Drivetime

Black For Rohingya

According to the UN the Rohingya in Myanmar are the world’s most persecuted ethnic minority. The eruption of violence in 2012 is symptomatic of a long and oppressive history of discrimination for which the Buddhist-majority government is to blame. The Rohingya are labeled ‘illegal immigrants’ from Bangladesh thus rendering them…

10 Jun 2014 10AM 11 min

Unpacking The NPA

In the short, troubled and tumultuous history of the National Prosecuting Authority, chaos has reigned. Formed only in 1998, it has seen one head resign after being cleared of being an Apartheid spy, the next being fired after trying to charge the National Police Commissioner, a third suffering the humiliation…

10 Jun 2014 10AM 18 min

Karachi Airport Raid

The Pakistani Taliban has claimed responsibility for an assault on Karachi airport that has killed 29 people, and given warning that more attacks are on the way. Besides the dead, at least two dozen people were wounded and flights were suspended as a result of Monday's attack on Jinnah International…

9 Jun 2014 11AM 8 min

Photographers fought apartheid with cameras

A new documentary film chronicling local photographer’s lives during apartheid has raised questions about press freedom and preserving a visual archive of the struggle for liberation.Behind the Lens, directed by Liz Fish, premieres this weekend at the Encounters documentary film festival. During its 52 minutes, the film tells of how…

9 Jun 2014 10AM 5 min

Radical Economic Transformation

For two years now, political journalists have been trying to plough through ANC parlance to find out what exactly the ruling party’s plans are to achieve economic growth. The use of the term “radical” began at the ANC’s policy conference in June 2012, in the context of discussions of the…

9 Jun 2014 10AM 14 min

SAHRC launches Lwandle evictions probe

More than 800 families saw their shacks demolished and they were left homeless after roads agency Sanral was granted an eviction order by the Western Cape High Court earlier this year. The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) says it intends to engage with all parties involved to investigate the…

9 Jun 2014 10AM 8 min

Syrian elections : Analysis

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was re-elected in the country's first presidential vote since its civil war broke out three years ago. Al-Assad received 88.7% of Tuesday's vote, according to state media agencies. The election took place only in areas controlled by the government. Opposition groups and many Western countries have…

6 Jun 2014 11AM 17 min

G4S to end Israeli contract

We’ve been watching the developments on this story quite closely and today there is a breakthrough. British-Danish multinational security and prison firm G4S is to pull out of Israeli prisons completely, according to media reports. This of course is a significant victory for Palestine human rights campaigners and the global…

6 Jun 2014 10AM 8 min

Nkandlagate continues

Despite the Public Protector’s report that President Jacob Zuma unduly benefited from the improvements at his Nkandla homestead, the political fallout over Nkandla has left more questions than answers. And now, the latest question is who paid for the five new private homes that are part of the president’s homestead?…

6 Jun 2014 10AM 10 min

Platinum wage demands in context

Platinum companies face difficult choices as they balance increasing workers’ salaries to end a nearly five-month wage strike against their need to invest in their mines to ensure future production and to preserve jobs. Miners are demanding a R12,500 basic monthly salary. But are they demanding the impossible? A new…

6 Jun 2014 10AM 16 min

Egyptian Elections Analysis with Eric Walberg

Abdel Fattah Sisi overwhelmingly won Egypt’s presidential election, gaining 96.9% of the vote last week over lone challenger Hamdeen Sabahi, the chief of the Presidential Elections Commission announced Tuesday. The official results came as no surprise after initial independent estimates announced Thursday by Egyptian media indicated a landslide victory for…

5 Jun 2014 10AM 19 min

Brazilians March

Some 4,000 protesters in Brazil's biggest city are peacefully marching toward the stadium that will host the World Cup's opening match, calling on the government for low-income housing. Live television images last night are showing the mass of marchers making their way down a main thoroughfare in eastern Sao Paulo…

5 Jun 2014 10AM 10 min

Mogoeng Mogoeng: Religion and Law

Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng wants more religion in our law and religious groups to get more involved in the law-making process. He believes our law, and possibly our Constitution, can benefit from religion being infused within it. Last week he made a speech at a conference on exactly this -…

5 Jun 2014 10AM 15 min

Cartoon, tweet, Thuli fall foul of ANC

The ANC yesterday lodged a formal complaint with the SA Human Rights Commission over a 'racist' and 'insulting' cartoon, a tweet and a published comment by the public protector. In his official complaint to the SAHRC, Stone Stizani wrote: Since the elections, there has been (an) unprecedented public onslaught directed…

5 Jun 2014 10AM 9 min

Trojan Horse

A total of 1 schools in Birmingham have been inspected following fears of an alleged plot by extremist Muslims to seize control of governing boards in the city. The fictitious 'Trojan Horse' plot to take over some of the city's schools. The decision to investigate and the manner in which…

4 Jun 2014 10AM 16 min

DA Reviewing Social Media Policy

The ANC on Tuesday slammed DA MP Mike Waters for posting a "racist" tweet and labelled the DA as a collection of racists. Waters has since deleted the tweet and apologised on the social network. Democratic Alliance spokesperson Phumzile van Damme said the party had accepted Waters's apology. The party…

4 Jun 2014 10AM 8 min

Nomzamo Evictions

Latest news on the Nomzamo evictions is that evicted families illegally occupying land belonging to South Africa’s road agency, Sanral, will be allowed to temporarily return until discussions surrounding long-term solutions are resolved. This comes after hundreds of informal settlers were left destitute on Monday, after they were forcibly removed…

4 Jun 2014 10AM 8 min

Syrian Humanitarian project: Al Imdaad

From the elections, we turn to the humanitarian situation in Syria. Over the past two years, we Have been following the Al Imdaad Foundation's work in Syrian refugee camps. They currently has a relief team on the border of Turkey and Syria delivering emergency aid and developing various projects including…

3 Jun 2014 10AM 9 min

Syrian election

Syrians are voting in a presidential election which the incumbent Bashar al-Assad is widely expected to win. Voting is only taking place in government-controlled territories, meaning those displaced by fighting or living in rebel-held areas will not be able to take part. The opposition has dismissed the vote as a…

3 Jun 2014 10AM 8 min

South Africa's education ranking

Education pundits have for years been speaking about South Africa's low quality of Maths and Science education. Yet again this issue was under the spotlight following a report by the World Economic Forum that South Africa is scoring poorly in Maths and science, and in fact it seems that we…

3 Jun 2014 10AM 7 min