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Dr. Angelique Coetzee, board chairperson of the South Africa Medical Association (SAMA)The hard left might have a difficult time using the newly-discovered Omicron variant for fearmongering purposes. Shortly after the discovery of the COVID-19 variant, at least one top medical professional is cautioning against hyping up the severity of the mutation.Dr. Angelique Coetzee, National Chair of the South African Medical Association, and also one of those who discovered the Omicron variant early on, called the US’s travel bans “hasty,” as we reported Saturday. Then she told Reuters Sunday that “the hype” that’s been concocted about the variant is not warranted....

Nobel author sees parallel in terror laws Matt Price 24oct05 NOBEL Prize-winning author JM Coetzee yesterday launched a thinly veiled attack on Australia's proposed anti-terrorism laws, likening the Howard Government's controversial reforms to human rights abuses under apartheid in his native South Africa. Coetzee, who moved to Adelaide in 2002 after a long and distinguished literary career, opened a public reading at the National Library in Canberra yesterday with an unsubtle jibe at the new anti-terror laws. "I used to think that the people who created (South Africa's) laws that effectively suspended the rule of law were moral barbarians. Now...

Japan says video shows hostage killed in Iraq Sat May 28, 7:52 AM ET BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Japan said on Saturday it believed a Japanese hostage seized in Iraq was dead, after insurgents said they had killed him and posted footage on the Internet apparently showing his corpse. The video showed identification papers and a passport bearing the name of Akihiko Saito, 44, a former paratrooper and veteran of the French Foreign Legion, who had been missing since his convoy was ambushed in western Iraq on May 8. A corpse was shown lying on its back, its face bloodied. "This...

STOCKHOLM, Sweden - South Africa's J.M. Coetzee, whose stories tell of innocents and outcasts oppressed by the cruel weight of history, won the 2003 Nobel Prize for literature Thursday. The 63-year-old writer, long a favorite for the book world's most prestigious prize, was cited as a "scrupulous doubter, ruthless in his criticism of the cruel rationalism and cosmetic morality of Western civilization." The Swedish Academy said Coetzee's novels, which include "Disgrace," "Waiting for the Barbarians" and "Age of Iron," are also characterized by their "well-crafted composition, pregnant dialogue and analytical brilliance." The prize includes a check for more than 10...