South Africa
Vuvuzela: the trumpet of discontent
Around a metre long and able to produce a bellowing and enduring screech, the plastic horn that can be heard at every football match in South Africa is facing extinction after the emergence of a movement to ban it at the 2010 World Cup. Read more...
Unrest in South African shanty towns – ready to host the World Cup?
Protests over living conditions in South African shanty towns turned violent on Wednesday when discontented slum dwellers around the country clashed with police forces. Similar outbursts last year resulted in over 70 deaths when rioters also targeted foreigners from neighbouring countries; a cause for concern for the hundreds of thousands of World Cup fans planning to travel to the country in a year's time. Read more...
Slum turned vegetable garden
A blogger tell us how an ingenious idea got a group of shantytown residents to transform their quarters from a slum into a biological farm. Read more...
"Black on black racism at the height of stupidity"
Forty-two people have been killed since the outbreak of violent clashes between native South Africans and Zimbabwean refugees in Johannesburg. A Zimbabwean immigrant tries to explain this sudden attack on his community. Read more...
Like the good old apartheid times
The emergence of a video showing students bribing elderly black cleaners into downing beer and eating meat covered in urine has caused outrage in South Africa. Our Observers in the country tell us that although apartheid is over, its spirit still lingers. Read more and see the video…
A blogger thrown backstage of the ANC
Our observer Ndumiso Ngcobo was the only blogger who was able to attend the ANC (Africa National Congress) congress which ends on Friday. He sees the election of Jacob Zuma, who succeeds Thabo Mbeki as the party leader. Ndumiso Ngcobo follows the week's events and offers a fresh look at the ANC with a humorous parody. Read more...
