Evidence is mounting that humankind, and the environment that shapes its existence, are in the midst of an epoch of converging fundamentals which place us at the start of a new era in the flow of human history and the planet in which we live. History, however, is not shaped merely by a single or even a string of cataclysmic events, as doomsayers would have us believe. It is mostly shaped by processes that, although they often cause traumatic disruptions, leave enough room for mankind to adapt and survive.

At a time of general deadlock and despondency in the Middle East, the Peres Centre for Peace has brought a mixed team of young Palestinian and Israeli soccer players to South Africa to participate in the Football for Hope Festival to be held in Alexandra, Johannesburg during the last week of the Fifa Soccer World Cup. Nobel peace prize laureate and South African ex-president  FW de Klerk told the participants that “peace-making is never easy. It always involves risk. It often requires painful concessions. It means that we have to speak to people who have been our enemies.”

All evidence indicates that the now common sports term "hat trick" originated from the game of cricket in England during the 19^th century when it became customary for clubs to award a bowler with a new hat to reward the feat of taking three wickets with three consecutive balls. One legend, however, has it that on achieving this feat, a bowler was awarded the right to send his hat around the crowd for a collection.

A double whammy from the pollution legacy of more than 100 years of gold mining on the Witwatersrand, and inadequately maintained sewage works could leave South Africa’s economic heartland facing a water crisis of epic proportions within two years if drastic interventions by the government and industry are not urgently put into place. The cost involved could be in the order of R500 billion, but if left unattended, the looming pollution crisis could hamstring growth and cause a plague of health problems.

With the co-operation of the The LR Management Group, we can now bring you the leadership training tool 50 Lessons, which is a powerful force in the world of corporate learning. 50 Lessons is the worlds premier multimedia business resource, offering more than 1 000 personal and authentic video lessons from internationally respected business leaders. It can assist you to increase the utilisation and return on investment of your learning programmes immediately!

As clashes between striking security guards and the police during the early stages of the Fifa Soccer World Cup threatened not only to disrupt the tournament itself, but also to undermine South Africa’s carefully crafted presentation as a safe place for tourists and international events, it became an opportune time to discuss the consequences of Africa’s massive privatisation and the globalisation of security.

South Africa has apparently avoided an embarrassing strike by Eskom workers which could have derailed the Fifa Soccer World Cup. But major disruptive strike action soon after the final whistle may be in waiting. Public sector unions representing some 1.3 million public servants have indicated they would embark on strike action in two weeks' time.

“Worth a read?” is not your ordinary book review; it is a meta-review. In other words, it provides an overview of the opinions contained in a variety of book reviews published in the media at large. This week, we take a look at "Superconnect: The Power of Networks and the Strength of Weak Links", written by Richard Koch and Greg Lockwood, and released in South Africa in July 2010.

Two events over the past few days have done much to restore some faith in South Africa’s judicial system, and showed that politically connected people in high places are not above the law. The first was the conviction on corruption charges of the former national police chief, Jackie Selebi. The other was the firing of Transnet Freight Rail chief Siyabonga Gama after a disciplinary committee found him guilty of contravening corporate governance procedures when he awarded a multimillion-rand security tender to a company linked to Communications Minister Siphiwe Nyanda.

At the end of the round of 16 matches at the 2010 Fifa Soccer World Cup, journalists were writing columns about the re-emergence of South American soccer, with only one of its five contestants failing to qualify for the quarterfinal. Europe was in dire straits, with only three of the 13 countries qualifying for the quarterfinals. But the tables were turned in spectacular fashion at this stage of the tournament.