Deaths from sectarian strife in Baghdad are reaching unprecedented levels, with the central morgue on Wednesday reporting a sharp rise in the number of corpses it received during July. Officials said 1 815 bodies — about 60 a day — had passed through its doors last month, compared with 1 595 in June.
Two men believed to have been part of a contract murder of a 36-year-old woman at the Germiston taxi rank in January were arrested after a tip-off on Wednesday, Ekurhuleni metro police said. Inspector Jimmy Maboko said two other men believed to have been involved in the murder are still at large.
Life assurance and financial services group Liberty on Thursday reported a 34% leap in headline earnings per share from 303,4 cents to 407,2 cents for the six months to the end of June. The group declared an interim dividend per share of 140 cents compared with 126 cents for the previous comparative period.
A local lyric theatre company is making a name abroad with its gutsy performances, writes Paul Boekkooi. And New Yorkers are currently enjoying uCarmen — not set in the traditional Seville, but in Khayelitsha.
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.