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/ 29 December 2003
Indonesian villagers claim to have captured a python that is almost 15m long and weighs nearly 450kg, a local official said on Monday. If confirmed, it will be the largest snake to date kept in captivity. Hundreds of people have flocked to see the snake at a primitive zoo in Curugsewu on the island of Java.
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/ 29 December 2003
Africa’s largest steel group, Iscor, on Monday announced that group CEO Louis van Niekerk last week sold a total of 250 000 shares, netting him a princely sum of R6,8-million. Two top Iscor directors have also sold their shares for a combined sum of more than R800 000.
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/ 29 December 2003
South African President Thabo Mbeki has arrived in the Bahamas as part of a state visit aimed at forging closer relations with the countries of the Caribbean Community, as well as strengthening and consolidating bilateral political and economic relations between South Africa and the Bahamas.
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/ 27 December 2003
A third attempt to confirm the survival of the European Mars lander <i>Beagle 2</i> failed on Friday when a Nasa spacecraft swept over the planned touchdown site on the red planet without picking up a signal. "We are not in any way giving up yet," said Professor Colin Pillinger, chief <i>Beagle</i> scientist.
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/ 26 December 2003
A major earthquake hit southeast Iran early on Friday, killing "very many" people and destroying the historic quarter of the city of Bam, Kerman province Governor Mohamed Ali Karimi told Iranian radio. Karimi said: "The damage is very widespread and the number of victims is very high."
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=29021">Infant killed in Costa Rica quake</a>
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=29022">Aftershocks rattle California</a>
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/ 24 December 2003
The change in leadership of global pulp and paper producer Sappi has gone smoothly and new CEO Jonathan Leslie has already made his mark on the organisation, chairperson Eugene van As says. Writing in the group’s annual report, Van As said Leslie has taken decisive actions to improve returns and reduce costs.
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/ 24 December 2003
The Department of Agriculture on Wednesday announced the issue of a precautionary ban on the importation of all "risk materials" from the United States after a case of mad cow disease was reported in the US on Tuesday. All beef and beef products for sale in South Africa are considered safe, the department said.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=28974">Mad cow disease strikes US</a>
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=28986">US beef banned across Asia</a>
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/ 24 December 2003
Risk, auditing and financial services consulting group RisCura has released the results of its monthly investment performance survey, RisCView, to the end of November 2003. The surveys assess the risk and performance of retirement fund products offered by the largest fund managers in the local South African market.
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/ 24 December 2003
The United States government on Tuesday scrambled to calm public fears over its food supply after the US’s first recorded case of mad cow disease was found in a sick animal in Washington state. The news hit an already nervous American public, entering the Christmas holiday under a high state of terrorism alert.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=28986">US beef banned across Asia</a>
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=28975">US terror threat questioned</a>
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/ 22 December 2003
Post-apartheid South Africa has some of the most comprehensive legislation for controlling corruption and conflicts of interest in the world. But the government’s anti-corruption campaign has suffered from a lack of leadership and a serial inability to implement the anti-graft systems that it has put in place.
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/ 22 December 2003
The Pentagon’s top general, Richard Myers, said on Sunday that the intelligence learned from Saddam Hussein’s capture had led to the arrest of more than 200 people in a series of sweeps through centres of resistance.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/pd.asp?ao=28864">Months of interrogation before trial</a>
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/ 22 December 2003
Ever dreamed of a Star Trek wedding in Vegas? Or been searching in vain for that special undergarment Woolies never seems to have in stock — the spikey bra? Or perhaps you’ve noticed the mysteriously high number of deaths in the microbiology faculty and thought this smelled a bit fishy. Ian Fraser found it all online.
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/ 21 December 2003
"During the first 10 years of democracy in South Africa, the Democratic Alliance (DA) made two quantum leaps forward." Head of the DA Tony Leon talks about the role the African National Congress’s strongest opposition will play in the next decade.
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/ 20 December 2003
1 Abbey Mzayiya 2 Simon Muzenda; Canaan Banana 3 Ari ben Menashe 4 George Bizos 5 “The Final Push” 6 Andrew Meldrum 7 Vanessa Brereton 8 London 9 Karl Edwards 10 Schabir; Yunis; Rieaz “Mo”; Shamien “Chippy”; and (not involved) Faizel 11 Zarina 12 Justitia Building, Bloemfontein 13 David Kelly; Hutton Inquiry 14 Universities of […]
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/ 20 December 2003
After ending the past century on a somewhat civilised note and putting in place systems to deter killing, we have entered the 21st century a killing species. And in this, the fourth year of the century, we find ourselves as a human race taking a gigantic step backwards, writes Mondli Makhanya.
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/ 19 December 2003
Why has the printed edition chosen the theme 2014, not 2004, the 10th anniversary of democracy? Next year will certainly be a milestone for South Africa — 10 years of freedom, but the 20th anniversary of democracy in 2014 is going to be the watershed year. Watch this space as we bring you our forecasts over the next two weeks.
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/ 19 December 2003
Pope John Paul II was given an advance viewing of what is set to be one of the most controversial films of 2004, Mel Gibson’s story about the last hours of Jesus, and declared: "It is as it was," a British newspaper reported recently, quoting Vatican insiders.
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/ 19 December 2003
<i>The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe</i>, the much-loved fantasy novel by C.S. Lewis, will be made into a film in New Zealand, a newspaper reported recently. New Zealander Andrew Adamson, best known for his work on the Oscar-winning animated feature <i>Shrek</i> will direct.
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/ 19 December 2003
<b>Brigitte Mabandla, Minister of Housing — Grade: D</b>
Brigitte Mabandla took office in February and her 10 months in the position have not, perhaps not unreasonably, borne any fruit. Observers say she is hamstrung by her lack of knowledge about housing — she was formerly the deputy minister of arts, culture, science and technology — and that her Director General, Mpumi Nxumalo, now runs the show from the wings.
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/ 19 December 2003
Harare isn’t exactly the seething, angry mass of humanity that the sensationalist TV news reports leads you to expect. The days-long queues of cars and trucks at petrol stations, the sullen masses lined up in a vain effort to withdraw their rightful wages from the banks: if all that was true at one time, it no longer seems so now – on the surface at least.
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/ 19 December 2003
‘Tis Christmastide and I’m not in the mood for being snide about anyone. Filled with love for my fellow beings I’d rather write about something both beautiful and valuable. Robert Kirby chooses flowers.
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/ 19 December 2003
A ground-breaking study by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has sought to predict what life in Africa could be like by 2025. Contributions to the study came from more than 1 000 thinkers across the continent. Their prognosis: four scenarios ranging from imminent doom or stagnation, to rapid modernisation and heightened prosperity.
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/ 18 December 2003
Media group Johnnic Communications (Johncom), which owns 26,6% of M-Net and Supersport, will be given a chance to up its stake in the television pay channels if Naspers succeeds with a proposal to buy out minorities. Naspers directly or indirectly controls 40,6% of M-Net/SuperSport.
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/ 17 December 2003
Under-reporting of serious economic crimes means that well in excess of 80% of South African businesses are the victims of serious economic crimes, according to Jenny Reid, managing director of corporate security company GriffithsReid. Africa has one of the highest levels of reported economic crime in the world.
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/ 17 December 2003
South Africa’s tourism industry is currently under pressure from a number of negative factors, the most significant of which is the lack of airline capacity, according to Helder Pereira, managing director of Southern Sun hotels. However, Pereira believes South Africa’s outlook for the peak season and into 2004 remains good.
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/ 17 December 2003
In its latest clampdown on civil liberties, Zimbabwe’s government announced plans on Wednesday to seize tractors and other equipment from white farmers thrown off their properties. Owners selling, damaging or immobilising their machinery face a fine or up to two years in jail, said the presidential decree.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=28737">German MP in talks with Zim opposition</a>
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/ 17 December 2003
Sea water is leaking from two cracks in Europe’s biggest fish tank after a fire destroyed the museum that houses the aquarium, officials said on Wednesday. The fate of the 5Â 000 fish that live inside the tank isn’t known, but officials said a system of pipes that oxygenates the water, letting fish breathe, was damaged.
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/ 17 December 2003
Tourism consultant Mike Gold recently argued in the <i>Mail & Guardian</i> that tourists to South Africa from the rest of the African continent are of little economic significance as they are more likely to be job-seekers than big-spenders ("Why tourism will not take off"). He could not be more wrong.
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/ 17 December 2003
Social movements are in fashion — but they are not a new phenomenon. If the United Democratic Front was around today, its affiliates would also be termed social movements. What is new is the name and the global connectedness of the movements in question, among other things, writes Renée Grawitzky.
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/ 15 December 2003
Chinese and African leaders vowed at a summit on Monday to build stronger political and economic ties to counter United States and European dominance in world affairs and improve the standing of poor countries. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao promised preferential, zero-tariff trade deals with 34 African countries.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=28630">Zuma courts ‘crucial’ Chinese market</a>
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/ 15 December 2003
The Reverend Kenneth Meshoe was re-elected unopposed as the conservative African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) leader at the party’s national annual general conference at the weekend.
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/ 15 December 2003
Stanlib announced on Monday that Bruce Hemphill has been appointed as the new CEO of the wealth and asset management group with effect from February 1 2004. Hemphill will also be joining Liberty Group’s executive committee.