Police were on high alert last week as thousands of ticket-holders headed to the Royal Bafokeng Stadium for the World Cup match between England and the US. Rustenburg was sealed off from all non-ticket holders as security forces were on high alert due to the political realities of the teams, and violent threats that had […]
Bilal Randeree
Bilal is a South African journalist with Al Jazeera English in Doha, Qatar.
Posted inLifestyle
A tale of two men
The South African In a rural village in the Eastern Cape, a young boy runs after a plane dropping election pamphlets. It’s 1994 in the new South Africa and everyone is excited about change and the future. This boy from a rural village, inspired by the plane in the sky, messes around in the simple […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Africa united for the environment
Africans have come together to demand that wealthy countries take responsibility for messing up the planet. Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said that Africa demands equal partner status at the global climate summit to be held in Copenhagen this December. “Africa will not be there warming the chairs or making token statements,” Zenawi said. Africa […]
Posted inGeneral
China’s taking over
The above title is one that’s often seen in sensationalist news reports these days. But is it true? Is China really taking over Africa? And what does “taking over Africa” really mean? “China has supported development in Africa since independence,” said Sanusha Naidu from the social networks movement Fahamu. She was speaking last week at […]
Posted inGeneral
‘When you strike a woman, you strike a rock’
Wathint’abafazi, wathint’imbokodo! (Now you have touched the women, you have struck a rock.) This phrase has come to represent women’s courage and strength. Women’s Day is commemorated in South Africa on August 9 in memory of the women who marched in 1956 to protest against apartheid and has become a symbol of women’s resistance to […]
Posted inLifestyle
A how to eat organic (and not feel like a Buddhist monk) guide
Somebody asked me to write a “How to eat organic and not feel like a Buddhist monk” guide. Firstly, I must admit that my knowledge of Buddhist lifestyles is almost non-existent — apart from the fact that some live under extreme religious and political suppression, wear bright colours and have shiny bald heads! There is […]
Posted inBusiness
Is Islamic finance a solution?
Even the Christian world is embracing Islamic banking and finance as a response to the international economic crisis. The Vatican has endorsed the values of Islamic finance as a solution to the problems in the world of conventional, interest-based finance. It has stated that Western banks should carefully examine Islamic financial regulations in order to […]
Posted inGeneral
Julius fails Rhodes
“Julius Malema is a bit of an idiot,” claimed Jonathan Griffiths, a cartoonist and Rhodes student, while waiting outside the General Lecture Theatre for the 5pm lecture by ANC Youth League national chairman Julius Malema at Rhodes University on Thursday March 19. By 4.45pm already, dozens of students were gathered at the entrance of the […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Time for South Africa to boycott apartheid Israel
President Kgalema Motlanthe, in his New Year’s message to the nation, joined the UN Secretary General in calling for the immediate stop to the Gaza attacks. He added, “The sheer savagery of the attacks launched by Israel against the residents of Gaza serves to conceal the fact that underlying this conflict is the reasonable demand […]
Posted inGeneral
Palestinians on Obama
Passing through Occupied Palestine, on my way to the Hajj pilgrimage, I managed to interview some Palestinians to get their thoughts on the new president of the USA. Hala from Ramallah It is like a dream for the minorities of the world that a person of colour can be president of the United States, the […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Syrian drought exacerbates food crisis
Syria, a country that is usually self sufficient, now finds itself importing wheat from other countries for the first time in 15 years. The country is trying to cope with the effects of the worst drought in 40 years. Farmers and villagers in the east of the country are worst affected by the poor rainfall […]
Posted inLifestyle
Why I’m a vegetarian
I don’t believe that animals should not be killed for human consumption. In fact, I think that God has most definitely provided certain animals for man — some to assist us in our daily tasks and others to provide us with the nutrients and proteins (isn’t that what meat supplies?!) that eating meat provides. But […]