- Latest Popular Stories, Instablogs Community by Daniel-b

Semenya will keep gold amid gender dispute

Daniel — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:14:18 +0000

South African runner Caster Semenya will keep her 800-meter gold medal from the world championships, and the results of her gender tests will be kept confidential, the South African sports ministry said Thursday.

However, the question of whether she remains eligible to compete as a woman remained uncertain.

The ministry also said in a statement that the International Association of Athletics Federations has agreed to allow the 18-year-old Semenya to keep her prize money.

SA Minister Tells Police To "Shoot The Bastards" Days After 3-Year-Old Shot

Daniel — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 09:29:36 +0000

South Africa’s deputy police minister has stood by his force’s tough, shoot-to-kill policy, days after a three-year-old boy was shot dead by officers.

Fikile Mbalula said it was inevitable that innocent people would get caught in crossfire.

And referring to what he called “incorrigible criminals”, he urged the police to “shoot the bastards”.

The boy was killed on Saturday as police hunted a murder suspect, sparking a national outcry.

“Yes. Shoot the bastards. Hard-nut to crack, incorrigible criminals,” Mr Mbalula said.

South African Police Chief Faces Corruption Trial

Daniel — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:43:25 +0000

Jackie Selebi, the former South African ambassador to the U.N. and head of Interpol, finally went on trial in Johannesburg on Oct. 5 after nearly two years of court delays. A close ally of former President Thabo Mbeki, Selebi is the most senior member of the governing African National Congress (ANC) to go to trial on corruption charges, accused of accepting bribes from a tycoon murder suspect, Glenn Agliotti, and his associates in 2004 and 2005. The case is being seen as a critical test of South Africa’s judicial system. Since being elected President in April, Jacob Zuma has vowed to clean up South African politics, firing and disciplining a number of senior civil servants. An impartial and transparent trial for Selebi would be an important milestone in the efforts of the courts to recover their legitimacy following years of highly politicized cases.

Somali anger at Ethiopia raid

Daniel — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 10:08:19 +0000

Somalia’s semi-autonomous region of Puntland has protested to Ethiopia, accusing its forces of carrying out a cross-border undercover operation. Puntland’s security minister told the BBC two people were in hospital after Ethiopian...

South Africa's ideological hypocrites

Daniel — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 12:35:50 +0000

The storm surrounding ANC Youth League President Julius Malema’s criticism of President Jacob Zuma’s appointment of “minorities” to strategic economic positions, personifies this kind of hypocrisy and dishonesty.

Malema commented last week that all the security cluster ministers in President Jacob Zuma’s cabinet were black while the economics cluster ministers were appointed from minority groups. And all hell broke loose.

Zimbabwe lifts ban on BBC, CNN after eight years

Daniel — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 09:35:37 +0000

The BBC and CNN will be able to report freely from Zimbabwe for the first time in eight years after restrictions were lifted by the country’s government.

Zimbabwe’s minister of media, information and publicity, Webster Shamu, claimed that the BBC had never banned from “carrying out lawful activities” inside the country, but added that the BBC and his government had now “acknowledged the need to put behind us the mutually ruinous relationship of the past”.

The thawing in relations with the BBC and CNN comes after Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party lost its majority in parliament for the first time in 28 years in last year’s elections.

After months of political turmoil, Mugabe signed a power-sharing agreement with Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change. Tsvangirai became prime minister, while Mugabe is president.

1 in 4 South African men surveyed admit to rape

Daniel — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 05:12:52 +0000

One in four South African men questioned in a survey said they had raped someone, and nearly half of them admitted more than one attack.

The study, by the country’s Medical Research Council, also found three out of four who admitted rape had attacked for the first time during their teens.

It said practices such as gang rape were common because they were considered a form of male bonding.

The MRC spoke to 1,738 men in KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape provinces.

S.Africa must end economic inequalities: Zuma

Daniel — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 13:40:20 +0000

South Africa must ease economic inequalities or face serious consequences, President Jacob Zuma said, a policy that could unnerve foreign investors worried he may steer the economy to the left.

Zuma, inaugurated last month, may be headed for a confrontation with union allies, who have threatened to stage mass strikes for deeper interest rate cuts and called for Reserve Bank Governor Tito Mboweni to go.

In comments broadcast on Sunday, Zuma said ignoring poverty in Africa’s biggest economy would be risky.

“If that happens you are certainly sitting on a situation that will explode one day,” he said in an interview with local SABC television.

One of Zuma’s most difficult tasks will be balancing the interests of unions that helped his rise and those of foreign investors who fear labour allies will force him to change economic policy.

Burundi rebel arrests condemned

Daniel — Sat, 10 May 2008 12:18:14 +0000

Burundi’s security forces have detained illegally about 200 people suspected of helping the country’s last active rebel group, a human rights group says.

The detainees included Senator Benoit Ntaganzwa and his wife, the Burundian Association for the Protection of Human Rights and Detainees said.

They are accused of giving sanctuary to the FNL-Palipehutu rebels.

The army has stepped up operations against the rebels in recent weeks after a rebel assault on the capital.

Earlier Burundi’s army says it killed 50 rebel fighters in the latest clashes near Bujumbura.

It was the heaviest fighting since fighting resumed last month.

Mugabe's daylight robbery

Daniel — Sat, 03 May 2008 05:31:52 +0000

Zimbabwe’s opposition Movement for Democratic Change said today an official presidential election result showing its leader Morgan Tsvangirai had failed to garner enough votes for an outright victory was scandalous.

Mr Tsvangirai won 47.9 per cent of the vote on March 29 and President Robert Mugabe, leader of ruling party Zanu-PF, took 43.2 per cent, according to state electoral officials.

But an MDC spokesman said: “This whole thing is a scandal, scandalous daylight robbery and everyone knows that.

“We won this election outright, and yet what we are being given here as the outcome are some fudged figures meant to save Mugabe and Zanu-PF.”

Mr Tsvangirai now faces a run-off vote after he failed to win an outright majority, the electoral body said.
Morgan Tsvangirai

Blow: Tsvangirai faces a run-off election

The result was announced after a verification process by the candidate