No image available
/ 30 November 2005
There’s an old mantra in the humanitarian aid world — and many still live by it: Whatever you do, don’t let the aid get near the men with guns. Humanitarian assistance, they say, should never be entrusted to armies. Well, a few days ago I was flying low over the crushed ruins of Balakot, a thriving market town and tourist centre that was reduced to rubble in only a few seconds by the earthquake on October 8.
No image available
/ 30 November 2005
Watching a recent episode of CSI, in which a couple put some dildos and assorted other sex toys in the dishwasher after a ”swingers” party, I was reminded of my various attempts to get a dildo. To many people this might not seem a difficult task. But living in Zimbabwe increases both the degree of difficulty, and the danger.
No image available
/ 30 November 2005
”What is one to make of the extraordinary fuss over Guardian writer Emma Brockes’s interview with Noam Chomsky? Why should readers so desperately defend the honour of a famous man who lives thousands of miles away, has no immediate relevance to South Africa, and has the wit, means and standing to defend himself,” writes the Mail & Guardian‘s Drew Forrest.
No image available
/ 30 November 2005
A sports field in Tonga has become the focus of a battle of a different kind — protests, huge by Tongan standards, aimed at ending the archipelago’s semi-feudal system of government. Under banners reading ”Enough lies, time for truth” and ”Unity and solidarity for freedom”, thousands have sung, chanted and prayed in the shadow of the palace.
Click on image for full-size view.
No image available
/ 29 November 2005
The original drummer and a founding member of British rock group The Shadows has died aged 62. Tony Meehan, who played drums on all the early hits by the group, which also backed pop star Cliff Richard until 1961, died on Monday at St Mary’s hospital in Paddington, central London, after an accident at his home.
No image available
/ 29 November 2005
The Proteas captain, Graeme Smith, and teammate Justin Ontong on Tuesday had X-rays to injuries on their left hands, in Cape Town and Johannesburg respectively. Both players were examined by orthopaedic surgeons soon after their arrival from Mumbai, where South Africa concluded its five-match one-day international series against India.
No image available
/ 29 November 2005
Franz Schoenhuber, a former Nazi SS soldier who became a prominent figure on Germany’s rightist fringe, has died, the son of another far-right leader said on Monday. He was 82. Schoenhuber was best known as a co-founder of the small, anti-immigration Republikaner party.
No image available
/ 29 November 2005
![]()
HIV/Aids has become the leading cause of deaths in South Africa of children under the age of five years, according to the University of Cape Town’s Children’s Institute. The pandemic is first among a number of factors standing in the way of realising child rights in South Africa, the institute’s director said on Tuesday.
No image available
/ 29 November 2005
Dozens of passengers have been killed in a rail accident in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) when the train they were riding crossed a bridge that knocked them off the top, a senior official said on Tuesday. ”There are dozens of dead, perhaps around 50,” said Koloso Sumaili, Governor of Maniema province.