Staff Reporter

Mussa Arafat, a military advisor to Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas and a cousin of the late Yasser Arafat, was shot dead after a gunbattle at his home in Gaza City early on Tuesday. Arafat was shot in front of his wife and son before being dragged out onto the street.

I glanced at a certain Johannesburg newspaper recently, and saw that it has cheerfully started putting single-word names next to photographs of "celebrities". For instance, there’s a pic of Robert de Niro, and below it isn’t a caption saying why the pic is there. Instead, there is a bright, colourful word: "ROBERT!". Hmm, this is journalism for dummies only. Or did I miss a meeting?

There’s a promising opportunity that you should make the most of: a public inquiry into the right to basic education will be held next month. It’s being conducted by the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), motivated by what it describes as “the numerous problems currently being experienced” in education.

A woman accompanies her boyfriend to a party. They quarrel. She walks to find a telephone to call her mother to collect her. She comes upon a petrol station where she seeks to persuade the attendant to allow her the use of the phone. As this negotiation proceeds, a police car draws into the petrol station. A sergeant in full uniform enquires as to her problem and offers to drive her home.

Many commentators have acknowledged South Africa’s commitment to the promotion and recognition of women. They have also reminded us that the challenge of pursuing equality is far from full achievement. There are several facts that emphatically illustrate the remaining challenges.

Parliament has given notice that two United Democratic Movement MPs who were expelled by their party the day before the floor-crossing window will not be replaced at present. Meanwhile, the Afrikaner-based Freedom Front Plus announced on Monday that it has lost its sole seat in the Mpumalanga legislature.

It’s been proven true again. It is possible to bring Johannesburg’s notorious, downtown Newtown area back to life — as long as it’s night-time, and as long as there is a party. Last weekend saw a blast of sound in several interconnected venues.

Those who argue that pale males are no more useful in the new South Africa than an evolutionary throwback with no discernible function could do well to consider the case of MTN’s Robert Nesbit. The company’s financial director is one of a small coterie of white South Africans who have grown spectacularly rich as empowerment beneficiaries.

Parliament’s portfolio committee on minerals and energy this week endorsed the findings of Public Protector Lawrence Mushwana, clearing PetroSA of any wrongdoing in its advance payment of R15-million to Imvume Management. Ruling party MPs were scathing about what they said were "baseless" allegations about the scandal.

It was her breasts that betrayed the Queen of the Elves. Where once folds of white gossamer covered a bosom as ambivalent (perhaps even manlike) as the dread sovereign, now fairy spandex strained to the point of laddering against unmistakably optimistic 36Cs.

After several years of tinkering at the margins, the government is now contemplating robust interventions in what it believes are crucial sectors of the "real economy": a dramatically expanded regime of subsidies for some industries, more support for strategic clusters and a tougher crackdown on the pricing of basic inputs such as steel, telecommunications and chemicals.