Rivers of blood have been spilt – figuratively at least – in a propaganda battle between Greek and Macedonian nationalists over who has the right to claim the all-conquering hero Alexander the Great as their own, writes Fiachra Gibbons in London.
In Berne, late last month, South Africa looked tremendously hip as more than 60 local artists took to two theatres in the historic Swiss capital. But the Sharp! Sharp! festival raised a burning issue, writes Matthew Krouse.
Playwright and director Gibson Kente passed away this week, aged 72. Praised for publicly revealing his HIV-positive status, Kente’s last play, <i>The Call</i>, explored the theme of his disease. Matthew Krouse pays tribute.
For nearly half a century, the CIA and Cuban exiles have been trying to devise ways to assassinate Fidel Castro, who is currently laid low in Cuba following an operation for intestinal bleeding. None of the plots, of course, succeeded, but then many of them would probably be rejected as too fanciful for a James Bond novel.
When Australian cricket commentator Dean Jones was fired for calling Hashim Amla a ”terrorist”, the manne were delighted. After all, if everyone went around indulging provocative and childish stereotypes, the Oom might be tempted to call Jones a livestock-romancing wife-beating string-vest-wearing racist bigot Australian yahoo from the arse end of nowhere whose gigantic mouth is writing cheques his tiny brain can’t cash.
In a youth-crazed country that cranks out new musical stars in an endless series of televised competitions, it was only a matter of time before Russia’s political world caught up. The Kremlin and United Russia, the country’s party of power, have poured millions of dollars into political youth movements over the past few years, organising lavish summer camps and massive rallies.
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A peace deal signed three months ago between Sudan’s government and the main rebel group in Darfur has failed to halt violence in the region, the United Nations said on Wednesday, citing an increase in rape and continued attacks by militias and rebel factions.
A man who was arrested in the Strand, near Cape Town, on Tuesday on theft and housebreaking charges was found dead in the cell where he was kept two hours after his death, police said. The man was arrested at 1pm and was found dead at 3pm, Captain Elliot Sinyangana said on Wednesday.
A powerful crime gang torched courthouses and threw small bombs at police stations for the third straight night in Brazil’s richest state of São Paulo on Wednesday, and the federal government offered to send in the army to quell the violence.