By Wilson da SilvaBIOLOGISTS have detected the first signs that the annual ozone hole over the Southern Hemisphere is harming fish life and causing mutations.The amount of genetic damage in the fish studied was “higher than, or equivalent to, the…

NEWS | Ozone hole: something fishy is going on

By&nbsp;Wilson da SilvaAN Indonesian embassy official has sought political asylum in South Africa, claiming to have classified documents detailing official corruption in his country and evidence of human rights violations in Indonesian-ruled East…

WORLD | Dissident diplomat in political asylum bid

Nicholas Negroponte foresaw the digital age before anyone else. Which explains why he is at the forefront of the information revolution. Wilson da Silva reports.WHEN Nicholas Negroponte says, “I know basically every media mogul on a first-name…

NEWS | The cyberspace prophet who is seldom at a loss

By Wilson da SilvaHE’S uncompromising. A conservationist’s guru and, you would think, a businessman’s nightmare. Take his view of economics.“Conventional economics is a form of brain damage,” Dr David Suzuki told a gathering in Melbourne last week.…

NEWS | Conventional economics is brain damaging - Suzuki

By Wilson da SilvaDOWN on the docks, they’re going out with a fizz. No big announcements, no celebration, just a whimper of defeat. From midnight on Thursday, the Port of Melbourne Authority will cease to exist.The Kennett Government - in its drive…

BUSINESS | Kennett uses quangos to torpedo port authority

By Wilson da SilvaTHE Labor Party calls them “the mates” - true believers steeped in Labor ideology and tradition.The Liberals have them, too. They serve on the boards of right-wing organisations or obscure companies that make large contributions to…

POLITICS | Chasing the Liberal money trail

By Wilson da SilvaBOYCOTT, schmoycott. When it comes to buying French products, it seems the widely publicised national anger over French nuclear tests has been more hot air than direct action.Bureau of Statistics figures show that between 14 June,…

BUSINESS | The French boycott bombs

The ‘Innovation Statement’ was aimed at smarter business. We went looking for them.By&nbsp;Wilson da SilvaMOLDFLOW is the kind of company to warm a prime ministerial heart. Its products are high technology, its engineers are leaders in their field,…

BUSINESS | Riding a high-tech wave

The big space missions of recent history are about to become just that - history. Wilson da Silva reveals how we plan to have fewer bucks for Buck Rogers.THE wild applause was spontaneous and the tears very real. Twice during that morning on 8…

FEATURES | The final frontier

By Wilson da SilvaLEAPING on the environmental bandwagon was once seen simply as good tactics; now it is starting to mean big cost-savings and efficiencies.The trend, well established overseas, is strengthening in Australia and proponents are saying…

BUSINESS | The color of money has become green

By Wilson da Silva&nbsp;A SECOND scientist has backed claims that the rabbit calicivirus, which escaped CSIRO quarantine in South Australia, is capable of jumping species and could infect humans.Other researchers, including a leading German authority…

NEWS | Scientist backs rabbit virus fear

José Ramos Horta is a man without a home but with a cause. Like thousands of others he has found a haven in another land. By&nbsp;Wilson da SilvaJOSÉ RAMOS HORTA is an exile. He has no home, no furniture, no car, no driver’s licence. His bed is a…

FEATURES | Exiles

By Wilson da SilvaPAUL Allen once said he would be happy to call it quits after his first million dollars. Today, on the 20th anniversary of his co-founding of software giant Microsoft Corporation with school friend Bill Gates, he is a billionaire…

BUSINESS | Australia set to encounter Microsoft’s Mr Obscurity

By Wilson da SilvaTHE Catholic Bishop of East Timor and supporter of Timorese self rule, Carlos Belo, is favored to win the 1995 Nobel Peace Prize, a move that would increase pressure on Indonesia’s disputed rule of the territory.&nbsp;Newspapers in…

WORLD | Bishop tipped for Nobel Peace Prize

By Wilson da SilvaIT’S bigger, nastier and it’s expanding faster than ever before: the hole in the ozone layer has reappeared over Antarctica, and it’s already the biggest yet seen at this time of the year.If it keeps expanding at current rates, this…

NEWS | Fragile shield tears open

By Wilson da Silva&nbsp;EVERYONE has heard it but few people like it. It’s the music you hear when you are put on hold.Some is Muzak, some is radio music and some should be called musad a combination of music and message to sell a product.Following a…

BUSINESS | Musicians to ring up the royalties

By Wilson da SilvaIN THE age of fax machines, couriers, parcel companies, modems, the Internet and electronic mail, how can Australia Post hope to survive? By becoming a “communications department store”.Or so it hopes. Facing an onslaught of…

BUSINESS | Revitalised Australia Post delivers the good mail

By Wilson da Silva&nbsp;By no means is it just your average publishing house. Nor are its owners typical publishing types. Yet Lonely Planet is one of the great success stories of the Australian publishing industry.Founded in 1973 by Britons Tony and…

BUSINESS | Lonely Planet explodes

By Wilson da SilvaRADIOACTIVITY from past French underground nuclear tests at Mururoa Atoll is already likely to be leaking into the ocean, and scientists say that further tests could lead to a sizeable collapse in its geological structure, creating…

WORLD | Scientists fear atoll disaster

By Wilson da SilvaTHE thud you hear on your doorstep every year when copies of the Yellow Pages arrive is a familiar sound. It is also the most recognisable manifestation of a monster business that, despite making $700 million a year and spanning the…