Amidst greater global food demand, higher food prices, more volatile markets and increasing resource pressures, government support to agriculture in countries which are members of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) fell on average to 18% of total farm receipts in 2010, a record low linked to high commodity prices, according to a new OECD-report. South Africa is one of the countries where support to agriculture is well below the average.

In order to avoid losing out on potential returns gained from investment in Africa, South African companies need to collaborate with each other, as well as national government and key trade and industry bodies, to create mutually beneficial investment climates, says Michael Lalor.

The cold, hard, hairless reality is that one in three South Africans will develop cancer at some point in their lives. This is in the context of what the actual figures might represent if a reliable cancer and mortality registry existed in South Africa... but it doesn’t, says lobbyist Linda Greeff.

The China-help-Africa project dates from the mid-20th century. In the 1970s, China supported Tanzania and Zambia in building the main railway connecting the two countries when China itself was still suffering from economic problems. Sino-African cooperation has always been analysed on political and economic grounds. There is also a human side. So far ignored, nevertheless its issues are starting to emerge, writes Shuang Gao.

South Africa’s perceived rampant corruption continues to make headlines with a number of new developments placing it in the full glare of the public spotlight. Wider factors than just the need for good governance have come into play during recent times, prompting responses from president Jacob Zuma.

The Nokia Champions League Twenty20 series in India might have a dramatic impact on South Africa’s cricket campaign against Australia and Sri Lanka from October 2011 onwards. The first indications from the Indian sojourn by South African players look promising.

The global economy is once again facing turbulent times and the market upheaval is adversely affecting business performance around the world. Peter Sullivan, editor of The Star in the 1990s and past group editor-in-chief of Independent Newspapers, says that those in the know have been warning businesses for years that a crash is coming, and a big one at that.

With only a few exceptions, analysts seem to agree that the price of gold for the foreseeable future is heading upwards with guesses varying form just over $2 000 to the once to as high as $5 000/oz plus. Importantly the upward trend is driven not by speculative behaviour, but by a flight to safety in the protracted uncertainty that has laid siege to the global financial system.

“We have allowed thieves and thugs to run our country.” Strong words uttered by South Africa’s Minister of Public Works, Gwen Mahlangu-Nkabinde, this past week as she battles her way through a maze of corruption in her own department, with the heavy finger of the country’s Public Protector also still pointing at her over some shady building leases worth R1.7bn (US$197.2-million).

The All Blacks have sent out an ominous warning to the other favourites to win the Rugby World Cup (RWC) in New Zealand by burying France 37-17 at Eden Park in Auckland in a Pool C match on Saturday. The ease with which Daniel Carter, Israel Dagg, Ma’aNonu, Cory Jane, Conrad Smith and Sony Bill Williams broke the defensive line, must serve as a storm warning to Argentina (possible quarter-final opponent) and South Africa (possible semi-final opponent).

Do the victims of a natural disaster have a legitimate claim against scientific experts who fail to adequately warn them beforehand about the dangers ahead or who give them badly judged assurances that there is not much to worry about and leave them ill-prepared when disaster strikes. An Italian court is about to decide on this question.

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet." This must be one of the most widely known quotes from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. But what it does not tell us is that sometimes there can be a whole history lurking behind a name – especially if it is a nickname.

For the 74-year-old leader of the Zambian Patriotic Front (PF), Michael Sata, also known as King Cobra for his sharp tongue, it was sweet victory on his fourth attemp tto win the presidential race against his old enemy and incumbent president, Rupiah Banda in an election that was conducted relatively peacefully, resulting in the international observers declaring the process transparent, free and fair.

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