FROM THE ARCHIVES | Athol Fugard: All is not, and never will be, lost
As SA’s most decorated playwright, takes to the stage for the last time, he explains why he will never lose his optimism for the country’s future.
David Smith Author
Dictator brought to justice
A superb book unravels the story of how a Senegalese court jailed a former Chad
president for life
Zim won’t take Zuma’s Cecil jibe lying down
President Jacob Zuma’s "undiplomatic" reaction to the death of Cecil the Lion at US hunter Walter Palmer’s hand fails to amuse in Zimbabwe.
Greenpeace head Kumi Naidoo saddened at spying revelations
Greenpeace’s Kumi Naidoo has expressed “sadness, hurt and deep disappointment” that government may have been spying on him.
South Sudan’s fallen named on anniversary of civil war
A group of civil society volunteers has spent months collecting and verifying names of the victims to give the tragedy a human face.
Masterchef contestant turns up the heat on housework
Domestic worker Siphokazi Mdlankomo has stolen the show on Masterchef SA, but her sisters are still all but forgotten.
Funding crunch threatens TAC
Aids is not over, says Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, but donors are pulling out of South Africa because it is a middle-income country.
Mugabe wins at Beijing bingo
Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe appears to have achieved his goal of extracting more cash from China.
Sudan: Meriam Ibrahim ‘safe and well’ in US embassy
The Christian woman whose apostasy death sentence was overturned is doing well after the US embassy in Khartoum gave the family refuge.
Drones offered to SA mines to ‘prevent another Marikana’
Desert Wolf, maker of the Skunk Riot Control Copter, says its machine is "designed to control unruly crowds". But labour activists are condemning it.
Kagame trolls burn their bridges
Government staff in Rwanda appear to be using fake accounts to harass journalists on Twitter.
Boko Haram lashes out
Officials and eyewitnesses recount the militant Muslim fundamentalist group’s audacious attack on a military base, which left many killed and injured.
Mbeki: Blair plotted military intervention to remove Mugabe
Former SA president Thabo Mbeki says his country was asked by the UK for help with a military plan to remove Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe.
Al-Shabab’s hold on Somalia rules out a purely military solution
Young people in Somalia have known only war and little prospect of getting a job.
Zimbabwe government’s U-turn on white farmers
A group of 78 dispossessed white farmers claim victory and intend to pursue full compensation.
Kenya’s first gay political candidate reveals why he quit race
Rights activists have hailed anti-poverty and Aids activist David Kuria as a pioneer despite an aborted election campaign.
Malian army’s strong-arm tactics condemned
The AU and West African regional bloc has condemned army interference in Mali’s politics after the prime minister was forced to resign.
Rwanda accused of aiding Congo rebels
Uganda helped the M23 militia with "logistics" as it fought a deadly and successful offensive against the Congolese army.
SA’s spectacular reversal in fight against Aids
The change wrought by the mass distribution of HIV/Aids drugs is akin to a major societal shift, writes David Smith.
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Hopeless or rising, Africa makes for a rousing debate
There have been countless attempts to define the world’s second-biggest and second-most-populous continent, often and notoriously from outside.
Portuguese escape austerity and find a new El Dorado in Angola
Booming, oil-rich Angola has become a refuge for Portugal’s jobless, while Luanda’s elite take advantage of EU troubles to buy up property in Lisbon.
Sudan wants Africa to reach for the stars
"I’m calling for the biggest project, an African space agency," Omar Hassan al-Bashir told a gathering of communications ministers in Khartoum.
Meles’s death creates a vacuum
Just a few hours after Meles Zenawi’s death was announced, British prime ministers – past and present – were queueing to pay tribute.
Mugabe’s star rises further among Zim voters
President Robert Mugabe is enjoying a surge of popularity that could propel him to victory in Zimbabwe’s elections, according to independent research.
Hillary Clinton kicks off African tour with swipe at China
Hillary Clinton has launched an 11-day tour of Africa by contrasting the US’s commitment to democracy with rival powers’ focus on exploitation.
Adulterous couple stoned to death in Mali
A man and woman who had an adulterous relationship have reportedly been stoned to death by religious extremists linked to al-Qaeda, in Mali.
Love affair with Rwanda’s Kagame goes sour
Alarm bells have been ringing in Washington and London over Rwanda’s clampdown on internal freedoms, writes David Smith.
Deep read: From bullets to ballet
A Sierra Leone war orphan turned US ballerina, Michaela DePrince tells of being called a "devil child", prejudice in ballet, and her return to Africa.
Rebels wreak havoc in eastern DRC
The DRC’s President Joseph Kabila’s push for stability backfires as thousands are displaced and militias overpower his army, writes David Smith.
SPCA slams Namibia’s plans to send ‘Noah’s Ark’ to Cuba
Namibia has been condemned for planning to donate a "Noah’s Ark" of 150 wild animals – including lions, rhino, cheetah and leopards – to Cuba.
‘Lipstick evangelism’ gives SA’s jobless a step up
An academic study has shown how the door-to-door beauty sales firm Avon is providing women in South Africa with a route out of poverty.
Militants pose new threat to Africa
The US says three of Africa’s militant groups are striving to coordinate their operations and represent a threat to security on the continent.
