News/Politics

My shirt is bright yellow. Zuma’s rows of baby teeth are spread across my belly. On the way to the shop a guy says to me, softly with a nod to my shirt, “Viva Zuma”. He’s missed my shrewd irony, sees me as a JZ supporter and who can blame him? My stab at humour […]

Chances are that by the time you read this I will be arguing, what is hopefully, my final matter as a criminal attorney in the Regional Court of Witbank. It is a culpable homicide involving the death of a young man which was occasioned by a car crash that took place about three years ago. […]

Military control over diamond mining in Zimbabwe’s eastern Marange district has resulted in a brutal mix of massacres, forced labour, beatings and rape. This is according to a comprehensive report released last week by Human Rights Watch (HRW), the New York-based rights NGO, which interviewed over 100 people in the region in February 2009. Mining […]

I don’t know what offends me more, the stupidity of leaders unable to hide their unethical conduct in legitimate activities; or the stupidity of contractors unable to disguise their unethical conduct with some form of grace and finesse. A quick look through any newspaper in South Africa will reveal that a very large number of […]

I want it all and I want it now — Freddie Mercury China’s rationale for introducing built-in software to filter out porn sites is definitely candy coating, says this man on the ground in Shanghai. Government policy states it is to protect people, especially minors, from viewing porn? That’s horse manure buzzing with blue-bottle flies. […]

Days after US President Barack Obama advised the media that America was prepared for anything that Pyongyang could throw at it comes war talk from the government of North Korea. “North Korea threatened Wednesday to wipe the United States off the map as Washington and its allies watched for signs the regime will launch a […]

If regard is had to the approach being taken by US President Barack Obama in respect of dictatorships in general and the ongoing crisis in Iran in particular, then the decision to persist with sanctions against Zimbabwe is not only unfair, it’s cruel. In his new approach to foreign policy Obama has made it clear […]

The SADC is meeting in South Africa on Saturday in order to try and “restore political order” to the ongoing strife in Madagascar. International efforts at mediation have broken down and the Southern African Development Community are hearing report backs from the mediators who took part in the talks. The SADC suspended Madagascar during March, […]

With Reuters reporting a growing concern among Americans at US President Barack Obama’s government spending, automobile industry bailout and other economic policies, set against the backdrop of former president George Bush taking a swipe at his successor, perhaps it is appropriate to call time on Obama’s honeymoon period. Yesterday the president announced the overhaul of […]

I’ve been keeping a careful eye on Pyongyang for a few years now and the more I see the more nervous I get. Their latest utterings, in response to US President Barack Obama suggesting that they are a “grave threat”, are the most ominous to date and indicate that where once their conduct might have […]

Iran is currently witnessing the most violent demonstrations it has seen since the Islamic Revolution itself. Protesters in Tehran and further afield are pouring out onto the streets despite the government declaring protests illegal. Foreign journalists, in the country for the elections, are describing police brutality and even deaths among protesters as hostility increases. The […]