"S Africa's rain queen dies at 27"

Don't take the blue pill
In the film The Matrix, Morpheus (played by Laurence Fishburne) offers Neo (Keanu Reeves) a stark choice. He can either gain a greater understanding of the complex forces that comprise the world in which he lives; or he can continue in a state of imperilled ignorance as though they do not exist. "You take the blue pill and the story ends," promises Morpheus. "You wake in your bed and you believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill and you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes."

Anonymity Is Dead. Long Live Pseudonymity
To protect society's greater good, we willingly live with certain restrictions. We must show a photo ID and have our bags searched to travel by air. We must register vehicles and have a license to drive a car. To enter the country, we need a passport. Soon, to surf cyberspace we'll need valid IDs. E-mail won't get through to recipients unless the sender's domain can be authenticated. All payloads (content and attachments) will be searched, verified, and confiscated if considered a security risk. Anonymity, for all practical purposes, is dead.

Leadership: The Problem with Africa
Ok, I admit it. I am going to break my cardinal rule and write a piece though I promised myself I was not going to do that until I graduate from school on the 18th of this month, June. I went to Ghana for sometime, and was very impressed with the way the country is heading. Development is everywhere. More on that later. People are now willing to take chances, and the population is gradually realizing that we hold our fate, future, and destiny in our own hands.

S Africa's rain queen dies at 27
Makobo Modjadji, the rain queen who led South Africa's Balobedu people, has died aged only 27.

Lifting Africa's debt sentence
As G8 announces new relief package, observers fear cycle will just repeat itself

Africa's 'Dependency Syndrome'
BRITAIN has adopted Africa as a centrepiece of its Foreign Policy this year. In his usual missionary approach the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, has rebranded himself from being the Secretary of State for America into Prime Minister for Africa. It was in this Africa mode that he went to America, earlier last week, to try to exact some concessions from his buddy, President George W Bush.

Is Class Struggle On South Africa's Political Agenda?
South Africa's ruling African National Congress is currently facing a major national crisis that, in all truth, was to be expected. The crisis arises out of the widening economic, social, cultural and political gap between the new, growing Black elite within the Movement, on one hand, and the millions of unemployed, of poorly paid workers, of the homeless, the illiterate and those with little education, and an increasingly alienated youth, on the other.

A Movement Grows In Brooklyn
No one needs to tell Sofia Campos what hard work is all about. Since coming to New York City from Mexico in 1993, she has been employed at a succession of the low wage jobs that newly arrived immigrants often fill. But nothing prepared Sofia for her experience working at a small chain store in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn.

Forajido Uprising
It has now been more than a month since the resistance to the feudal mafia-type political culture climaxed in Ecuador, last 20th of April. Indeed what went on in Guayaquil, Cuenca, and especially Quito is of utmost importance for Ecuador's political history, not only because of the nature of the episode, but because of its possible implications.

Disruptive toddlers to be treated as potential criminals
CHILDREN as young as three are to be singled out by nursery staff if they display aggressive behaviour or have a family background of criminality, according to a government report.

CAFTA in Peril on Capitol Hill
With the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) in serious trouble, a prominent business leader recently laid it on the line: Business groups are prepared to cut off campaign contributions to House members who oppose the pact.

Kuwait: Woman appointed as minister for first time in history

Debt Ceiling Or Debt Floor?
You realize you are living in strange economic times when the Democrats chastise the Republicans for "fiscal irresponsibility." Such was the case when the House of Representatives finally got around to raising the funny money bar by another $800 billion.

US behind Bolivia crisis - Chavez
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has blamed Washington's brand of capitalism for the recent troubles in Bolivia.

Michael Jackson not guilty on all counts
Michael Jackson was found not guilty Monday on all counts in his trial on child molestation charges, concluding a two-year legal saga for one of the world's most well-known pop stars.

Driving force who was 'motivated by grudge'
It was meant to be the glorious swansong for the small-town district attorney - his chance to go mano-a-mano with the powerful pop star and his big city attorneys. But in the end, it didn't pan out like that. In the end, the Santa Barbara district attorney, Tom Sneddon - the "Mad Dog" of the Santa Barbara justice system who says he enjoys nothing more than the tussle of the courtroom - stepped down in favour of his deputy, Ron Zonen.