Joburg has lost its seat among the world’s iconic capitals
/ 14 February 2023

Joburg has lost its seat among the world’s iconic capitals

As heartbreaking as it is to admit, our beloved city is travelling down a path of no return

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/ 20 March 2008

Snowstorm causes 100-car pile-up in Czech Republic

About 100 cars collided in a huge pile-up in a heavy snowstorm in the Czech Republic on Thursday, completely blocking its main highway, officials said. Six people were seriously injured and about 18 others suffered light injuries in accidents on the road from the capital, Prague, to the south-eastern city of Brno, said regional governor Milos Vystrcil.

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/ 26 April 2007

R190 000 bonus after Christmas-tree mishap

A Czech court ruled on Thursday that a British tourist who was seriously injured when a Christmas tree collapsed on top of him should receive 560 000 koruna (about R190 000) compensation. British tourist Malcolm Tuffin suffered a fractured femur and injuries to his spine and chest when the 23m tree fell on top of him.

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/ 22 December 2006

Czechs launch war on Santa, ‘usurper’ of Christmas

Czechs have launched an ”anti-Santa” campaign against the white-bearded usurper they fear is edging out the infant Jesus or ”Jezisek”, the traditional bearer of seasonal gifts for centuries. ”I do not have any wish to see a fat man dragging a bag at Christmas. I want to retain my own vision of the infant Jesus,” said the founder of the campaign, Prague publicity agency manager, Petr Vlasak.

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/ 19 October 2006

Startled giraffes die after zoo power failure

Three young giraffes died at a Czech zoo, famed for its work on endangered species, as a result of a power cut, the head of the zoo said on Thursday. ”When the power came on again in their enclosure after the power failure, the animals were startled by the lamps. They bolted and suffered fatal injuries when they fell,” the zoo said.

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/ 24 August 2006

Pluto kicked out of planet club

Pluto on Thursday lost its seven-decade status as the ninth and outermost planet of the solar system, the world’s top astrononomical body decided. The decision was made at an assembly of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). ”The eight planets are Mercury, Earth, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune,” said the IAU.

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/ 17 August 2006

Pluto set to be a planet and a pluton

The question of whether Pluto is a real planet, hotly debated by scientists for decades, came to a head on Wednesday when the global astronomers’ body proposed a definition of a planet that raises their number to 12 from nine. Pluto would remain a planet but would fall into a newly created category called ”plutons”.

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/ 1 August 2006

Czech Republic holds a feast for the eyes

A feast for the eyes awaits any hiker or biker who struggles up the steep grade to reach a mountain peak in the tiny village of Peklo, Czech Republic. Peklo is home to one of the scores of scenic overlooks that dot the mountain and cliff-tops throughout the Jizerske Hory mountain range, about 150km north of Prague.

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/ 3 May 2006

Suppressed Freud makes comeback

After decades under suspicion, Sigmund Freud is making a comeback in the country of his birth 150 years ago, where he left a legacy complex enough to merit a few sessions on the couch. In Prague, seminars, conferences and public exhibitions over his influence on art, as well as smaller events in his birthplace Pribor, all testify to something of a Freud revival in the Czech Republic.

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/ 3 April 2006

Czech Republic declares flood emergency

Czech officials declared a state of emergency in seven flood-hit regions while rivers continued to rise in neighbouring European countries on Monday, forcing evacuations in some areas. Flooding was reported in Germany, Poland, Hungary, Austria and Slovakia. The Elbe River swelled toward a new peak in Germany on Monday.

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/ 22 February 2006

Navratilova courts maiden success in home country

Czech-born tennis legend Martina Navratilova, who swept up almost every title, everywhere during her long illustrious career will fill a big gap in May when she competes at her first professional tournament in her home country. Czech fans will have a chance to witness the popular, homegrown sporting star when she competes in a WTA doubles events in Prague from May 8-14.

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/ 31 December 2005

More luxury than ever in Prague’s hotels

From the riverside Four Seasons to the palatial Pariz, swanky travellers can choose from nearly 30 luxury hotels in the Czech Republic’s capital city, Prague. And next year the directory of five-star accommodation is expected to grow along with the city’s expanding tourist industry. During 2005, city officials issued building permits for at least seven new hotels.

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/ 21 October 2005

Czech surrealist painter dies

The Czech surrealist painter, poet and sculptress Eva Svankmajerova has died aged 65, the CTK news agency quoted a friend of her family as saying. The artist joined the surrealist movement in the early 1970s, when she was known for her Emancipation Cycle.

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/ 30 August 2005

Titbits savoured at top chefs’ summit

They know how United States President George Bush likes his Thanksgiving turkey, how the Queen takes her toast and just how many puddings former US president Bill Clinton can get down. These and other culinary secrets of some of the most powerful, or poshest, people in the world will be adding spice to the dinner table conversation at one of the most select and sybaritic of world summits as it meets this week.

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/ 18 January 2005

Bats on Soviet TV

Soviet-era compact television sets, known for bad reception and low picture quality, are finally popular — as homes for bats. A group of disabled workers in the south-eastern Czech Republic produces bat boxes from the Rubin TV sets’ sturdy plywood casing, which is hard to break and easily resists bad weather.

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/ 17 January 2005

Czech mayor taken for a ride

Tired of hearing reports of visitors paying grossly inflated prices for taxi rides in his city, the mayor of Prague disguised himself as an Italian visitor — and promptly unmasked a driver whose meter ran at more than six times the normal rate, a newspaper said on Friday.

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/ 18 November 2004

Rice got it wrong, says Czech newspaper

A leading Prague newspaper on Thursday highlighted the alleged historical errors and insults written by United States secretary of state nominee Condoleezza Rice in her 1984 book about communist Czechoslovakia’s Soviet-backed army. The Lidove Noviny newspaper chided Rice for calling Czechs ”passive”.

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/ 16 November 2004

Polanski wraps up ‘timeless’ Oliver Twist

Oscar-winning director Roman Polanski is wrapping up his adaptation of Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist, and the filmmaker known for grim and challenging fare says this is his most interesting movie yet. Speaking on the film set in a muddy field on the edge of Prague’s Barrandov studio on Monday, Polanski insisted the classic 19th century tale about a London orphan was still relevant to children today.