Two weeks ago, many Western commentators scrambling to interpret the protests in Lhasa found that they did not need to work especially hard. Surely the Tibetans are the latest of many brave peoples to rebel against communist totalitarianism? The rhetorical templates of the Cold War are still close at hand, shaping Western discussions of Islam or Asia.
Despite being legalised in South Africa more than 10 years ago, abortion–or termination as I would prefer to call it — is still stigmatised. Women do not really have a choice and it is very difficult to get any support or information on this issue. An <i>M&G</i> reader responds to our story on illegal abortions.
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Zimbabwe’s opposition claimed a clear lead over President Robert Mugabe and his party as pressure mounted on Monday evening for the swift announcement of full results from presidential and parliamentary polls. Earlier on Monday, the United Kingdom-based Institute for War and Peace Reporting said that Mugabe was to announce victory.
The person allegedly responsible for sending a letter suspected to be laced with poison to the office of National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) acting head Mokotedi Mpshe has been identified. NPA spokesperson Tlali Tlali said on Monday that the authority’s security and risk unit had made ”significant headway” relating to the letter.
Four boys died after they were rescued from initiation schools in the Eastern Cape, the provincial health department said on Monday. Spokesperson Sizwe Kupelo said that in a joint ongoing operation, which started on Friday, 87 boys were rescued from illegal initiation schools.
South Africans will be able to watch the 2010 Soccer World Cup for free on South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) television or at public viewing events, Fifa announced on Monday. Fifa general secretary Jerome Valcke said the SABC did not need a licence to broadcast the Fifa Confederations Cup in 2009 or the 2010 World Cup.
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African National Congress president Jacob Zuma has failed to inspire confidence during his first few months at the party’s helm, says University of South Africa rector Barney Pityana. ”We now enter a new era. It is a time shrouded in anxiety and uncertainty with the looming presidency of Jacob Zuma and a new assertive leadership of the ANC,” he said on Monday.
President Robert Mugabe and his ruling Zanu-PF party were to announce victory on Monday in the country’s parliamentary and presidential elections, according to unofficial results leaked from the Zanu-PF and Zimbabwe Electoral Commission command centres.
Chad President Idriss Déby Itno on Monday granted an official pardon for six French aid workers jailed in December for abducting children from the landlocked Central African country, Chad state radio said. The six members of the Zoe’s Ark charity were sentenced to eight years’ hard labour by a Chadian court late last year.