Features

Judge refuses to save sheep
MONTPELIER, Vermont -- A judge has ruled that hundreds of sheep the US government says might be infected with mad cow disease should be killed. District Judge J Garvan Murtha refused to issue an injunction that would have stopped the slaughter of...

Agriculturalists must take responsibility -- Mamase
By Zama Mpondwana EAST LONDON -- The government and in particular the Agriculture Department was trying to make a difference in the quality and standard of life of the majority of resource-poor farmers, Agriculture and Land Affairs MEC Max Mamase...

Plastic fuels farm boom
EL EJIDO, Spain -- This land of cactus and scrubby sandstone hills was once the capital of "spaghetti westerns" -- the land that made Clint Eastwood famous. Now it's known as the "plastic miracle," after 350 square kilometres of plastic sheeting ...

Tips for proper tree planting
SPRING is just around the corner and so is Arbour Day, which means it's time to plant trees. What follows are a few pointers on proper planting. * Plant at the depth where the roots spread from the trunk. Do expose the trunk flare at the base ...

MILKMAN
An Indo-Fijian farm worker prepares to milk cows at a dairy farm outside Suva, the capital of Fiji. The Fijian army continued their mopping-up operations in this farming area where cows have been killed and farmhouses burned. (AP) ...

Bangladeshi tea faces uncertainty
SRIMANGAL, Bangladesh -- Lower production, theft in tea gardens and a more competitive world market threaten to turn one of the world's largest tea growing countries into an importer by 2007, Bangladeshi officials said recently. Bangladesh produ...

MARKET PRICES
The following prices are for fair average quality produce marketed in East London. Prices are supplied in cent/kilogramme. PRODUCTAVE.HIGHLOW VEGETABLES Butternuts . . . . . . .3,80. . .4,00 3,50 Potatoes class 1 med1,501,701,40 class ...

Living among ghosts
Glyn Williams Column MAGPIES are birds that collect things. They like shiny items and there are many tales of rings and other jewellery vanishing through an open window, and occasionally being found in nests. Yes, there is a personal magpie menta...

Weighty issue
AN UNUSUALLY disciplined, long-term weight loss programme helped participants following it lose nearly one-fifth their original weight and keep it off five years, researchers found. The Trevose Behaviour Modification Program, serving about 1 200 ...

Facts about obesity in the US
SOME 97 million American adults, or 55 percent, are considered overweight or obese. According to the National Institutes of Health, this epidemic of obesity, which is also a growing problem among children, costs nearly dlrs 100 billion annually. ...

SA, Zim not the same, despite silly fantasies
Michael Hartnack in Harare THERE exist around the world several pairs of states, such as Australia and New Zealand, the USA and Canada, whose political separation might seem entirely artificial to the uninitiated. Such, too, are South Africa and...

Scientists build atoms of antimatter
By Naomi Koppel EUROPEAN scientists searching for answers to some of science's most basic questions announced plans yesterday to build atoms of antimatter and then "cage" them for use in experiments. The researchers at the European Laboratory fo...

Breastfeeding ban in 'macho' Mother of Parliaments
The only woman in the race to succeed Betty Boothroyd as Speaker of the British Parliament says she supports Boothroyd's controversial ban on women MPs from breastfreeding in the parliament buildling. JENNIFER LEASK in London listens in on a heat...

STARSCOPE by William Smith
ARIES (Mar 21 - Apr 21): Your simmering disagreement with an uncooperative member of your household is due to come to a head. While things could become rather unpleasant, you might nevertheless welcome your chance to sort out the obstinate person ...

Women of our time
Women councillors disclose their experiences and future challenges in the male dominated local government fraternity. Daily Dispatch municipal reporter ZAMUXOLO FENI spoke to them. THE country's first democratic local government elections five ye...