ENTERTAINMENT
November 6, 2005 | By Rene Lynch
ON and off screen, Mark Bamford and Suzanne Kay find themselves battling stereotypes about South Africa. Their new movie, "Cape of Good Hope," is not at all what might be expected from a film set in a country once bitterly divided by race: The comedy-drama follows the intertwined lives of several characters, including a woman who rescues dogs, a widowed veterinarian and a Muslim couple eager to have children.
NEWS
October 30, 2001 | By ANN M. SIMMONS
A surprise split late last week in this country's official opposition could significantly alter regional politics by thrusting the ruling African National Congress into power in a longtime opposition stronghold and giving it nationwide dominance, analysts said Monday. The New National Party, the successor to the party responsible for apartheid, said Friday that it was suspending its membership in the Democratic Alliance, the country's main political opposition.
NEWS
October 14, 2001 | By ANN M. SIMMONS
In a twist on South Africa's contentious debate over restoring land to landless people, an indigenous community has launched a drive to reclaim what is today some of the country's most valuable real estate. About 60,000 ethnic Khoikhoi of the Goringhaicona tribe, led by paramount chief Calvin Cornelius, want to regain large sections of Cape Town's stunningly beautiful and financially lucrative Victoria and Alfred Waterfront.
NEWS
May 23, 2001 | By ANN M. SIMMONS
Disgraced anti-apartheid activist Allan Boesak, imprisoned last year for fraud and theft, was granted an early release Tuesday, sparking allegations by some prisoners' rights activists of judicial favoritism for the privileged. Boesak was freed from a penitentiary near Cape Town after serving one year of a three-year sentence for stealing $400,000 from charitable donations made to his Foundation for Peace and Justice, including substantial contributions from singer Paul Simon.
NEWS
December 8, 2000
President Thabo Mbeki lashed out at South Africa's mainly white and mixed-race opposition party bloc after it made big gains in local elections, calling it an "unholy alliance" that is bad for the nation. Mbeki told a victory rally for the ruling African National Congress, or ANC, in Johannesburg that any headway made by the Democratic Alliance could not discredit the will of the overwhelming majority. But analysts said the outcome signaled an alarming rise in racial divisions.
NEWS
June 26, 2000 | By DEAN E. MURPHY
The political party that created apartheid, imprisoned Nelson Mandela and later negotiated a peaceful transition to black-majority rule in South Africa has called it quits after 86 years, conceding that it cannot go it alone in the racially mixed nation. Leaders of the New National Party confirmed Sunday that they have agreed to a merger with the country's main opposition party, the Democratic Party, under the name Democratic Alliance.
NEWS
July 3, 1999 | By DEAN E. MURPHY
Leaders of the Congress of South African Students, meeting here this week, are pledging to make the Western Cape province "ungovernable." Expect picketing, boycotts, sickouts and strikes in the coming weeks, they warn. Teachers and other trade union groups, who last month led a march on the provincial legislature, are considering further disruptions. Some extremists, according to one report, have even threatened to burn down this city.
NEWS
June 19, 1999 | By DEAN E. MURPHY
Newly inaugurated South African President Thabo Mbeki is well known for protecting his privacy. During a preelection television appearance, he even stonewalled when asked about his taste in music. But Mbeki is an open book compared with his wife, Zanele. The new first lady refuses to grant interviews. Her personal secretary has been instructed not to divulge basic information, such as her age and job history.
NEWS
June 17, 1999 | By DEAN E. MURPHY
Thabo Mbeki, a child of the struggle against apartheid who was sent into exile 37 years ago to prepare for black majority rule, became this country's second elected black leader Wednesday, replacing retiring President Nelson Mandela. Mbeki took the oath of office in three languages outside the Union Buildings, the seat of government since 1913 and the center of white minority rule until five years ago.
NEWS
June 16, 1999 | By DEAN E. MURPHY
The subject was Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic. There were suggestions he might seek asylum in South Africa. Would he be prevented from entering the country? "No, we will not ban anybody," President Nelson Mandela told reporters here last month. "What we condemn are his actions." Mandela's statement sent journalists scurrying. "Milosevic Is Welcome in South Africa," screamed the headlines. Later, Mandela complained that the media had "gravely distorted" his remarks.