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SA Citrus exports to EU under threat

The European Union wants to stop some imports from South Africa, like citrus fruit, SA Ambassador to Belgium Mxolisi Nkosi said on Sunday. “There is a trend of rising protectionism that the EU is using to threaten to block some of our exports, including citrus exports,” he said, during an unofficial meeting with South African

Media speculate amid silence on Mandela’s health

Newspapers speculated on the health of former president Nelson Mandela on Monday morning, more than two days since the last update on his condition was made public. “Mandela Lockdown”, read The Star newspaper’s front page headline, accompanied by a report on his family apparently banning government and senior African National Congress officials from visiting the

Mandela’s speech from the dock during the Rivonia Trial

I am the First Accused. I hold a Bachelor’s Degree in Arts and practised as an attorney in Johannesburg for a number of years in partnership with Oliver Tambo. I am a convicted prisoner serving five years for leaving the country without a permit and for inciting people to go on strike at the end

South African Jews, Muslims fly to Washington to heal the rift

Partnership between Jews and Muslims in South Africa flourished when both communities joined forces in the struggle to end the apartheid regime. But as the common cause uniting them was resolved in the early 1990s, Jews and Muslims, both minorities in South Africa, grew apart and allowed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to become a wedge issue

Basic Instinct star Sharon Stone settles racism lawsuit

According to the Mail Online, Hollywood actress Sharon Stone has reached a settlement in a legal dispute involving a former nanny for her children. The 55-year-old Basic Instinct star was being sued by Filipino nanny Erlinda Elemen, who was fired in February two years ago. Elemen claimed the actress made insulting comments about her country

Global netizens worried over US spying

News that the U.S. government has been snooping on Internet users worldwide came as little surprise to global netizens, who said Friday they have few expectations of online privacy as governments increasingly monitor people’s digital lives, often with Internet companies’ acquiescence. Privacy activists concerned over the U.S. National Security Agency’s selective monitoring of Internet traffic

Time ‘to let Mandela go’

South Africa prayed for Nelson Mandela on Sunday as the revered peace icon spent a second day in hospital, with calls for the family and the nation to “let him go”. Government officials have given no update on his health since announcing that the frail 94-year-old was taken to a Pretoria hospital early Saturday in

Grand plan to turn Johannesburg into ‘Africa’s New York’

City authorities in Johannesburg, South Africa’s economic hub, have unveiled an ambitious plan to undo urban inequalities of the apartheid era and turn the continent’s wealthiest city into the “New York of Africa”. City mayor Parks Tau says the 10-year scheme, which is set to cost some $10 billion (7.5 billion euros), will lead to

Cathedral in Nantes (Western France) vandalised with Nazi symbols

Agence France Presse reports that the Saint Peter’s cathedral in Nantes was vandalised last night, with “symbols of a Nazi type”, according to the prefect of the Loire-Atlantique department, Christian de Lavernée. “The damages affect the sacred part of the chorus as well as the oldest altar at the back of the chorus,” he added.

Nelspruit mother killed in farm murder near Tzaneen

The Lowvelder reports that a mother of two young daughters was shot to death during an alleged farm attack last night near Tzaneen in Limpopo. According to the Facebook page of Ms Melinda Lee Bam (35), she was at Bonlati Lodge yesterday with her life partner, Mr Francois Visagie of Piet Retief. Lowvelder phoned the

South African youth praying for Mandela

Young South Africans were wishing former President Nelson Mandela well outside a Pretoria hospital on Saturday morning. “Tata get better. We are going to pray for you,” Gail Prosperity, 22, said. She said she only found out Mandela was in hospital after she saw the large media contingency outside the hospital. “Honestly I don’t want

Nelson Mandela in ‘serious condition’ in Pretoria hospital

Former South African president Nelson Mandela was in a “serious but stable” condition after being taken to hospital early on Saturday with a recurring lung infection, the government said in a statement. The 94-year-old anti-apartheid hero and the country’s first black president has been in hospital three times since December and has been battling this

South African minister ‘appalled’ by violence against Somalis

Statement by the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ms. Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, on international developments, 07 June 2013, OR Tambo Building Good morning ladies and gentlemen of the media. In our briefing today, we will focus on a number of important matters relating to our work, including (1) OAU/AU Golden Jubilee, (2) the outcomes of

Xenophobic attacks still going on in South Africa

Xenophobia attacks in South Africa have not ended, Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) said on Friday. “It has been five years since [2008, when] co-ordinated attacks exploded across the country and led to the deaths of 64 people and the displacement of hundreds of thousands more,” the head of LHR’s strategic litigation unit, David Cote,