The future of the world’s largest fund for the fight against Aids hangs in the balance. The United Nations’s Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria is threatened by underfunding by the United States in favour of its own Aids programme, as well as from G8 countries. And clashes between two of the UN’s Aids leaders also emerged this week.
The provincial minister of housing in Limpopo, Machwene Semenya, has been subpoenaed by the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) to answer accusations of having dumped 237 evicted families in the veld near Lebowakgomo, with no basic services. ”The situation at Turfpan was desperate,” said Charlotte McClain-Nhlapo, the SAHRC commissioner in Limpopo.
<b>MOVIE OF THE WEEK:</b> Overlooking a couple of flaws, <i>The Statement</i> is a good thriller — something of a cross between a police-procedural and a chase movie. Shaun de Waal commends lead actor Michael Caine on a fine performance.
"When viewing the photographs of Jo Ractliffe one realises that it is not only what the photographer captures within the lens that is of significance, but also that which lies at the edges or just beyond the image which is worthy of contemplation." Curator Warren Siebrits talks to photographer Jo Ractliffe about dogs, donkeys and the CCB.
In her debut novel, Barbara Adair imaginatively recreates a compelling portrayal of the lives of literary figures Paul and Jane Bowles. Shirley Kossick reviews "this fine book with the powerful story to tell".
This week’s arrest and court appearance of Samson Madonsela marks the climax of the police operation to purge football of corruption and match-fixing. The police allege Madonsela, a member of the South African Football Association’s referees’ technical committee, was the ”conduit” through which club officials reached referees.
For a British Foreign Office mandarin, it was unusually colourful language. Edward Clay, the British High Commissioner in Kenya, told his audience that ministers ”could hardly expect us not to care when their gluttony causes them to vomit all over our shoes”. The remarks have sparked a diplomatic tiff.
China is offering to pay couples a premium for producing baby girls to counter an alarming gender imbalance created by the country’s one-child population control policy. Last year, 117 boys were born for every 100 girls in China, meaning the country faces a socially destabilising shortage of more than 30-million women by 2020.
The United Kingdom on Thursday signalled a major rift with the United States over its Aids policies, publicly rejecting the Bush doctrine that sexual abstinence is the best way to stop the spread of the pandemic. The UK does not support the US over its reluctance to endorse the use of cheaper, generic drugs to fight the disease.
Well-known artists including Hugh Masekela, Tshepo Tshola, Jabu Khanyile and Busi Mhlongo are furious because a prominent music promoter has not paid them for a concert in Port Elizabeth six months ago. Now their agent, Chissa Artists, has initiated legal action against the promoter to recover the outstanding R200 000.