Africa

Re: David Lazarus' consumer column, "Tell us what's in those pills," March 22: I am a retired salesman from a large German chemical company famous for aspirin. For a time, I sold chromic acid in bulk containers from South Africa to a onetime U.S. producer of chromic acid. At that time, South Africa was under the apartheid system of government. As South Africa was a pariah, I asked the buyer how it could sell South African material. Simple. When the buyer repackaged the bulk material into their package, it was considered value added.

Three men convicted of murdering an internationally known South African reggae star in a botched carjacking were sentenced by a judge to life in prison. Lucky Dube's 2007 killing drew worldwide attention to crime in South Africa, which has one of the world's highest murder rates. The 43-year-old singer was gunned down in his car in front of his children in suburban Johannesburg. "The accused showed no mercy for the deceased," Judge Seun Moshidi said. "It is difficult for the court to extend any mercy today."

Apartheid victims who accused automakers and IBM of helping the government of South Africa engage in violent repression to enforce racial segregation in the 1970s and '80s can go to trial with their claims, a judge ruled. U.S. District Judge Shira A. Scheindlin rejected assertions by several countries that the lawsuits should not proceed because that might harm relations between the U.S. and South Africa.

I just read Jane Engle's South Africa article ["Wild Kingdom," May 17]. When she returns to South Africa, she should rent a car and drive. Probably one of the most beautiful routes is the Garden Route, which meanders (by freeway or single-lane road, your choice) from Cape Town to another harbor city, Port Elizabeth. It takes you through natural forest and coastline, rivaled by few in the world. (The closest I've come was on the northwest coast of Italy near Cinque Terre.) But you have not been to South Africa if you have not been to the Kruger National Park, our primary and oldest conservation area.

With stars such as Brazil's Kaka and Spain's Fernando Torres heading to the Confederations Cup, host South Africa is hoping to put on a show that will prove it was the right choice to stage the 2010 World Cup. Eight teams are coming to South Africa to play in the June 14-28 tournament in four of the stadiums that will also stage World Cup matches next year. The teams are sending most of their best stars, even those who have only just finished a grueling season with their European clubs.

Chimpanzees and humans share about 95% of their DNA. If affinity and awareness count, Jane Goodall may have a smidge more. As the world's most renowned primatologist, her work has changed what we think of our primate brethren as thinking and feeling creatures, toolmakers, peacemakers and warmongers. One of the original "Leakey Ladies," anointed by the paleoanthropologist Louis B. Leakey, Goodall still returns twice each year to the chimpanzees of Gombe, Tanzania. In a world of fleeting celebrity, she remains both famous and influential.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton urged South Africa to take a leading role in driving economies across Africa and called on it to do more to press for reform in neighboring Zimbabwe. Clinton also praised improving ties between the United States and South Africa since the recent presidential elections in both countries. In particular, she welcomed what she said would be increased cooperation in the fight against HIV/AIDS. In a speech to business leaders in Johannesburg, Clinton said that despite economic setbacks South Africa was "uniquely positioned" to propel growth throughout Africa, the world's poorest continent, if it sticks to sound financial principles, embraces open trade and promotes foreign investment.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao offered $10 billion in loans to African nations over the next three years, saying China was a "true and trusted friend" of the continent and its people. The aid offer is double that unveiled by President Hu Jintao at a 2006 summit in Beijing, as China aims to boost a relationship that politically goes back decades and is now economically booming, to the discomfort of some in the West. Wen brushed aside concerns that China was interested only in Africa's natural resources to feed its booming economy.