Mail & Guardian - Africa's Best Read

Children may benefit when parents share their digital gaming space

Digital games can provide forums for diverse groups of people to come together, which is especially important while our physical activities are restricted

Eyaaz Matwadia

‘No one took us seriously’: Black cops warned about racist Capitol police for years

Top Six joshua kaplan & joaquin sapien & propublica 15 Jan 2021

Pay-TV inquiry probes the Multichoice monopoly

National Sarah Smit 15 Jan 2021

No apology or comfort as another Marikana mother dies without justice

National Niren Tolsi 15 Jan 2021

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Coronavirus

Covid-overflow hospital in ruins as SIU investigates

A high-level probe has begun into hundreds of millions of rand spent by the Gauteng health department to refurbish a hospital that is now seven months behind schedule – and lying empty

Coronavirus

Q&A Sessions: ‘I should have fought harder for SA vaccine’ — Salim Abdool Karim

Professor Salim Abdool Karim talks to Nicolene de Wee about his responsibility as head of the ministerial advisory committee tasked with guiding the government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Zuma won’t appear before Zondo commission on Monday, say his lawyers

National

Molefe blames Ramaphosa for Eskom’s woes in statement to Zondo commission

Education

Death and anxiety rife at matric marking centres as schools reopening delayed

National

Joyce Jokanisi: The life and death of a Marikana Titan

#coronavirus in sa latest

Visit our coronavirus hub for the latest updates

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Make Every Day Epic with Samsung Galaxy S21 and Galaxy S21+

Thought leader

Editorial: Campaigns in the time of Twitter

Just as a “nobody” can spew falsehoods and propaganda on social media, so too can a political leader — only with more dire consequences.

Editorial

Life and death at the Beitbridge border post

Opinion camilo ramada 14 Jan 2021

Khaya Sithole: World needs a shot in the arm, not its own foot

Opinion khaya sithole 14 Jan 2021

No early jab for this wit ou

Coronavirus Paddy Harper 14 Jan 2021

MF DOOM Special

ByLwansta: Walking in the shadow of DOOM

Rapper, producer, designer and ardent DOOM fan ByLwansta shares the influence the masked villain had on his craft

Meeting DOOM, the man behind the mask

Hip-hop artist DOOM passed away in October, but the world found out only last week. Mpho Moshe Matheolane met the man himself in 2013

The Portfolio: Lewis Holiday

Photographer Lewis Holiday’s late-’90s image of DOOM captures the hip-hop artist’s early experiments with concealment

The rhyme and reason behind DOOM’s villainy

Hip-hop auteur Daniel Dumile’s rapping was fuelled by a remarkable erudition, his multiple characters broaching diverse topics with a beguilling playfulness

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Africa

Populism faces test in Uganda and Kenya

Bobi Wine and William Ruto set out to upend the political status quo in their respective countries

Ugandans vote in charged election under internet blackout

Africa Nick Perry & Grace Matsiko Guest Author 14 Jan 2021

The internet went down on the eve of the vote, with some parts of the country reporting complete disruptions or significant slowdowns, after one of the most violent campaigns in years

Ethiopia warns Sudan over military build-up amid border tensions

Africa al jazeera 13 Jan 2021

Tensions over longstanding feud over the disputed al-Fashqa region come amid new impasse in three-way dispute over mega-dam

Business

WhatsApp panics as users flee to rivals in privacy boycott

The encrypted messaging service is having to embark on some damage control after criticism about its new terms and conditions

A dummy’s guide to how trade rules affect access to vaccines

Business ronald labonte & brook k baker 12 Jan 2021

It's already become apparent that there is gross inequality playing out in the procurement and distribution of the new drugs. Why is that?

How to rescue SA’s ailing economy

Business nthabiseng moleko & martyn davies & duma gqubule 10 Jan 2021

2020 was a challenging year for everybody, with no growth forecast in the economy, fears of a deep recession and a jobs bloodbath. Three experts contextualise this situation, focusing on what can be done in 2021 to slow down the spiral into an economic abyss

Politics

Don’t get confused, you are obliged to appear, Zondo tells Zuma

After the former president stalked out of a sitting, it asked the ConCourt to force him to appear before the inquiry. A ruling has not been made but the summons remains valid

Covid-19, corruption dominate ANC agenda for 2021

Politics Paddy Harper 8 Jan 2021

In the January 8 statement, Ramaphosa says those who bring the ANC into disrepute will no longer be tolerated

By-elections delayed as Covid restrictions bite

Coronavirus Paddy Harper 7 Jan 2021

A decision on the local government elections, set to be held later this year, will be taken soon

Environment

2020 tied with 2016 as world’s hottest year on record, EU says

Scientists say the latest data underscores the need for countries and corporations to slash greenhouse gas emissions quickly

Act against Covid and climate crises

Environment akhona xotyeni 9 Jan 2021

New climate commission offers hope

Environment Richard Calland 9 Jan 2021

Creecy okays drilling off KwaZulu-Natal coast

Environment sheree bega 8 Jan 2021

M&G Live

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Covid-19 vaccine and the road to recovery

Contributing to lecturer professionalisation with the technical, vocational, education and training sector

Arts & Culture

The Portfolio: Nocebo Bucibo

Photographer Nocebo Bucibo explores the role of photography in the production of the Thokoza hostels as spaces

vusumuzi phakathi

‘Joburg Noir’ extract: ‘Weep for Me, Willow’ by Fred Khumalo

Friday Fred Khumalo 16 Jan 2021

Nompumelelo Ebronah Moholo: The first lady of jazz

Friday madoda nethi 16 Jan 2021

Violet Gwangwa: Natural class, nurturing brass

Friday Gwen Ansell 16 Jan 2021

Education

Early childhood development boost for parents and caregivers

More needs to be done to ensure that we raise children in a healthy ecosystem. Our children are our future and there is no other investment that could be more important

The humble syllabus puts students first

Education william germano & kit nicholls 9 Jan 2021

By building online courses backwards, the necessary skills can be taught in stages

Schools are geared up for 2021

Education Bongekile Macupe 8 Jan 2021

Covid disrupted the 2020 academic year but catchup plans have been hatched in the nine provinces, including extra lessons, earlier class times, and subject-specific boot camps

Sport

Can member-owned football clubs succeed?

Football supporters often fantasise about seizing control of their clubs, sending owners and officials down the tunnel. But evidence suggests that democratic, fan-owned teams are not for glory hunters

African Blogtable: Start of the 2020-21 NBA season

Sport Refiloe Seiboko 22 Dec 2020

Is a Lakers back-to-back a lock? And which Christmas Day game will be the most exciting?

Match of the day: Sport vs ecology

Sport Francois Cleophas 20 Dec 2020

We need a profound rethinking of the meaning of sustainability in sport — the global commercial model is neither environmentally nor socially sound

World

Wikipedia wants you to join the good side of the internet

The collaborative online encyclopedia, which has become a reliable source amid a flood of misinformation, turns 20 today

Trump impeached for ‘inciting’ US Capitol riot

World william roberts 14 Jan 2021

In historic vote, Trump becomes first US president to be impeached a second time for inciting mob that attacked the Capitol

WHO experts to arrive in Wuhan for delayed virus probe

Coronavirus Agence France presse 12 Jan 2021

The 10 scientists will investigate the origins of the new virus in a politically fraught mission that comes more than a year after the pandemic began, with accusations Beijing has tried to thwart the project.