No image available
/ 28 February 2005
"The 20th century was the bloodiest in history. It will be remembered for the millions of innocent children, women and men who needlessly perished in war." Richard Goldstone urges African members of the ICC not to allow the United States to delay justice to the victims in Darfur.
No image available
/ 28 February 2005
In the play <i>Julius Caesar</i>, the character Mark Antony says in his funeral oration: "The evil that men do lives after them. The good is oft interred with their bones. So let it be with Caesar." It is impossible to travel through Africa without wondering about what evils have been interred with the bones of its many defunct despots — and what good they might possibly have left behind.
No image available
/ 28 February 2005
As a call to arms, few national hymns are as bloody as La Marseillaise. Originally entitled the War Song of the Army of the Rhine, it exhorts citizens of France to take up arms: ”Form in batallions, March, march! Let impure blood water our furrows!” Now, after a 10-year battle, French schoolchildren are to be made to learn the words after a vote by French MPs.
No image available
/ 28 February 2005
In the wooden shanty town of Elmina on the outskirts of Mauritania’s capital, Nouakchott, Aids educators do not let religious or cultural conservatism get in their way. A wooden dummy of a penis fitted with a condom is used to instruct people about the dangers of unprotected sex — a somewhat unexpected sight in a country that is almost entirely Muslim, and where discussions about sex have tended to be taboo.
No image available
/ 28 February 2005
Will they or won’t they? This question is on the lips of political observers in Malawi at present, as they wait to see whether substantial numbers of ruling coalition or opposition members will support the country’s newest political grouping: the Democratic Progressive Party. At stake is the future of party founder President Bingu wa Mutharika, who resigned from the United Democratic Front earlier this month.
No image available
/ 28 February 2005
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has blasted ruling party officials for selling secrets to foreign governments in his first reaction on an alleged espionage ring involving senior Zanu-PF members and a South African spy. The octogenarian leader said that anybody involved in spying would not be let off the hook.
No image available
/ 27 February 2005
Four years after a promising 21-year-old chemical engineer died after an accident at the Nuclear Energy Corporation of South Africa (Necsa), his family is still looking for answers. Victor Motha’s death has highlighted concerns about the safety of workers at Necsa’s Pelindaba plant, which the Department of Minerals and Energy oversees.
No image available
/ 27 February 2005
Faced with the almost impossible task of scoring 330 runs for victory, Zimbabwe laboured to 198 for seven off their 50 overs in the second game of the three-match Standard Bank limited-overs cricket series at Kingsmead on Sunday to lose by 131 runs. It leaves them 2-0 down with one to play in Port Elizabeth on Wednesday.
Click on image for full-size view.
No image available
/ 27 February 2005
According to an article in the <i>Mail & Guardian</i> two weeks ago, Professor Shadrack Gutto of the University of South Africa criticised the Judicial Service Commission and implicitly the judiciary for having failed to take effective action to establish procedures to deal with complaints against judges. Chief Justice Arthur Chaskalson responds.