International

South Africa's Kanonkop Wine Estate and vintner Abrie Beeslaar excelled at the 2008 International Wine and Spirit Competition in London, scooping the Winemaker of the Year award and, for the third time, the award for the best blended red wine.

Leaders of the African Union (AU) are optimistic that a lasting solution to Zimbabwe’s debilitating crisis can still be found without tougher action taken against President Robert Mugabe.

Broadband in Africa has received another boost with the signing in April 2009 of a formal agreement to build the 3.8 terabit/second West African Cable System.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species has approved Japan and China as recipients of South Africa's stockpiled ivory. The conservation body has given the go-ahead for South Africa to make a once-off sale of 51 121 metric tons of raw ivory.

Marsh, a wholly-owned local unit of US-based insurance and risk management group Marsh & McLennan, has completed its acquisition of the brokerage business of South African insurer Alexander Forbes, significantly expanding its presence in sub-Saharan Africa.

In early October over 100 000 Christians flocked to the MegaFest International festival in Johannesburg, for world-renowned preacher and bestselling author Bishop TD Jakes’s two-day extravaganza of faith, and the first MegaFest to be held outside the US.

Barack Obama has not only won himself a place in the White House at the end of his brilliant campaign. He has also won the hearts of the people of Africa, not only because he has roots deep in the continent, but also with his charisma, humility and vision.

A carbon-rich pebble found in the shifting sands of the Libyan Desert brings conclusive evidence of a comet hitting the Earth; the extra-terrestrial fragment also holds promise for exciting research into the very beginnings of our solar system.
• All systems go at the SKA

Cape Town was chosen as "Best World City" at the 2008 Telegraph Travel Awards, fending off competition from the likes of San Francisco and Sydney, while readers of the UK paper also voted South Africa in the top three of the "Best Non-European Country" category.

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