In his debut novel, <i>The Native Commissioner </i>, Shaun Johnson shows us the corrosive and evil side of apartheid, but without bashing us over the head with the obvious, writes Anthony Egan.
Chad’s government on Friday accused pro-government Sudanese militia of carrying out new cross-border raids into the east in ”flagrant violation” of a peace agreement. At the end of 2005, Chad’s government accused Sudan of trying to ”destabilise” it with cross-border raids, and declared itself to be in a ”state of belligerence” with Khartoum.
![]()
Jacob Zuma’s rape accuser was treated at a mental institution in Zimbabwe after her father died, the Johannesburg High Court heard on Friday. The woman’s mother testified that her daughter ”had experienced many difficulties”.
Sifiso Mamba wades through his dense, waist-high maize, uprooting every second stalk. He planted during a time of optimism over expected rains in Swaziland, but is now being forced to destroy part of his crop to save the rest. He farms on communal land in Lavumisa, about 10km from the South African border in southern Swaziland.
MPs from France’s ruling conservative party have blocked a move to legalise internet downloading of movie and music files, after several days of sharp debate in Parliament. MPs from the Socialist, Communist, Green and UDF parties walked out in protest ahead of the vote, allowing it to be adopted nearly unanimously.
Wine consumers were expected to bear the brunt of a white wine shortage, the chairperson of Wine Cellars South Africa said on Friday. ”Due to the exhaustive drought experienced last year, the crop was 11% down on that of 2004, resulting in a colossal shortage of white wine for the domestic and export markets,” Henk Bruwer said in a media statement.
Three men have drowned in Malawi, swept away in the swollen rivers that have caused flooding in the south and centre of the Southern African country, an official said on Friday. Meanwhile, at least seven illegal gold panners have died in the past week just over Zimbabwe’s border with Mozambique after heavy rains brought chaos to the area.
Mat Rogers scored a stepping, weaving try which Peter Hewat converted, before crossing for a try himself from the restart as the New South Wales Waratahs thrashed the Cats 50-3 on Friday in a Super 14 match. Rogers opened the scoring in the 6th minute when he stepped inside two defenders on his way to the try line.
A suicide truck bomb ripped through a line of vehicles waiting at a checkpoint on Friday in Fallujah and killed at least seven civilians, while authorities in the capital discovered the bodies of six more men who were blindfolded, handcuffed and shot in the back of the head, police said. A powerful bomb hit a United States tank in east Baghdad.
Sri Lanka spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan joined Shane Warne as the only cricketer to reach 600 Test wickets on Friday, ensuring their fierce rivalry continues. The landmark wicket sparked celebrations from the Sri Lankan players, who mobbed their star bowler, completing the feat 13 years after his Test debut.