Photo Essay

MISSION TO MOGADISHU

It is the driest time of the year in Somalia, and the hungriest. NASTASYA TAY joined the latest Gift of the Givers mission to Mogadishu. These are some of the images with which she returned.

South Africa

DA YOUNG GUN MAZIBUKO READY TO FIRE FIRST SALVO IN MID-TERM CAUCUS ELECTIONS

Athol Trollip will be campaigning hard in the next month to cling on to his job as DA parliamentary leader as Lindiwe Mazibuko’s entry into the party’s mid-term race could present him with some tough competition. CARIEN DU PLESSIS previews the campaign, which is likely to spark yet another debate about black and white – and young and old – in the DA.

DR DEATH’S BACK IN SOUTH AFRICAN LIVES

Wouter Basson. “Dr Death”. The man who ran the apartheid government’s biological warfare project is alive and well, and running a rather successful cardiologist practice in Parow. You’d be right if you think this is unjust. So does the Health Professions Council of SA. By STEPHEN GROOTES.

ANALYSIS: THE WESTERN CAPE TAKES THE THOUGHT LEADERSHIP IN JOB CREATION – NOW ALL WE NEED IS ACTION

Monday’s landmark declaration of understanding signed by Cosatu and the chamber of commerce in the Western Cape may be the first of its kind in the country, but unless both sides take it further, the agreement will become a thin veneer covering the ideological rift between the two sides. It does, however, present a good starting point for a much-needed change in the conversation. By OSIAME MOLEFE.

MAGISTRATES MULL A WAGE STRIKE OVER “UNRESTRUCTURED PAY”

There’s a mathematical chance of a magistrate’s strike happening at some point in the near future. It isn’t like the wage dispute is completely unfounded. It is all about a lack of communication between the relevant people and also a lack of options for public office bearers when this sort of dispute arises. By SIPHO HLONGWANE.

Opinionistas

IVO VEGTER: ‘STIMULATE’ BY ENDING TELCO ABUSES

One of the biggest burdens on South Africa’s economy is the drag caused by mobile operators, consumer credit providers, and the regulations that are supposed to curb their excesses, but fail to do so.

MARIO AMBROSINI: DEBT-FREE MONEY IS ONLY WAY OUT OF FINANCIAL CRISIS

Sooner or later a chain of sovereign defaults will finally force people to realise that the present system cannot work and that the time has come to reconsider the role of the state in modern society.

Africa

AHMADINEJAD’S AFRICAN STOPOVER

Iran’s president isn’t welcome everywhere these days, but he found the red carpet rolled out as he stopped over in Mauritania and Sudan – two countries with nothing to lose by embracing the power and influence of the Islamic Republic. By SIMON ALLISON.

THE RAPE THAT SHOCKED NIGERIA

Rape is a crime committed with impunity in Nigeria. Such impunity that five Nigerian man who gang-raped a female university student thought they could post a video of the rape online and get away with it. And they nearly did, until the public outcry of a shocked nation forced the authorities into action. By SIMON ALLISON.

WANGARI MAATHAI: AFRICA’S TREE LADY DIES IN NAIROBI

Late on Sunday night, Wangari Maathai – the fearless campaigner, the Nobel Peace Prize winner, the politician, the Tree Lady, and the first ever female PhD holder from East and Central Africa – died in a Nairobi hospital bed after a long fight with cancer. She was 71, and one of the most remarkable women of her generation. By SIMON ALLISON.

HEARING THE CALL OF THE ARAB SPRING, MOROCCO SEEKS ITS OWN WAY

While the revolutionary fervour of the Arab Spring has outstripped the Arab world, inspiring protests across Africa, Europe and even as far afield as the USA, Morocco remained relatively quiet. In July, King Mohammad VI passed a new “reformist constitution” and parliamentary elections will be held in November this year. World leaders moved to congratulate King Mohammad for his leadership but inside Morocco, dissatisfaction with the Moroccan government has continued to fester. In the streets of Casablanca and Rabat, protesters have continued to demonstrate every week against the government. They certainly have not been won over yet. KHADIJA PATEL explains why Moroccan activists remain disgruntled with their government.

AFRICAN MONITOR: TOO MANY EGGS IN TOO MANY BASKETS?

NGO African Monitor has a new focus on working with grassroots communities. It is taking its advocacy around development to high-level contacts at the AU and elsewhere. It’s also still trying to monitor the flow of aid into Africa, and how it’s spent. And much more. A gargantuan set of tasks, in short. And highly unlikely to succeed. By THERESA MALLINSON.

World

SARKOZY BATTLES A FRENCH-FLAVOURED ARMS DEAL SCANDAL

French President Nicholas Sarkozy’s bid to be re-elected to office for a second term has been dealt a severe blow by an ever-widening arms deal scandal. Three of Sarkozy’s close aides are already under investigation for their parts in a sordid story of kickbacks, failed presidential campaigns and fatal bomb blasts in Pakistan. The French sure do turn up in arms-deal sagas rather frequently, eh? By KHADIJA PATEL.

PENTAGON BEEFS UP ANTI-HACKER CYBER SECURITY

The Pentagon is extending a pilot cyber-security programme to include the protection of defence contractors, who are increasingly coming under attack from hostile nations and hackers. Some 20 companies will now have their online security handled directly by the Pentagon. By SIPHO HLONGWANE.

RUSSIA’S SECRET POLICE BULLYING WESTERN DIPLOMATS

It’s the stuff of a John le Carre? novel, except that it’s fact. A new book reports that Russia’s spy agency has adopted the KGB’s psychological warfare tactics to harass British and American diplomats. By REBECCA DAVIS.

US TO SUPPLY ARMS TO BAHRAIN

In recent months, Western powers have come under stinging criticism for supplying arms to autocratic Arab rulers. Bahrain, to whom the US approved more than $200 million in arms sales last year, exemplified the inherent dangers in arming autocratic regimes. Just months after the brutal crackdown against protesters, the US is now mulling a sale worth $53 million of military equipment and support to the Gulf state. On order from the US are bunker buster missiles and armoured vehicles – bulking up Bahrain’s capacity to react to armoured threats. The US economy could certainly do with a good few arms sales but surely the timing is a little off? By KHADIJA PATEL.

ABBAS AND PALESTINIAN STATEHOOD: SOLUTIONS TURN QUICKLY INTO PROBLEMS

The celebrations in Ramallah and the occupied West Bank last week, as President Mahmoud Abbas made his formal bid at the United Nations for Palestinian statehood, have this week died down in the face of the uncomfortable reality – neither the United States, nor Israel, nor the Palestinian Authority itself are likely to emerge from this historical episode better off. By KEVIN BLOOM.

Business

THE DREAM UN-DEFERRED: FINALLY, BOEING DELIVERS FIRST OF ITS DREAMLINER

On Sunday, beleaguered airplane manufacturer Boeing delivered the first of what will be hundreds of its new 787 Dreamliners to a commercial airline company. The programme, delayed four years and facing billions in cost overruns, may struggle to prove successful. It is a lesson in the perils of post-industrial manufacturing. By RICHARD POPLAK.

Life, etc

JACKSON’S DOCTOR’S TRIAL MAYNOTBEA THRILLER

Michael Jackson’s doctor, Conrad Murray, goes on trial for manslaughter in Los Angeles on Tuesday. But those hoping for salacious details about the late weirdo’s private life are likely to go hungry – the judge says so. By REBECCA DAVIS.

BLACK IS BACK – IS IT FOR GOOD?

Rebecca Black should have been more careful what she wished for after her song “Friday” won her international fame for all the wrong reasons. Now Black is attempting to launch herself as a serious pop star – but will anyone take her seriously? By REBECCA DAVIS.

ASSANGE THE (WOULD-BE) CENSOR: UNCENSORED

It’s like the Nadine Gordimer saga all over again. A global champion of free speech, a world-acclaimed voice for the voiceless, agrees to the publication of an authorised biography, only to renege on his/her first principles and withdraw consent when the final draft is seen. Today, much to his annoyance, Julian Assange’s “unauthorised” biography is released in the UK. We wonder what Ronald Suresh Roberts would have said. By KEVIN BLOOM.

Sport

RWC 2011 PREVIEW – ITALY VS USA

Italy head into this Rugby World Cup clash with the USA with one eye on Ireland, while the Eagles are determined to end their campaign on a high. By PLANETRUGBY.COM.

CARNOUSTIE – THE REAL BIRTHPLACE OF GOLF

The Carnoustie Golf Links, one of the courses on which the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship is to be played this week, is said to be one of the 10 oldest golf clubs in the world. By GOLF365.COM.