The problem with hybrid cars is that they lack outright sex appeal. Enter the Honda CR-Z: a hybrid that actually looks good. Even better, it feels every bit as keenly honed as it looks. Could this be the sport car of the future? Well, almost.

Once upon a time Newsweek magazine sold 4 million copies worldwide and made its owners, the Washington Post Company, healthy annual profits. That was then. It’s just been sold to a man who thinks that journalism does no harm when it’s “disciplined” and who, although he’s 91, hasn’t got a single day’s experience in the media industry.

Police chief Bheki Cele delivered on his promise to talk to the media about the exposé that links him with a suspiciously lucrative new rental contract and a well-connected landlord, on behalf of the police. His performance was forceful and, in keeping with the general tone these days, rather hostile to the media.

Leila Chirayath Janah was well on her way to becoming another cog in the wheels of multinational big business. Then she decided it was wrong to let the world's poor people's massive talent go to waste.

The ANC’s discussion paper on “economic transformation” sounds surprisingly capitalist – both at face-value and reading between the lines. Hard-core socialists and the pro-nationalisation lobbies are not going to be dancing with joy.

With no money, but a wealth of innovation, Bright Simons created an SMS-based system that is helping Nigeria fight a deadly onslaught of counterfeit medicines. The remedy is so successful it is now being tested in Ghana, and considered by other African states, to stem an avalanche that’s killing hundreds of thousands of people each year.

Joblessness, the most pernicious and lingering legacy of the worldwide financial crisis, will be the last to improve as the world begins its glacial crawl towards recovery. And SA’s high cost of labour riddles this long walk to work with potholes.

One could ask whether large, luxury cars still have a role in a society increasingly concerned about environmental issues. And one could query their relevance at a time when a display of ostentatious wealth isn’t exactly PC. But then, what would we give our ministers to drive? Fortunately, the new Audi A8 can count more than opulence among its many talents – and as flagship cars go, it’s pretty eco-aware too.

Could the world be seeing a resurgence of China’s great Ming dynastic empire robed in 21st century economic armour? The Chinese certainly seem to hope so.

As hapless Tony Hayward finally got the chop from a job for which he was never really qualified, and BP reported a record-breaking $17 billion loss in the second quarter, the focus now moves to its new boss, Robert Dudley. His ascension to power proves BP has learnt the fundamental power of good PR. Now, the gargantuan company has all the chances of surviving.

The global news media finds itself in a precarious position these days, and it isn't at all clear whether we will find a way to survive while still resembling the industry we're used to. But just how did we arrive at such a dangerous point in our existence?

As of mid-September, SA will be getting a daily dose of good news courtesy of the Gupta family, friends to Jacob Zuma. It's easy to laugh off their positive spin, but it's equally foolish to under-rate their ability to impact the market.

As the manic debate about the future of newspapers continues and Hurricane Social Media continues to wreak havoc, Clay Shirky believes the survival of print news is irrelevant. What everybody should be in a stew about is sustaining the civic function of journalism and the future of hard-news reportage.

A quarter of a century is a long time to sustain the mystique and desirability of a nameplate. But the M3 has always counted among BMW’s adulated cars. And to celebrate its 25th, the Bavarians assembled pristine examples of all four M3 generations at the Ascari racing circuit in Spain – and announced a special, limited-edition M3 to mark the occasion.

Having been on the brink of being sold off, after a four-year process, an important section of radio spectrum was suddenly tossed back into limbo on Wednesday. Why? Cue vigorous hand-waving. Rather ask: what does it mean to consumers? Another roadblock to better and cheaper broadband for more people.

He’s famous for being Britain’s youngest national newspaper editor in over 50 years, getting punched in the face by Jeremy Clarkson, reducing dozens of contestants on America’s Got Talent to tears, and winning the US celebrity version of The Apprentice. Can Piers Morgan save CNN?

In the hangover after the World Cup we may fail to notice some really good news on the economic front. Well-known for their shopping prowess, South Africans have been getting back into retail therapy in recent months and the soccer gathering may have helped them spend even more.

Ever since we stopped watching so much television, mankind has a trillion extra hours a year and the tools to change the world at its disposal. Now all we need is commensurate lashings of goodwill and technologies that motivate creative collaboration.

Conrad Black, convicted fraudster and the man who was once the world’s third most powerful newspaper baron, has just been granted bail by the United States Court of Appeals. Was he wrongfully convicted? Here’s real-life theatre at its finest.

Every two years, the cream of aviation gravitates to the Farnborough Airfield, southwest of London, to hawk, gawk, buy or just bathe in the beauty of flying machines. This year's show may also serve as a gauge of the global economy.

Forget the fancy brand strategists, the money-hungry spin doctors and the expensive advertising campaigns. What builds a nation’s image is policy and policy alone. Pretending anything else matters is a scam. More so - it’s stealing from the taxpayers.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development isn’t actually calling for the Tripartite Alliance to be shot, execution-style, in the back of the head. But its survey of the South African economy strongly suggests that the rate of future economic growth will depend on how well the government implements some of Cosatu’s policies – while dismantling the structures that are seeing union members earn more while young people earn nothing at all.

For the first time in years, Apple got real grief from the public. Problems with the iPhone 4 antenna design has made it look incompetent and uncaring. So how does Steve Jobs respond? By giving out free accessories, as expected – and saying Apple's phones are just like everybody else's. Huh?

Looks like entrepreneur and private island-owner Richard Branson is finally ready to admit it: Virgin isn’t the best possible brand name for a world-dominating empire. Because if his schnookums is going to get to launch her very own magazine with daddy’s money, guess what it’ll be called?

On Thursday, the US Congress passed a major expansion of federal financial regulation, reflecting a return to governmental wariness of financial markets after years of dewy-eyed admiration of the wonders of Wall Street's money-spinning.

Sir Alec Issigonis would not be a fan of the modern Mini – the BMW-built lifestyle car that doffs an aesthetic hat to Issigonis’ tiny original, but lacks the real Mini’s packaging genius. Where does that leave the Countryman – BMW’s latest, most outrageous variation on the Mini theme? Considering its dimensions, perhaps they should have called it the Mini Maxi instead.

Patriotism is at an all-time high after the vindication of a successful World Cup. And yet, a great many people are afraid of the sunsets these days in South Africa. The Independent Marketing Council and DraftFCB are asking South Africans to keep flying the flag to sustain this “can do” spirit for the sake of nation building.

To US baseball fans he was a saint, sinner and Beelzebub himself, the man who reinvented the New York Yankees. To the rest of the world, he will be remembered as George Constanza’s bumbling boss in Seinfeld.

This week one of CNN’s senior editors, a reporter who’s been with the broadcaster for 20 years, was fired for tweeting about her “respect” for a Hezbollah founder. The story, we think, says something about CNN’s identity crisis and the ascendancy of opinionated journalism.

There’s some competition for the 2010 “Worst media move of the year award”. There’s Julius Malema’s “bloody agents” tirade, Sepp Blatter’s let’s-arrest-good-looking-girls-in-mini-skirts moment and, of course, “don’t touch me on my studio”. Now the head of Acsa, Monhla Hlahla, joins this esteemed group.