Millions of people who have been left marooned by torrential monsoon rains south of the Himalayas face an uncertain future cut off from their submerged villages amid fears that epidemics would spread unchecked in the waterlogged region, say relief agencies.
Premier League champions Manchester United beat FA Cup winners Chelsea 3-0 on penalties to win the Community Shield in a shoot-out on Sunday. Stalwart Ryan Giggs gave United a 35th minute lead with a sweetly-struck shot but Chelsea’s new France winger Florent Malouda levelled with a fine solo goal on the stroke of halftime.
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, criticised for driving his country to economic ruin, on Monday received a cordial welcome at an anti-poverty summit in this Malaysian resort. "Mugabe is actually participating in all the events," a delegate said, adding that the latter was "hugged and kissed" by some participants.
Chuck Prince is the chief executive of Citigroup, one of the world’s biggest financial institutions. He is an extremely rich man. Whether he is a wise man, though, is an entirely different matter. I say this purely on the basis of an interview Prince gave to the <i>Financial Times</i> less than three weeks ago, writes Larry Elliot.
The JSE lost 7% last week, recovered dramatically on Monday and Tuesday, only to fall out of bed again on Wednesday, bleeding 3% just in morning trade. The latest credit extension numbers were higher than expected at 24,9%, resulting in analysts’ consensus for a further rate hike this month, which was looking likely anyway as the rand collapsed from R6,80 to R7,20 to the dollar.
There are many good reasons for communists to exist. Anti-communists cite the plentiful examples provided by the 20th century of rampant corruption, dictatorship and mass impoverishment associated with such regimes, in which the comrade leaders lived it up far from the unwelcome gaze of the proletariat.
As a country we do not do too well on the green front. We are generally energy inefficient and wasteful. But we can take a small measure of pride next month when the first solar panels resulting from South African taxpayer-funded research and development come out of a state-of-the-art manufacturing plant costing upwards of R500-million.
Tendai Biti is the secretary general of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) faction led by Morgan Tsvangirai and Paul Themba Nyathi is the secretary general of the MDC led by Arthur Mutambara. The <i>Mail & Guardian</i>’s Percy Zvomuya speaks to both men about the future of the party.
Afghan forces have killed 21 Taliban insurgents in the southern province of Zabul, a provincial official said on Monday. ”We received intelligence that a sizeable group of Taliban militants were gathered in the Shah Joy district of Zabul in an attempt to block the Kabul-Kandahar highway, and to launch attacks on Afghan and foreign forces,” said provincial deputy governor Gulab Shah Alikhil.
Paul Lee got his liver from an executed Chinese prisoner; Karam in Egypt bought a kidney for his sister for  300; in Istanbul, Hakan is holding out for  700 for one of his kidneys. They are not so unusual: a dire shortage of donated organs in rich countries is sending foreigners with end-stage illnesses to poorer places like China, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Colombia and the Philippines to buy a new lease of life.