The African National Congress’s policy-making body had been correct to express its support for former deputy president Jacob Zuma "during these trying and painful times", wrote President Thabo Mbeki in his internet letter on Friday. "[Zuma] should have an opportunity to defend himself against whatever accusations have been made against him," said Mbeki.
Group of Eight (G8) leaders have agreed to boost development aid to Africa by -billion as part of a package to fight poverty in Africa, British Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Friday at the end of the three-day G8 summit in Gleneagles.
Following the bombings in London on Thursday, in which more than 50 people died and about 700 were injured, Johannesburg residents can rest assured that there are preventative measures in place in the city if ever it should experience a sudden urban terror attack, a police spokesperson told the Mail & Guardian Online on Friday.
Fifty years after the adoption of the Freedom Charter, we are discovering that there is some fine print that wasn’t there before, writes Mike van Graan.
<i>What Happens After Mugabe?</i> is a thought-provoking book that draws on research from a battery of independent-minded commentators and diplomats across several continents, writes Nazeem Dramat.
By publishing 16 essays on the works of the Indian diaspora by Indian and foreign critics, the editors of <i>Indias Abroad: The Diaspora Writes Back</i>, highlight the longing for the motherland by the dislocated Indian writers, writes Kalpana Rangan.
<b>NOT THE MOVIE OF THE WEEK:</b> <i>War of the Worlds</i>, is commended for sticking to something like HG Wells’s ending, though that’s about all the movie can be commended for, writes Shaun de Waal.
<b>CD OF THE WEEK:</b> To love <i>Extensions</i> you have to be into that overproduced Latin whispering, a sound that is pretty enough to sell expensive cars in commercials, writes Matthew Krouse.
South African Minister of Arts and Culture Pallo Jordan has commended the National Arts Festival for its celebration of excellence, writes Helmo Preuss.
Cuba on Friday braced for the arrival of an increasingly dangerous Hurricane Dennis after the storm dumped rain on Jamaica, while Florida authorities issued a state of emergency and ordered first evacuations. The storm looks set to hit the central part of the island with winds in excess of 215kph and pounding rain.