Staff Reporter

South African telecommunications company Telkom is facing a fine of billions of rands for anti-competitive practices. The Competition Commission found on Tuesday that Telkom had "abused its dominant position by engaging in a pattern of anti-competitive practices", said commissioner Menzi Simelane.

How Stephen Hawking spent Valentines Day, the true origins of humanity, odd blobs on Mars and George Dubya’s little known cocaine habits — Ian Fraser brings you the world in one web browser. Take a look what you missed in mainstream newspapers this week.

Marina Bidoli of the <i>Financial Mail</i> has emerged as the overall winner of the Telkom ICT (information, communications and technology) journalist of the year awards for 2003, with Ivo Vegter (<i>ITWeb Brainstorm</i>) and Robyn Chalmers from <i>Business Day</i> placed second and third.

South African media and communications group Johncom has concluded an agreement with media group New Africa Investments (Nail) in terms of which Johncom will acquire Nail’s shares in New Africa Publications, owner of the <i>Sowetan</i> and 50% of <i>Sunday World</i>. Johncom already owns the other 50% of <i>Sunday World</i>.

The suspension of Metrorail CEO Honey Mateya and two senior executives last week has capped a simmering feud between Mateya and trade unions at the parastatal. Unions applaud Transnet CEO Maria Ramos’s decision to investigate parastatal’s senior executives who ‘lack vision’.

Everyone now accepts that poverty — whether actual destitution or state-aided, underclass misery — is a growing global phenomenon. Less well known is the fact that, globally, the middle class is struggling and declining. Margaret Legum comments on the uprush of how resources from poor to rich is weakening ‘society’s stable backbone’.

Black economic empowerment (BEE) ownership of South African services giant Bidvest has increased to approximately 35%, the group said on Monday. Black empowerment consortium Dinatla Investment Holdings acquired 15% of Bidvest in November last year and BEE ownership of Bidvest has now increased to approximately 35%, Bidvest Chairman Brian Joffe said on Monday.

Over 60 000 South Africans may have their heads shaved or colour-sprayed in 24 hours in April — when the Cancer Association of South Africa (Cansa) tries to raise funds for cancer awareness and research. Cansa spokesperson Michael Fagan said on Friday the Cansa Shavathon would be the high point of a campaign intended to raise R8-million to fight the disease.

The R1-billion joint venture between Econet Wireless and IT giant Altech finalised last month is likely to go down as one of the year’s biggest deals — and a surprise beneficiary stands poised to take a handsome stake. It has emerged that African National Congress spokesperson Smuts Ngonyama is part of a consortium in negotiations to buy between 15% and 20% of the newly formed telecoms giant.

Under his immaculate suit Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel was most probably wearing a Che Guevara T-shirt when he presented the Budget to Parliament this week. While Manuel has clearly not gone back to the Guevara-like economics once espoused by the African National Congress, in the past three to four years his stance has shifted toward a recognition that the state must play a bigger role in the economy in developing countries.

Three people have died and close to 200 have been infected by an outbreak of anthrax in Zimbabwe, according to the <i>Science In Africa</i> news website. The outbreaks have been linked to the uncontrolled movement of cattle by new settlers benefiting from the government’s controversial land redistribution programme.

President Robert Mugabe will call parliamentary elections in March next year, three months earlier than required under electoral law, state radio reported on Thursday. He did not specify a date for the five-yearly polls, which must be held before the end of June 2005.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=31479">Top Zim businesswoman nabbed</a>

Listen to an MP3 recording of a a banned radio show discussing the possibility of the White House’s involvement in 911, take the 100 Acre Personality Test to see which Pooh character you would be, sign a petition to save the Hubble telescope and check out a teabag pyramid. Ian Fraser brings you the weird and the wonderful on the web.

With the third democratic election looming, campaigns are gaining momentum as parties position themselves to attract voters. An election presupposes choice — the right of citizens to choose their leaders. However, in South Africa, the result is a foregone conclusion: the African National Congress is going to win the election. The question is by what percentage?