She was treated like a movie star wherever she went. Her face launched a thousand front pages. Europe’s leaders fell over themselves to welcome her. Her speech in Paris was the hottest ticket in town and her fleeting appearances in capital after capital merely enhanced the perception of glamour and power. In a few breathless days, United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice became the Bette Davis of diplomacy.

Last week, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) took the toughest decision we’ve ever had to in our five-year history: the national council voted to lift the suspension on participating in elections and entered the race under protest. Making tough choices is part and parcel of politics, but it did not come without soul-searching, writes MDC secretary general Welshman Ncube.

How to boost South Africa’s economic growth and reduce its unemployment rate are just two of the issues opposition parties are hoping to hear President Thabo Mbeki pronounce on in his State of the Nation address on Friday. They would also like clear plans for tackling the country’s Aids pandemic, eradicating poverty, improving social service delivery and dealing with Zimbabwe.

Hours after militants launched a mortar barrage at Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas ordered his security forces on Thursday to act against extremists who are threatening a fragile truce with Israel.