The uproar over Ethiopia’s hotly contested general elections last week and confusion and delays in releasing the results have sparked a massive boom for the country’s nascent independent press. The publishers of about 40 general-interest newspapers have reported a huge surge in circulation as Ethiopians clamour for information about the recent polls.
Western pundits have dominated the debate on United Nations reform, while African leaders have not focused attention on these crucial efforts. A group of civil society leaders from the continent tried to remedy this when we met in New York and thrashed out an African civil society response to the December 2004 report A More Secure World: Our Shared Responsibility.
The tightly sealed door between journalism and politics is breaking down in the US, causing discomfort amongst media commentators. Sean Jacobs wonders whether South Africa needs to look at its own revolving door policy.
The German Chancellor, Gerhard Schröder, announced on Sunday night he wanted to bring forward the general election after a catastrophic poll defeat for his party in the country’s most populous state. He said he would seek to go to the polls in the autumn, although the next general election had not been due until late next year.
The trials of Brother Nelson Mandela and his disputed art works from Robben Island are nothing compared with the latest furore surrounding the recently discovered portfolio of comedy-rock musicals co-written by the Dalai Lama and the late pope John Paul II.
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Rescue workers called off their search for a schoolboy feared drowned in the sea off Richards Bay late on Sunday afternoon, hours after finding the bodies of seven of his classmates. The eight children were among a group of about 250 children from Ndlela Secondary School in Mpumalanga who attended a sports day at Mondini High School in Ntambanana.
Orlando Pirates finished runner-up to their Soweto rivals Kaizer Chiefs on the final day of the Castle Premiership season on Sunday. The Buccaneers had to settle for a disappointing 1-1 draw against Bush Bucks, who scored at the death through Gomasha Marnilisi after Pirates had done all the attacking.
Kimi Raikkonen won the Monaco Grand Prix to secure his second consecutive victory for McLaren with a controlled performance as rivals Renault struggled in the sunny principality on Sunday. Raikkonen, who started from his third consecutive pole position, proved he is now the man in form as McLaren executed aperfect one-stop strategy.
Nude business promotions have been banned in China, with Beijing taking aim at naked shop models and restaurants where food is served on the bodies of unclothed women, state media said on Sunday. The ban comes amid the increasing use of nudity or near-nakedness to advertise businesses.