The United States, Russia, China and India continued to be seen as among the key obstacles to a new climate change treaty as the United Nations climate conference in Nairobi drew to a close. The Kyoto protocol ends in 2012. But many of the Nairobi delegates were deeply sceptical about whether the current round of talks will deliver a mandate to negotiate a new convention at the same time next year.

Anthropomorphism and science are usually, at best, uneasy bedfellows — but, as the acronym for the Karoo Array Telescope is KAT, it is not surprising the astronomers involved have nicknamed the prototype antenna dish Kitty. The project, a fully-fledged radio telescope in its own right, is also an example of South Africa’s ability to build the â,¬1,5-billion Square Kilometre Array .

The Department of Foreign Affairs has laid charges of misconduct against its former ambassador to Brazil Mbulelo Rakwena for allegedly contravening the foreign service code. Rakwena is to appear before the department’s internal disciplinary committee before the end of the month. It is not yet clear what the indictments against him are and he has not yet been suspended.

The South African Jewish Report last week refused to publish Minister of Intelligence Ronnie Kasrils’s right to reply to an article that questioned his stance on Israel. This makes it the second time in recent weeks that Kasrils has been barred from expressing his radical anti-Zionist views.

Gang-related shootings and attacks on the Cape Flats are on the increase yet again, and gang bosses warn that more violence can be expected as a result of large numbers of gang members being released from prison over the past few months. The department of correctional services said recently that about 20 000 prisoners are released every year after serving only half their sentences, sometimes even less, as part of the early parole programme.