President Obama will visit Dakar, Senegal, next month, according to reports in the Senegalese press. The newspaper L’As said today that the president will be in Dakar June 26 to 28 and will be accompanied by first lady Michelle Obama and daughters Malia and Sacha. Newspapers in South Africa have also been reporting an upcoming [...]
South African Unions’ Call For Nationalization of Mines Revives Debate
May 16, 2013 | Posted by
JOHANNESBURG—Amid fresh strikes and labor violence, South African union leaders are making the case that government ownership of mines would help narrow the country’s income gap. As companies and unions head into another round of labor talks, the revived debate could pose a threat to a pillar of the South African economy, two decades after [...]
South Africa Mine Workers Strike After Union Leader Killed
May 14, 2013 | Posted by
Thousands of mine workers have downed tools at South Africa’s Lonmin mine after a union leader was shot dead in the restive platinum belt this weekend, a company official said. “Lonmin operations are suspended this morning due to an illegal work stoppage,” Sue Vey, a spokeswoman for Lonmin told, told the AFP news agency on [...]
Haiti Crowds Defy Ban, Laud Reappearance of Ex-President Aristide
May 9, 2013 | Posted by
Thousands of supporters of Haiti’s former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide have defied a ban on protests to follow his convoy through the streets. Aristide was attending a courthouse in Port-au-Prince to answer questions about the murder of a well-known journalist in 2000. It was his first appearance in public since his return from exile in 2011. [...]
South Africa’s President Zuma Visits Recovering Nelson Mandela
April 30, 2013 | Posted by
Nelson Mandela hosted South African President Jacob Zuma at his Johannesburg home on Monday. Mandela looks understandably fragile just three weeks after his release from hospital, despite Zuma’s remark that the 94-year-old was “in good shape.”
Widows of South Africa Miners Still Await Financial Help
April 26, 2013 | Posted by
Widows of some of the miners killed by South African police last year have told Al Jazeera they are still waiting for financial help. Some of the women are so upset they have refused to attend the inquiry into the shootings.
Tensions High as Striking Teachers March in South Africa
April 24, 2013 | Posted by
PRETORIA, South Africa — More than 20 police vehicles were deployed on Wednesday to an open space in Marabastad, on the outskirts of Pretoria, ahead of a planned teachers’ union march. Police officers stood next to the cars. Some of them held documents, while others conversed. Two Nyalas, armored vehicles, with flashing lights, arrived at the [...]
South Africa Debates Racial Makeup of Court Judges
April 21, 2013 | Posted by
In South Africa, where judges and courts have come to hold a special importance, a recently leaked document has brought into the open a debate about the racial makeup of the judiciary. Since the advent of democracy in 1994, the African National Congress, the mostly-black anti-apartheid liberation movement, has enjoyed consistent electoral success and has [...]
Give up Luxury Cars, Archbishop Tutu Tells South Africa Leaders
April 12, 2013 | Posted by
South Africa’s veteran Archbishop Desmond Tutu called on government ministers to give up their luxury vehicles to prove they are serious about narrowing the gap between rich and poor. The 81-year-old Tutu said those in government should renounce their “opulent, ostentatious cars” to symbolize sharing the nation’s wealth. “People go to bed hungry in this land,” he added. Speaking at a ceremony to mark [...]
South Africans Thankful Mandela Discharged From Hospital
April 8, 2013 | Posted by
Former South African President Nelson Mandela is recuperating at his home in Johannesburg. He was discharged from hospital on Saturday after he was treated for a lung infection. But as Mike Hanna of Al Jazeera reports from Soweto, some South Africans are still worried about the health of the man they call, the father of [...]
