Staff Reporter

Global resources giant Anglo American has around 1 000 of its employees on anti-retroviral treatment programmes, with a further 3 000 employees enrolled in HIV wellness programmes, Anglo medical senior vice president, Dr Brian Brink says. "Aids doesn’t have to be a death sentence," Brink said.

Growth in internet access in South Africa will receive a kick-start in 2004 after a dramatic slowdown in the past three years, says internet analyst Arthur Goldstuck.
"From having no choice at all, the South African market will suddenly be faced with two new players who are both eager to supply internet access needs," he said.

This week saw lots of what I would call rather ignorant press articles about the 40th anniversary of the murder of President John F Kennedy. TV coverage tended to focus on the many ‘conspiracy theories’, almost as a smokescreen for avoiding the reality. JFK’s death was in effect, a <i>coup d’etat</i>, and overthrow of all the hopes and ideals that America was rightfully famous for.

The goal of having Africa put out its own fires as far as possible looks increasingly unattainable as conflicts in West Africa and the Great Lakes demand the deployment of blue helmets. United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan expressed his concern this week that Côte d’Ivoire was sliding into conflict.

Mark Gold asserts that tourism in South Africa is not taking off because "apartheid-era" regulations are preventing charter flights from Europe. It’s a pity Gold raises such an important question on the basis of shaky "facts" and anecdotes. He ignores the 24,2% growth in tourism from Europe to South Africa last year.

It was only after his death in 2000 that Mushe Sinoamadi’s dream of running a profitable fruit farm was brought to life. His wife, Tendani, took over the running of the 38ha Hill Crescent Estate in Levubu, Limpopo, and just three years later she has scooped this year’s Female Farmer of the Year award.

The President of C&ocirc;te d’Ivoire, Laurent Gbagbo, flew to Burkina Faso for talks with Burkinese President Blaise Compaore on Wednesday to try to put C&ocirc;te d’Ivoire’s deadlocked peace process back on track. Gbagbo has accused Campaore of backing rebel forces in the north of C&ocirc;te d’Ivoire.

Former <i>City Press</i> editor Vusi Mona refused to tell the Hefer commission on Thursday who the sources were for the story that first raised allegations that Bulelani Ngcuka, the National Director of Public Prosecutions, had been an apartheid spy.
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?ao=24152">Vusi Mona: ‘I was reckless'</a>
<li><a class=’standardtextsmall’ href="http://www.mg.co.za/Content/pd.asp?ao=24125">Former editor spills the beans</a>

The trade union Solidarity has welcomed the concern expressed by President Thabo Mbeki over big companies that retrench workers to increase their profits, pointing out that "thousands" of its members at Iscor may soon be retrenched even though "six executive directors of Iscor this year received a 55% salary increase".

Take the M2 east in Johannesburg and down the Fu Jin off-ramp near what used to be Doornfontein. For the area as we knew it is no more — the Ellis Park shopping centre behind the Johannesburg sports stadium has been rechristened China City. A wave of Chinese entrepreneurs in eastern Johannesburg form one of South Africa’s new social melting pots.

As our democracy approaches the intersection of the next election, the lights have already turned orange. Orange, because an alarming number of voters have not felt motivated to register. Orange, because a crisis of leadership in our country has put the brakes on our democratic progress.

Knocked by a stronger rand, pay television network M-Net reported a 97 cent loss per share for the six months ended September, compared with a headline profit of 24,4 cents a share for the previous comparable half-year. Advertising revenues also remained under pressure, mainly due to a declining analogue subscriber base.