Staff Reporter

In recent months global awareness on the risks associated with climate change has shifted drastically. Few would now dare to argue against the view that climate change presents an enormous humanitarian challenge. Even if progress in reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases is made, we should not forget that weather patterns have changed already, writes Kofi Annan.

For the better part of last year and until recently, the rand seemed to be a one-way bet relative to just about any currency in the world. Having broken R7 to the dollar in late 2003, the rand traded steadily to around R6 to the dollar by early last year. In May last year the strength started to evaporate and the rand quickly devalued to R7,80 to the dollar in the five months to October.

<a href="http://www.mg.co.za/specialreport.aspx?area=ancconference_home"><img src="http://www.mg.co.za/ContentImages/321750/Icon_ANCconference.gif" align=left border=0></a>We can all agree that through our collective efforts, South Africa has been transforming for 13 years. A country seemingly bent on self-destruction changed course, achieved an extra­ordinary reconciliation and embarked on massive reconstruction and development to bring about a better life for its people.

Celebrity businessman Mandla Mthembu is confident that his company, Martial Eagle Investments, will be the winning bidder for a 55% controlling stake in Johnnic Communications. Johncom has already announced plans to unbundle and restructure, but Mthembu says he hopes to finalise the offer before the group splits. In this case he would gain control of the lucrative <i>Sunday Times</i>.

The crucial, invigorating idea about higher education is continuity. No matter how much the outward appendages of the university change, nothing changes. Above the allure of an esoteric discipline, one idea reigns supreme. The sense that one belongs to an age-old community of bickerers is the joy of academe.

If you are of a sensitive disposition, I advise you stop reading now. I am about to break the last of the universal taboos. I hope that the recession now being forecast by some economists materialises. I recognise that recession causes hardship. Like everyone I am aware that it would cause some people to lose their jobs and homes. I do not dismiss these impacts or the harm they inflict, writes George Monbiot.

Ventspils University College (VUC) is in the port city of Ventspils, Latvia, off the coast of the Baltic Sea. Latvia has been a member of the European Union since 2004. Ventspils is 200km west of the capital of Latvia, Riga, and 360km south-east of Stockholm, Sweden.

Too many universities in developing countries sustain an image of themselves as elitist institutions, cut off from the needs of the society that surrounds them. Ironically, this model is still being pursued at a time when it is being abandoned in the developed world that created it.

The Bologna Declaration of 1999 triggered wide-scale reform across the continent and, in the past few years, not only has the introduction of new degree structures taken centre stage, but a range of other European and national higher education and research issues have found synergies with the Bologna reforms to create a potent change process.