The advent of democracy saw Franschhoek, the model Afrikaner village of apartheid mythology, ill prepared to deal with transformation. Under apartheid the dream of a "pure" white town had seen the forced removal of 40 coloured families who had owned homes there, and the creation of a separate coloured municipality, with a buffer zone of farms in between.
Sweeping new legislation aimed at enhancing the ability of police and intelligence services to eavesdrop on cellphone calls and other forms of electronic communication will soon come before Parliament. The Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-Related Information Amendment Bill was approved recently by Cabinet.
As a black man in Russia, life for Gabriel Anicet Kochotfa means always being home by 9pm, never using public transit and hearing abusive remarks when he goes out in public with his white wife. ”Sometimes I even go to the shop with my wife and we go separately, so nobody knows that we are together,” the native of Benin says.
There’s a hushed silence and 750 eager faces turn to watch a bronzed man walk to the podium, his golden hair swaying behind him and his face split by a dazzling smile. There is no white smoke or drum roll, but for the students and alumni of one of the world’s leading business schools, Sir Richard Branson is as close as it gets to a rock star.
”I am troubled by the rise of a hand-picked bunch of black commentators and public intellectuals who opine on freedom of thought, speech and independence and who diss the government at every opportunity. For me, they are coconut intellectuals: black outside, white inside,” writes Sandile Memela.
Click on image for full-size view.
Click on image for full-size view.
Anyone who has seen the escaped accused in the Boeremag treason trial should phone a newly set up hotline, police said on Thursday. More than 24 hours after Herman van Rooyen and Rudi Gouws disappeared from the Pretoria High Court where their trial for treason was being heard, police were no closer to catching them.
Violence flared in early morning protests in Cape Town on Thursday with vehicles and a train torched, the Cape Argus reported. Its website said barricades put up by protesters also caused havoc on the city’s roads. Demonstrators in a string of protests included striking security guards — despite a union promise that guards would not hold protests this week.
Idriss Déby Itno seemed assured on Thursday of re-election as Chad’s president, but the expected victory has already been clouded by new threats of violence by armed rebels in the desert country. Independent observers said the poll itself on Wednesday drew a low turnout following a boycott call by the opposition amid charges of vote-rigging.