South Africa


Wankley Awards: Daily Tele’s hermaphrodite 
exclusive

The Daily Tele has broken a whopping world exclusive today: South African runner Caster Semenya is a hermaphrodite… maybe someone should tell her?

Africa’s economies need to start competing

The Global Competitiveness Report had mixed results for Africa: 13 countries were better than the year before while ten had slipped back. But the region’s relative financial competitiveness is still poor, says The Economist.

Why would Canada grant refugee status to a white South African?

By granting a white South African refugee status, Canada fails to acknowledge that racial discrimination is outlawed in the South African constitution and that crime affects all colours.

Animals are content, locals not so much

The tourists might love the African safari animals, but the historical eviction and exclusion of indigenous people from nature reserves dims the ‘Big 5’ excitement glow.

For Sale: Gandhi’s house

Mahatma Gandhi may not have been a man known for his material possessions, but now you can own a piece of his history, with his former home in Johannesburg up for sale.

We jail black men five times more than apartheid South Africa

In the Northern Territory, 83 per cent of the prison population is Indigenous, while Western Australia jails black males at more than eight times the rate of South Africa during Apartheid.

Letter from...: Johannesburg, where fear equals profit

South Africa is a country that has a huge industry based around a culture of fear, writes Australian expat John Downie from Johannesburg.

Jacob Zuma’s three first ladies

The question that has South Africa’s media all of a twitter is: “Who amongst Jacob Zuma’s three wives will be the country’s next first lady?”

South Africa desperately needs a viable Opposition

South Africa faces major challenges, and they can can only be surmounted by the emergence of a strong opposition.

The ANC to continue its domination of South African politics

South Africa’s voters go to the polls today to vote in their fourth post-apartheid election.

Mandela’s Rainbow Nation is not living happily ever after

Post-Apartheid South Africa is not delivering the liberal dream, but a nightmare of Communism and corruption.

Trade unions put squeeze on Israel

The international trade union movement is tightening its sanctions on Israel, writes Alex Mitchell.

Where is Zimbabwe’s functioning government of national unity?

Why, two months after a Zimbabwe power-sharing deal was negotiated, does Zimbabwe still does not have a functioning government of national unity? asks Eric Louw.

South African democracy and turmoil: a primer

With elections due in April 2009 an ANC split would create conditions for a real political opposition party, writes Eric Louw

Rhodesian leader leaves a dubious legacy

Ian Douglas Smith, who defied world opinion for 13 years as the head of the white minority regime in Rhodesia, died yesterday in South Africa at the age of 88, writes Charles Richardson.

Rugby World Cup: Hard heads thwart divine destiny

So much for destiny, the world order and all the scripts that had been written for this Rugby World Cup, writes Michael Pascoe.

Triumph of the underdogs… and now the Wallabies’ World Cup begins

Fiji v Wales was worth the price of the big screen TV for the Rugby World Cup even if nothing much else happens. And certainly not much was happening for the Wallabies over the weekend, writes Michael Pascoe.

Rugby World Cup: Key suspensions make it even more interesting

Yes, the RWC citing system is serious and it’s adding another dimension to a Rugby World Cup that is already off to a better start than anyone might have hoped.