Film director Lars Von Trier, renowned for dark, psychologically difficult, artistically pioneering films, has been left unable to work following a serious depression and is doubtful about when he would be able to return to filmmaking, it was revealed on Saturday.
An 87-year-old man accidentally drove the wrong way for 7km down an Austrian motorway before being stopped, police said on Thursday. No accident resulted from the ride on Wednesday night. The man said the rain and darkness had caused him to go in the wrong direction.
Army troops have been moved in to control access to one of Brazil’s top tourist attractions, Rio de Janeiro’s Christ the Redeemer monument, after police broke up a huge embezzling scam. Federal police arrested 20 people on Thursday for allegedly embezzling $150Â 000 to $250Â 000 a month from funds tourists paid to visit the fabled landmark.
If Willy Wonka and Karl Marx went into business together the result might resemble Ghelco. From the outside it is a nondescript industrial site in a drab suburb of Buenos Aires, the firm’s logo barely visible. Inside, the first thing you notice is the smell of chocolate, honey, caramel, ice cream, cakes and jam.
ZA@Play reviews the latest offering from Stephen Marley, Rickie Lee Jones, K-OS, Sparklehorse and many more
Jerusalem’s city council plans to build three new Jewish settlements on land it occupied in 1967, in contravention of international law, it was announced on Thursday. The estates will be built on land that has been earmarked for a future Palestinian state, close to Bethlehem and Ramallah.
When Pulitzer Prize-winner Peter Arnett was reporting from the front line of the Vietnam War, the last thing he had to worry about was censorship, but that’s not the case for the Chinese journalism students who are hanging on his every word. As the students to Arnett talk about his experiences as a war correspondent, it is easy to forget that their greatest concern as professional journalists will be ensuring they do not run foul of the communist party that governs their country.
Democratic South Africa is an important actor on the world stage. This growing international and continental role requires thoughtful and constant consideration of policies and strategies to be pursued. Yet the ANC policy discussion document on international relations, <i>A Just World and a Better Africa is a Possibility</i>, released in preparation for the party’s June policy conference and its national conference in December, falls short of addressing these considerations.
We may all be preoccupied with the race for the presidency of the ANC, but the volume and tone of the reaction to Helen Zille’s election as DA leader suggests an interest far beyond the party’s electoral base in the future of opposition politics. Even President Thabo Mbeki has been conciliatory, inviting Tony Leon to the Union Buildings at long last.
Mamelodi Sundowns may have cruised to the Castle Premiership title this season, but they were taught a footballing lesson by Egyptian side Al-Ahly in the CAF Champions League recently. That should have provided a wake-up call to South Africans who believe that the Castle Premiership sets the benchmark in terms of African league competition.
Everyone knows <i>Sunday Times</i> columnist David Bullard has enough vitriol to run a small vehicle for a month.
A militant splinter group has demanded that Britain release a Muslim cleric in return for the freedom of BBC reporter Alan Johnston. The demand was made in a recording posted on the internet with a picture of Johnston’s BBC identity card. Johnston, the only foreign reporter based in Gaza, was kidnapped on March 12.
A British civil servant was jailed for six months on Thursday for leaking an "extremely sensitive" memo detailing talks on Iraq between United States President George Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair. Communications officer David Keogh was found guilty at London’s Central Criminal Court on Wednesday.
JSE-listed ceramic tiles retailer Italtile on Thursday announced a broad-based black economic empowerment transaction that will see 10,7% of the entire issued ordinary share capital of the company in the hands of black-owned entities. The deal is worth in excess of R400-million.
Diamond mining giant De Beers has called for an expanded mandate for the World Diamond Council (WDC) and for a review and increase in its resource capability. Speaking at the WDC’s annual meeting in Jerusalem, on Thursday, De Beers managing director Gareth Penny said the council has accomplished a great deal and has gained international credibility.
About 18 000 people posed nude on Sunday for United States photographer Spencer Tunick in Mexico City’s Zocalo Square, a new record for the American artist known for snapping his subjects in the buff. Thousands of naked volunteers formed a giant mosaic of flesh for Tunick, who far exceeded his own previous record of 7 000 nude models set in Barcelona.
Filling in your tax return does not rank high on most people’s list of favourite activities. But, although there is always the potential lure of receiving money back from the South African Revenue Service, handing in your tax return is a legal requirement. Luckily, it usually ends up being easier than you think.
Red tape is holding up South Africa’s ability to import much-needed skills, even as the country’s ability to train future workers appears to be lacking. The skills shortage has been identified by Asgisa, the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa, as a constraint on economic growth.
Small Aids organisations in Malawi are being monitored after a recent move by the National Aids Commission (NAC) to suspend financial aid to them because many cannot account for funds allocated to them.
Sierra Leone has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world. In developed countries, on average there are fewer than 10 maternal deaths for every 100Â 000 live births. In Sierra Leone, the rate is nearly 200 times higher. This statistic, from the United Nations children’s agency Unicef, is just one of several staggering indicators of the lethal nature of childbirth in one of the world’s poorest countries.
Theo Botha is not your typical activist. He doesn’t carry placards or wear T-shirts with socialist slogans. He is always mild-mannered, well spoken and neatly dressed in standard corporate attire. All the same, he is probably the most unpopular man in local business, with a knack for asking powerful people uncomfortable questions.
Penélope Cruz speaks to us about her role in Pedro Almodóvar’s <i><b>Volver</b></i>.
The Centre for the Book’s Community Publishing Project has reached the landmark of publishing its 20th book. The <b>Mail & Guardian</b> reports.
Her television series was called <i>The Simple Life</i>, but the prospect of an austere existence in the Century Regional Detention Facility in Lynwood, California, does not appeal to Paris Hilton. The heiress on Tuesday appealed to fans to sign a petition urging California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to commute her 45-day sentence for driving while disqualified.
German prosecutors have launched an investigation to find anonymous participants of the online computer game <i>Second Life</i>, who are reportedly buying sex with other players posing as children, as well as offering child pornography for sale.
A rocket exploded near the United States embassy in Baghdad on Wednesday, an Iraqi defence official said, during a visit by US Vice-President Dick Cheney to the heavily fortified mission. Smoke could be seen rising near the US compound shortly after the blast, which was heard at around 6.15pm local time.
The global rush to switch from oil to energy derived from plants will drive deforestation and push small farmers off the land unless carefully managed, says the most comprehensive survey yet completed of energy crops.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Tuesday that history would decide whether peace in Northern Ireland or the war in Iraq would be the outstanding part of his legacy. Blair, who is expected to announce his resignation plans this week, hailed the restoration of self-rule in Northern Ireland, which the province hopes will finally bury sectarian violence.
If the Democratic Alliance is to shrug aside it baggage from the past, it could hardly do better than vote Cape Town mayor Helen Zille into the top job.
How come all these dots seem to join up? We all go "Ra! Ra! Ra!" because Hugo Chávez, President of Venezuela, has cocked a snook at the rich and powerful by nationalising his country’s massive oil fields and refineries, sending the over-rich international oil cartels packing.
The famous Dodge Charger from the 1980s television show <i>The Dukes of Hazzard</i> has sold via an internet auction for an astonishing $9,9-million, according to a page on eBay. The 1969 car was sold by actor John Schneider, who played Bo Duke in the long-running show.
Porsche, the German maker of luxury sports cars, has launched an official bid to acquire Volkswagen, Europe’s largest auto manufacturer. Stuttgart-based Porsche announced in late March that it would exercise an option to buy an additional 3,6% stake in Volkswagen.