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/ 15 December 2003
Hotels and popular South Africa holiday spots are beginning to provide instant, cheap, high-speed access to the internet. But because finding these so-called WiFi hotspots has until now been a major detective exercise, a new web portal with precise hotspot location and support information has been launched.
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/ 15 December 2003
Despite having been chastised by angry liberals following previous column , I reserve the right to remain critical about my own country. Being constructively critical about the country in which you live (rather than beating a hasty retreat to London or Perth) is the very stuff of liberty, democracy and even, dare I say it, spiritual growth.
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/ 12 December 2003
The Health Ministry of the Republic of Congo reported on Thursday that the current ebola outbreak in the country’s northwestern Cuvette Ouest Department is stabilising, with 29 deaths among 42 registered cases to date. Since December 2 no further deaths had been registered in the two worst-affected villages.
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/ 12 December 2003
Africa, the instigator of the world’s first information technology summit, wanted rich countries to put their money where their mouths are to develop its nascent technology, but its delegates were leaving the three-day meeting on Friday with only vague promises.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3_fl2.asp?o=38626">WSIS special report</a>
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/ 12 December 2003
Listed retailer Edgars Consolidated Stores (Edcon), already South Africa’s largest retail group by turnover, has acquired the business of Boardmans from fellow retailer Pick ‘n Pay for approximately R94-million. It is the second major acquisition by Edcon in 2003, following its purchase of more than 100 CNA stores.
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/ 12 December 2003
President Thabo Mbeki has lashed out at the Commonwealth for failing to address the land question in Zimbabwe — the root cause of the Southern African country’s current turmoil. Mbeki said that except when used to highlight the plight of the white farmer, the land issue is no longer discussed.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=28549">DA: ‘Mbeki has lost the plot'</a>
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=28486">Mugabe’s defeat is Mbeki’s, too</a>
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/ 12 December 2003
Radio 702 outdid its tabloid instincts last week by giving air time to loony-tunes theories on the cause of the 1987 Helderberg air disaster. Sixteen years after the event, someone called Brian Watkins, once a minor SAA functionary, has stepped forward with a selection of rumour, hearsay and gossip — all apparently acquired about seventh hand
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/ 12 December 2003
South Africa appears to receive the cream of African refugees seeking safe new homes, in Africa, but their skills and experience go to waste, says a survey released Thursday by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the Japan International Cooperation Agency.
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/ 12 December 2003
It is ironic and sad that the modern democratic principles of the Commonwealth are contained in a document called the Harare Declaration — now a city that has come to symbolise the blatant abuse of the very values it helped enshrine and even gave its name to.
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/ 12 December 2003
Civil society organisations (CSOs) that, in a post-apartheid setting, have been at pains to withhold criticism of the government, need to embrace a new brand of social activism informed by a philosophy of "direct" and "active" accountability.
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/ 11 December 2003
The South African Reserve Bank’s monetary policy committee decided on Thursday to cut the repo rate by 50 basis points to 8%. South African economists reacted to the announcement, saying the committee is "being cautious" and that the cut is "disappointing".
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/ 11 December 2003
Econet Wireless Limited (EWL) announced on Thursday it has submitted its statement of claim that will be used by the Nigerian courts to assess damages if the court finds in favour of EWL in the case against Vodacom for inducement of breach of contract. The case is scheduled to start in the Nigerian courts next Tuesday.
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/ 11 December 2003
A man who tried to install a key-logging device on to a Standard Internet Banking computer has been fined R20 000, or 12 months imprisonment, in the Johannesburg Commercial Crime Court.
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/ 11 December 2003
Telkom’s T-Zone WiFi hotspot pilot launched in September with Southern Sun Hotels has now been extended to hotels and conference centres in major South African cities, as the company ramps up its drive to introduce a commercial WiFi service early next year.
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/ 11 December 2003
Anti-Mugabe MP3s for download, DIY circumcision, a different point of view on Iraq and getting a leg wax in Shirley, Great Britain. Ian Fraser browses through the Net and comes across some weird and wonderful sights on the world wide web. For instance see what happens when swords, Flash animation and Bill Gates collide in <i>Kill Bill Gates</i>.
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/ 10 December 2003
The world’s first information summit opened in Geneva on Wednesday, hoping to help bridge the technology gap between rich and poor countries and devise a new framework to govern the unruly internet. Delegates from 175 countries are attending — including Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3_fl2.asp?o=38626">WSIS special report</a>
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/ 10 December 2003
Black economic empowerment (BEE) grouping Savannah Resources will acquire 26% of Aquarius Platinum South Africa for a cash consideration of R860-million, London-listed Aquarius Platinum (AQP) announced on Wednesday, making AQP fully compliant with the equity ownership component of South Africa’s mining charter
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/ 9 December 2003
Nasa plans to dispatch a hulking nuclear-powered spacecraft to determine whether three of Jupiter’s icy, planet-sized moons have the potential to harbour life. The Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter, or Jimo, will circle three of the planet’s moons, which are believed to have vast oceans tucked beneath thick covers of ice.
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/ 9 December 2003
New Zealanders access the internet more than computer users in 31 other countries, including the United States and Australia, a new international survey shows. Seventy-five percent of the 1 000 New Zealanders surveyed in August had used the internet in the previous month.
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/ 9 December 2003
Following the successful introduction of TelkomInternet via satellite, Telkom is now taking its SpaceStream Express product into Africa. "We have started trials in several African countries and expect to introduce a full commercial service early in the new year," a Telkom spokesperson said on Tuesday.
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/ 9 December 2003
Foreign investors, particularly from the UK, Ireland and Germany, are increasingly looking to buy South African commercial property as a medium- to long-term investment option, despite the ongoing strength of the rand, according to Golding Commercial Properties, a subsidiary of the Pam Golding Properties group.
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/ 9 December 2003
President Thabo Mbeki has appointed Eddie Funde as the new chairperson of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) board, communications department spokesperson Jerry Majatladi has confirmed.
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/ 8 December 2003
South African sugar producer Tongaat-Hulett Sugar on Monday announced that it is looking to cut costs by half as a result of the strong rand, chief executive of the Tongaat-Hulett group Peter Staude said in a statement. These cuts will require the downsizing of its head office at La Lucia in KwaZulu-Natal.
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/ 8 December 2003
The Ugandan army has denied reports from local leaders in the country’s troubled northern Lira district that up to 70 bodies from Lord’s Resistance Army attacks have been recovered in the last week. "There is no way that there could be a killing on that scale and we fail to know." said an army spokesperson.
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/ 8 December 2003
Global automobile giant DaimlerChrysler has opted to postpone for several weeks the announcement of the company’s decision regarding the expansion of its South African production plant in East London, originally expected last week. The expansion would involve additional foreign investment of more than R1-billion.
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/ 8 December 2003
A group of chanting Buddhist monks is in line for a Grammy Award, and exiles from Tibet hope the nomination will raise Western awareness of Tibetan culture and their homeland’s plight under Chinese rule. "Any avenue to create more awareness is positive," a Tibetan political activist said.
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/ 8 December 2003
South African oil and chemicals group Sasol officially launched the world’s first commercial gas-to-liquid venture outside South Africa at Ras Laffan in the State of Qatar on the weekend.
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/ 5 December 2003
A special edition of a newspaper banned by the government of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe hit the newsstands in Nigeria on Friday as Commonwealth leaders were debating how to handle the Zimbabwe crisis. "The voices Mugabe wants to silence," shouted the front-page headline of <i>The Daily News</i>.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=24517">Summit opens under Zim cloud</a>
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=24516">’Trade barriers should go'</a>
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/ 5 December 2003
Former judge Joos Hefer announced on Friday that he has decided not to call journalist Ranjeni Munusamy to testify on spy claims against National Director of Public Prosecutions Bulelani Ngcuka.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=24511">Mona granted respite from charges</a>
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=24457">More about Ngcuka’s passport</a>
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/ 5 December 2003
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II called on Commonwealth leaders to fight poverty and build peace, as she opened a summit of the 54-nation grouping on Friday that is likely to focus on its rift over Zimbabwe. "Your decisions can make a real difference to people’s lives," the queen said.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=24516">’Trade barriers should go'</a>
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/ 5 December 2003
It has been reliably learnt by the <i>Mail & Guardian Online</i> that the former editor of the <i>Sunday Times</i>, Mathatha Tsedu, is to become deputy editor of South Africa’s newest daily newspaper, <i>ThisDay</i>. However, Tsedu said on Friday morning that he was "not going anywhere" and would not confirm his latest posting.
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/ 5 December 2003
Africa and other parts of the developing world are preparing to negotiate better access to the markets of wealthy countries at the next ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organisation, Ugandan Agriculture Minister Wilberforce Kisamba-Mugerwa said this week after closing a conference on successes in African agriculture.