Every year, at the end of September, the N12 to Potchefstroom becomes congested. It is the exodus of the Afrikaners to Aardklop to soak up some culture and “see some shows”. This year’s Aardklop kicked up questions about Afrikaner identity and the future of its theatre, writes Yolandi Groenewald.
<i>Sweet-Thorn</i> is as gentle and tender as Gito Baloi’s death was violent. Riaan Wolmarans listens to Baloi’s last project, co-written and co-produced with Nibs van de Spuy.
The actors were youngsters just like us, and we thought, if they can do it why can’t we? Even the way they sang <i>Our Father</i> at this school was so different and energising. Daphne Neke recalls her first experience of <i>Sarafina</i> – and how it resonated with her life.
Sephiwe Shabange (22) sat patiently with four other men in a busy clinic in Mbabane, Swaziland. They were surprisingly calm considering they were there to be circumcised. “I do this to reduce the chance of getting HIV/Aids,” he said.
The tiny town of Kuboes can be found at the end of a dirt road that stretches from Alexander Bay, at the mouth of the Orange river, past endless mine dumps and fenced-off diamond fields to the foot of the mountains of the Richtersveld in the Northern Cape.
This summer’s localised war between Israel and Hezbollah is being played out within a larger context of international relations all pointing in the direction of a military confrontation between the United States, Israel and perhaps some other allies on the one side, and Iran on the other side, possibly within the next two years, writes Amir Mizroch, news editor of the <i>Jerusalem Post</i>.
Over the past 12 years we have, as a nation, made quantitative and qualitative advances towards a truly democratic and non-patriarchal society. South African women constitute 41% of the Cabinet, 50% of the Presidency, 33% of the National Assembly (women also serve as the speaker and deputy speaker of that body) and 44% of premiers.
Any excuse for a jol and a South African will be there. Women’s Day is following suit. There were fashion shows, concerts, club nights with female DJs, you name it. Soon we will have kitsch cards, balloons and discounts for restaurant chains. That’s fine — it means the day is being institutionalised. But what we should not forget is that the day is one on which to mark progress on the woman’s road to equality and freedom.
"IBM Corporation today announced its smallest, lowest-priced computer system — the IBM Personal Computer," ran the press release 25 years ago. "Designed for business, school and home, the easy-to-use system sells for as little as $1 565. It offers many advanced features and, with optional software, may use hundreds of popular application programs."
Timbuktu manuscripts — which include texts on astromomy and law — have been passed down through the centuries and generations as a form of inheritance. The preservation of Timbuktu’s ‘intellectual treasures’ offers vital clues to the history of paper trading in Africa, writes Riason Naidoo.