south africa

Index 

It happened overnIght 

a day of thunder - duduza 

South afrIca 

afrIca 

World 

BuSIneSS 

lIfe, etc 

Sport 

Index 

tuesday – 4 october 2011

IT HAPPENED OVERNIGHT 

thursDAY – 29 september 2011

it happened overnight 

politics 

south africa 

Iconic Myanmar activist, Aung 

San Suu Kyi has criticised 

South Africa for dilly-dallying 

on whether or not to give the 

Dalai Lama a visa to attend 

Desmond Tutu’s birthday 

party. She also said the 

country lacked “enthusiasm” 

for democracy elsewhere in the 

world. She said, “Sometimes 

we get the feeling perhaps that 

[…] South African authorities, 

do not support the struggle for 

democracy and human rights 

as enthusiastically as, for 

example, do individuals like 

Archbishop Desmond Tutu.” 

The UDM has requested the 

public protector to investigate 

the Independent Electoral 

Commission’s offices in 

Centurion, involving a lease 

worth over R100 million paid 

since March 2010. This is quite 

a hike in rent, considering the 

previous offices, for which the 

IEC (in this case, you and me) is 

still allegedly paying R750,000 a 

month. 

usa 

Presidential candidate Mitt 

Romney has also stuck his 

finger into Rick Perry’s racial 

slur situation. In case you’re 

unaware, the Washington Post 

broke a story over the weekend 

which claimed Rick Perry used 

to entertain people at a hunting 

farm his family leased called 

“Niggerhead”. Romney called the 

name “offensive”, and he follows 

Herman Cain in condemning 

Perry about the situation. 

MyanMar 

A Chinese government-owned 

firm has expressed shock at 

Myanmar’s President Thein 

Sein’s decision to stop building 

briefs 

Rick Perry and Mitt Romney (Reuters) 

the Irrawaddy River dam after 

weeks of public protest and 

outrage. In fact, China Power 

Investment Corp may go the 

legal route in ensuring the 

world’s largest hydro-power 

project gets back on the go. 

While Sein will be wary of 

angering China, Myanmar’s only 

real significant economic ally, 

this could help his controversial 

government’s image at home. 

libya 

The head of the transitional 

national council, Mahmoud 

Jibril, announced that the 

processes for elections will 

start once Muammar Gaddafi 

is captured, and not, as 

originally planned, when the 

country is fully liberated, 

i.e. when all pro-Gaddafi 

resistance is stomped out. The 

city of Sirte is proving a tough 

nut to crack for TNC forces, 

and no one is even 100% sure 

that Brother ex-Leader is there. 

tuesdAY - 4 october 2011


business 

usa 

BMW outsold Mercedes in the 

USA in September, according 

to Truecar.com, with a large 

part of its increased sales 

due to the redesign of the 

X3, which increased its sales 

to 1,853. Total 2011 BMW 

sales grew to 177,679 while 

Mercedes grew to 170,058 both 

at the expense of Lexus, whose 

sales fell 16% to 135,647. Aside 

from the X3 redesign, BMW 

has toyed with the pricing, 

making the car an even more 

attractive proposition. 

A slightly strange 

announcement, considering 

that on 20 July we reported that 

American Airlines were in the 

market for 460 new aircraft, 

but the company’s shares 

plummeted 33% to $1.98 on 

reports the airline would file for 

court-assisted restructuring to 

avoid bankruptcy. AA claimed 

there was no truth behind the 

rumours, but instead of a frank 

denial said it “is certainly not 

our goal or our preference”. The 

airline is debt-laden and US air 

traffic demand is waning as the 

economy limps on. 

Billionaire George Soros said 

on Monday he sympathises 

with the Occupy Wall Street 

protestors, and understands 

their anger at governmentpropped 

banks which earn 

profits while American people 

are struggling for work. A 

union-backed (read: huge) rally 

is planned for Wednesday. 

The disjointed civil action is 

currently in its third week. 

President Barack Obama has 

finally sent three delayed trade 

agreements between the USA 

and South Korea, Colombia 

and Panama to congress. This 

, ideally, will facilitate more 

business between the US and 

the other countries, making 

exports easier and adding $13 

billion to current trade. 

The Senate passed legislation 

meant to force China to adjust 

the value of its currency to 

what the US determines to be 

“market levels”. The new rules 

will allow the US to impose 

import duties on products 

briefs 

George Soros (Reuters) 

from countries which have 

undervalued currencies. China 

didn’t take the news well, or 

lying down, with its foreign 

ministry saying it “adamantly 

opposes” the new laws; the USA 

blamed currency imbalances 

for bringing in protectionist 

measures which violate World 

Trade Organisation rules and 

will “seriously disturb China- 

US trade relations”. 

international 

Air Transport Word, a USbased 

air industry publication, 

has announced the biggest 

tanking airlines in the world. 

Government-owned Air India 

(with 30,000 staff, nogal) 

leads the charge, sinking $1.2 

billion in the last year. Kuwait 

Airlines comes in second, 

having swallowed $564 million 

of dosh while Argentina’s 

Aerolíneas Argentinas sucked 

in $486 million. 



drc 

The Democratic Republic of 

Congo’s planning minister, 

Olivier Kamitatu, has called 

upon his government to 

diversify the nation’s economy 

and stimulate job growth. 

Unemployment is a massive 

problem in the DRC, and 

exacerbating the problem is an 

almost exponential population 

growth, with the 71 millionstrong 

country set to have 

double that number of people 

in the next 23 years. The DRC’s 

major industry may still be 

mining, but Kamitatu said 

agriculture should be a focus. 

australia 

Samsung has dashed recent 

media reports that it was 

coming towards a deal with 

Apple, reportedly agreeing to a 

speedy court case in exchange 

for the release of the Galaxy 

tablet in Australia over its 

global patent disputes. The 

consternation revolves around 

technology in the iPad2 and 

Galaxy 10.1. Back to the courts 

we go, then. 

sport 

new Zealand 

Rugby, World Cup: New 

Zealand’s threat to boycott 

the next Rugby World Cup in 

2015 if income isn’t distributed 

differently has had its bluff 

called by the International 

Rugby Board chief, Mike 

Miller, who said, “Everyone is 

replaceable”. The New Zealand 

Rugby Union CEO, Steve Tew, 

whined about the commercial 

model of the tournament 

last week, but Miller claims 

Tew was part of the decisionmaking 

process and is also 

aware of the restructuring 

that will take place regarding 

the World Cup once the 2011 

tournament is over. 

France has announced its 

match squad for the quarter 

final against England on 

Saturday. Coach Marc 

Lievremont has made two 

changes to the starting XV 

with Nicolas Mas returning 

to the front row and Imanol 

Harinordoquy in at number 8. 

France XV: 15 Maxime Medard, 

14 Vincent Clerc, 13 Aurelien 

briefs 

Victor Matfield (Reuters) 

Rougerie, 12 Maxime Mermoz, 

11 Alexis Palisson, 10 Morgan 

Parra, 9 Dimitri Yachvili, 8 

Imanol Harinordoquy, 7 Julien 

Bonnaire, 6 Thierry Dusautoir 

(captain), 5 Lionel Nallet, 4 

Pascal Pape, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 

William Servat, 1 Jean-Baptiste 

Poux. 

Replacements: 16 Dimitri 

Szarzewski, 17 Fabien Barcella, 

18 Julien Pierre, 19 Louis 

Picamoles, 20 Francois Trinh- 

Duc, 21 David Marty, 22 Cedric 

Heymans. 

Victor Matfield has blamed 

the catalogue of injuries at this 

World Cup on the southern 

hemisphere schedule, saying 

that northern hemisphere 

teams had more time before 

the tournament to rest. While 

South Africa and New Zealand 

have lost key players this 

tournament, most notably 



Frans Steyn and Daniel 

Carter, respectively, it is the 

Australians who have even 

bigger reason to complain. 

Their injury list is so excessive 

that coach Robbie Deans was 

forced to play loose-forward 

Radike Samo on the wing in 

their final group fixture. 


Rugby, Currie Cup: Free State 

prop, Coenie Oosthuizen 

has been ruled out of the 

remainder of the season after 

injuring his neck over the 

weekend in a match against 

the Lions at home. He is 

expected to be back for the 

start of the Super Rugby 

season. 

Amanda Knox, a free woman (Reuters) 

life 

italy 

Amanda Knox and exboyfriend, 

Raffaele Sollecito, 

successfully had their 

convictions overturned 

for the murder and sexual 

assault of Meredith Kercher. 

Embarrassingly for the 

Italian prosecution system, 

independent forensic 

authorities found sloppy police 

work in evidence used to 

convict the pair in the initial 

trial, and this was the focus of 

the appeal. Knox could be back 

in her home-town of Seattle as 

early as Tuesday. The court did 

briefs 

uphold a three-year sentence 

on Knox for slander, after 

she accused barman Patrick 

Lumumba of the crime, but 

she has already passed that in 

time served. 

Mexico 

Staff at a military facility 

in Mexico City discovered 

two severed heads in what 

is allegedly a message left 

by a gang called The Hands 

With Eyes. While drug cartelrelated 

violence is more than 

common in parts of northern 

Mexico, it is pretty rare in the 

country’s capital city. In fact, 

there hasn’t been a bunch of 

decapitated bodies in Mexico 

City since 2008. 

uK 

Insert your “bowling maiden 

over” joke here. Shane Warne 

and Elizabeth Hurley are 

officially engaged. Could 

someone please commission 

Warney to write a book 

about how one of the less– 

faithful men in the world, 

with a catalogue of other 

transgressions, managed to 

bag ELIZABETH HURLEY? 

Ok, admittedly, Shane Warne 

is cool. And has an amazing 

cricketing pedigree, but 

Elizabeth Hurley!? 


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A DAy Of THuNDER: DuDuzA 


a day of thunder duduza, east rand 

A tornado swept across Johannesburg’s East Rand on Sunday, striking those in its path 

without warning. By Greg Nicolson for iMaverick. 

tuesDAY – 4 october 2011


Over 150 homes were demolished and 160 people were injured. By Greg Nicolson for 

iMaverick. 



The tornado snaked through Duduza’s rows of RDP houses just after 6pm and in only five 

minutes, left hundreds of people devastated. By Greg Nicolson for iMaverick. 



As their houses crumbled, some wedged themselves in doorjambs, while others huddled to 

protect one another from the falling bricks. By Greg Nicolson for iMaverick. 



Neighbours and emergency services spent Sunday evening rescuing those trapped in the 

debris. An eight-year-old boy died, while many others were rushed to hospital. By Greg 

Nicolson for iMaverick. 



They pick up bricks and crush the 

mortar. The RDP houses were built with 

no cement to hold the bricks together, 

residents say. By Greg Nicolson for 

iMaverick. 



Residents are now asking why their RDP houses couldn’t withstand the tornado when older 

houses and nearby shacks are still standing. By Greg Nicolson for iMaverick. 



The disaster has left hundreds homeless. Many will stay at the local multipurpose centre 

where relief workers have been coordinating assistance. By Greg Nicolson for iMaverick. 



They all agree that the government has to rebuild. But when? By Greg Nicolson for 

iMaverick. 



With storms also tearing through the Free State and KwaZulu-Natal this weekend, it might 

be a long wait.. By Greg Nicolson for iMaverick. 


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Protestors gather outside 

Parliament to Pressure 

government to grant 

dalai lama visa 

A crowd of about 100 people 

gathered outside Parliament 

on Monday evening to protest 

against the South African government’s 

failure to grant the 

Dalai Lama a visa to visit the 

country. Despite much speculation 

and pressure, there was 

no word at the time of writing 

whether the visa had been 

granted. President Jacob Zuma 

said in a televised interview 

that he was not in charge of 

home affairs so was not in a 

position to answer, while international 

affairs spokesman 

Clayson Monyela said that the 

decision would be communicated 

to the applicant alone 

and no one else. 

Zuma sPeaks on business, 

job creation and more at 

business breakfast 

Speaking at a business breakfast 

organised by The New Age, 

President Jacob Zuma finally 

spoke in public about some of 

the issues facing his adminis- 

briefs 

Cell C courts controversy with a rip-off of ZA News’s “DivvyCam” (featured here) 

tration, including land reform 

and the Malema problem. On 

the former he said that the 

South African Constitution 

(unlike the Zimbabwean one) 

does not permit land grabs, 

and on the latter he said that 

the ANC and government were 

in charge of the country. Zuma 

also said that nationalisation is 

a debate and not a policy, and 

we add, yet. 

municiPalities aPPeal for 

donations for victims of 

sunday’s tornadoes 

Photos and videos of the Duduza 

tornado that hit the East 

Rand circulated on Monday as 

residents picked up the pieces. 

An eight-year-old child was 

killed, 160 people were injured 

and about 150 homes were 

damaged or destroyed, according 

to reports, prompting the 

Ekurhuleni municipality to appeal 

to the public for donations 

for affected families. Setsoto 

municipality in the Free State 

has also made the appeal after 

another tornado killed a nineyear-old 

boy and injured 42. 

serial raPist targets 

models and serial killer 

targets gay men 

Police are still looking for a serial 

rapist who uses Facebook 

to lure his young female victims 

with promises of money. 

According to Eyewitness News, 

police now know the identity 

of the suspect, who has previously 

used numerous aliases. 

tuesday - 4 october 2011


The man is also a suspect in at 

least one murder. In another 

case involving online meetings, 

police suspect that a serial killer 

or a group of serial killers are 

targeting gay men using dating 

sites. Following the murder of 

Barney van Heerden, who was 

found naked and bound in his 

Johannesburg home, families 

of at least three other victims 

who died in similar circumstances 

have come forward. 

auditor-general rePort 

adds to mahlangunkabinde’s 

woes 

The auditor-general added to 

under-fire public works minister 

Gwen Mahlangu-Nkabinde’s 

woes on Monday with 

the release of the department’s 

audited financial statements. 

According to the report, the 

auditor-general could not verify 

the occurrence, accuracy and 

compliance of capital expenditure, 

as well as expenditure 

on goods and services worth a 

total of R2.1 billion. Also, evidence 

could not be obtained 

to verify lease commitments 

worth R115 million. 

maqubela murder case 

PostPoned 

The Western Cape High Court 

has postponed the trial of 

Thandi Maqubela, who stands 

accused of murdering her hus- 

Duduza (Greg Nicolson for iMaverick) 

band, acting High Court Judge 

Patrick Maqubela in 2009. Her 

new lawyers from legal aid successfully 

applied for the case to 

be postponed to next week to 

allow them more time to consult 

with Maqubela. Hearing 

the matter, Judge John Hlophe 

said that none of his fellow 

judges wanted anything to do 

with the case. 

cell c in yet another 

marketing gaffe 

Mobile operator Cell C, famous 

for its marketing gaffes, has 

done it again. This time, they 

released (and subsequently 

removed) an advertisement on 

YouTube featuring a Pieter de 

Villiers puppet talking into a 

“coachie cam” – 0 used since 

the Rugby World Cup began. 

Cell C tweeted an apology, 

saying it will leave the puppet 

comedy to ZA News. 

briefs 

no youth wing for cosatu 

Reacting to reports, Cosatu 

said in a statement on Monday 

that it had no plans to set 

up its own youth wing. The 

federation has youth desks, 

but unlike the “Cosatu Youth 

Workers” wing reported by 

City Press on Sunday, is not a 

full-fledged youth league. The 

youth desks are a response to 

the “triple challenge” on unemployment, 

poverty and inequality 

faced by young people, 

the statement said. 

sactwu: gross human 

rights violations in kZn 

factories 

South African Clothing and 

Textile Workers’ Union secretary 

Chris Gina said on Monday 

that gross human rights 

violations were occurring in 

KwaZulu-Natal factories, according 

to a Sapa report. 

Among the violations, Gina 

said, are workers being made 

to use fabric cut-offs instead 

of toilet paper, and in factories 

where toilet paper was provided, 

workers were made to pay 

for it. Last month, a labour department 

raid on 12 Newcastle 

clothing factories found “gross 

violations with the basic 

conditions of employment, 

health and safety measures 

as well employment equity 

standards”. 


planet grootes 

president zuma 

guess who came to the new age breakfast? 

Leaders in managed democracies don’t generally allow themselves to appear in public in unmanaged 

situations. It’s undignified to actually have to answer questions that matter. We are not in one of those 

– a managed democracy, that is. But it’s a sign of how close we’re coming that President Jacob Zuma 

generally doesn’t allow himself to get too close to the people in unscripted situations nowadays (Mac, 

if you’re reading this, don’t panic, we’re going to be very nice about Mr Zuma in a moment). And you 

would have thought a breakfast hosted by The New Age newspaper and the SABC would be as close to 

Pyongyang-style politics as we would get. Strangely enough, you’d be wrong. By STEPHEN GROOTES. 

tuesDAY - 4 october 2011


zuma was emphatic, 

“malema is not in 

charge, the anc is in 

charge, the government 

is in charge…we have 

controlled malema all 

the time and when we 

thought he was getting 

out of control we took 

action”. it certainly 

makes zuma look like 

the macdaddy of our 

politics that he could still 

turn out to be. 

As anyone who watched the Judicial Service 

Commission hearing of Chief Justice Mogoeng 

Mogoeng will know, your choice of chairman 

matters. It’s about pushing and protecting. A 

question about say, nationalisation, can turn 

into your average “it’s not government policy” 

sound bite, or into a real Malema-fest. In this 

case it was Talk Radio 702’s Bruce Whitfield 

who did most of the pushing (Stephen, seriously, 

don’t you like, you know, work with him. 

Haven’t you known him for years? Stop it! – Ed). 

The SABC’s Peter Ndoro was with him, but 

Whitfield lived up to his promise, that if Ndoro 

played good cop, he’d be “the other guy”. 

But Zuma is pretty good when his back 


is against the wall. Take the question about 

whether he’s indecisive when acting against 

corruption. Actually, “I have signed more 

proclamations” to start investigations “than 

anyone else, than at any other time”. It’s a good 

point. You can sense the Mac Maharaj language 

in the air. And it has the happy power of being 

true. And, to be fair, Zuma has actually done 

something on this issue, when often we haven’t 

expected him to. 

Then there’s Julius Malema. We all know that 

the two can’t stand each other, that everyone 

thinks Malema is really more powerful and, 

of course, Zuma is, perhaps, using the ANC’s 

disciplinary machinery to put a stop to all that. 

Zuma was emphatic, “Malema is not in charge, 

the ANC is in charge, the government is in 

charge…we have controlled Malema all the time 

and when we thought he was getting out of 

control we took action”. It certainly makes Zuma 

look like the MacDaddy of our politics that he 

could still turn out to be. And there’s a cunning 

twist to the usual answer on nationalisation. 

Instead of just the “we’re still discussing it, 

it’s not policy” line, there’s now the “we’re a 

democracy, in a democracy we debate issues, and 

if we close down this debate people will accuse 

us of being an autocracy”. Nice one, Mac. 

My perennial question, about the policy lock 

in the ANC was put to the President as “why 

does it take so long to formulate policy in South 

Africa”. The answer was a paraphrase of – of all 

people – Winston Churchill. “Democracy,” says 

Zuma, “is time consuming, it is expensive. But 

it is still the best system”. Indeed it is. But the 

analysis paralysis in the ANC is not necessarily 

the best thing for all of us. Anyway, that’s a 

debate we’ll have again another day. 



on the public protector’s report, zuma gave 

a spirited defence of his actions so far. “in 

government, there are systems, without them, you 

don’t have a government”, he said. 

Then we have the two big issues pending 

in the Presidential in-tray. The terms of 

reference for the arms deal inquiry and 

Bheki Cele – or if you prefer the long-hand, 

the Public Protector’s report into the police 

headquarters lease deal. On the arms 

deal, Zuma, after a lot of prodding from 

Viljoenskroon's most famous son, Whitfield, 

said he would release the terms within the 

next two weeks. Clearly the lawyers are hard 

at working narrowing down those terms as 

much as humanly possible. And once those 

terms have been accepted by those who 

matter (Zuma, Gwede Mantashe, Jeff Radebe 

and a couple of others), he will have to find 

someone who would actually chair the whole 

thing. And they will have to accept those 

terms too. 

On the Public Protector’s report, Zuma 

gave a spirited defence of his actions so far. “In 

government, there are systems, without them, 

you don’t have a government”, he said. The 

point he’s making is that he has to do this one 

by the book. He doesn’t want to suspend Cele 

as National Police Commissioner, and cock it 

up. We all know how it will all end up in court 

anyway. So I’m going to take a view contrary 

to much of the commentariat and say let’s give 

the man some space. We don’t need another 


three years to go by to find that a court has 

ruled the whole process needs to start again 

(there Mac…happier?). 

There was also a question about the size 

of government. In a way, it’s a very American 

question, the essential difference between 

Democrats and Republicans is supposed to 

be the size of government they would like. 

Here, it’s different. But government has 

been growing; it’s got more ministers and 

departments, and thus more PAs, assistants, 

bodyguards, Mercs and BMWs than ever 

before. You wouldn’t expect a CEO to want 

his company to be smaller than it is would 

you? And thus it is with Zuma. He thinks 

that with the challenges we face, “for us to 

deliver, we need this machinery”. 

All in all, Zuma didn’t do too badly. 

But there is one point where we really 

need to take issue with him. Whitfield put 

the question to him, originally posed by 

scenarios guru Clem Sunter, about jobs. 

The point is that instead of focusing on 

“jobs, jobs, jobs”, we should be looking at 

the harder-to-say-fast but more important 

“enterprises, enterprises, enterprises”. In 

other words, get small companies going, and 

everything else will follow. Oh dear. Zuma 

just didn’t get it. Whether it was a willful 



and ideological misconstruing of the point, 

or he just missed it, I can’t say. There was 

some waffle about how yes, of course, we 

want more companies, and more jobs, and we 

have set up jobs funds. Then there was a “we 

can’t change the tone of the debate, it’s about 

jobs and enterprises”. But what’s missing is 

that for there to be more “jobs”, “enterprises” 

need to be front and centre first. Just no 

concept that actually what makes jobs is that 

someone begs credit from a bank, employs 

people, and doesn’t sleep for at least the first 

year through sheer fear. You just don’t get 

an appreciation from the President that it’s 

filthy capitalists who read “proudly capitalist” 

websites that generate jobs for millions of 

people. They create wealth in the process 

as well. 

But the biggest disappointment was 

over the Dalai Lama. It's a hot issue. Very 

much the kind of story someone with the 

democratic tendencies of Vladimir Putin 

would want to avoid. It came from an 

interesting source: Jay Naidoo, of all people. 

He's the former general-secretary of that 

little organisation called Cosatu. He put it 

through the SABC presenters to the actual 

presenters to Zuma. It hadn't lost its power 

by then because of the way he put it: "Why 

is government allowing itself to be bullied 

by China?" The answer was pathetic. "I don't 

think it's fair that you ask me that question." 

Yes really. Because "we have departments" 

that are dealing with that. Oh come on Mr 

President! Seriously, just grow up a little. The 

worst part of that answer is not that it's just 

unbecoming of a President to cry about being 

hurt in the rough and tumble of politics. It's 


but the biggest 

disappointment was 

over the dalai lama. 

it's a hot issue. Very 

much the kind of story 

someone with the 

democratic tendencies 

of Vladimir putin would 

want to avoid. 

that he hadn't prepped for that question. Isn't 

that what Mac Maharaj is for? Well, unless 

they have differing views perhaps? 

To get Zuma at his absolute best, you need 

to catch him speaking unscripted in Zulu. 

At his worst, it’s usually scripted, in English. 

That’s partially due to how his speeches are 

written, although they may slowly be getting 

better. But if you get Zuma to actually engage, 

off the defensive and onto the offensive – 

taking question, answer, question, answer 

rather than a whole barrage of questions and 

then a waffly meringue hodgepodge of an 

answer – you get to see a much better side of 

him. He can still, as The Economist once put 

it, be “policy light” but you get to see the brain 

at work. He’s not ever going to be great on 

economics, not every leader is. But he can be 

really good when he wants to be. I hope The 

New Age and the SABC have him to breakfast 

more often. 



Zuma bares his real thoughts 

on corruption cases 

corruption 

President Jacob Zuma has offered us a glimpse into his thinking around corruption and taking out 

political opponents when he explained that acting against leaders implicated in malfeasance is a 

process, not a short, sharp execution. By CARIEN DU PLESSIS. 

The President should know about this all too 

well – he’s been a corruption-accused before. 

But for exactly this reason, he’s often also 

perceived as being slow to act on corruption 

and allegations of dodgy administration by 

the people he had appointed – partly because 

he is seen as being compromised, and partly 

Photo: REUTERS 



“it is not a simple matter. 

it is a very serious matter. 

You must be clear and 

convinced whatever 

decision you take.” 

because people think he’s inclined not to take 

corruption seriously. 

So as he started his week at The New Age’s 

breakfast meeting with 1,000 businesspeople 

who had paid good money to be there (the 

event was also beamed to the nation by SABC), 

President Jacob Zuma was asked why he was so 

“indecisive” about dealing with corruption. 

Less loaded, the question would have been 

why he takes so long to act on corruption 

allegations and findings of maladministration 

and misconduct. This question, among others, 

referred to Public Protector Thuli Madonsela’s 

report on the dodgy police headquarter 

leases of more than R1.7 billion, implicating 

police chief General Bheki Cele (who had to 

give Zuma reasons why not to suspend him) 

and public works minister Gwen Mahlangu- 

Nkabinde in misconduct at best. 

Zuma started by holding up the Special 

Investigating Unit proclamations he had 

signed in the past year. At 18 and counting, it’s 

more than his corruption-averse predecessor, 

Thabo Mbeki, could manage in a go. 

On the police leases he said: “I told you, 

there is a way that government works, and 

if government has no system, it won’t be a 

government. Once the Public Protector says 

corruption 

‘these are my findings and recommendations’, 

then the president must jump up and 

implement it. You can’t do that. You have to 

investigate it, say, ‘here are findings, what are 

your responses to it’. And when they respond 

to you, you must say, ‘what about this, what 

about that one’. It is a process that must be 

followed.” 

He said he had been talking to Cele and 

Mahlangu-Nkabinde and the process is close 

to completion. “It is not a simple matter. It is 

a very serious matter. You must be clear and 

convinced whatever decision you take.” 

But the process has to be followed. 

Zuma is probably mindful of the time when 

he was sacked by Mbeki in 2005 after his 

former financial adviser, Schabir Shaik, was 

sent to jail for corruption. Zuma was implicated, 

and charges were sure to follow – as it turned 

out, some charges followed only quite a few 

months later, but the real Monty never came. 

The charges were later dropped after the 

acting head of the National Prosecuting 

Authority, Mokotedi Mpshe, was convinced by 

tape recordings of phone calls between Mbeki 

and various people investigating Zuma’s case, 

that the charges had been part of a bigger plot. 

In getting rid of his political opponents, 

Zuma wouldn’t want to make the same 

mistakes Mbeki did. He would want to afford 

these people a chance to defend themselves, 

partly for the sake of dignity, but mostly so 

that they wouldn’t appear to be the underdogs 

those in the ANC love so much. 

Looking at recent trends, the delay could 

simply also be because he’s waiting for a 

suitable diplomatic posting so that he could 

put his troubles on a plane. 


cover Story 

Aung SAn Suu Kyi 

Aung SAn Suu Kyi to SA: "PleASe uSe 

your liberty to Promote ourS" 

It was something special to be present at the Skype link-up with Burmese pro-democracy 

activist Aung San Suu Kyi on Monday afternoon. And in-between all the mutual flattery of 

South African struggle activists and Burmese activists congratulating each other on fighting 

– and continuing to fight – the good fight, there was a definite message: our government's 

foreign policy should take a more proactive stance in condemning human-rights abuses 

around the world, and Burma in particular. Dirco, are you listening? By THERESA MALLINSON. 


cover Story 

“there was a time 

when you could say 

that the situation in 

South Africa was far 

worse than it was 

in burma, but not 

any more; you have 

achieved so much.” 

On Tuesday Burma's Nobel peace prize 

laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi will receive an 

honorary doctorate in literature and philosophy 

from the University of Johannesburg. She will 

not be attending the ceremony; although she 

was freed in November 2010 – conveniently 

just after the elections, and after having spent 

15 of the past 21 years under house arrest – Suu 

Kyi has yet to travel outside the country. If she 

risked it, she's not certain she'd be allowed 

back in again. 

On Monday a small group of academics, 

activists and journalists gathered in the 

UJ humanities common room to hear 

Suu Kyi speak via a Skype link-up. (It 

was mostly hearing, owing to technical 

imperfections, although we did get to see her 

at the beginning and the end of the talk – as 

someone quipped: “maybe the generals are 

interfering with our video link”.) 

Most of Suu Kyi's talk was in the form of a 


question-and-answer session. What emerged 

most strongly, both in her talk and a video 

message from journalist Win Tin – a winner 

of the Unesco press freedom award – was 

the way in which pro-democracy activists in 

Burma see South Africa as a moral compass, 

notwithstanding the fact that our postapartheid 

foreign policy hasn't always matched 

up to the ideal of promoting human rights. 

“There was a time when you could say that the 

situation in South Africa was far worse than 

it was in Burma, but not any more; you have 

achieved so much,” said Suu Kyi. 

Burma has been ruled by a military 

junta since 1962. Although elections were 

held in 2010, their freeness and fairness is 

another question. The Union Solidarity and 

Democratic Party walked away with 78% of the 

vote, with Suu Kyi's party, the National League 

for Democracy boycotting the elections. And 

Kiru Naidoo, who founded the South African 

branch of the Free Burma Campaign, pointed 

out that the battle for democracy in Burma is 

far from won. “The theme of fear dominates 

the discourse on Burma. This is in spite of 

fairly significant recent developments which 

to the casual observer hint that the country 

may be in transition from authoritarian rule to 

some form of democratic alternative,” he said. 

Graham Bailey of the Free Burma Campaign 

in South Africa referenced a “campaign to 

pretend things are changing for the better 

in Burma”, but stated that the military were 

breaking ceasefire agreements in the north – 

“killing civilians, raping women, and driving 

villagers into the jungle”. This led him to ask: 

“Does this suggest that Burma is sliding into 

civil war?” 


cover Story 


“Sometimes we get the feeling perhaps that South 

Africa, or rather i must be frank and say perhaps South 

African authorities, do not support the struggle for 

democracy and human rights as enthusiastically as, for 

example, individuals like Archbishop Desmond tutu." 

“I think we should all be concerned about 

the possibility of hostilities breaking out all 

over the country. Some of the ceasefire groups 

seem to be negotiating with the authorities, but 

others are not at that point,” responded Suu Kyi. 

“It's very natural that people should view recent 

developments with sceptism. It's a while until 

we can say we are well on the road to genuine 

democratisation, but everyone deserves the 

benefit of the doubt. We've got to work hard to 

make the most of this opportunity to achieve 

unity and peace for our people. It will not be easy, 

it has never been achieved before. Burma is a 

country of many ethnic groups. 

“We do intend to get to that position where 

we are a true union of minds and hearts. It's 

going to be tough,” Suu Kyi said, and exhorted 

the world to keep their eyes on the situation and 

encourage – and criticise – when it is due. “South 

Africa could help by sharing their experiences,” 

she said. “You also had to overcome a lot of strife 

to get to the point where you can say you're a free 

and united country.” 

When Suu Ki was asked the question on 

everyone's minds, that is our government's 

commitment to human rights in the light of 

the impending Protection of State Information 

bill, the proposed media tribunal, and, most 

especially, the shameful the dilly-dallying over 

the Dalai Lama's visa (and that's a kind way of 

putting it), she came across as diplomatic, but 

candid. “Sometimes we get the feeling perhaps 

that South Africa, or rather I must be frank 

and say perhaps South African authorities, 

do not support the struggle for democracy 

and human rights as enthusiastically as, 

for example, individuals like Archbishop 

Desmond Tutu,” she said. “It would be so good 

if those who have successfully overcome their 

problems would remember those who were 

still struggling to overcome theirs.” 

Naidoo pointed out that in 1952, Burma was 

one of 13 countries that requested that “the 

question of race conflict in South Africa resulting 

from the policies of apartheid of the government 

of the Union of South Africa” be placed on 

the agenda of the UN General Assembly. Fastforward 

more than half-a-century later to 2007, 

and South Africa didn't return the favour. We 

were one of three countries (the others being 

Russia and China), to vote against a resolution 

at the UN Security Council to deplore humanrights 

abuses in Burma. 

Tutu has previously called this vote “a 

betrayal of our own nobel past”. And Thein 

Win, the chairman of the Free Burma 


cover Story 

Campaign in South Africa, was working on 

the Thai-Burmese border at the time South 

Africa rejected the resolution. “South African 

moral values impact all over the world,” Win 

said. “At the Thai-Burma border more than 

100,000 exiles, political immigrants, teachers 

and students are there. They know Mandela 

and South Africa, and because of Mandela 

they know about South Africa. I was really, 

really embarrassed. The news comes out that 

South Africa was against the resolutions, and 

then immigrants and workers they ask me: 'Dr 

Thein Win, you are from South Africa, what 

happened?'. I don't know how I can answer for 

that,” he said, visibly displaying emotion. 

South African currently maintains full 

diplomatic relations with Burma. Their 

government has an embassy in Pretoria, and our 

mission in Thailand is accredited to Burma. “The 

South African head of mission in Thailand... 

has twice met Aung San Suu Kyi since her 

release from detention,” said Naidoo. “(But) 

save for diplomatic niceties, the South African 

government has been unwilling or unable 

to show Aung San Suu Kyi or the Burmese 

democracy movement any tangible support.” 

Both Suu Kyi and, in particular, Win Tin 

implored South African activists to put pressure 

on our government to help “solve Burma's 

human-rights problems”. Tin said: “You should 

try to push your government so that they will 

be much more of a champion of human-rights 

matters – not only in Africa, but also in Burma.” 

This cry echoed the famous title of Suu 

Kyi's 1997 book: “Please use your liberty to 

promote ours”. But at the same time, Burmese 

activists are not sitting around waiting for 

others to take action. “We are not optimistic 


both Suu Kyi and, in 

particular, Win tin 

implored South African 

activists to put pressure 

on our government to 

help “solve burma's 

human-rights 

problems”. 

because we're depending on other things; we're 

optimistic because we're depending on our own 

commitment,” said Suu Kyi. “We are cautiously 

optimistic. We only hope for as much as we 

can do; we don't hope just sitting there doing 

nothing. There's a very popular song in Burmese: 

'sitting is not going to get you anywhere'. So 

we're not going to sit, we're going to move to get 

to where we want to.” 

And one day, she would like to visit South 

Africa. “We would very much like South Africa to 

go from strength to strength and carry on being 

a beacon of hope for the world. I would very much 

like to come to South Africa and see for myself 

what is going on there,” Suu Kyi said. We hope 

that this is possible in the not-too-distant future. 

And that Suu Kyi can get a visa. 

reAD more: 

1. Aung San Suu Kyi worried about violence in Myanmar, in the 

Guardian, via the AP; 

2. South Africa drags feet in democracy struggle: Suu Kyi, on 

AFP. 



Zuma: land claims could be 

better late than never 

land claims 

Almost 13 years after the December 1998 cut-off date, those who still feel they have a claim to ancestral 

land, and who didn’t lodge their claims back then, could get to have another go, President Jacob Zuma 

said. Still, he reassures, we won’t be another Zimbabwe. CARIEN DU PLESSIS reports. 

Most South Africans with assets in the country 

have at one point in their lives harboured some 

kind of fear that South Africa will become 

another Zimbabwe. 

Everything had started off fine in our 

northern neighbour until its president refused 

to leave and the land reform policies failed 

spectacularly, resulting in land grabs and an 

exodus of white farmers, and whites in general. 

So, as Julius Malema is running around 

telling all and sundry that his league wants to 

change the Constitution to take the (stolen) 

land off white people (who he termed criminals) 

without compensation and give it back to 

black people, some asset-rich people have been 

worrying that Junior is trying to sculpt us in the 

image of this neighbour he admires so much. 

But on Monday, President Zuma assured 

a bunch of businesspeople at The New Age’s 

breakfast event in Sandton that “we cannot 

have a Zimbabwe situation in South Africa at 




all”. He said the majority of people wanted to 

see land reform, but this should be approached 

with care. 

He said policies in South Africa and 

Zimbabwe differed (but he omitted to say that 

this might change when the Youth League takes 

over the country). “I’m not even certain that the 

Constitution of Zimbabwe is the same as that in 

South Africa, because with that you must look 

at what a country can do.” 

He admitted that the government had not 

“delivered adequately” on land reform, but it 

was working to put this right. 

“We are now even looking at re-opening 

the land claims,” he said, with reference to the 

1998 cut-off date for claims of people who had 

lost their land after 1913. “There are problems, 

but there is no way that we will do what the 

Zimbabweans did. We said we should do things 

within the law,” he said. 

Spokesman for the Ministry of Rural 

Development and Land Reform, Mtobeli 

Mxotwa, said a memorandum calling for the 

reopening of land claims had been submitted 

to Cabinet, which would discuss and hopefully 

approve it some time, after which it will go to 

Parliament so that the Restitution Act could be 

amended. 

The reopening would not include opening 

claims to those who had lost their property 

before 1913, as was previously raised as a 

possibility. 

There are no time frames. It’s all just about 

as clear as the recent 11-page Green Paper on 

land reform, a policy document that is supposed 

to guide government on how to go about this 

rather emotive issue without messing it up 

further than it has been so far, but which some 

land claims 

lobbyists say is no policy paper at all. 

It’s also not clear how the reopening of claims 

would link to the Green Paper, if at all, but 

officials gave the assurance that it does, despite 

the Green Paper not making any mention of it. 

But Ben Cousins from Plaas said even though 

the re-opening of claims was unlikely to be a 

massive logistical and financial headache for the 

department, it seemed ill thought-out. 

“It is true that the information campaign in 

the 1990s to get people to register (their land 

claims) wasn’t communicated 100% effectively. 

Some people who might have claimed, did not. 

But if there were large numbers of people, they 

would have made a bigger fuss.” 

He said government could gain politically from 

such a move, and even though there wouldn’t 

be that much claims, it still ran a small risk 

of running out of money to settle the existing 

claims. 

A possible clue as to why the process might be 

reopened could be found in media reports in May, 

saying that land reform minister Gugile Nkwinti 

was told at a meeting with residents of Kentonon-Sea 

that the land claim period of three years 

was too short and poorly publicised. Apparently 

people had raised a similar complaint a few days 

earlier. 

At the time, the department denied reports 

that it would reopen the window for land claims, 

as it had to be referred to Zuma and his Cabinet 

first. 

If Zuma’s word is to be believed, the process 

seems to be steaming ahead, for now at least. 

read more: 

1. Grey fog in a green paper in Timeslive 



public works 

Gwen’s woes mount as auditor-General 

details public works shambles 

After a brave but somewhat unconvincing media campaign that she was doing something about 

corruption, public works minister Gwen Mahlangu-Nkabinde has been told that the department she’s 

been leading for almost a year now is in disarray. By CARIEN DU PLESSIS. 

It wasn’t a good start to her anniversary 

month as minister for Gwen Mahlangu- 

Nkabinde. On Monday the final Public Works 

annual report landed on her table with the 

Auditor-General’s disclaimer in it; the report 

was also tabled in Parliament. 

Because ministers are required to sign 

annual reports, Mahlangu-Nkabinde 

would have known about it at least a 

couple of weeks ago, even before her recent 

announcement that the Special Investigating 

Unit had uncovered R3 billion of irregular 

tenders in her department, and that her 

staffers were all a bunch of lying, scheming 

slimeballs. (In fact, so little did she trust her 

staffers that she paid hundreds of thousands 

of rands each month for external media 

agencies to boost her department’s image, 

despite the department and ministry having 

a full communications team). 

She suspended the department’s directorgeneral 

in December last year, and then 

last month also suspended his acting 

replacement. She had also been blaming her 

predecessors a lot, saying she had inherited a 

“poisoned chalice”. 

Photo: Public Works Minister Gwen Mahlangu. 



these findings compound 

the public protector’s report 

into the controversial police 

leases that found that 

mahlangu-nkabinde had 

acted in an unlawful and 

improper manner, and that 

her actions had amounted 

to misconduct. 

DA spokesman on Public Works, John 

Steenhuisen, in a statement on Monday 

summarised all the Auditor-General’s misgivings 

in point form – and it adds up to more than R2 

billion: 

• Unauthorised and irregular expenditure to 

the tune of R16.5 million; 

• A lack of audit evidence regarding the 

department’s immovable assets register; 

• The department’s involvement in a publicprivate 

partnership for the leasing of 

vehicles that could not be verified or 

accounted for; 

• Material underspending of the budget and 

conditional grants; 

• Material losses of some R54.8 million; 

• An inability to obtain evidence of some R1.3 

billion worth of capital transactions reported 

in the department’s books; 

• An inability to obtain evidence of some 

R819 million worth of goods and servicerelated 

transactions reported in the 

department’s books; 

• The department’s failure to disclose 

public works 

liabilities relating to claims against it to the 

tune of R5.09 million; and 

• Operating lease commitments totaling R115 

million that were not previously stated, yet 

are now included even though they cannot 

be verified or accounted for. 

These findings compound the Public 

Protector’s report into the controversial police 

leases that found that Mahlangu-Nkabinde had 

acted in an unlawful and improper manner, and 

that her actions had amounted to misconduct. 

Public Protector Thuli Madonsela also 

complained that Mahlangu-Nkabinde had failed 

to cooperate with her report. She has now gone 

to court to have the police leases cancelled, 

but seeing that she was actually the one who 

reinstated these shortly after her appointment last 

year, this has failed to convince some of her critics. 

Steenhuisen added his two cents’ worth by 

repeating what he had often said in the past 

few weeks: “There is no question that Minister 

Mahlangu-Nkabinde’s continued presence is 

preventing her department from undergoing the 

radical reforms necessary to turn it around. Gwen 

must go, and an appropriate successor needs to 

be appointed who can put this department back 

on track.” 

Mahlangu-Nkabinde said in a statement on 

Monday that she had “anticipated” the outcome 

in the report. “All I can promise South Africa 

is that we will sort this mess out and turn the 

department around. That is my job and I will 

fulfill it.” 

read more: 

1. Public works unable to account for R2.1 billion in Mail & 

Guardian Online 

2. No show Gwen raises ire of MPs and Protector in Daily Maverick 


AfRICA 


africa 

african migrants 

evacuated from Libya 

More than 1,200 African migrants, 

including women 

and children, who have been 

stranded at a refugee centre 

in the southern Libyan city of 

Sebha, are being evacuated to 

Chad, the International Organisation 

for Migration said in 

a statement on Monday. Half 

of the evacuees are Chadians 

and the rest are from Nigeria, 

Gambia, Eritrea, Somalia, Sudan, 

Senegal, Mali, Ethiopia, 

Burkina Faso and Morocco. The 

refugees fled south after fighting 

broke out in the country 

and their numbers grew due 

to intimidation after Gaddafi’s 

government was toppled. 

aid workers turn back 

from sirte as sheLLing 

continues 

Still in Libya, a Red Cross convoy 

carrying aid to the undersiege 

town of Sirte was turned 

back on Monday as Libyan 

interim government forces continued 

shelling the city. The 

aid agency had previously taken 

in supplies on Saturday, but 

had to end Monday’s attempt 

when interim government 

forces started firing mortars, 

artillery and rocket-propelled 

grenades into the city. One of 

Muammar Gadaffi’s sons, Moatassem, 

is believed to be hiding 

out there. 

icc opens ivory coast 

investigation as un checks 

in on gbagbo 

The International Criminal 

Court has opened an investigation 

into the killings that took 

place in Ivory Coast following 

the disputed presidential ballot 

last year. ICC judges said they 

would allow prosecutor Luis 

Moreno-Ocampo to investigate 

and possibly bring charges 

against both sides in the conflict. 

At least 3,000 people were 

killed and 100 cases of rape 

were reported after Laurent 

Gbagbo refused to concede 

power to Alassane Ouattara, 

briefs 

President of Ivory Coast Alassane Ouattara (Reuters) 

the winner of the country’s 

presidential race. Gbagbo has 

been under house arrest since 

Ouattara’s forces captured him 

in April. A UN mission recently 

visited the country to check on 

Gbagbo’s detention conditions. 

egypt opposition parties 

withdraw boycott threat 

Egypt’s coalition of opposition 

parties has withdrawn its 

call to protest the upcoming 

parliamentary polls following 

the ruling military council’s 

concessions on election rules, 

Reuters reported. The opposition 

parties, led by the Muslim 

Brotherhood, had called the 

boycott because of a clause in 

the election rules which they 

said reserved seats for members 

of Mubarak’s regime. 

While not having conceded 



on that point, the military has 

agreed to set a clearer timeline 

for elections, ending military 

trials for civilians and lifting 

emergency laws. The military 

said it would also consider allowing 

international monitoring 

of the elections. 

aLmost 100 arrested this 

year at Lagos airport for 

drug trafficking 

Nigeria’s drug law enforcement 

agency said in a statement that 

it had arrested 82 men and 10 

women at the Lagos airport 

on suspicion of trafficking in 

drugs between January and 

September. Drugs worth $10 

million had also been confiscated 

during the same period. 

The agency vowed to intensify 

its battle against drug trafficking, 

which has been growing 

as Nigeria is used as a transit 

point for getting drugs into the 

US and European markets. 

Lam Akol returns to South Sudan (Reuters) 

specuLation mounts over 

mugabe’s heaLth 

Amid spin from his government, 

reports appear to have 

established that President 

Robert Mugabe returned to 

Zimbabwe on Sunday from an 

Asian country. Which country 

and what he was doing there 

is however still the subject of 

much speculation. The Zimbabwe 

Standard newspaper, 

quoting Mugabe’s information 

minister, reported that 

Mugabe was in Singapore 

– the seventh such visit this 

year – for a follow-up on a 

cataract operation he had 

earlier in the year. However, 

Mugabe told broadcasters on 

Monday that he was in Hong 

Kong visiting his daughter 

who is studying there. 

Mugabe’s frequent and secretive 

visits have fuelled speculation 

that his health may be 

in decline. A recent Wikileaks 

briefs 

report claiming that Mugabe 

has prostate cancer has added 

to speculation. 

cameroon separatist 

Leader under house 

arrest 

Africa Review reported that 

Cameroon’s government has 

placed Mola Njoh Litumbe 

– the man chosen by ex-pat 

Cameroonian separatists to 

lead a bid for independence 

for the English-speaking part 

of the country – under house 

arrest. Litumbe circulated a 

statement saying that when he 

tried to leave his house on Sunday, 

police outside stopped him 

from leaving, apparently under 

order from the governor of 

the country’s southern region. 

Litumbe said the police gave no 

reason for his house arrest. 

exiLed south sudan Leader 

returns 

Lam Akol, leader of South Sudan’s 

official opposition, ended 

his months-long exile since the 

independence of the country 

in July, Africa review reported. 

Akol fled fearing arrest for 

his alleged association with a 

renegade general. His party, a 

break-away faction of the ruling 

Sudan People’s Liberation 

Movement, welcomed his return 

saying it marked the start 

of cooperative relationships 

between political parties in the 

country. 


africa libya 

libyan leaders 

promise new 

government 

after gaddafi’s 

hometown is 

captured 

The battle for Gaddafi’s hometown 

Sirte continues to rage but Libya’s de 

facto rulers in the National Transitional 

Council (NTC) are ready to declare that 

the war has been won. The NTC is also 

set to announce the formation of a new 

government – with elections planned after 

eight months. By KHADIJA PATEL 

read more: 

1. Libya's new rulers say war has been won in The 

Guardian 

The political vacuum in Libya is set to be filled in the 

coming days with the announcement of an interim government 

in the post-Gaddafi era. After weeks of behindthe-scenes 

haggling between various factions of the 

Libyan opposition movement that overthrew Muammar 

Gaddafi, the NTC is finally ready to announce a new government. 

The head of the NTC, Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, and the de 

facto prime minister, Mahmoud Jibril, said on Monday 

that they would remain in their posts only until Sirte is 

captured. As soon as Sirte has been won from Gaddafi 

loyalists, the NTC leaders will step down and allow for 

the creation of a new interim government that will run 

the country until elections can be held in eight months. 

With this announcement, the NTC has effectively 

moved the goal posts in the Libyan war. 

Originally, the NTC held that the war would not be 

won until Gaddafi and his aides were either arrested or 

assassinated. Now the NTC feels that victory in Sirte, regardless 

of the whereabouts of Gaddafi, signals a victory 

for the opposition movement. While victory in Sirte is 

certainly still an immense achievement for the NTC, the 

new criteria for victory smacks of a political compromise. 

After declaring victory in the war to wrest power from 

Gaddafi, the current leadership is required by the NTC 

constitution to step down. 

The formation of a government has been stymied by 

infighting within the NTC, leading to the announcement 

that it had postponed the formation of a government 

indefinitely. The vacuum of power however remains a 

dangerous threat to Libya’s stability and the formation of 

a government is crucial to cementing the NTC’s newlyfound 

power. 

Jibril has been seen as a major source of dissatisfaction 

among members who felt he was too closely related 

to the previous regime and was the Western choice for a 

Libyan leader. His resignation would bolster the chances 

of a new government being formed according to the 

NTC’s schedule, 30 days after the capture of Sirte. 


africa libya 

The resToraTion 

of libya’s 

revoluTionary Jew 

David Gerbi is a Libyan Jew. There aren’t 

many of them. He returned from exile to 

fight the battle against Gaddafi, and now 

he’s on a personal mission to restore 

the long-deserted Tripoli synagogue. He 

wants to make sure his community is 

allowed to play a part in the new Libya. 

By SIMON ALLISON. 

Photo: Libyan Jewish exile David Gerbi prays 

inside Dar Bishi synagogue in Tripoli October 1, 

2011. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem 

Jews in Libya go back a while - 

2,300 years, to be precise, during 

which time they were ruled by 

the Romans, the Ottomans, the 

Italian fascists and finally the 

Libyan People’s Arab Jamahiriya 

of Muammar Gaddafi, who in 

a fit of anti-Semitism expelled 

them all and confiscated Jewish 

property. Libya’s Jews scattered, 

some across the sea to Italy, but 

most to Israel. But not all gave 

up on Libya. 

This summer, at the height of the fighting against 

Gaddafi’s forces, one came back. David Gerbi returned 

from exile in Italy and joined the rebels, fighting not 

just for Libya’s future, but for the future of his people. “I 

want to bring back our legacy. I want to give the Jewish 

of Libya a chance to come back,” he said. 

After riding in with the rebels to take Tripoli, he 

started organising the restoration of the capital’s main 

synagogue which had been bricked over by Gaddafi. 

Inside the walls were covered in graffiti, and the floors 

with garbage. He describes the restoration as a test of 

the tolerance of Libya’s new rulers. “I plan to restore the 

synagogue. I plan to get my passport back. I plan to resolve 

the problem of the confiscated property, individual 

and collective,” said Gerbi. “I plan to help rebuild Libya, 

to do my part.” 

But his efforts aren’t meeting with universal approval 

in a country where Jews aren’t always welcome. As a 

National Transitional Council spokesperson wryly commented: 

“I think it’s just creating a lot more complications 

at the moment.” 

read more: 

1. With brooms and rakes, Libya’s ‘revolutionary Jew’ starts restoring 

Tripoli synagogue in the Washington Post 


africa zimbabwe 

Unicef names 

PrUdence mabhena 

as zimbabwe 

goodwill 

ambassador 

Inspirational Zimbabwean singer and songwriter 

Prudence Mabhena is now a rock star in her 

home country and abroad. But it was not always 

that way. Mistreated by her family because of her 

disability, she has been using her voice to speak 

for those most vulnerable. By OSIAME MOLEFE 

Mabhena was named Unicef goodwill ambassador 

last week in recognition of her role in lobbying 

for children with disabilities in her country. 

Mabhena – whose story was chronicled in 

director Roger Ross Williams’ Oscar-winning 

short documentary film “Music by Prudence” – 

has been wheelchair-bound since birth due to 

arthrogryposis, a congenital disorder that has 

deformed her joints. 

“Her music reflects on the neglect she experienced 

by her parents because of her condition 

and encourages love and protection of all 

children regardless of their physical condition,” 

Unicef said of the 24-year-old Mabhena in a 

press release. She joins jazz great Oliver Mtu- 

read more: 

1. Zimbabwean girl sings for social change, on Al Jazeera’s 

YouTube channel 

2. Deleted scene from doccie ‘Music by Prudence’, on YouTube 

kudzi, who was named goodwill ambassador 

three months ago. 

Mabhena received the honour at the 

launch of the second phase of Zimbabwe’s national 

action plan for orphans and vulnerable 

children – a move by the country’s government 

and the international community to deal with 

the needs of such children. The $75 million 

plan aims to reach at least 80,000 households 

headed by children or grandparents, and those 

with chronically ill or disabled people. 

Unicef estimates that there are over one 

million orphans in Zimbabwe and only 527,000 

of them currently have access to external support 

as traditional family and other support 

mechanisms, under financial strain, have 

been unable to meet needs as basic as health, 

education and other amenities. Headed up by 

the Zimbabwe’s ministry of labour and social 

welfare, the plan will provide a grant of $25 a 

month to these households. 

In Zimbabwe, children born with disabilities 

are often ostracised due to superstition, 

miseducation and the expectation of financial 

burden, making places like King George VI 

Children’s Centre, where Mabhena was sent 

when she was nine, a godsend. She and others 

from the centre formed an afro-fusion band, 

Liyanda, which has seen them perform in Europe 

and the United States, earning Mabhena 

international recognition. 

Mabhena’s life of hardship is one that she 

says no child should ever have to go through 

and credits her achievements to having found 

a safe place that allowed her to develop her 

talent. In her, Unicef has found a courageous 

voice to challenge outdated views on the disabled 

and a champion for human rights. 



niger still refuses to extradite 

saadi gaddafi 

niger/libya 

At the opening session of the Pan African Parliament in Midrand on Monday, Niger’s minister of foreign 

affairs, Mohamed Bazoum was adamant that his country would not accede to an extradition request 

for Muammar Gaddafi’s third son, Saadi. Libya’s National Transitional Council is eager to try Saadi on 

charges of corruption but Niger refuses to send him home to face the full wrath of Libya’s new rulers. 

By KHADIJA PATEL. 

Saadi Gaddafi was reputed to be the “nicest” of 

the Gaddafi men. He had little to do with the 

family business that was the Libyan government. 

When the first demonstrations against Gaddafi 

broke out earlier this year, Saadi was rumoured 

to have been in Los Angeles. After a failed 

career as a professional footballer, Saadi was 

trying to make a mark as a Hollywood film 

producer. Success, however, seemed to elude 

him, and his vulnerabilities were revealed 

when rebels found the English language selfhelp 

book “Success Intelligence” in his master 

bedroom. Saadi’s most notable contribution to 

running the country was in his role as the head 

of the Libyan Football Federation. It is in this 

role that he is accused to have misappropriated 

Photo: Saadi Gaddafi (REUTERS) 



on saturday, the 

government of niger 

said the ntc was 

welcome to question 

saadi in niamey but it 

was unlikely that he 

would be extradited to 

libya any time soon. 

property and engaged in "armed intimidation". 

Saadi Gaddafi travelled to neighbouring 

Niger in a convoy along with eight others last 

month. Nigerien authorities originally claimed 

that Saadi and his companions were being 

allowed into the country on humanitarian 

grounds. Saadi was subsequently placed under 

“virtual” house arrest at Villa Verde, a state 

guesthouse next to the presidential palace in 

the capital Niamey. 

While war has continued to rage in his native 

Libya, Saadi has been able to live in the lap of 

luxury in Niger. Requests from Libya’s de facto 

rulers, the National Transitional Council (NTC), 

for Niger to extradite Saadi to Tripoli have been 

met with blunt refusals. Niger contends that 

Saadi would in effect be sent to his death in 

Libya. The NTC has however stepped up efforts 

to extradite the former footballer. Last week, 

Interpol issued a “red alert” against Saadi for 

crimes of corruption and exploitation in his role 

at the helm of the country’s football body. 

In a statement released last week, Interpol 

niger/libya 

said, “The Red Notice for the (Saadi) 

represents a regional and international alert 

to countries neighbouring Libya and Niger, 

and those with travel connections to Niger, 

to seek their help in locating and arresting 

(Saadi) Gaddafi, with a view to returning him 

to Libya where an arrest warrant for him has 

been issued by the General Attorney at the 

Office of the Public Prosecutor.” Significantly, 

the “red notice” is not an international arrest 

warrant in itself but acts as an advisory 

to Interpol member states to enforce the 

extradition of wanted persons. 

On Saturday, the government of Niger said 

the NTC was welcome to question Saadi in 

Niamey but it was unlikely that he would be 

extradited to Libya any time soon. Speaking 

on national television, Niger’s minister of 

justice and government spokesman Marou 

Amadou said, "If it is to question Saadi, the 

NTC, which we have recognised, can freely 

come to Niger. However, I reaffirm that at this 

stage…there is no possibility of extraditing 

Saadi, because ultimately what needs to be 

applied is international conventions." 

At a press briefing during the opening of 

a new session the Pan African Parliament on 

Monday, iMaverick asked Niger’s minister of 

foreign affairs, Mohamed Bazoum, to explain 

his country’s decision not to extradite Saadi. 

Bazoum first clarified that there was 

no international warrant of arrest for 

Saadi. “Saadi Gaddafi is not sought by the 

International Criminal Court (ICC),” he 

said, before continuing to list the warrants 

of arrest issued by the ICC for Muammar 

Gaddafi, his son Saif al Islam and intelligence 

chief Abdullah Senussi. “Saadi,” the Nigerien 



minister said, “is forbidden from travelling”, 

according to a United Nations resolution that 

restricts the movements of Gaddafi and his 

close aides. Bazoum further claims that the 

NTC was invited to interview Saadi on 22 

September but the Libyan delegation did not 

arrive. 

The Interpol alert against Saadi places 

the Niger government in a curious position. 

Niger, as Bazoum, pointed out, despite being 

a signatory of Interpol, refuses to extradite 

Saadi to Libya. “We cannot extradite a 

citizen to a country without the assurance of 

equitable justice,” Bazoum said. He reiterated 

Niger’s adherence to Interpol protocol and 

acknowledged that the stance taken on Saadi 

was “contradictory”. 

Bazoum however stressed the lack of 

authority in Libya. “In Libya there is no 

government,” he said. “You are informed about 

the reports of human rights abuses in Libyan 

prisons. Human Rights Watch yesterday 

revealed new findings about the conditions 

in Libyan prisons.” In its most recent report 

on Libya, Human Rights Watch revealed that 

it has visited 20 detention facilities in Tripoli 

and interviewed 53 detainees. The detainees 

reported mistreatment in six facilities, 

including beatings and the use of electric shock, 

and some of them showed scars to support the 

claims. None had been brought before a judge. 

Citing such conditions, Bazoum emphasised 

that Niger was bound by humanitarian 

obligations, which required that Saadi receive a 

fair trial and humane imprisonment. 

Saadi has certainly avoided extradition for 

the time being but Niger will eventually have to 

relent. Bazoum revealed that Niger continues 

niger/libya 

Photo: Mohamed Bazoum, Foreign Minister of Niger addresses the media on 

the opening day of the 5th session of the Pan African Parliament at Gallagher 

Estate on Monday. Picture Credit: Saaleha Idrees Bamjee 

to study the allegations against Saadi. “Niger,” 

he said, “will not protect individuals who face 

charges for economic crimes.” 

Saadi, however, is yet to be silenced. On 

Sunday he said in an email to Associated Press 

that he "regrets the issue of a red notice by 

Interpol and strenuously denies the charges 

made against him". He called the Interpol 

notice a "clear political decision to recognise the 

de jure authority of the National Transitional 

Council taken without appropriate regard to the 

current absence of a functioning, effective and 

fair system of justice in Libya". 

read more: 

1. Colonel Gaddafi’s son spent thousands 'cavorting with 

prostitutes and taking drugs in £11m London mansion' in 

The Daily Mail 

2. Interpol puts Gadhafi son on most-wanted list in Forbes 

3. Interpol Issues Arrest Warrant For Qaddafi Son For Soccer 

Crimes – Analysis in EurasiaReview 



tahrir Square and Mubarak’S 

'reStrained reaction' 

egypt 

It’s not easy to give any credit to the bad guys. That’s probably why Hosni Mubarak, for all his many 

sins, isn’t getting any recognition for departing office with (relatively speaking) a whimper rather than a 

bang. By SIMON ALLISON. 

To howls of disbelief, the head of Egypt’s 

military government Hassan Tantawi told Egypt 

that Hosni Mubarak never ordered the military 

to shoot at the protesters which brought down 

his regime. “We were not asked to fire at the 

people and we will never use fire,” he said. “My 

testimony in the case of the killing of protesters 

was a testimony of truth from an honest man 

who has been a combatant for 40 years, in 

service of God and Egypt.” 

Hassan Tantawi is not a man I’m inclined to 

trust. A reliable general in Mubarak’s elaborate 

apparatus of control and oppression for 40 

years, his hands are just as dirty as anyone else’s 

in Egypt’s ancien regime. But in this instance, 

I think he might have a point. History won’t 

judge Mubarak kindly, but once the dust of the 

Egyptian Revolution has settled it might be 

appreciated that in dealing with the protests 

Mubarak showed restraint, a restraint that 

saved thousands and thousands of lives. 

I was in Tahrir Square on 2 February this 

year, which was arguably the peak of the statesponsored 

violence against the demonstrators. 

Tahrir was ringed by military vehicles and 

Photo: Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak (L) is kissed on the forehead 

by his son Alaa in the courtroom during his trial at the police academy in Cairo, 

in this still image taken from video, August 15, 2011. REUTERS 



So when hassan tantawi 

claims Mubarak never 

ordered the army to shoot 

protesters, he’s backed up by 

the simple fact that the army 

didn’t shoot protesters. 

soldiers, who stood idly by as paid pro-Mubarak 

thugs, organised by undercover security agents, 

descended on the square from all directions. 

They were armed with a most eclectic collection 

of weapons: glass bottles, knives, rocks, molotov 

cocktails. I even saw an old-fashioned saber. 

But, crucially, I didn’t see any guns. 

The demonstrators were less well-armed, 

and the fighting was ugly. A steady stream of 

battered and bloodied men were carried on 

makeshift stretchers to casualty points; some 

didn’t make it. It was the violent response 

of a brutal, authoritarian dictator to an 

unprecedented challenge to his regime, which 

in the course of the revolution claimed the lives 

of at least 840 demonstrators. But it could have 

been so much worse. 

Let’s look at Libya. There’s a reason Libya 

descended into a civil war, and it’s nothing to 

do with the strength or tactics of the rebels. 

It’s how Gaddafi reacted to the problem. He 

wasn’t afraid to shell his own people, and he 

did. Estimates of the total killed in the war vary, 

but a conservative figure is around 20,000. The 

deaths in Libya’s revolution are nearly 24 times 

greater than the deaths in Egypt’s revolution. 

Of course, other factors come into play, such as 

the vastly different political landscape in Libya 

egypt 

and the involvement of Nato bombers there. 

But still, the fact remains: when Hosni Mubarak 

resorted to force to quell the demonstrations, 

the big guns (literally and figuratively) were not 

sent in indiscriminately. 

So when Hassan Tantawi claims Mubarak 

never ordered the army to shoot protesters, 

he’s backed up by the simple fact that the army 

didn’t shoot protesters. And he’s also backed 

up by the fact that he’s got nothing to gain 

and everything to lose by protecting Mubarak. 

After all, if he’d claimed to have directly defied 

Mubarak’s orders, he could have legitimately 

portrayed himself as a hero of the revolution. 

But by his account, he was just following 

orders; Mubarak’s orders. And it was these that 

prevented a Tiananmen Square-style massacre 

in Tahrir. 

This line of argument is uncomfortable to 

pursue. There’s a tendency to view atrocities on 

an absolute scale, with the theory that even a 

single human death is one death too many. It’s 

a valid point, but simplistic. The fact is there 

is a huge difference between 840 deaths and 

20,000 deaths. It’s a difference of 19,400 people 

– people who are still alive in Egypt, and people 

who Gaddafi sent to an early grave in Libya. 

Hosni Mubarak was a brutal, authoritarian, 

oppressive, corrupt and evil ruler who 

committed plenty of atrocities against the 

people he claimed to love. But as much as he 

fought against his departure, he left office 

without ordering the full might of the state 

against the protesters in Tahrir Square and 

elsewhere. And for that, if for nothing else, 

read More: 

1. Egypt’s army was not ordered to fire at protestors: general 

on Reuters Africa 


WORLD 


world 

world 

PAKisTAN 

Afghan officials say that the 

assassination of former Afghan 

president and chief peace negotiator 

Burhanuddin Rabbani 

was masterminded by Pakistan's 

intelligence agency. An 

investigative team appointed 

by Afghan President Harmid 

Karzai says it has evidence and 

a confession from a man who 

was involved in the killing. 

Pakistan has angrily denied the 

accusations, with its foreign 

ministry releasing a statement 

saying that the idea was "irresponsible" 

and that Kabul 

should instead be considering 

why Afghans in favour of peace 

with Pakistan "are systematically 

being removed from the 

scene and killed". 

sYriA 

Syrian dissidents have announced 

the formation of a 

Libyan-style council to unite 

the anti-government opposition. 

The Syrian National 

Council hopes that it will be 

able to present a united face to 

the international community 

and offer ordinary Syrians an 

alternative to President Bashar 

Assad. They believe that the 

complexities of the Syrian situation 

have thus far deterred the 

international community from 

taking action. It's also thought 

that this may mobilise the Syrian 

public, many of whom have 

been reluctant to support 

the scattered dissident effort 

out of fears that if Assad was 

dislodged, a power vacuum 

would result. 

NorwAY 

Three scientists who worked 

on the immune system have 

been awarded this year's 

Nobel prize for medicine. 

Bruce Beutler, Jules Hoffman 

and Ralph Steinman 

were rewarded for their work 

in revolutionising scientists' 

understanding of the immune 

system. But there's a truly 

tragic twist: the Nobel Foundation 

announced the prize 

on Monday without being 

aware that Ralph Steinman 

died of pancreatic cancer on 

briefs 

A mosque in northern Israel was set on fire on Monday (Reuters) 

Friday – and the rules of the Nobel 

prizes state that only people 

still alive can receive the gong. A 

decision is expected within the 

next 24 hours about whether 

Steinman can be awarded the 

prize posthumously. 

irAQ 

The police headquarters in Al- 

Baghdadi, western Iraq, was taken 

over by armed insurgents yesterday, 

resulting in a two-hour 

siege. The insurgents were disguised 

as police officers, and set 

off two explosions before seizing 

the compound together with 15 

hostages, including the top police 

officer and the mayor. Security 

forces managed to storm the 

building two hours later, but the 

police chief and four others were 


world 

already dead. The province 

used to be a key base for Sunni 

insurgents but in recent 

years violence has dropped. 

isrAel 

A mosque in northern Israel 

was set on fire on Monday in 

an attack blamed on Zionist 

extremists. The words "Palm- 

briefs 

Richard Cheney, aka Dart Vader, is attacking Barack Obama, again. (Reuters) 

er" and "revenge" were sprayed 

on the mosque's entrance, as 

an apparent reference to a car 

crash last week in which a Jewish 

settler called Asher Palmer 

and his son were killed, allegedly 

after Palestinians stoned 

his car. Prime Minister Benjamin 

Netanyahu condemned 

the attack, saying it contravened 

Israel's core values. In 

private, he must also be fuming 

– acts like this can do him 

no favours at the moment, and 

he needs all the international 

friends he can get. 

UK 

Former photography giant Kodak 

has denied that it is filing 

for bankruptcy in the face of 


world 

growing rumours that this 

is the case. The rumours 

were sparked by the company's 

hiring Jones Day, a 

law firm which specialises in 

handling bankruptcy cases. 

It also comes on the back 

of shares in the company 

plummeting last week following 

the revelation that 

Kodak planned to borrow 

£103 million for "general corporate 

purposes". Kodak has 

explained away its trip to the 

lawyers by saying that it was 

"not unusual for a company 

in transformation to explore 

all options". 

bANGlAdesH 

A tribunal investigating the 

1971 independence struggle 

between Bangladesh and 

Pakistan has charged its first 

suspect. Delawar Hossain 

Sayedee, a senior leader of 

Bangladesh's largest Islamic 

party, is accused of mass 

murder and torture – claims 

he denies. In total he will 

face 20 charges when the 

case opens in full in late 

October. The total death toll 

from the struggle between 

Pakistan and Bangladesh 

is estimated at three million 

over nine months, with 

thousands of women raped. 

Sayedee is accused of collaborating 

with Pakistani forces 

to commit atrocities. 

UK 

Good news for the UK econ- 

omy on Monday as Standard 

& Poor's confirmed the UK's 

AAA credit rating. The credit 

ratings agency justified the 

decision on the basis of the 

UK's "diversified economy" 

and "flexible fiscal policy". 

It's reason for the UK to gloat 

after the USA was downgraded 

to AA+ in August. Last week 

New Zealand also received the 

chop, falling from AA+ to AA. 

The UK has also just heard 

that its manufacturing sector 

has returned to growth for the 

first time in three months. 

bUlGAriA 

Bulgarian nationalists 

marched through the capital 

Sofia in protest against the 

country's Roma population 

– the end of a week of nationwide 

protests. They carried 

banners saying things like 

"Gypsy criminality is a danger 

to the state" and "I don't want 

to live in a Gypsy state". Roma 

make up 9% of Bulgaria's population 

and suffer high levels 

of poverty and unemployment. 

The current tensions 

were sparked by the death of 

a youth hit by a van driven by 

relatives of "King Kiro", who is 

a prominent Roma clan boss. 

In Bucharest and Paris, rallies 

were held as part of "Roma 

pride" this weekend. 

UsA 

Former US Vice President 

Dick Cheney, together with 

his daughter Liz, has called 

briefs 

on President Barack Obama to 

issue an apology to the Bush 

administration. In an appearance 

on CNN's “State of 

the Union” show on Sunday, 

Cheney said Obama should 

retract his criticism of the Bush 

administration's tactics in the 

war on terrorism. He was referring 

to the speech Obama 

delivered in 2009 where he said 

that the fallout from 9/11 was 

that it caused America to "act 

contrary to our ideals" (in particular 

reference to the use of 

torture at Guantanamo Bay). 

Liz Cheney went so far as to say 

that "he slandered the nation" 

and "he owes an apology to the 

American people". 

iTAlY 

A verdict is expected in the 

Amanda Knox case on Monday 

evening. On the emotional 

last day of the trial, Knox and 

her co-accused Raffaele Sollecito 

both gave heartfelt closing 

statements. Knox cried as she 

began hers, before composing 

herself and saying "I did not 

do the things they say I did. I 

did not kill, rape or steal. I was 

not there". Hopes were high 

among her supporters that 

Knox would be freed, in which 

case she could leave within 

two hours. Three other options 

were on the table, however: 

her original jail term (26 years) 

could be upheld; it could be 

reduced without her being acquitted, 

or it could be extended 

to a life sentence, as prosecutors 

have requested. 


world 

brics 

o'Neil: south AfricA's iNclusioN iN brics 

smAcks of politics 

Speaking at The Economist magazine’s High-Growth Markets Summit in London last Friday, Goldman 

Sachs’ Jim O’Neill dropped something of a bombshell when told his influential audience “I don't 

acknowledge the S in Brics. South Africa is not of the same economic magnitude of the other Brics.” 

Oops. Of all people, he should know. By J BROOKS SPECTOR. 

O’Neill is the financial giant’s Asset 

Management chairman. Was he somehow 

channeling Groucho Marx who had once 

famously said “I sent the club a wire stating, 

‘Please accept my resignation. I don't want to 

belong to any club that will accept me as a 

member’”. While O’Neill may not be alone in 

his judgment, his view may be a particularly 

influential one since he quite literally invented 

the term “Bric” in the first place, a decade ago, 

when he grouped Brazil, Russia, India and 

China together as large-population nations that 

were putting up some extraordinary economic 

growth statistics. Putting the “shiv” in just a bit 

further, O’Neill added, “There are lots of other 

growth economies that have more justification 

to be added to the Bric club than South Africa”. 

The four nations soon ran with O’Neill’s 

concept and turned it into an organisation 

designed – at least in part – to promote the 

interests of rapidly developing countries in 

something of the same way as the G7 does 

for the developed economies. “Who would 

have ever dreamt that there would be a BRIC 

Photo: BRICS summit in Sanya, on the Chinese island of Hainan, April 14, 2011. 


world 

political club? It certainly isn't something that 

I ever imagined,” O'Neill told CNN. 

At the end of 2010, at the encouragement of 

China, the four nations invited South Africa 

to join their little club. Some observers argue 

this invitation to South Africa was something 

of a national ego stroking moment – China’s 

interest was much more to ensure a growing 

share of South Africa’s primary commodity 

exports to feed China’s rapidly growing 

industrialisation, rather than a recognition of 

South Africa’s actual economic heft. 

O’Neill notes “news of the formal 

invitation, which came after persistent 

lobbying by the South African government, 

has left some economists puzzled. It is 

nowhere near constituting a Bric [nation], 

and without staggering productivity 

improvements... it is never going to get there.” 

In 2010, South Africa’s economy expanded 

significantly less than the other Brics nations. 

South Africa’s growth was 2.8%, while China 

reached 10.4%, Brazil 7.5% and Russia hit 4%. 

In December 2010, after the Bric group had 

invited South Africa to join, SA’s international 

relations and cooperation minister Maite 

Nkoana-Mashabane had said that “The 

rationale for South Africa's approach was 

in consideration of a matter of crucial 

importance to Bric's member states – namely 

the role of emerging economies in advancing 

the restructuring of the global political, 

economic and financial architecture into one 

that is more equitable, balanced and rests on 

the important pillar of multilateralism.” 

However O’Neill observed “South Africa 

has played on the notion that because they 

do have developed markets and Western 

brics 

governing standards in some areas they've said 

‘look, we are the gateway to the rest of Africa’.” 

Although he agreed Nkoana-Mashabane’s 

argument had a point, he added that he 

wondered how the rest of Africa rationalised 

this development. “What intrigues me is 

whether other big African countries accept 

that and I doubt that Nigeria is going to be 

very happy about that. In the context of the 

continent, Nigeria is the place that really 

matters,” said O’Neill. 

By contrast, O’Neill says that within 

the “next eleven” group, now called the 

Civets, there actually are four countries that 

realistically could join the Bric block. O’Neill 

added, “Korea, Turkey, Indonesia, and Mexico 

are big enough to stand on their own feet and 

are increasingly similar economies to the socalled 

advanced ones of the four Brics.” 

O’Neill cautioned further that simply “being 

part of the Bric political club doesn't guarantee 

that you are going to be regarded as a Bric 

economically.” Specifically, “At this particular 

point in time, just because South Africa has been 

accepted into that club doesn't change the way 

that I'll think about it in terms of how we focus 

on what constitutes a Bric or not and whether it 

affects others in terms of investment flows.” 

Given these unvarnished views, one has to 

at least wonder how easily O’Neill will ever get 

a visa to visit South Africa – ever again. 

reAd more: 

1. Goldman Sachs' O'Neill: S Africa Doesn't Belong In BRICS 

Group on the Fox Business website 

2. The London High-Growth Markets Summit Programme at the 

Economist summit website 

3. Goldman Sachs' O'Neill: S Africa Doesn't Belong In BRICS in 

the Wall Street Journal 


world 

next 20 years 

In the next 20 years learn 

ChInese and brush up on 

your FrenCh 


world 

Contemplating American imperial overstretch 

has been a growth industry for years. Since 

the 1930s, the top challengers stepping into the 

ring have been Nazi Germany in tandem with 

imperial Japan, the post-war Soviet Union, Japan 

Inc, the rougher edges of the Islamic world, 

and now, most recently, the China of 8% GDP 

growth and privately operated but state-ownedenterprises. 

By J BROOKS SPECTOR. 

As a student, I loved leafing through historical atlases to 

watch the ebb and flow of empires and conquests – from Rome 

through the Mongols and even the British Empire, all expand, 

contract and sometimes even vanish – through the pages like 

rainbow-hued amoebas in a flip-book. What these maps usually 

failed to measure, however, was intellectual, cultural or even 

artistic influence. Scholars like Fernand Braudel analyzed the 

importance of economic behaviours like transhumance, the 

influence of building styles spreading across Europe, and the 

time it took for communication and credit to travel from the 

medieval banking centres of northern Italy to Antwerp and 

Bruges as ways of understanding the changes in a civilization. 

Although the availability of lots of computing power, tied 

together with data from Internet sources, has made it easier 

to understand and visualise multi-layer influences on political 

and economic trends, these tools actually still tell us very little 

about what to expect in the future – unless you are in love with 

straight-line extrapolations from where we are now to where we 

Photo: President of the People Republic of China Hu Jintao (L) welcomes his French counterpart Nicolas 

Sarkozy at the Diaoyutai host residence in Beijing November 25, 2007. REUTERS/Eric Feferberg 

next 20 years 


world 

will be five, 10, 20 or 100 years from now. But 

rest assured nothing is forever. 

A well-travelled, well-read thinker, living 500 

years ago, almost certainly would have been 

happy to bet the farm on China, the Mughal 

and Ottoman empires - and just maybe France 

and the Habsburgs - as the logical powers of 

the future. With the exception of France, all 

these powers faded dramatically in the ensuing 

300 to 400 years. 

With the post-World War II decolonisation, 

the disintegration of the Soviet Union’s 

hegemony, the apparently unending American 

entanglement in Iraq and Afghanistan and its 

conflict with militant Islam, the overlapping 

financial crises of the past several years, it 

seems increasingly possible that the world has 

entered into a new cycle of history. If that is 

true, who are the newest winners? And losers? 

Photo: GE Healthcare employees test a digital X-ray machine, that they 

designed, developed and manufactured, in Bangalore June 21, 2010. 

next 20 years 

For a start, virtually all the smart money 

is now firmly bet on China and India. Since 

shucking off an all-enveloping communist 

orthodoxy under Deng “To be rich is wonderful” 

Xiaoping, China has moved along a sustained 

economic growth path. This trajectory has 

produced a decade of 8% year-on-year increases 

in GDP, its consumption of primary materials 

has been a major factor in buoying commodity 

prices and demand and it has become the 

primary holder of US sovereign debt, surpassing 

Japan. 

India, of course, seems positioned as China’s 

leading competitor. Its population is similar in 

size, its industrial base is also growing rapidly 

into a still vacant space and its technological 

competence have also allowed it to develop 

nuclear weapons and build a thriving IT 

sector. Like China, India is heir to a major 

world civilisation, but unlike China it has 

established its current growth and increased 


world 

next 20 years 

Meanwhile, countries like south Korea, brazil, Indonesia, Vietnam, 

turkey and Mexico are becoming economic powerhouses, but 

they will remain without the heft or importance to reshape the 

world economy for a long time to come. 

the democratic texture of its political system. 

Accordingly, while China has taken the 

lion’s share of world attention, some analysts 

caution that brushing aside the Indian 

challenge over the long haul is shortsighted. 

This derives from India’s growing democratic 

political energy, a 300 million-strong, 

consumption-hungry middle-class, its IT 

connections and a thriving Indian diaspora. 

Meanwhile, Japan, last generation’s 

apocalyptic threat to America and the West in 

novels, films, business futures planning and in 

academic conferences, seems now, instead, to 

be accepting that its role in the 21st century as 

a very rich nation no longer set to challenge the 

top tier. And Russia, on the other hand, while 

it ultimately has not become the “Ethiopia with 

nuclear missiles” predicted by a former Soviet 

specialist has become a mid-range power. In 

this circumstance, most of its income and 

political power derives from its place as an 

exporter of desirable primary commodities - 

especially petroleum and natural gas. 

Meanwhile, countries like South Korea, 

Brazil, Indonesia, Vietnam, Turkey and 

Mexico are becoming economic powerhouses, 

but they will remain without the heft or 

importance to reshape the world economy 

for a long time to come. Others like Nigeria, 

Egypt, have important potential, but they 

are will be held back by serious, fundamental 

political or economic issues. 

That leaves Europe and the US. Although 

America’s circumstances as the world’s preeminent 

political and economic power should 

not face that so-called existential challenge in 

the next generation, it remains entangled in 

an seemingly unending imbroglio with Islamic 

insurgents that has now consumed some $3 

trillion over the past decade. These funds could 

have fuelled the country’s economic growth. Or 

as General Martin Dempsey, the new chairman 

of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the US said, "I 

have to confess, I paid no attention to this as 

a cadet and have done nothing to increase my 

awareness of economic issues between age 22 

and 59. And here I am, back as the prodigal 

son, saying, ‘I should have paid attention’. The 

economic factors exist. They will inform my 

tenure as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff." 

American commentators as varied as “New 

Age” liberal Al Gore and the Hamiltonianconservative 

David Brooks have urged the 

US re-establish a national commitment to 

infrastructural rebuilding that would be the 

21st century’s equivalent of its 19th century 

programme of national improvements. But the 

urgency of achieving the requisite political will 

Photo: Most of Russia's income and political power derives from its place as 

an exporter petroleum and natural gas. (Reuters) 


world 

next 20 years 


world 

(and real national consensus) for measures to 

reassert economic strength still seems absent, 

and the country appears poised for an extended 

period of near-paralysis. 

And Europe? The recent financial turmoil 

has clearly exposed Europe’s weaknesses in 

achieving an increasingly integrated supranational 

entity. Jean Monnet’s dream remains 

elusive. The limits on the region’s economic 

powerhouse – Germany – in stepping forward 

aggressively to lead means a united Europe is 

not yet ready to lead. 

But maybe there is another candidate. 

France seems to be willing to lead, as Charles 

de Gaulle’s vision seems to have re-emerged. 

France took the lead in Nato’s intervention 

in Libya. France has been a major influence 

on resolving the disorder in Côte d’Ivoire. 

And France, almost solely now, maintains 

military bases and forces throughout much 

of Africa. And France, like China and India – 

and like Japan during its abortive run at world 

economic leadership – has practiced the kind 

of “dirigiste” economic leadership it effectively 

created in the 17th century in the era of Louis 

XIV. Even as the US has shut down the Fermi 

Tevatron supercollider and refused to fund a 

replacement, under French leadership, CERN, 

beneath the French and Swiss Alps, is extending 

the range of new discoveries in physics. 

And so here may be the heart of the prime 

challenge for the next age. Perhaps managing and 

guiding economic growth has finally gone beyond 

the capacity of market forces, and market signals 

have become so complicated mere information is 

insufficient for making the right choices. If that 

is true, the new model for economic leadership 

will be more (rather than less) government 

but maybe there is 

another candidate. 

France seems to be 

willing to lead, as 

Charles de Gaulle’s 

vision seems to have 

re-emerged. 

next 20 years 

involvement, and the new winners will be the 

nations that can best deliver on the sometimesmythic 

developmental state. 

Nearly 50 years ago, political scientists 

Samuel Huntington and Zbigniew Brzezinski 

argued that the political and economic 

systems of the US and the USSR were fated 

to come closer together. Wrong guess there, 

perhaps, but soon enough it should be time to 

watch for a social theorist who explains how 

the Indic, Chinese and European models are 

coming together to set the pace for the 21st 

century. 

read More: 

1. Banyan: Sledgehammers and stunned fish: Globalisation with 

Chinese characteristics works at both corporate and national 

level 

2. Economy to Be a Challenge for New Military Chief 

3. Political Power: USA/USSR. By Zbigniew Brzezinski and 

Samuel P Huntington (a review by Norman Birnbaum in 

1964) 

4. The yuan: This house believes that the yuan will be the 

world’s main reserve currency in the next ten years 

5. Dirigisme 


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uSINESS 


usiness 

south AfricA 

Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan 

has gone back on his February 

prediction of 4% growth 

in the economy over the next 

three years, due to the tempestuous 

nature of markets at the 

moment. This cuts the government’s7%-growth-makes-fivemillion-jobs 

idea at the knees 

and a good portion of unemployed 

(and working) South 

Africans await a new plan after 

this message of defeat. 

The JSE had a late spurt as 

stocks rallied at news of positive 

manufacturing data out 

of the USA, leaping up to the 

tune of 0.69%, largely led by 

gold-related stocks which shot 

up 2.3%. The rand fell further 

against the dollar during the 

day, finishing at R8.24. 

Pending a feasibility review, 

Mzansi’s third-largest platinum 

producer, Lonmin PLC, will sell 

50% and a share to Shaduka 

Group for R1.1 billion. According 

to Bloomberg, this deal will 

assist Lonmin to restart work 

at its Boabab mine in Limpopo, 

where production was halted 

in 2009, as well as push it closer 

to government’s required 

BBBEE target. 

Kagiso Group announced 

South Africa’s purchasing managers 

index which increased 

to 50.7 from 46.7 the previous 

month. The reading over 50 

indicates manufacturing is on 

the increase for the first time 

since July, largely due to the 

slowdown in strikes suffered 

at the beginning of the second 

quarter. Analysts warned 

against reading too much into 

the positive index as global 

growth is set to slow. 

AfricA 

African stocks didn’t have a 

great Wednesday with Kenya’s 

All Share again dropping (al- 

briefs 

Pravin Gordhan (Reuters) 

though only 0.1%), continuing 

the east African nation’s horror 

financial run. The main 

indexes in Mauritius, Ghana 

and Namibia all fell marginally; 

Nigeria was closed as it was a 

public holiday. 

europe 

Not even marginal progress 

was made in Germany’s current 

effort to expand the euro rescue 

fund (known more formally 

as the European Financial 

Stability Fund) to 440 billion 

euros ($584 billion). Wolfgang 

Schaeuble, the German finance 

minister, opposed moves to 

increase the fund until three 


usiness 

outstanding countries, Slovakia, 

the Netherlands and Malta, 

agree to the previous round 

of increases. Otherwise it was a 

normal European trading day, 

with the debt crisis in Greece 

and other tanking economies 

causing the euro and indexes 

to drop. 

uK 

The FTSE 100 dropped, along 

with continent-wide indicators, 

as banks and luxury goods 

(Burberry, in particular, continued 

its spiral downwards) 

dropped due to Greece’s problems 

and China’s allowing 

growth, respectively. Mining 

stocks also took a pounding 

on the China news: Vedanta 

Recources shedding 8.3% of its 

Zamabian President Michael Sata (Reuters) 

stock value, Xstrata dropping 

6.6% and Rio Tinto 2.4% 

Standard & Poor’s confirmed 

the UK’s credit rating at triple 

A with a stable outlook. This, 

according to a statement by the 

agency, is dependent on “the 

coalition government's commitment 

to fiscal consolidation”, 

particularly as S&P believes 

UK economic growth will 

be slower from now into 2014 

(1.8%), well below Britain’s own 

forecast of 2.5%. 

British chancellor, George Osborne, 

spoke at the Conservative 

party conference and confirmed 

that council tax will be 

frozen for another year, which 

will cost the government $1.2 

billion. He said he would also 

briefs 

seek to free up funds for small 

business through credit easing. 

Osborne maintains, however, 

that a solution to his continent’s 

debt crisis remains the 

sole biggest boost any European 

economy could receive. 

belgium 

Belgian and French lender, 

Dexia SA, saw its shares tumble 

10% as rumours circulate that 

it may require a second government 

bailout. Dexia was 

helped out by government 

in 2008 when the rest of the 

world was behaving similarly. 

It’s not happy times for the 

bank: it posted a second quarter 

loss of $5.2 billion. Its board 

met last night and rumours 

abound it may have chosen to 

break the bank up – keep your 

eye on this story. 

ZAmbiA 

New President Michael Sata 

has cancelled a First Rand purchase 

of a local bank, without 

telling anyone why, and sacked 

the boards of three stateowned 

enterprises. While this 

may be popular revolutionary 

behaviour, it didn’t do the 

kwacha any good. The Zambian 

currency slipped 3.8% 

against the dollar, it’s biggest 

drop since the end of 2008. A 

researcher for the SA Institute 

of International affairs, Yarik 

Turianskyi, warned that Sata’s 

insistence on not relying on external 

factors is a worrying sign 

for investors. 


usiness apple 

Tim Cook has big 

apple-selling shoes 

To fill 

Apple is due to unveil the iPhone 5 at 

its Cupertino campus on Tuesday, and 

the question uppermost on our minds 

is: Will the new CEO Tim Cook be able 

to match his predecessor Steve Jobs’ 

presentations and sales-pitch abilities? 

By SIPHO HLONGWANE. 

Photo: Tim Cook (REUTERS) 

It’s not just that Apple makes seriously 

good consumer electronic 

things. It’s about the cult as well. 

The carefully crafted cult of Apple. 

We invite you to peak into 

your nearest trendy coffee shop 

and take note of all the glowing 

Apples to see what we mean. 

A massive part of building and 

sustaining that cult (or “trade dress”, if you will) were 

the presentations the legendary Apple front man Steve 

Jobs used to give when launching the latest gadget. He 

could convince Apple fans in the space of two hours that 

they not only needed the thing he was holding in his 

hands, but that if they didn’t get it, their lives would be 

ruined. 

So important are the presentations the performance 

of Tim Cook, the new CEO of Apple, is going to be more 

closely monitored than the company’s stock when Jobs 

stood down a few weeks ago. 

Cook couldn’t have chosen a better time to make his 

first presentation as company CEO – he will be unveiling 

the new iPhone 5. 

It will be an industry leader, but if iPhone 5 doesn’t 

do as well as its predecessors (even in these economic 

doldrums), no doubt many will blame Cook for fluffing 

his first impression. 

Read moRe: 

1. New Apple chief faces first test at Apple iPhone 5 launch in the Telegraph 

2. Tim Cook’s time to shine with new Apple iPhone in Reuters 


usiness 

nomadic leadership 

– making money and meaning 


Once it was regarded as the “soft stuff” of business, now meaning is becoming a real attraction for 

younger generations who want a “purposeful life” in work places. Meaning is becoming an unparalleled 

differentiator for companies like Apple who understand that reason for being gives people a cause in 

which to - and makes money. By MANDY DE WAAL and DAVE DUARTE. 

Once upon a time there was a man who ruled 

a South African merchant bank. He helped 

start the company and after many years it was 

one of the mightiest in the land. He had scaled 



usiness 

meaning was often 

downplayed as the “soft stuff” 

in a linear, industrialised age, 

but it is becoming central to 

a new world of work where 

skill shortages mean that 

businesses need to attract 

bright young “millennials” with 

more than just the offer of a 

large paycheck. 

the pinnacle of success, created a home that 

was the envy of all, had a beautiful wife, a 

wonderful family and was wealthy beyond his 

dreams. Despite all this he woke up with a 

depression that wouldn’t leave him. He called 

in consultants and all they could offer him 

was expensive advice. None could give him 

what would remedy his darkness and that was 

the need to create meaning and not just money. 

There is as yet no ending to this story, 

which is based on fact. Perhaps that man 

might be inspired by another story about a 

man who went in search of meaning whose 

name was Siddhartha. Written by Hermann 

Hesse, “Siddartha” is a typical work from 

the Swiss-German Nobel Prize-winning 

author because his allegories are all about 

self-actualisation, authenticity and people’s 

timeless search for purpose. 

A tale about two friends called 

Siddhartha and Govinda who go in search 

of enlightenment, Hesse writes about how 

Govinda remains on a singular path in 


the quest for self-actualisation by staying 

at a spiritual school. Siddhartha leaves the 

school, and goes out into the world where he 

experiences lust, wealth, deprivation, poverty, 

spirituality and self-denial. The book makes 

an astute case for experience over adopted 

knowledge as the greatest font of wisdom. 

What the tale of the merchant banker 

and “Siddartha” have in common is that epic 

journey that insinuates itself into peoples’ 

lives - the quest for meaning. What’s relevant 

to both stories is that meaning isn’t about 

abandoning who or what you are to go to 

an ashram. Rather, our daily work offers 

significant opportunity to grow our sense 

of purpose in life and to discover selfactualisation 

through the experience of our 

work and relationships with others. 

Meaning was often downplayed as the 

“soft stuff” in a linear, industrialised age, but 

it is becoming central to a new world of work 

where skill shortages mean that businesses 

need to attract bright young “Millennials” with 

more than just the offer of a large paycheck. 

While older generations defined themselves 

through their work and work ethic, Generation 

Y is less concerned about work, and more 

concerned about life. 

The advent of the mobile office, nomadic 

careers and always-on networks means the 

boundaries between work and life are blurring. 

The “Millennial’s” response is to look for 

careers aligned to their value systems, rather 

than Generation Y fitting in with someone 

else’s vision and mission. 

Author and economist Umair Haque, who 

spends much of his time thinking about 

“reconceiving” capital, says when he looks at 


usiness 


generally understood as happiness, “eudaimonia” 

comes from the greek words "eu" (good) and 

"daimōn" (a type of supernatural being) which 

literally means to have a flourishing being. 

the world he sees “an outcomes gap: a yawning 

chasm the size of the Grand Canyon between 

what our economy produces and what you might 

call a meaningfully well-lived life, what the 

ancient Greeks called ‘eudaimonia’.” 

Generally understood as happiness, 

“eudaimonia” comes from the Greek words "eu" 

(good) and "daimōn" (a type of supernatural 

being) which literally means to have a 

flourishing being. 

Haque says a good life today has been 

“vacantly reduced to the frenzied sport of buying 

‘consumer goods’ — more, bigger, faster, cheaper, 

now.” He adds that, although it might be hard 

to admit, deep down we know our habits are 

leaving us financially and fiscally broken, as 

well as intellectually, physically, emotionally, 

relationally and spiritually empty. 

In an appeal for “eudaimonic” prosperity 

Haque advocates the need to master igniting 

the art of living meaningfully, and cultivating 

new habits that are not concerned with the 

consumption and acquisition of consumer goods. 

These new habits, he says, are all about living 

by working and playing instead of having, and 

creating a better life instead of acquiring more. 

To enable to flourish Haque advocates a shift 

from measuring growth to ascertaining whether 

people are becoming “wholer, wiser, and more 

accomplished”. “I believe the quantum leap 

from opulence to ‘eudaimonia’ is going to be 

the biggest, most significant economic shift of 

the next decade, and perhaps beyond: of our 

lifetimes,” Haque predicts. 

The big question for the head of that 

merchant bank is: “How do you get to 

‘eudaimonia’?” There are no shortcuts or 

definitive maps and each person will find his 

own way. But there are lots of clues. 

The first is contained in thinking from that 

military strategist that so many industrial 

businesses love, Sun Tzu. “If you know your 

enemies and know yourself, you will not be 

imperilled in a hundred battles... if you do not 

know your enemies nor yourself, you will be 

imperilled in every single battle.” 

This advice becomes incredibly useful 

when you start thinking about it through a 

singular rather than a relational lens. Think of 

the enemy not as some external corporate foe, 

but rather as the enemy within, and the battle 

as the war that rages within the self. 

Knowing yourself, your strengths and your 

weaknesses isn’t a once-off affair, but an ongoing 

practice of constant reflection. Knowing what 

makes you lazy, bitter, fearful or resentful and 


usiness 

what makes you grow, inspired and alive is a 

significant step toward creating meaning. 

The word “creating” is used deliberately 

because people don’t have to go out and 

find meaning, rather they make meaning. 

The big epiphany with Siddartha is that 

“enlightenment” or understanding is 

achieved through internalising experience or 

comprehending your journey in life rather than 

through external pursuits. 

It is one thing creating meaning for yourself, 

but if you are a leader, how do you begin to craft 

meaning for those who have chosen to work for 

you? Anthropological student-turned-author 

(“Start with Why”) Simon Sinek says four years 

ago he made a profound discovery and that this 

changed his view about how he thought the 

world works and how he operates in the world. 

“All the great and inspiring leaders and 

organisations and people in the world, whether 

it is Martin Luther King, or Apple or the Wright 

Brothers, they all think, act and communicate 

in the exact same way and it is the complete 

opposite of everyone else,” says Sinek. 

“Everyone on this planet knows what they 

do. Some know how they do it, whether you call 

it your differentiating value proposition or your 

proprietary process or your USP. But very few 

organisations know why they do what they do. 

And by ‘why’ I don’t mean to make a profit, that 

is a result, it is always a result. By ‘why’ I mean 

what is your purpose, your cause, your belief? 

Why does your organisation exist? Why do you 

get out of bed in the morning and why should 

anyone care?” 

Sinek says most people operate from the 

outside in, going from the clearest thing (what 

we do) to the fuzziest thing (why we do what 


There are leaders, 

and there are those 

who lead. leaders 

hold a position of 

power or authority. 

but those who lead 

inspire us. 

we do). He says what distinguishes the Martin 

Luther Kings, the Wright Brothers and the 

Apples of this world are that they do this the 

other way around. The greats always start with why. 

“There are leaders, and there are those 

who lead. Leaders hold a position of power or 

authority. But those who lead inspire us. We 

follow those who lead not because we have to, 

but because we want to. We follow those who 

lead not for them, but for ourselves,” says Sinek. 

“And it is those who start with why that have 

the ability to inspire those around them, or find 

others that inspire them.” 

read more: 

1. How great leaders inspire action in The Guardian 

2. Watch Simon Sinek’s TED talk “How great leaders inspire 

action” 

3. Simon Sinek’s site Start With Why 

4. Is a Well-Lived Life Worth Anything? by Umair Haque at 

Harvard Business Review 

5. How great leaders inspire action in The Guardian 

6. Watch Umair Haque talking on A Better Path to Prosperity 


LIfE, ETC 


life, etc 

life 

UsA 

Good news for fans of US TV 

show “Arrested Development”, 

the sitcom which became a 

huge hit after its cancellation 

after just three seasons. Its 

creator Mitchell Hurwitz said 

on Sunday that there might 

be a ten-episode spin-off of 

the show in the works. The 

episodes would focus on individual 

characters – the leads 

were played by Michael Cera, 

Portia de Rossi and Jason Bateman 

– and would lead up to an 

Arrested Development movie, 

a release date yet to be scheduled. 

Is a movie a good idea? 

We all know the precedent of a 

good TV show becoming a terrible 

movie: Sex & The City. 

sA 

Cellphone service provider 

Cell C has egg on its face after 

having to remove a parody of 

Springbok coach Pieter de Villiers 

following accusations of 

both plagiarism and offensiveness. 

A video posted on its You- 

Tube channel featured a de Villiers 

puppet giving predictions 

on a “Coachie-Cam” before 

the Rugby World Cup match 

against Samoa. The Twitterati 

protested the fact that it was 

a clear rip-off of ZA News’s de 

Villiers puppet, which appears 

on a “Divvy Cam” segment on 

the puppet show. It was also 

pointed out that the clip was 

unfunny and potentially racist. 

Yesterday afternoon, Cell C 

tweeted: “Y'all are right. We’ll 

leave the puppet comedy to 

ZANews. Sorry to those that 

found the video offensive, was 

never the intention.” 

UsA 

Has Kiss frontman Gene Simmons 

finally been tamed? It 

appears so: the 62-year-old wed 

Shannon Tweed, 54, in a lavish 

ceremony in Beverly Hills 

this weekend. Simmons, who 

claims to have bedded 5,000 

women, has been together with 

Tweed for 28 years. Wedding 

guests included Hugh Hefner, 

Bill Maher, and Simmons's Kiss 

band mates. Judging from the 

photos, Simmons decided to 

forego his normal face-paint 

for the occasion. 

briefs 

Gene Simmons and Shannon Tweed (Reuters) 

UsA 

Amazon's rival tablet to the 

iPad, the Kindle Fire, is causing 

a stir before its release. This is 

mainly because it is expected 

to prove genuine competition 

for Apple's product as it is so 

much cheaper – the product 

will retail for only $199 (around 

R1,650). However, recent reports 

suggest that the Kindle 

Fire's actual manufacturing 

price will be $209.63, or even 

higher – some reports claim 

that Amazon will be sucking 

up a loss of up to $50 per 

unit. Which begs the question: 

what's the big idea? Amazon 

aren't idiots – there must be a 

master strategy here that we're 

yet to see. 

UK 

Big companies and investors 

have shelled out thousands of 


life, etc 

pounds for ultra-short internet 

addresses in a charity auction. 

The auction was to raise money 

for the Nominet Trust, a charity 

promoting safe internet access. 

Facebook bought the domain 

fb.co,uk, Mercedes Benz 

took mb.co.uk. Perhaps surprisingly, 

g.co.uk was snapped 

up by an internet investment 

firm rather than Google. Another 

desirable one was hr.co. 

uk, bought by the Chartered 

Institute of Personnel and Development. 

The addresses went 

for an average of £39,000 each. 

UsA 

Wish you had a girlfriend? 

Help has arrived: fakegirlfriend.co, 

which poses as your 

faithful female partner. When 

you sign up for the service, you 

save the company's number 

in your phone under whatever 

name you've claimed your 

imaginary girlfriend has. Then 

when you're with your friends 

or co-workers, you text the service 

and receive a "girlfriendesque" 

message back, which 

you can proudly show them 

as proof. The messages are 

reportedly along the lines of 

"Why don't you leave the boys 

and come hang out with me?" 

which, as Time points out, is a 

bit bizarre – is that really likely 

to make your friends jealous? 

itAlY 

Here's a cheery story to brighten 

your day. A churchgoer attending 

mass in Viareggio, 

Amazon Kindle Fire (Reuters) 

Italy, on Sunday, horrified 

the congregation by standing 

up calmly and ripping out 

on his own eyeballs with his 

bare hands. Aldo Bianchini, 

46, then collapsed in a pool 

of his own blood. Bianchini 

told doctors, who were unable 

to save his sight, that he had 

heard voices instructing him to 

tear out his eyes. It's thought 

he must have been motivated 

by the Biblical passage which 

reads: "If your right eye causes 

you to sin, gouge it out and 

throw it away". 

UK 

This week, plans are being 

launched in the UK for a spaceship 

which would offer consumer 

flights from London 

to Sydney in one hour and 45 

minutes. It's estimated that the 

flights will be up and running 

within 20 years, with an early 

version of the Lynx craft ready 

to take tourists to the edge of 

space by early 2014. The plans 

are the brainchild of Dutch 

computer tycoon Michiel Mol, 

briefs 

who is working in collaboration 

with Dutch airline KLM. 

London to Tokyo would take 

about 90 minutes. No word on 

what the jetlag would be like – 

or the environmental cost. 

UK 

We may suffer tornados, but 

at least we're not England. The 

UK has just experienced the 

best of its summer weather – 

the hottest few days recorded 

in October in a century – but 

now must brace itself for a 

drop of a whopping 18 degrees 

Celsius in the next three days 

to see snow hit by the end of 

the week. In South Yorkshire, 

for instance, it was 30 degrees 

last weekend and will be 12 

degrees this weekend. That 

appears to be that for summer 

2011, unfortunately for the 

Brits. Try to control your worst 

schadenfreude feelings. 

AUstrAliA 

As if Ugg boots weren't offensive 

enough, a new report now 

suggests their “uggliness" may 

extend beyond their appearance. 

Investigators from The 

Humane Society International 

today revealed that some Uggs 

are made of racoon dog fur, 

with the creatures skinned 

alive in China. The fur is then 

labelled either as “wool” or as 

“Australian sheep skin”. The 

official Ugg company says the 

boots in question are made by 

fake knock-off groups rather 

than the brand itself. 


world pinker 

is this the most 

peaceful period in 

history? 

Stephen Pinker thinks so. The Harvard 

psychologist has just released his latest 

book, “The Better Angels of Our Nature”, 

in which he makes his claim that the 21st 

century has been the least violent era in 

human history. By REBECCA DAVIS. 


The idea may strike you as absurd. 

But Pinker holds firm in his claim 

premised on two ideas. The first is 

that the 21st and 20th centuries seem 

the most violent to us because they 

are the periods with which we are the 

most familiar. It also seems to us that 

violence is never-ending because, in a 

24-hour news cycle, we are constantly 

bombarded with images of destruction, 

which lead us to believe that the 

society is violence-soaked. 

But Pinker’s other point is a reminder of just how violent 

humanity’s past ages were. He claims that in hunter-gatherer 

societies, a man’s chance of being killed by 

another man was as high as 60% in some places, which 

already makes that period 50% more dangerous than 

the 20th century (even including the two world wars). 

Pinker also lists some of the forgotten horrors of the 

past. Admittedly, torture forms like waterboarding still 

exist today, but at least they’re not generally practised 

for comedic effect. Pinker reminds us that in medieval 

Europe people were roasted to death in a hollow brass 

cow, whose mouth was left open so that the victims’ 

screams would sound like the cow was mooing – causing 

untold hilarity among onlookers. 

He believes the key changes to human society came 

when we moved from nomadic hunter-gatherer groups 

to settled communities, which allowed our “better angels” 

the chance to surface. Pinker says forces like a 

strong centralised government, international trade and 

the empowerment of women all make violence less likely 

– and that’s really why we should protect them. 

read more: 

1. Is violence finished? in Newsweek 


life, etc france 

no more 

‘mademoiselle’, say 

french feminists 

Last week feminist groups in France 

rolled out a proposal to drop the term 

"Mademoiselle" (Miss) for unmarried 

women. They say the label is sexist, 

outdated and condescending. By 

REBECCA DAVIS. 

Photo: Feminists of La Meute group take part in 

a demonstration in front of the Galeries Lafayette 

department store in Paris. February 9, 2002 

REUTERS 

If you are a woman in France, there are 

two options for your honorific: “Madame” 

and “Mademoiselle”. The former denotes 

the fact that you are married, and the 

second indicates that you are single, and 

probably young. There is only one option 

for men: “Monsieur” (as in Mister), which 

gives nothing away about either your 

age or your marital status. French feminists 

say “Mademoiselle” is demeaning 

and unnecessary and want it scrapped in 

favour of using “Madame” generically for 

all women in the way “Monsieur” serves 

all men. 

France is almost 40 years behind Germany in this debate. 

German used to favour the term “Fraulein” (literally 

"little woman"). But in 1972 the German ministry of 

the interior banned its use, and nowadays “Frau” is used 

uniformly to address women. In English we tread an 

awkward middle-ground via the use of “Ms”, which has 

actually been around since the 17th century as an abbreviation 

of "Mistress", but fell out of use till the 20th century, 

with the US Government Printing Office approving 

its use in government documents in 1972. The success 

of “Ms” is questionable, because though its use is more 

widespread these days, it is most frequently employed in 

situations where people are unsure whether a woman is 

married or not – far from the point feminists were making 

when they pushed for its adoption. 

It is suggested the reason why French feminists are 

taking up the “Mademoiselle” cause now is as a result of 

the Dominique Strauss-Kahn rape cases, responses to 

which have illustrated some of the problematic attitudes 

French women face in their country. 

read more: 

1. French Feminists Say 'Non' To 'Mademoiselle', on NPR 


life, etc bayes theorem 

maths in the dock 

It is common for forensic experts giving 

evidence in court to use mathematical 

formulae to show the probability of 

someone having committed a crime. But 

mathematicians are up in arms about the 

fact that a UK judge has now forbidden 

the application of statistical analysis to 

crime trials. By REBECCA DAVIS. 

Photo: Wikimedia Commons 

Bayes' theorem is a mathematical 

formula which measures how 

likely something is to be true. In 

its application to crime, it provides 

a scientific way to calculate 

the likelihood of guilt or innocence, 

or the reliability of evidence. 

Forensic experts use Bayes' 

theorem as a way of quantifying 

their certainty. In other words, 

instead of saying "this DNA evidence 

is probably accurate", they 

can say "there is a one-in-threemillion 

chance that this DNA match is wrong". 

But Bayes’ theorem has now been ruled inadmissible 

by a UK judge. A convicted killer was in the dock last 

summer appealing against his conviction and among 

the evidence which had seen him found guilty was a 

shoeprint from a pair of Nike takkies, found at the crime 

scene, which seemed to match a pair of Nikes at his 

house. An expert used Bayes’ theorem to make calculations 

about the probability of the match being random, 

which was unlikely: there are 42 million pairs of takkies 

sold every year, and Nike alone has about 1,200 different 

sole patterns. 

But in this case the judge objected to the fact that the 

numbers weren’t firm enough. The expert couldn't say, 

for instance, exactly how many pairs of these particular 

Nikes were in the country. As a result, the judge threw 

out the case and also ruled against the use of statistical 

analyses in future. Mathematicians say that losing the 

right to use the theorem will have “shattering” consequences. 

They are calling on the court of appeal to reconsider 

the ruling. 

read more: 

1. A formula for justice, in The Guardian 


life, etc 

rhino poachng 

Saving african rhinoS, any poSSible way 

The South African government is taking a multidimensional approach to the rhino poaching crisis. After 

announcing a year ago it would conduct a study into the viability of legal trade in rhino horn, it is now 

holding bilateral talks with the government of Vietnam to share information. By SIPHO HLONGWANE. 

South Africa and Vietnam are clearly not on 

the same page when it comes to combating the 

growing crisis of rhino poaching in South Africa. 

This dissonance came to light when a fivemember 

panel from the government of Vietnam 

visited South Africa to hold talks with local 

officials on rhino poaching which has seen almost 

300 of the iconic beasts butchered this year in 

what officials refer to as a conservation war. 

Photo: Dehorned rhinos are seen at the Kruger national park in Mpumalanga 

province September 16, 2011. The rhinos were dehorned by a veterinary 

surgeon to prevent poaching. September 16, 2011. REUTERS/Ilya Kachaev 


life, etc 

the sudden upsurge in rhino poaching in the last few 

years is believed to have been sparked by a swelling 

middle-class in asia, large parts of which believe that 

rhino horn (which is little more than tightly compressed 

hair) holds medicinal properties. 

The Vietnamese had no clue how 

big the crisis actually is, South Africa's 

deputy director general of biodiversity and 

conservation in the department of water and 

environmental affairs, Fundisile Mketeni said 

to the Mail & Guardian. Statistics cited by the 

Vietnamese suggested that trafficking in rhino 

horn had decreased. 

In South Africa, we know the situation to 

be very grim. We have already lost 297 rhinos 

to poachers in 2011 alone, according to the 

World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF). 

In August, two Vietnamese nationals were 

sentenced to eight and 12 years in prison for 

attempting to smuggle rhino horn out of 

South Africa. 

“Now that we've had the discussions 

and shared information, the Vietnamese 

are much more aware of what is going on.” 

South Africa’s data have been correlated with 

information from Traffic, the international 

wildlife-trade monitoring organisation. It 

sponsored the meeting between South African 

and Vietnamese officials. 

South Africa signed a memorandum of 

understanding with Vietnam. “We agreed 

that the memorandum and subsequent 

implementation plan allow co-operation in 

biodiversity conservation, law enforcement, 

rhino poachng 

wildlife trade, information and intelligence 

gathering and sharing, permit issuing processes 

and verification mechanisms, monitoring and 

reporting systems, technology development 

and sharing, capacity building and training, 

prosecution and law enforcement, awareness, 

knowledge and research, custom services 

and legal systems within which the two 

countries operate,” the environmental affairs 

department said. 

We needed no greater example of the 

desperate need for more shattering of Asian 

myths than the lack of information by 

Vietnamese officials. The sudden upsurge in 

rhino poaching in the last few years is believed 

to have been sparked by a swelling middleclass 

in Asia, large parts of which believe that 

rhino horn (which is little more than tightly 

compressed hair) holds medicinal properties. 

The Vietnamese promised to conduct public 

tests on rhino horn to show people that it 

had no medicinal value. “This is the Oriental 

experience founded a thousand years ago. It 

cannot change overnight. We have to convince 

the people through our own research that the 

horn means nothing,” said Nguyen Truy Kien, a 

councillor in the Vietnamese government. 

South Africa has also been busy at home, 

collaborating with local stakeholders on 


life, etc 

the “war” on rhino poaching, and possible 

solutions. Trade in rhino horn is prohibited 

by the Convention on International Trade in 

Endangered Species. 

rhino poachng 

In October 2010 the department of 

environmental and water affairs began a study 

into the possibility and feasibility of legalising 

trade in rhino horn – a notion repugnant to 

Photo: Members of the South African National Defence Force walk through grasslands during a media visit to clandestine positions at the Kruger National Park, 

July 20, 2011. South Africa's military has deployed troops in the park near its border with Mozambique to cut down on rhino poaching, which kills several hundred 

of the animals a year, with their horns being sold on the black market for hundreds of thousands of dollars. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings 


life, etc 

... the South african 

government 

is opposed to 

dehorning rhinos 

in national parks 

is that there is no 

scientific study into 

what effects this 

might have on the 

animals and their 

behaviours. 

local and international conservationists. 

Despite government reassurances that the 

study in no way endorses legalising rhino 

horn trade, its insistence it would provide a 

scientific basis for examining the issue, has 

found little traction. “One of the outcomes 

of the summit in October last year was that 

we should look into the possibility of trade 

in rhino horn,” Albi Modise said. “If that is 

going to happen, it must be based on scientific 

study. So we are just studying the possibility 

and viability of the trade.” 

Modise said one of the reasons the South 

African government is opposed to dehorning 

rhinos in national parks is that there is no 

scientific study into what effects this might 

rhino poachng 

have on the animals and their behaviours. 

“We are nowhere near legalising trade in 

rhino horn,” Modise said. 

Morné du Plessis, CEO of WWF South 

Africa, said the organisation they would not 

support the legalisation of trade in rhino 

horn. “The issue is, therefore, a little more 

complicated than simply legalising the trade 

in rhino horn,” Du Plessis said. “For example, 

it would allow poachers to launder poached 

rhino horns. What we also have to realise 

is that it is not only South Africa that has a 

rhino population. And even with our levels of 

sophistication, we’re finding it very difficult to 

get to grips with poaching.” 

People are getting desperate though. Last 

year Reinhardt Holtzhausen, operational 

manager of Wildlife Ranching South 

Africa, gained instant notoriety when he 

openly suggested that rhino horn trading 

be legalised. He claimed advances in DNA 

matching meant trade could be regulated 

much more carefully than before. 

Another game reserve owner suggested 

poisoning rhino horn in an effort to dissuade 

people from using it. 

Whatever the solution, making the 

ultimate customers whose mythologies drive 

the illegal trade in rhino horn – which fuels 

the mass slaughter of animals - understand 

better what they are doing to nature is a good 

way forward. 

read more: 

1. Vietnam to dispel rhino horn myths in Mail & Guardian 

2. Solving the thousand-piece rhino poaching problem in 

Daily Maverick 


Done 

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done well, 

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you.

world 

nobel prize 

nobel week: medicine prizewinner 

dies before announcement; literature 

speculation heats up 

It’s one day into the announcements of the 2011 prizes, and already the Nobel Committee of the 

Karolinska Institute in Sweden has had to face a difficult question – can it reverse a 1974 ruling that 

states no awards can be made posthumously? Meanwhile, with the literary announcement set for 

Thursday, 6 October, the bookies are open for business. By KEVIN BLOOM. 

John F Kennedy called him “the greatest 

statesman of [the 20th] century,” praise which, 

added to the fact that he was Swedish, practically 

guaranteed Dag Hammarskjold a Nobel Peace 

Prize. Problem was, Hammarskjold died in a 

plane crash in September 1961, while en route 

to negotiate a cease-fire between UN “non- 

combatant” forces and Congolese rebels. His DC-6 

went down near the copperbelt city of Ndola, in 

present-day Zambia, and despite inconclusive 

inquiries into the circumstances of the accident, 

Photo: Nobel prize for medicine winner, Canadian-born Ralph Steinman. The 

scientist won the Nobel prize for medicine on October 3, 2011 for work on 

fighting cancer, but died of the disease himself on September 30, 2011 before he 

could be told of his award, and after using his own discoveries to extend his life. 


world 

no matter how it’s cut, steinman did pass away before 

the announcement was made. cruelly, he didn’t know 

he’d won; and perhaps even crueler, that he’d won for 

work that had extended his own life. 

many believed that the second secretary-general 

of the United Nations had been assassinated. 

Whatever the truth, at the time of his death 

Hammarskjold had already been nominated 

for the prize, and the Nobel Committee of the 

Karolinska Institute in Sweden had already 

decided that he deserved it. He was the last 

man to receive the award posthumously. 

Come 1974, in a characteristically 

delayed response to the Hammarskjold 

dilemma, the Nobel Committee changed 

its rules. Henceforth, the body declared, a 

prize "cannot be awarded posthumously, 

unless death has occurred after the 

announcement." But on Monday, 3 October 

2011, it announced that Ralph Steinman, a 

biologist at Rockefeller University, was one 

of three recipients of this year’s Nobel Prize 

in Medicine – unbeknown to the committee, 

Steinman had died of pancreatic cancer on 

Friday, 30 September. 

While a loophole may be found in the 

will of Alfred Nobel, a loophole that the 

Nobel Committee is no doubt searching for 

frantically at this very moment, it appears 

unlikely they’ll be able to reverse the 

amendment of 37 years ago. No matter how 

it’s cut, Steinman did pass away before the 

nobel prize 

announcement was made. Cruelly, he didn’t 

know he’d won; and perhaps even crueler, 

that he’d won for work that had extended his 

own life. According to a statement put out on 

Monday by Rockefeller University, Steinman, 

68, "discovered the immune system's sentinel 

dendritic cells and demonstrated that science 

can fruitfully harness the power of these cells 

and other components of the immune system 

to curb infections and other communicable 

diseases." Steinman had been diagnosed 

with pancreatic cancer four years ago, and 

had prolonged his life using a “dendritic-cell 

based immunotherapy” of his own design. 

What the committee will decide in 

the tragic case of Steinman remains to be 

seen, but meanwhile the joint winners of 

the other half of the 2011 medicine prize, 

Bruce A. Beutler and Jules A. Hoffmann, are 

celebrating. Beutler and Hoffmann won "for 

their discoveries concerning the activation 

of innate immunity." Their findings, which 

occurred in the late ‘90s, triggered an 

explosion in the identification of TLRs (Tolllike 

receptors), which when mutated carry an 

increased risk of infection. 

In a telephonic interview with the editorial 

director of Nobel Media, transcribed on the 


world 

according to tradition, the 

swedish academy sets the 

date for its announcement 

of the nobel prize in 

literature at a much later 

time – only on monday was 

it declared that the literary 

award would be announced 

on thursday, 6 october. 

Nobel.org website, Beutler described his 

emotions. “I was in bed,” he said. “I happened 

to wake up in the middle of the night. I looked 

over at my cell phone and I noticed that I had 

a new email message. And, I squinted at it 

and I saw that the title line was 'Nobel Prize', 

so I thought I should give close attention to 

that. And, I opened it and it was from Goran 

Hansson, and it said that I had won the Nobel 

Prize, and so I was thrilled. And, I was a 

little disbelieving and I went downstairs and 

looked at my laptop, and I couldn't get into 

the Nobel site for quite a while because it was 

all packed. So, I went to Google news and in 

a few minutes I saw my name there and so I 

knew it was real.” 

Over the coming week, Hansson, the Nobel 

Committee secretary, will be calling up the 

2011 laureates from the remaining disciplines 

to give them the news. On Tuesday, 4 October, 

the Nobel Prize in Physics is announced, on 

nobel prize 

Wednesday its chemistry, and on Friday it’s 

the Peace Prize. The Sveriges Riksbank Prize 

in Economic Sciences will be announced 

on 10 October. According to tradition, 

the Swedish Academy sets the date for 

its announcement of the Nobel Prize in 

Literature at a much later time – only on 

Monday was it declared that the literary 

award would be announced on Thursday, 6 

October. 

The reason behind the above may be that 

it’s this last one that’s always the most hotly 

debated, at least as far as the media and the 

bookies are concerned. As of this writing, 

according to the Guardian, “the much-touted 

Syrian poet Adonis sits atop the betting at 

4/1, with last year's favourite, the Swedish 

poet Thomas Tranströmer, following at 11/2. 

The Hungarian novelist Péter Nádas comes 

next, with the Japanese novelist Haruki 

Murakami close behind – both seem to have 

important books out this year in Swedish 

translation.” 

What about Philip Roth? The perennial 

bridesmaid, the greatest living American 

writer never to have won a Nobel, isn’t 

expected to get his due in 2011 either. It’s 

been 18 years since the prize was awarded 

to an American (Toni Morrison, 1993), and 

33 years since it was awarded to a white 

American male (Isaac Bashevis Singer, 1978, 

who was in fact an émigré from Poland), so 

the London bookmakers are playing it more 

than safe by offering Roth at 25/1. 

read more: 

1. The official website of the Nobel Prize 

2. “Nobel prize for literature: place your bets,” in the Guardian 


SPORT 


sport 

rugby 

Wallaby wing Digby Ioane is 

poised to make a dramatic 

comeback to World Cup action 

in Sunday's quarterfinal against 

South Africa. Ioane, who fractured 

his thumb in the opening 

Pool C match against Italy at 

North Harbour on 11 September 

and had surgery, has sufficiently 

recovered to play in the 

sudden-death game against the 

defending champions, Wallaby 

coaching coordinator David 

Nucifora said on Monday. 

Ireland hooker Rory Best is set 

to miss Saturday's World Cup 

quarterfinal against Wales in 

Wellington due to a shoulder 

injury. Best had to come 

off during the 36-6 victory 

over Italy at Otago Stadium 

and scans have revealed that 

he has a sprained AC joint. 

A replacement for the Ulster 

hooker has yet to be summoned 

with management 

hoping he can recover in time 

for a possible semi-final. 

England winger Delon Armitage 

has been banned from 

their Rugby World Cup quarterfinal 

against France, it was 

confirmed on Monday. Armitage 

got a one-match ban at a 

disciplinary hearing in Auckland 

after pleading guilty to 

a "dangerous high tackle" on 

Chris Paterson. 

France are sweating over the fitness 

of skipper Thierry Dusautoir 

ahead of Saturday's World 

Cup quarterfinal against England. 

Dusautoir – one of only a 

handful of players able to hold 

his head high after last weekend's 

humiliating loss to Tonga 

briefs 

Ireland hooker Rory Best (Reuters) 

– has a shoulder injury and 

missed training on Monday. 

Scotland hooker Ross Ford 

insists that there are positives 

to take away from the 

World Cup despite the Scots 

failure to qualify for the 

quarterfinals. For the first 

time in their history, Scotland 

did not progress to the 

quarterfinals of a World Cup 

after finishing third in Pool 

B. Andy Robinson's men suffered 

agonising defeats to 

first Argentina and then England 

as they saw their World 

Cup dream left in tatters. 


sport 

football 

Chelsea midfielder Frank 

Lampard believes his hattrick 

against Bolton delivered 

the best possible response 

to his critics. The England 

international put three past 

the Trotters during a 5-1 drubbing 

on Sunday to reassert his 

value in the Premier League. 

In months prior to the match, 

the 33-year-old's position as an 

automatic first-choice selection 

for both club and country 

briefs 

Frank Lampard (Reuters) 

had regressed somewhat. 

England manager Fabio Capello 

has decided to leave Rio Ferdinand 

and Steven Gerrard out of 

his squad for Friday's clash with 

Montenegro. The experienced 


sport 

pair has featured sparingly for 

their respective clubs in the 

past few weeks after returning 

from injury. Manchester United 

centre-half Ferdinand is fit 

again following a hamstring 

strain and was an unused 

substitute in Saturday's victory 

over Norwich after starting 

the previous two games 

against Stoke City and Basel. 

Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp 

has reacted angrily to 

the abusive chants aimed at 

striker Emmanuel Adebayor 

during Sunday's north London 

derby. 

Spurs won the clash with 

goals from Rafael van der 

Vaart and Kyle Walker either 

side of an Aaron Ramsey 

strike; while Adebayor didn't 

score, he came very close on 

more than one occasion. 

Steve McClaren says he resigned 

as Nottingham Forest 

manager after less than four 

months in the job because 

the club's ambitions did 

not match his. The former 

England coach has been on 

record about his disillusionment 

and frustration with the 

Forest board's failure to back 

him in the transfer market. 

Blackburn manager Steve 

Kean claims his employers, 

Venky's London Limited, are 

too “strong” to be persuaded 

by the fans to sack him. A sig- 

nificant number of Rovers fans 

have called for the dismissal of 

the self-assured Scot following 

a poor start to the Premier 

League season. The Lancashire 

club sit second from bottom on 

the table, but Kean is certain his 

future at the club is secure. 

golf 

Michael Hoey is ecstatic about 

qualifying for the lucrative 

Dubai World Championship 

after his victory on the weekend. 

Hoey's victory at the 

Alfred Dunhill Links Championship 

on Sunday lifted him 

into the top 15 on the Race to 

Dubai money list, well within 

the top 60 cut-off point that 

qualify for the season-ender 

on the European Tour. 

It has taken 28-year-old Kevin 

Na all of eight years, but he 

has finally won his first US 

PGA Tour title, perhaps appropriately 

in Las Vegas. The 

Korean-born American hit 

the jackpot at the Justin Timberlake 

Shriners Hospitals 

for Children Open at the TPC 

Summerlin on Sunday, where 

he held off and beat Nick Watney 

by two shots, the tournament's 

highest world ranked 

player at No 12. 

tennis 

Mardy Fish survived an early 

scare to see off Ryan Harrison 

in the Japan Open Ten- 

briefs 

nis Championships as he was 

pushed all the way. Fish, who is 

looking to boost his chances of 

qualifying for the Barclays ATP 

World Tour Finals, has played 

his compatriot on two occasions 

ahead of Monday's match, 

winning both. 

However, he almost came undone 

in Tokyo when Harrison 

pushed him to three sets, eventually 

winning out 6-4 3-6 7-5. 

Former World No1 Jelena 

Jankovic is out of the China 

Open in Beijing after being 

beaten by Tamira Paszek. 

Jankovic, seeded tenth for the 

tournament, was expected to 

come out on top and did lead 

by a break three times in the 

opening set. However, the Serbian 

was not able to hold on 

and fell to Paszek 7-5 6-4. 

CriCket 

Kevon Cooper's late-innings 

blitz was the key to Trinidad 

and Tobago's victory in the 

Champions League Twenty20 

on Sunday, according to Chennai 

Super Kings skipper Mahendra 

Singh Dhoni. Cooper 

smashed 28 in ten balls as Trinidad 

scored 49 runs from the final 

five overs of their innings to 

boost their total to 123 for eight 

in Chennai. The Super Kings 

could manage just 111 for six in 

reply on a low, slow pitch that 

forced batsmen to play straight 

and keep their wits about them. 


sport 

tiger tumbles out of golf’s top tier 

golf 

A tumbling Tiger Woods has dropped off the world's elite top 50 list for the first time in nearly 15 years. 

By Golf365.com 

A knee injury and his failure to qualify for the 

FedEx Cup play-off series has kept him out 

of golf for months on end this year, and this 

has contributed heavily to his fall on a World 

Rankings list which he dominated for most of 

the past decade. 

But he'll have a chance to stop the rot at the 

second event of the US PGA Tour's Fall series 

this week when he plays in the Frys.com Open 

at CordeValle in northern California. 



sport 

… that event ended 

a tiger Woods run of 

778 consecutive weeks 

inside the top 50, 

dating back to when 

he was sitting in 61st 

place on the rankings 

list on 13 october 1996. 

Woods, who hasn't won in nearly two 

years, dropped out of the top 50 on the latest 

World Ranking list when South African 

Louis Oosthuizen, the 2010 Open Champion, 

finished in a three-way tie for fifth in the 

Dunhill Links Championship on Sunday. 

That event ended a Tiger Woods run of 778 

consecutive weeks inside the top 50, dating 

back to when he was sitting in 61st place on 

the rankings list on 13 October 1996. 

In the case of the weekend's big winner, 

Michael Hoey – his heroics at the Dunhill 

Links Championship have moved Northern 

Ireland's latest winner into the top 100 of golf's 

world rankings. 

Hoey climbs from 271st to 98th in the 

updated standings that also saw Woods drop 

to 51st. England's Luke Donald remains at 

world number one, ahead of compatriot Lee 

Westwood and US Open champion Rory 

McIlroy, who was second to Hoey on Sunday, 

in third place. 

Kevin Na's first PGA Tour victory at the 

golf 

Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for 

Children Open in Las Vegas on Sunday moved 

him up from 76th to 62nd. 

In true Tiger style, Woods went out and 

shot a course-record 62 this weekend at 

Medalist Golf Club in Hobe Sound, Florida, 

making 10 birdies, including seven on the 

back nine for a 29. Woods only just missed a 

15-footer for eagle on the course's 18th hole. 

Known for its difficulty, Medalist plays 7,157 

yards from the back tees with a course rating 

of 74.5 and a slope of 142, and is certainly 

no pushover. 

In this kind of form, Woods can be 

expected to make his re-entry into the top 50 

very quickly. 

The latest top 20 rankings with points: 

1 Luke Donald (Eng) 10.70 

2 Lee Westwood (Eng) 7.79 

3 Rory McIlroy (NIrl) 7.35 

4 Steve Stricker (USA) 6.56 

5 Dustin Johnson (USA) 6.49 

6 Martin Kaymer (Ger) 6.34 

7 Jason Day (Aus) 5.94 

8 Adam Scott (Aus) 5.69 

9 Matt Kuchar (USA) 5.61 

10 Phil Mickelson (USA) 5.59 

11 Nick Watney (USA) 5.37 

12 Charl Schwartzel (RSA) 4.93 

13 Webb Simpson (USA) 4.91 

14 Graeme McDowell (NIrl) 4.73 

15 K J Choi (Kor) 4.70 

16 Bubba Watson (USA) 4.38 

17 Justin Rose (Eng) 4.23 

18 David Toms (USA) 4.16 

19 Hunter Mahan (USA) 4.14 

20 Paul Casey (Eng) 3.96 


sport 

IrB names referees for quarterfInals 

The International Rugby Board has announced the group of match officials who will take charge of the 

Rugby World Cup 2011 knockouts. By PlanetRugby.com 

As announced in April, a panel of ten referees 

and two specialist television match officials 

have been selected from the panel of 21 officials 

for the showcase matches which kick-off in 

Auckland and Wellington this weekend. 

The appointments were made by the 

IRB's Match Official Selection Committee in 

Auckland on Sunday after a thorough review of 

rwc 

performances across the 40 Pool phase matches. 

Wayne Barnes (England), George Clancy 

(Ireland), Craig Joubert (South Africa), Jonathan 

Kaplan (South Africa), Bryce Lawrence (New 

Zealand), Nigel Owens (Wales), Dave Pearson 

(England), Romain Poite (France), Alain Rolland 

(Ireland) and Steve Walsh (Australia) will 

Photo: New Zealand's Bryce Lawrence. REUTERS 

tuesday - 4 september 2011

sport 

"the extensive 

performance review of 

all 40 matches included 

coach, match official and 

performance reviewer 

feedback and we are very 

happy with the way that 

the group has worked 

together to collectively 

achieve the goals set." 

perform referee and assistant referee duties. 

Giulio De Santis (Italy) and Shaun Veldsman 

(South Africa) have been selected as the two 

specialist TMOs. 

Joubert will kick-off the quarter-final action 

when he takes charge of Wales v Ireland in 

Wellington on Saturday at 6pm, while Walsh 

will officiate England v France in Auckland at 

8:30pm. The following day will see Lawrence 

referee South Africa v Australia in Wellington 

at 6pm and Owens take charge of the New 

Zealand v Argentina match at 8:30pm. 

"Our focus has been firmly on consistency, 

penalising the clear and obvious and tackling 

the 'big five' areas," said IRB referee manager 

Paddy O'Brien. 

"The extensive performance review of all 

40 matches included coach, match official and 

performance reviewer feedback and we are very 

happy with the way that the group has worked 

rwc 

together to collectively achieve the goals set. 

"Accuracy in decision making is our top 

priority. We will continue to work as a unit 

to achieve the high standards that have 

collectively been set and maintain a zerotolerance 

attitude towards infringements across 

the key areas of the game. In that regard, I 

would also like to thank the coaches for their 

buy-in to the process during this tournament." 

Quarterfinal match officials: 

Ireland vs Wales in Wellington 

Referee: Craig Joubert 

Assistant referees: Wayne Barnes, Romain 

Poite 

Television match official: Giulio De Santis 

Assessor: Bob Francis 

England vs France in Auckland 

Referee: Steve Walsh 

Assistant referees: Alain Rolland, George 

Clancy 

Television match official: Shaun Veldsman 

Assessor: Michel Lamoulie 

South Africa vs Australia in Wellington 

Referee: Bryce Lawrence 

Assistant referees: Dave Pearson, 

Romain Poite 

Television match official: Giulio De Santis 

Assessor: Tappe Henning 

New Zealand vs Argentina in Auckland 

Referee: Nigel Owens 

Assistant referees: Jonathan Kaplan, 

George Clancy 

Television match official: Shaun Veldsman 

Assessor: Stephen Hilditch. 

tuesday - 4 september 2011

OGILVY CAPE TOWN 42511

south africa

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