said on Wednesday it has suffered a number of infrastructure problems that have affected production in the first quarter of the year. But a spokesman said this will not prevent the joint venture from reaching its targets for the year. “The incidents were serious in that they impacted our […]
PAUL KIRK, Johannesburg | Friday 11.00am. GOVERNMENT intelligence agencies are probing allegations that Mangosuthu Buthelezi, the minister of home affairs and president of the Inkatha Freedom Party, has been receiving large amounts of cash from illegal casinos. According to confidential documents compiled by the National Intelligence Agency, Buthelezi has more than R4-million in his personal […]
MPUMALANGA’s department of education fired two high-ranking officials on Thursday for their involvement in the 1998 matric scandal in which results were fraudulently inflated to 72%. Former examination head, Gogo Ndlovana, and first education specialist, Kate Mokone, were fired upon the recommendation of Professor Papa Maithufi who headed an internal investigation into the scandal. Maithufi […]