A quick fix, as it were. All the important news from the week, in one article. Yip, in five minutes you'll be able to wow your friends with your astounding knowledge of current affairs and celebrity gossip. You may even win tickets to explore the UK. Pretty cool, huh?

News editor Ryan Bubear:

The country was up in arms this week (see the iafrica.com debate) with the news that the Dalai Lama had been denied a visa to enter South Africa, after he had been invited to a peace conference. The meeting was eventually called off, before Health Minister Barbara Hogan broke ranks and slammed the government for the saga.

Would the week really be complete without some news on the ANC's top man? Jacob Zuma is reportedly toying with the idea of revealing taped conversations involving various high-profile names in a bid to free himself from corruption charges. Former president Thabo Mbeki quickly rubbished rumours that one of the voices was his.

Further afield, air disasters have been rife this week, with 17 people — most of them children — killed when a plane crashed into a cemetery in Montana. Two pilots died on the same day when their FedEx cargo plane crashed and burst into flames in Tokyo.

Finally, the Joost van der Westhuizen sex tape saga may be over after the former Bok scrumhalf reportedly dropped the case.

Business editor Ebrahim Moolla:

Whatever you may think of his opinions, it is clear that Trevor Manuel has cemented his status as the country's most charismatic and erudite politician. Comparing criticism of the Dalai Lama to 'trying to shoot Bambi' is sheer genius.

Just when you thought the inflation bug had bitten and vacated the premises, the economic virus you love to hate is back on the rise, causing economists to scurry off to revise their rate cut forecasts.

German escort agencies and pleasure palaces are making an appeal to jump on the bailout bandwagon. It appears the demand is not as inelastic as one would expect. Gives new meaning to… erm… tightening your belt, doesn't it?

Hundreds bru! A 100 bps rate cut may have been great news for the beleaguered consumer, but it wasn’t so good for in-house bets. Both Personal Finance editor Kobus le Roux and I weren't willing to go against the economist grain here and both backed a three figure cut.

Assistant sports editor Barend Prins:

Cricket once again dominated the iafrica sports pages, as South Africa clinched the final Test against Australia in emphatic fashion, with Paul Harris jumping into the top ten on the ICC bowlers' rankings.

The big story of the week was the announcement that the Indian Premier League is coming to South African shores. For those who do not know what the IPL is, our dummies guide explains all. In other cricket news, Andre Nel (or is that Gunther?) has decided to retire from international cricket.

Talking of retirement, Benni Mccarthy is once again too good to play for Bafana during the international break, but his absence gives some other players a chance.

The Bulls are still top of the Super 14 log after a fine victory over the Hurricanes, whilst the Sharks bounced back from their loss to the Reds with a good win over the Western Force .

Entertainment editor Nils van der Linden:

Remember what you were doing when you were 16? Smoking cigarettes behind the mall? Obsessing over your love-life anguish? Andy Petersen has just written a book and had it published — the youngest South African to do so, ever. Find out more about him in not one but two separate interviews — one text, the other video. Otherwise, catch up with another local youngster with stars in his eyes — Tashi Tagg speaks to Matthew Moolman who was voted off 'Idols' a few weeks ago.

Staying with music, we've reviewed a big batch of new albums, from Coke Zero Fest participants Red Jumpsuit Apparatus and radio-friendly rockers The Fray to the best of Belville.

And the eclectic reviews keep coming — on the film front we look at Nazi war crimes (Kate Winslet's 'The Reader'), race relations and classic cars (Clint Eastwood's 'Gran Torino'), alien children and wrestler The Rock ('Race To Witch Mountain'), and vampires versus werewolves ('Underworld 3').

Something for everyone — not just 16-year-olds.

Travel editor Richard Holmes:

It's competitions galore on the Travel site this week. With the launch this month of our Insider's Guide, we are also giving away two free tickets to London on British Airways! An awesome prize if you want to explore the UK, or perhaps head over to visit friends and family.

If you're not a fan of aeroplane food, we also have two stunning local escapes up for grabs. Majeka House is tucked away in the suburbs outside Stellenbosch and is the perfect place to explore the Cape winelands as autumn arrives and the vines start to turn. Up-country, Karkloof Spa is set to become one of the country's top destination spas, and also offers some wonderful game-viewing to boot!

Last, but not least, you can bag hard cash and great MapStudio hampers to celebrate the release of the South Africa Road Atlas!

Cooltech editor Gideon Nieuwoudt:

Imagine watching an asteroid heading towards Earth and then see it explode into smithereens as it hits the atmosphere — that's exactly what happened to some astronomers. Then there's Egypt's killer SMS doing the rounds; robo-nurses for Japan; gerbils going on the pill; a cold fusion breakthrough; and Google's top bosses being paid only $1.

We also reviewed 'Silent Hill: Homecoming'; collected more party tricks videos; found a website that makes big URLs tiny, and uploaded a few competitions — so don't miss Cooltech this week!

Personal finance and property editor Kabous le Roux:

Personal finance:
Money in the bank is only slightly better than money under the mattress. In the past week we learned how we we can do much better than the low interest rates on offer now. For the bargain hunters out there we featured an article explaining the A to Z of factory shops, while 'Emigrating? Cash it in!' gave details on how emigrants can withdraw from their retirement annuities even if they're not yet 55 years old.

Property:
Standard Bank made headlines this week when they announced they're not accepting any new applications for home loans received from bond originators. We also featured a home security article highlighting the many natural fences that make better deterrents than man-made ones. What is the cure for our housing woes? Tony Clarke, MD of Rawson Properties, seems to think he has the answer…

Motoring editor Nils van der Linden:

And finally it's here. After months that saw a team withdrawal, controversial proposed points changes, and a surprisingly strong comeback, the Formula 1 season kicks off again in Australia this weekend. World champion Lewis Hamilton is downplaying his team's chances and Brawn GP find themselves in the unlikely position of favourites, while yet another rules outrage (this time about bodywork) once again shows that the more things change the more they stay the same.

Also changing is the landscape of South Africa's cars with the influx of the Chinese. Three of those newcomers from the East feature in our top five list of the cheapest new cars available in South Africa — if you've got about R70k and insist on getting a brand new vehicle, this is the best you're going to get.

Of course in India you can now get the Tata Nano for around R20 000 and, with the long-awaited car finally seeing its release this week, we take a closer look at the world's cheapest car.

But chances are you'd rather drive the new Ford Fiesta — we take the compact hatch for a spin and are left very impressed.

SA politics: A DIY guide Are politicians letting you down? Hadlee Simons reckons it's time you got in on the action...

The iafrica.com debate Read our latest debate on South Africa's controversial denial of entry to the Dalai Lama…

Election Focus For the latest election news, features, profiles and more, check out our Election Focus page.