It was reading a book about the origins of man, as in evolution, that got me going on this whole bone business. More precisely the book is more about the everlasting fight between palaeontologists and the like on who has now actually dug up the oldest bones in their quest to discover the origins of man and, I started to wonder if maybe it is from these guys that the expression, a bone of contention, might have come.

When the news broke late last week that the chief of staff of the rebels fighting the regime of Gaddafi was shot dead by assailants under mysterious circumstances, it gave a glimpse of the kind of future that might be awaiting the people of Libya once the NATO forces withdraw. It is not a pretty picture.

Sport dynasties and the way they are born and sustained mostly make for compelling reading. During the modern era, international cricket has had two major dynasties.  First there was the West Indian Islands and then Australia. Presently there are a number of contenders around, including – maybe – South Africa.

Will he or won’t he? Will Peter de Villiers call upon the 21 players who were recuperating in Rustenburg, for the home tests in the Castle Tri-Nations series?
But even if he does, it’s not a foregone conclusion that the Springboks will beat the rejuvenated Australian team in Durban on 13 August, or the composed and ruthless New Zealand the following Saturday in Port Elizabeth.

Gautengers woke on Tuesday morning last week to the prolonged screaming of a prisoner allegedly being tortured in Pretoria central prison. The issue of whether torture exists in SA prisons, how prevalent it is, and what the authorities are doing about it has thus been pushed - at least for maybe two days - into centre stage again, write Taryn Arnot, Ingrid Cloete and Jeremy Gordin.

Amid heated debate among analysts regarding the future direction of interest rates, investors should not  rush into adjusting their portfolio and investments, as this could have unintended negative effects on their long-term savings goals, warns Anil Jugmohan.

According to the latest data from the United Nations Environment Programme, global investments into renewable energy in 2010 reached a record level of $211 billion and for the first time ever, that investment grew more in developing economies than it did in the developed world.

The impact of climate change on business in Africa, the Chinese response to climate change and the enormous effect of climate change on weather patterns in the United States dominated the headlines on climate front during the past week.

The calls by the ANC Youth League (ANCYL) and its president Julius Malema for radical policies on issues like nationalisation, land redistribution through uncompensated seizure of white-owned farms, and now the internal affairs of a neighbouring state, is meeting with increasing opposition from within in the ANC-led ruling Alliance. In fact Malema might have sealed his own fate with the latest outburst against Botswana.

The current protraction of reforms of the financial system as well as of governance in Europe leads only to ongoing socialisation of the costs of crisis. The rational consequence rather needs to be a readjustment of economic power towards a fair distribution of produced wealth, writes Lutz Paessens.

South Africa’s disruptive fuel strike finally ended last week, but this week all eyes will be on negotiations aimed at ending the strike by gold, diamond and coal miners. Especially the costly gold sector strike will be watched closely with the gold price having reached record levels. And, with South Africa being the world’s biggest platinum producer, markets will also be closely monitoring wage negotiations in this key sector.

Politics, and all the sideshows that go with it, is mostly the art of confusion and often that of deception. When it comes to confusion (or deception?), developments in South Africa this past week, certainly took the first prize.