The change is in your pocket

Most SA web users young, black and earning under R1 500 a month

Posted on November 28, 2012  /  Comments Off

The majority of South Africa’s internet users are young, black, and access the worldwide web using cellphones, the SA Network Society Project said on Wednesday.

A report released on Tuesday found that one third of adults used the internet and two-thirds of these spoke an African language at home, according iAfrica.com

Read the full article here
http://technology.iafrica.com/news/technology/829931.html

Under resourced schools in losing battle to stop violent bullying

Posted on November 28, 2012  /  Comments Off

The ability of under resourced schools to protect learners from peer-to-peer bullying and violence has been called into question following the fatal shooting of a learner in Vosloorus, Gauteng, last week.

The suspect, Grade 11 student Tsundzukani Mthombeni, is awaiting trial after allegedly stealing his mother’s gun and shooting Grade 10 pupil Nkululelo Ndlovu on November 20. During an appearance in Boksburg Magistrate’s Court, Mthombeni claimed that the deceased had frequently bullied him, stealing his hat and cell phone one day prior to the alleged shooting.

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Nestle SA debunks Facebook baby food scare

Posted on November 22, 2012  /  Comments Off

There is no product recall of any Nestle baby food product in South Africa and no risk to infants’ life, Nestle South Africa has said after a warning about an infant food product containing glass went viral on social networking sites.

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Table Mountain untouched by New 7 Wonders of Nature legitimacy concerns

Posted on November 16, 2012  /  Comments Off

As South Africa gears up to celebrate Table Mountain’s December 1 official inauguration as one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature, there is still speculation around the legitimacy of the competition following misrepresentation claims and allegations of winners being asked to pay substantial “licensing fees”.

The New 7 Wonders of Nature competition was an initiative of the New7Wonders organisation, which according to its website is “the first global voting campaign creating democratic participation and worldwide consensus”. Founded in 2001 by Bernard Weber, a Swiss-Canadian marketing expert, the organisation opened online voting in 2007 to find “7 new wonders of nature”, officially declaring the winning landmarks in May 2012.

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One-in-four South Africans jobless, mine layoffs loom

Posted on November 6, 2012  /  Comments Off

South Africa’s unemployment rate rose in the third quarter, with more than one in four out of work and unrest in the mining sector expected to drive that number higher still. 

Joblessness increased to 25.5% of the labour force, Statistics South Africa said last week, putting 197 000 more workers on the streets during the quarter. The agency said 4.7 million people were registered as unemployed, the highest figure since current records began four years ago.

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Dire shortage of child specialists threatens success of homes for abused children

Posted on October 31, 2012  /  Comments Off

Organisations dealing with abused children have sounded the alarm over the dire shortage of child psychologists in South Africa, where abuse — particularly sexual abuse — is among the highest in the world.

The Heaven’s Nest children’s Centre in Ottery, a haven for abandoned and abused children and HIV/Aids orphans, is among the many in desperate need of volunteer child psychologists and occupational therapists. The need for assistance from these professionals is “urgent and ongoing”, said Eleanor Bester, Heaven’s Nest coordinator.

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