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/ 31 August 2009

A compass that seeks out knowledge

Mohau Pheko is a political economist, an expert on African issues, a columnist, businesswoman, feminist, a researcher and policy analyst. She grew up in a political environment in Tshitepo village in Zambia where she learned early how to tackle issues in an open-minded but robust way. She began her career as a nurse, but abandoned […]

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/ 7 August 2009

Earth’s icy treasure

Antarctica is the coldest, windiest and driest place on Earth. It is almost entirely covered in ice. The lowest temperature measured was -88ºC. In the interior, wind speeds reach up to 350 km/h. The annual rainfall is about 50mm inland and 35mm along the coast (South Africa’s average annual rainfall is 464mm, and the world average is 857mm). During summer, Antarctica has 24-hour days and no nights, whereas in winter, there are 24-hour nights and the sun never rises for about one month.