A quarter of a century after independence, the Chimurenga — or freedom struggle — is still part of Zimbabwean life. President Robert Mugabe continues to make use of this heroic period in the young country’s history to lend legitimacy to his rule.
A gathering of 26 writers from four continents, the Time of the Writer festival, held in Durban last week, explored the concepts of identity, place and home. Invited writer Darryl Accone shares his views.
<b>MOVIE OF THE WEEK: </b> The watchable and well-acted biopic, <i>Kinsey</i> refers to the life and times of the 1940s sexologist Alfred Kinsey who transformed the art of love into the science of sexuality. Peter Bradshaw reviews.
The 11th South African Music Awards (Samas) take place this weekend with a colourful build-up, thanks to sponsor MTN and the usual attendant drama. It wouldn’t be the Samas without a few hiccups, writes Thebe Mabanga.
"I found myself asking, if I had been called up in the terrible 1980s, what would I have done?" This drew him to write <i>The Persistence of Memory</i>. Tony Eprile’s first novel deals with the experience of war veterans. He spoke to Anthony Egan.
Murderers executed by lethal injection in the United States may have suffered excruciating pain because they were not properly anaesthetised, researchers said on Thursday. It was possible, said the researchers, ”that some of these inmates were fully aware during their executions”.
A late-morning sun baked Jadriya street and life moved in slow motion, the traffic inching through rush hour, the rubbish collectors pausing for rest, the shoppers dawdling in cafes. No one noticed the minibus, one of the ubiquitous South Korean-made Kias, until it exploded into a fireball.
Something is rotten in the state of Arnold. Just five months ago the governor of California seemed unstoppable: propositions were passed, opponents were reduced to ”girlie men”, and the talk was of Washington and the first foreign-born president of the United States.
The mother of the teenage boy in the Michael Jackson child molestation case told the jury on Thursday that she felt she had lost her children after Martin Bashir’s documentary Living with Michael Jackson was broadcast. ”The boys were with Michael during this period,” Janet Arvizo said. ”There were no guidelines. I lost my kids.”
There is a strange new sightseeing attraction in this normally sleepy corner of the Chinese countryside: smashed police cars, rows of trashed buses and dented riot helmets. They are the trophies of a battle in which peasants scored a rare and bloody victory against the communist authorities, who face one of the most serious popular challenges to their rule in recent years.