An exclusive analysis of the Gallup International Voice of the People survey for the World Economic Forum (WEF) shows women are more pessimistic than men about the current state of security and prosperity in the world, WEF said in a statement on Thursday. More than 43 000 citizens in over 50 countries across the globe were interviewed in the survey – representing the views of almost 1,2 billion citizens .
Austrian writer and poet Elfriede Jelinek won the 2004 Nobel Literature Prize on Thursday, the Swedish Academy announced. She won the award ”for her musical flow of voices and counter-voices in novels and plays that with extraordinary linguistic zeal reveal the absurdity of society’s cliches and their subjugating power.”
British Prime Minister Tony Blair warned on Thursday that poverty and instability in Africa are providing a fertile breeding ground for terror and criminal organisations.
Addressing the second meeting of a commission he set up to develop ways of helping Africa, Blair called for ”international attention to be turned into international action” in a bid to address the scale of the crisis facing the continent.
About 200 anti-government activists in Harare demonstrated on Thursday against a barrage of repressive Bills that were introduced into the Zimbabwean legislature.
Mof the National Constitutional Assembly, pressing for a democratic constitution, marched through the city centre strewing thousands of leaflets condemning planned laws that threaten the existence of the vigorous civil liberties lobby.
A shortage of influenza vaccine in the northern hemisphere could negatively affect South Africa next winter, a private sector clinic said on Thursday. ”If they are having a very bad flu season in the northern hemisphere, then we are guaranteed a bad season,” said Dr Andrew Jamieson, a medical director of the South African Airways-Netcare Travel Clinics.
Hundreds of anti-debt campaigners were expected to take to the streets of Pretoria on Thursday in protest against the World Bank’s privatisation policy. Sonto Mthimkhulu, chairperson of the Gauteng branch of the International Jubilee Debt Campaign (JDC), said they would march from the International Monetary Fund offices in Park Street to the World Bank building in Pretorius Street to hand over a memorandum.
Ariel Sharon’s chief aide caused a political storm on Wednesday by claiming that the real purpose of the Israeli prime minister’s ”disengagement plan” was to freeze the peace process and prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state, all with the blessing of the United States.
A rising generation of African comic book artists are tackling the bloodshed, corruption and absurdities of daily life, winning adoring audiences at home and a growing fan base abroad. Comics from Sudan to South Africa are on display at the Frankfurt Book Fair, the world’s largest show of its kind, giving some an unprecedented opportunity to reach a global audience with their biting observations.
Last month, Durban entrepreneur, Tracey Collier, was shocked to find her phone bill dotted with phone calls to Samoa, on occasions when she believed she was dialing out to a local internet service provider. The culprit was a "rogue dialler" — a spyware variant that surreptitiously loads itself onto your hard drive and changes the default settings that allow you to connect to the internet.
Unions and management have agreed on wage increases at the Northam Platinum mine in Limpopo, while a deadlock continued at two other large platinum mines near Rustenburg on Thursday. Lower level workers at Northam would get an 8,5% increase, middle level 8,25%, and higher level workers 8%, National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) general secretary Archie Palane said.