In the year that the Encounters documentary film festival coincides with Women’s Day, new works by top women filmmakers have been used to launch the event, writes Khubu Meth.
Poor Ismail Ayob. Even if he wins, he loses — because his opponent is Nelson Mandela. And so Mandela’s court case against his former lawyer Ayob, who he accuses of abusing his name for commercial purposes, is as good as decided, at least, in the public mind. As an attorney, Ayob depends on his professional reputation to stay afloat.
He will have the body of Arnold Schwarzenegger and the brain of Stephen Hawking. Step forward the Pentagon’s perfect Hollywood hero, possibly coming soon to a screen near you. The United States military is paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to send scientists on a screenwriting course, with the aim of producing movies and television shows that portray scientists in a flattering light.
Sudanese leaders on Thursday pleaded for the rioting in the capital and other cities to end as the death toll from this week’s unrest rose to 130. The trouble in Khartoum and other cities, sparked by the death of the vice-president, John Garang, exposed the racial and religious tensions that threaten to divide the country, which has just come out of a lengthy civil war.
They have never seen Juba. They hear him, but by then it’s too late: a shot rings out and another US soldier slumps dead or wounded. There is never a follow-up shot, never a chance for US forces to identify the origin, to make the hunter the hunted. He fires once and vanishes.
The once-powerful South African Youth Council (SAYC), which represents more than 60 youth structures in the country, is facing management turmoil and a financial crisis that could lead to its collapse. The civil organisation, largely funded through taxpayers’ money, was forced to vacate its Braamfontein, Johannesburg, offices in July after it failed to pay rent and telephone bills for three months.
Sarah Simatlane came to Johannesburg in 1978, from Kimberley, hoping for a better life. Instead, she was instantly arrested for violating the Group Areas Act and sent to the notorious Number Four prison in Braamfontein. Simatlane still shivers every time she steps into the jail, even though she thought she had laid her ghosts to rest.
The sentencing this week of Donovan Moodley for the murder of Leigh Matthews has brought into the spotlight the efforts by the police to solve other highly publicised murders. On Thursday, Moodley was sentenced to life by the Johannesburg High Court.
Before Public Protector Lawrence Mushwana released his Oilgate findings at a press conference last Friday, selected journalists received a three-hour briefing. The <i>Mail & Guardian</i> was not invited. The <i>M&G</i>’s allegations about a party funding scandal had to be vanquished by spin.
Opposition parties are united in fear as the floor-crossing period approaches, with many afraid that the African National Congress will once again swallow up their members. The United Democratic Movement and the Inkatha Freedom Party appear to be the most vulnerable, with internal unhappiness rendering their representatives most likely to be poached.