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/ 12 September 2007
Can an English translation of an award-winning Afrikaans novel ever do the original justice — especially if it is a complex and finely nuanced literary work? This is the question many asked Afrikaans novelist Ingrid Winterbach when two of her best-known works were translated into English. But the other question is: Can high-profile Afrikaans writers afford not to have their work made available to an even bigger audience?
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/ 12 September 2007
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South Africa flanker Schalk Burger will not play at this year’s World Cup again unless his team reach the semifinals. Burger was banned for four matches at a disciplinary hearing that ran into the early hours of Wednesday morning after he was found guilty of a dangerous tackle on Samoa scrumhalf Junior Polu in South Africa’s 59-7 victory on Sunday.
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/ 12 September 2007
The United States launches a new military command for Africa in Germany next month, with small teams of key staff, but no troops, based on the continent, a senior US defence official said on Wednesday. The Africa Command will initially work from Stuttgart, and have a year to prepare six locations in as yet unidentified African countries.
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/ 12 September 2007
Thirty years after dying in prison in apartheid South Africa, Steve Biko remains a historical icon, even if his black consciousness movement no longer carries political weight. A fervent anti-apartheid and freedom activist, Biko’s popularity in the new South Africa is rooted in culture, providing ideas for the shaping of the identity of young black South Africans.
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/ 12 September 2007
Petrochemical giant Sasol’s announcement that it plans to transfer 10% of its issued share capital, worth close on R18-billion, into black hands has inspired mixed messages from trade unions. The Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing, Wood and Allied Workers’ Union on Tuesday "cautiously welcomed" the news.
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/ 12 September 2007
A tropical sun rises over Havana and in the neighbourhood of Vedado, a maze of worn, bleached apartment blocks, a unique healthcare system limbers up for another day. In Parque Aguirre, a small plaza shaded by palms, two dozen pensioners form a semi-circle and perform a series of stretches and gentle exercises, responding to the commands of a spry septuagenarian.
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/ 12 September 2007
Mpumalanga and North West have spent R166-million on strike recovery measures, Education Minister Naledi Pandor told the National Council of Provinces on Tuesday. Replying to oral questions, Pandor said Mpumalanga had spent R96-million on teacher remuneration for Saturday and holiday classes.
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/ 12 September 2007
Americans stood in silence to remember the nearly 3 000 people killed in the September 11 attacks on Tuesday as Osama bin Laden resurfaced to praise the suicide hijackers who carried them out six years ago to the day. New Yorkers observed silent moments at the very times jets crashed into the World Trade Centre towers and when each tower collapsed.
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/ 12 September 2007
Samson Mashaba struggles to retain his sense of humour as he waits to see his doctor. ”If you’re unlucky, you’ll die standing here,” says the 69-year-old as he surveys the queue ahead of him at a rural hospital in Mpumalanga. While South Africa may boast some of the finest hospitals on the continent in cities like Johannesburg and Cape Town, rural healthcare is dogged by a lack of cash, personnel and facilities.
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/ 12 September 2007
One of the upshots of the Zimbabwe crisis is the number of books deciphering it. Writers go there, spend a few months and decide, after seeing so much crazy stuff going on, that they can write a book. The results, mostly, have been at best half-ignorant books telling us what we already know and, at worst, downright inaccurate fantasies that feed into racist stereotypes.