Sporadic shooting resumed on Friday morning in the east Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) town of Bukavu, where at least 10 people were killed over the previous two days in clashes between rival army units. The gunfire and mortar explosions were less frequent on Friday than earlier in the week, according to an AFP journalist there.
The United Nations-backed war crimes court for Sierra Leone, which was due to rule on Friday on whether former Liberian president Charles Taylor will stand trial on charges he aided rebels in their decade-long war in the West African state, has delayed its decision, a court spokesperson said.
Hundreds of unarmed army reservists who had barricaded Madagascar’s Parliament on Friday morning saying they had taken lawmakers hostage over a pay dispute left the area early in the afternoon, an AFP journalist at the scene reported. The leader of the reservists called on the demonstrators to disperse at about 2pm.
The rise of ”modern individualism” had helped destroy the family values that were the foundation of society, Deputy President Jacob Zuma said in Cape Town on Friday. He was addressing the annual ceremonial opening of the National House of Traditional Leaders.
Taking his cue from President Thabo Mbeki, Western Cape Premier Ebrahim Rasool — while delivering his maiden premier’s speech in the provincial legislature — committed his government to implementing 20 ”measurable actions” within the next 100 days, including training 515 new railway police.
More than 600 leaders from all sectors of society and from 46 countries will take part in the World Economic Forum’s 14th Africa Economic Summit in Maputo, Mozambique, from June 2 to 4. Its main purpose is to get business leaders and governments together to overcome the obstacles holding back many African economies.
"A self-described "peripheral shit-stirrer", Boshoff cannot but be aware of the neurosis invoked by his defining physical feature. But then Boshoff, arguably the country’s foremost conceptual artist, has always pursued his own anonymity as ruthlessly as he has courted controversy." Sean O’Toole on how conceptual artist and eccentric Willem Boshoff’s new exhibition unearths the risky politics of the written word.
Last week in Toronto, Canada, it was obvious that the documentary has entered a new era of popularity when more than 40 000 people attended the 11th annual Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival. Jeremy Gans reports.
"You wouldn’t blink twice if you saw Mad Max in this position or Clint Eastwood in this position". Uma Thurman answered questions about Quentin Tarantino and Kill Bill in a round-table discussion in Los Angeles.
MOVIE OF THE WEEK: As a novelist and as a screenwriter, Hanif Kureishi has always been intensely interested in sexual relationships, particularly unusual ones. And Kureishi delivers just that in this intriguing film, <i>The Mother</i>, writes Shaun de Waal.