AN Egyptian woman (19) threw herself from the fourth floor of a Cairo building rather than face scandal arising from her being discovered in her boyfriend’s apartment, the daily al-Ahram said Thursday. The young girl was with her 22-year-old boyfriend, a student and computer salesman, in his house in the main Sunni Muslim neighbourhood of […]
MORE than 100 people have been killed since January in clashes between armed groups in Rusizi, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a human rights group claimed. Of the 104 people killed, 13 triggered anti-personnel mines while the others died when the Rusizi plain “became a battlefield between several armed groups,” the League of Rights […]
A 75-year-old man was jailed for five years in the Nelspruit Regional Court on Thursday for paying a 12-year-old girl to have sex with him. Johan Ngomane of Newskom trust near Nelspruit in Mpumalanga was found guilty of statutory rape and will only spend three years in prison, as two years were suspended for five […]
SuSE, the German Linux distributor, has announced it is readying to release Zulu and Xhosa versions of its distribution. The two new languages will be included as options in version 7,2 of its distribution. The project is a collaborative effort between SuSE and local consulting firm Saffral Consulting. “We are doing the translations locally and […]
PROMINENT Zambian politician and former cabinet minister Derrick Chitala was attacked and beaten about the head during a raid by 15 gunmen on his Lusaka home, police said on Saturday. Chitala survived the attack but suffered head injuries. The armed men stormed Chitala’s house in the upmarket suburb of Ibex Hill early on Friday morning. […]
THE German government is willing to assist the country with money to solve the thorny issue of land reform and resettlement on condition that the money is used to train and equip farmers. The Germans have ruled out the possibility of contributing money to a special land fund. Dr Helga Countess Strachwitz, the German Commissioner […]
DAVID WILLIAMS, Genoa | Sunday GROUP of Eight leaders, surrounded by protesters who accuse them of failing the poor, announced on Saturday a new deal to eradicate poverty in Africa. “We have decided today to forge a new partnership to address issues crucial to African development,” the leaders said in the Genoa Plan for Africa, […]
A MINIBUS traveling from the coastal town of Kismayo in Somalia on its way to Mogadishu, 500km to the north, on Wednesday detonated a land mine at Erile near the town of Barawe, after covering just over 200km. This was the fourth such incident in the same area in a week. A local businessman, said […]
A STOLEN 800-year-old Ethiopian cross and a treasured book have been restored to the Ethiopian Orthodox Church after being found in France. The two treasured artefacts were handed over to the priests of their churches at a ceremony on Thursday presided over by the Orthodox patriarch, Abouna Paulos, and attended by Culture Minister Woldemichael Chamo. […]
MUNGO SOGGOT, STEFAANS BRMMER AND DAVID SHAPSHAK Johannesburg | Friday 14.45: ACCORDING to Telkom, its deputy chief operating officer Bheki Langa on Friday resigned from the company. Telkom is therefore dropping its disciplinary enquiry, but will proceed with an investigation into the allegations directed at Langa. Langa contends that he has been looking at other […]
AN apparent assassination attempt involving a 10-minute frenzy of grenades, rockets and gunfire against Itihi Ossetoumba Lekoundzo, defence minister of the Republic of Congo (ROC) was reported to have taken place on Wednesday in Brazzaville. Lekoundzo escaped harm, and there was no word of any injuries or deaths. Military officials linked the attack to disgruntled […]
IRAN Zambia have decided to resume diplomatic ties, broken off in 1993, at ambassador level. “The Islamic republic of Iran, in line with its policies to promote ties with world countries, especially the third world and African nations, is intending to resume ties with Zambia,” the foreign ministry said. Zambia severed ties with Iran and […]
THE arid west African state of Burkina Faso announced on Thursday that it had obtained almost 47 000 tonnes of cereal from the international community to help it cope with famine. In February Burkina Faso made an urgent appeal for 65 300 tonnes of provisions to make up a shortfall. “From June 30, 2001, the […]
Paul Kirk Joe Modise, the former minister of defence and one of the figures central to the multi-agency probe into corruption in South Africa’s R50-billion arms deal, had a six-bedroom mansion constructed partly at the expense of state-owned armaments company Denel which operates with taxpayers’ money. This week the National Directorate of Public Prosecutions confirmed […]
Matthew Krouse The Arts & Culture Trust Awards have a new lease on life and the Mail & Guardian has climbed on board as a media sponsor. Our arts section, Friday, won the Media of the Year in Support of the Arts for 1999 to 2000 and now we are proud to be part of […]
This month the South African Communist Party celebrates its 80th anniversary. Two SACP leaders and a political analyst examine the party’s past and the history of communism Tom Lodge History shows us that communist parties can thrive in liberal social democracies. Before World War II, the most formidable communist party in Eastern Europe was in […]
The 1981 Springbok tour divided New Zealanders. Twenty years later they are still licking their wounds, reports Grant Shimmin The man in Hamilton in 1999 should have given me a clue, but I suppose I glossed over it. After all, we had a cricket tour to cover. Thinking back, though, he must have been planning […]
More familiar as a young mafioso in The Sopranos, on closer inspection Michael Imperioli proves to be the world’s politest wiseguy Danny Leigh Here, let me take your coat. An ashtray? Sure, sure. Use mine …” For a man who has, over the past three years, shot a hapless patisserie assistant in the foot, jammed […]
Jwara Mali Flames and Flowers by James Matthews (Realities) The poem is a story as well. In Flames and Flowers, James Matthews seems to take us through the story of his life. There is a narrative element, however slight, in the treatment of this poet’s themes: “Dorfman/ I have eaten the bread of your pain/ […]
The United Nations panel on the environment is currently discussing world climatic changes in Bonn, but are its premisses appropriate? comment Tim Patterson and Tom Harris Apocalyptic visions of the future are nothing new. For centuries, many of the world’s leading thinkers have predicted imminent catastrophe unless we radically changed our ways. Although most of […]
A book by a left-wing academic and an Italian prisoner is taking the United States by storm Ed Vulliamy How often can it happen that a book is swept off the shelves until you can’t find a copy in New York for love nor money? The library’s edition is reserved for the foreseeable future. Amazon’s […]
The Arts & Culture Trust Awards are handed out in eight categories 1. Arts Administrator of the Year Open to any person in cultural organisations, government, the business community or activities concerned primarily with administration, policy, funding or management of the arts and culture or any aspect of it. Criteria to consider: l The skills, […]
l Meningitis is an inflammation of the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord. Infection is either by bacteria, a virus or a fungus. l It is a rare disease with flu-like symptoms. A small rash that looks like burst blood vessels is a late sign of meningococcal meningitis. l About one in five people […]
Fred Esbend A new form of public protest has hit the streets in Port Elizabeth minibus taxi drivers are using their vehicles to broadcast their unhappiness with the government. “Corruption … Life’s a bitch! Enjoy the ride”, is emblazoned on the back of a taxi travelling through the city. Another taxi has a huge sticker […]
A wealthy European businessman has invested millions in a unique conservation project Fiona Macleod Paul van Vlissengen is one of the richest men in the world, but when he comes out to South Africa where he spends half his time at the moment he lives in a tent. Even for a Hollander, the winter winds […]
Evidence wa ka Ngobeni The future of a thriving informal settlement in Hammanskraal, north of Pretoria, is uncertain as members of the African National Congress and the South African National Civics Organisation (Sanco) battle over control of the area. ANC and Sanco branches in Kanana, Sotho for “the land of milk and honey”, have been […]
Fiona Macleod Conservation officials have opened an inquiry into the sale of a tame silver-screen star called Dandylion to a “canned” hunting operation in the Free State. The lion was sold by wildlife dealer John Brooker, who came into the spotlight in early June when the Mail & Guardian exposed plans to hunt Baixinha, a […]
For how much longer will government indifference, petty political infighting and bureaucratic incompetence continue to blight millions of South African adults who cannot read or write their own names? And how does one calculate the personal and national costs of the country’s shockingly widespread illiteracy more than a third of adults? Minister of Education Kader […]
channel vision Robert Kirby Is there any hope for the standards of local television journalism when what is already appalling taste and insensitivity sinks to the level of the sewer? Last week e.tv news kicked off with a story about the savage attacks in a Gauteng men’s hostel with lingering, close-up shots of the bloodstained […]
Have a spare moment? Want the news that no one else has? Have a look at the Daily Mail & Guardian. Enter a discussion forum guaranteed to infuriate you. Pick up daily cartoons from Zapiro. Surf to Q South Africa’s first and leading gay website or The Teacher online. Or do your research using the […]
Marianne Merten “As we say in Islam, we are brothers and sisters. We must stand together. Don’t look down on someone who is sick, especially not this kind of sick,” says Fatimah January*. She is living with HIV. Her husband discovered his HIV-positive status years ago. Their child is also HIV-positive. “People must get over […]
The diversity of projects funded by the Arts & Culture Trust ranges from urban renewal to art therapy, multi-media and book illustration. We look at five successful concepts Ntuthuko Maphumulo In the past few years the Visual Arts and Crafts Academy (Vaca) has played an important role in helping young learners cope with their traumatic […]