Nine African-Americans attending an evening Bible study session at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, US were murdered in cold blood last week. US news outlets say that South Carolina resident Dylann Roof, a young white man, has confessed to the killings. He hasn’t been convicted in a court of law […]
United States
Posted inNews/Politics
Will Banda’s international ‘success’ be her downfall?
Malawi’s president, Joyce Banda, has been somewhat of a revelation ever since she assumed office in April 2012 following the death of then president, Bingu wa Mutharika. At the time, Malawi was facing all manner of problems — food, fuel and forex shortages — symbolised by long queues at shops and at service stations. Add […]
Posted inGeneral, News/Politics
The trouble with international justice
This month marks 10 years since the International Criminal Court first opened its doors at The Hague in Netherlands. The court was created under the Rome Statute to prosecute serious international crimes like war crimes and crimes against humanity. It has 121 member nations, with Guatemala being the latest. With a decade gone since the […]
Posted inBusiness, General
The economic week in review: More troubling signs
Europe’s woes continued to weigh heavily on global markets this week. A summit of European leaders on Wednesday failed to reassure economists and investors that politicians can contain the growing risks of Greek exit from the euro and continental banking crisis. Here at home, data showed that the rate of price rises facing consumers rose […]
Posted inGeneral, News/Politics
The state of democracy
There is no consensus on how to measure democracy. Definitions are contested and there is an ongoing debate on the subject. Although the terms “freedom” and “democracy” are often used interchangeably, the two are not synonymous. Democracy can be seen as a set of practices and principles that institutionalise and thus ultimately protect freedom. Even […]
Posted inBusiness, General
The economic week in review: Unsettling
The week began with elections in France and Greece that cast fresh doubts on Europe’s ability to contain its ongoing debt and economic crises. The week drew to a close with a slew of disappointing data in China. In between, the United States sent out mixed signals and South Africa reported a rise in unemployment. […]
Posted inGeneral
American dreaming
By Jane Madembo Sometime last year I received an email from a young South African man whom, after reading my article in the Mail and Guardian wanted some advice about coming to America. This was not new. Every time I visit Africa I meet many young people who share their dreams of coming to America. […]
Posted inGeneral, News/Politics
Licensed to kill: US soldiers in Afghanistan
My colleague Sokhu Sibiya recently said to me that American children are always taught from a young age in their living rooms that they are superior to any other nation in the world. She was responding to the discussion we were having about the recent killing of 16 civilians in Kandahar, Afghanistan. “They watch movies, […]
Posted inLifestyle
Holding American imperialism at bay
Diatribes against American cultural imperialism would be more convincing if the victims tried, just a little, to resist it. Instead they swoon before it, much like the heroines in Mills & Boon romances used to melt with feigned reluctance before the forceful attentions of the dark and handsome stranger. Take October 31, a date that […]