Troop movements on both sides of the Congo conflict belie the peace talks in Lusaka, writes Ivor Powell A massive showdown that could determine the course of the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo is looming in the diamond-rich region in the centre of the country. Regional talks in Lusaka this weekend aimed at […]

THURSDAY, 12.15PM: THE South Africans at Wimbledon had mixed fortunes on Wednesday, with ninth-seed Amanda Coetzer, David Nainkin and Grant Stafford being shut out of the tournament. Wayne Ferreira, Mariaan de Swardt and Surina de Beer managed to win their matches and go through to the second round. Coetzer was looking a tad dodgy on […]

Matthew Krouse The Encounters Swiss South African Documentary Film Festival is the first of its kind in South Africa. Given our proud history of documentary film-making it’s surprising that no others have preceded this major event that launched on June 20. An initiative of the film department of the Swiss cultural organisation Pro Helvetia and […]

Justin Arenstein `Welcome to the bantustan” was the refrain echoing through Mpumalanga’s corridors of power this week following the virtual coup of the provincial government by former homeland leaders. The echoes will ring even louder if former KaNgwane homeland minister and discredited former environmental MEC David Mkhwanazi is appointed as special adviser to the premier. […]

Mercedes Sayagues The Supreme Court of Zimbabwe has lashed back at women’s groups critical of a recent ruling that used customary law to deny a woman the right to inherit. In May, activists protested that the ruling undermined women’s rights in Zimbabwe and narrowed the interpretation of the Legal Age Majority Act of 1982, which […]

Xolela Mangcu Guest Column Five years ago I invited Sam Nolutshungu and Mamphela Ramphele to Cornell University to discuss South Africa’s prospects for democracy. I remember complaining to Nolutshungu about the overtly political nature of Cabinet appointments in our first democratically elected government. I wanted people to be appointed on the basis of their knowledge […]

wave David Gough in Nairobi Armed vigilante groups are springing up throughout the Kenyan capital in response to a rising crime rate that has made the once peaceful city one of the most dangerous in Africa. Community leaders say that chronic unemployment, a corrupt and ineffective police force, increases in food prices and rising levels […]

There is a political tradition followed in some parts of the world which has it that a newly elected political leader should be given 100 days – a “honeymoon” period – in which to find his or her feet in office before being subjected to media and opposition criticism. Thabo Mbeki has already been occupying […]

The Microsoft trial is back in full swing and just in case you’re feeling sorry for William Gates III, just stop by the Bill Gates Personal Wealth Clock, . Philip Greenspun at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology runs a little programme on his site which updates the Spectacled One’s fortune based on the daily price […]

OWN CORRESPONDENT, Wimbledon | Friday 3.30pm. AMANDA COETZER will be relying on wider experience at the top levels of professional tennis when she faces Kim Clijsters in their third round match-up at Wimbledon. Clijsters, at only 16, is highly regarded by many observers, and is barely younger than Jelena Dokic, who sent Martina Hingis packing […]