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The many faces of Islam
There is still a predominance of the veil in most conversations about Islam, including those at this month’s Muslim cultures symposium, writes Sumayya Ismail.
Sumayya Ismail
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Report of Proudly SA crisis ‘half wrong’
Dalene du Preez, spokesperson for the Proudly South African brand, on Thursday said <i>Business Day</i> newspaper had got it "half wrong" when it reported that the brand was disowned by its chief sponsor, the Department of Trade and Industry. She said there has been a recent turnaround in the strategy around the brand.
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Where have the lottery millions gone?
Since the suspension of the national lottery in March this year, the estimated weekly average of R10-million spent on tickets and R2-million to R3-million spent on Sportstake — the lottery’s soccer betting game — has not been near a ticket counter. So how much of that money is now being channelled into other betting ventures?
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Firefox vat vlam in Afrikaans
Already translated into more than 40 languages, the latest version of the Mozilla Firefox web browser now sports an Afrikaans interface thanks to Translate.org.za, a non-profit organisation working to give local flavour to open-source software. The Afrikaans version was translated by one man and rigorously tested thereafter.
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Telkom Media welcomes start of Icasa hearings
Telkom Media has welcomed the start of hearings by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) to grant new satellite pay-TV licences for broadcasters, saying it will extend competition and offer TV consumers more choice at attractive prices.
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Fine plan to bury the nation in books
With a new plan to bury the nation in a few million books, a radio DJ is the latest to get on board to highlight the importance of reading for South Africa’s future. A book-distributing initiative has been launched by youth radio station 5fm’s Kevin Fine to deliver more than three million books to underprivileged schools and communities.
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Photographer snaps up sports journalism award
For the first time in history, a photographer took home the top prize at the yearly SAB Sports Journalist of the Year Awards, which were held at the Wanderers Club in Johannesburg on Thursday night. Veteran photographer Etienne Rothbart from the <i>Star</i> was named sports journalist of the year in the print and internet category.
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SA women journalists still get a raw deal
Women, especially black women, are still largely absent from the higher ranks of South Africa’s media organisations — and they earn considerably less than their male colleagues do. These are the findings of a new study by the South African National Editors’ Forum (Sanef) that was released on Thursday, World Press Freedom Day.
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SA housing appals UN’s rapporteur
Miloon Kothari, United Nations special rapporteur for adequate housing, was appalled at the living conditions of Johannesburg’s poor. "These are emergency conditions … it’s worse than I expected," he said on Tuesday, walking through San Jose, a dilapidated, 16-storey building in Berea.
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‘Bank’ calling? Think again
A new identity-theft scam that uses "phone spoofing" will be hitting South Africa soon, Visa International announced last week. Through the scam, con artists are able to tap into the phone books and caller identities on users’ cellphones and change or modify information to suit their needs. Not only can they alter the details of existing contacts, but they can also create new caller IDs.
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Black investors needed for Jo’burg revival
On Wednesday, the Gauteng department of economic development hosted a seminar for prospective Johannesburg shareholders — targeted specifically at black, female investors — to promote public participation in inner-city regeneration. One focus of the seminar was a tax incentive for renovators looking to invest in the city.
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The hunt is on for Sophiatown’s treasures
A "Sophiatown treasure hunt" was launched by the Trevor Huddleston Centre in Johannesburg on Wednesday, Human Rights Day, in the hopes of creating a unique collection of historic artefacts for Sophiatown’s new heritage museum, said Jerry Masoleng, the centre’s heritage officer.
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Meeting held over Sudan Red dye scare
The Department of Health, the Consumer Goods Council of South Africa and the South African Association for Food Science and Technology met in Pretoria on Monday following allegations that certain chilli products were contaminated with harmful Sudan Red dyes. The allegations were made in a <i>Sunday Times</i> report at the weekend.
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Roberts hits out at SA’s ‘colonial media’
Nadine Gordimer’s controversial and now unauthorised biographer, Ronald Suresh Roberts, on Monday took aim at South Africa’s "colonial media", saying contrasting views had been suppressed after the <i>Sunday Times</i> ran a critical profile on him. He was speaking at a reading of his biography on Gordimer, <i>No Cold Kitchen</i>.
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Consumers turn spotlight on Telkom
Frustrated South African consumers, led by the Telecommunications Action Group (TAG), will on Friday publish a full-page advert in the <i>Mail & Guardian</i> newspaper calling for the reform of the telecommunications sector in the country. "We took this action because as consumers we are tired … of the poor service," TAG founder Alastair Otter said on Tuesday.
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Theatre personality Fiona Fraser-Brewer dies at 77
"She was made of real grit, true grit, that was Fiona," actress Shirley Firth, says of her dear friend Fiona Fraser-Brewer, the eccentric theatre personality who passed away this week, at the age of 77. An independent and outspoken person throughout her life, Fraser-Brewer’s friends described her as someone who was committed to her craft and who gave everything to her acting.
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Bridging language divides using a cellphone
Imagine it’s the year 2010 and a United States tourist with an adventurous streak goes journeying through the South African countryside. Finding himself lost in the rural Free State, Sesotho is the only language he hears being spoken for miles. Disoriented and confused, he could try to sign and signal his way out of oblivion; or he could use his cellphone to learn a foreign language.
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Soccer comes to the really small screen
"In the past you’ve watched soccer … Now experience it!" Words flash across a cellphone screen, introducing viewers to the "soccer experience". Shaky footage shows amateur players passing the ball between themselves. Quick-moving shots capture sky, grass, players and legs — all in head-spinning motion.
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‘Escapism’ to keep prisoners in jail for Christmas
The Department of Correctional Services plans to keep prisoners from escaping over the festive season by involving them in so-called "offender escapism". "Operation Vala" will see the tightening of security measures in prisons while channelling inmates’ attention towards recreational and sporting activities.
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Jo’burg: The city that never sleeps
"With a little bit of vision, a little bit of money, something new is beginning to emerge [in the inner city]," said Lael Bethlehem, the chief executive officer of the Johannesburg Development Agency, at Constitution Hill on Monday. Constitution Hill is located at the edge of Hillbrow, one of the most derelict areas in central Johannesburg.
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‘Ancestral spirits cannot be regulated’
The Traditional Health Practitioners Act (THPA) promotes non-scientific religious practice in the form of public healthcare, says the NGO Doctors for Life International. Spokesperson Bola Omoniyi told the <i>Mail & Guardian Online</i> this week that the NGO is vehemently opposed to the Act.
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Resign today, website urges Manto
South Africa’s Minister of Health, Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, has been widely criticised by international academics and local activists for her controversial views on HIV/Aids. Now members of the public are also expressing their discontent, and the issue has even reached cyberspace on a new website called <i>Sackmanto.co.za</i>.
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Botswana’s ‘homeless’ San turn to the internet
A new website, <i>Iwant2gohome.org</i>, has been launched by First People of the Kalahari, an NGO. Its aim is to draw attention to Botswana’s San/Basarwa people’s struggle to regain entry to their ancestral home. "[The website] is the way we want to campaign our cause globally," said a spokesperson for the NGO.
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UCT defends ‘extreme’ admissions policy
Whether through employment or education, transformation and affirmative action strategies have become part of daily life in South Africa, and recent media attention on the admissions policies of the University of Cape Town (UCT) has raised some important questions.
