Tag Archives: South Africa

News: China ‘Peace Envoy’ In Ukraine, South Africa Ships Weapons To Russia

The Globalist, May 16, 2023: A Chinese ‘peace’ envoy arrives in Ukraine as Volodomyr Zelensky pushes for military supplies abroad, South Africa sticks to its controversial stance on Russia and the EU plans to build internet cables under the Black Sea.

Plus: we check in with film critic Karen Krizanovich as the Cannes Film Festival begins, and Monocle’s Fiona Wilson talks food diplomacy, as carbonara pancakes are on the menu in Hiroshima ahead of the G7 summit.

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Books: Literary Review Magazine – May 2023

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Literary Review – May 2023 issue: Donald Rayfield surveys the life and work of the Russian poet Osip Mandelstam and R W Johnson reviews the Mandela’s…

The Poet & the Tyrant

Osip Mandelstam: A Biography’ By Ralph Dutli

When in 1960 I first came across Osip Mandelstam’s poetry, nobody in the USSR had enjoyed access to his work since the early 1930s and few even knew of his existence, let alone of his death, as he had predicted, in Stalin’s Gulag. His books had been removed from libraries and bookshops.

Heroism & Homicide

Winnie and Nelson: Portrait of a Marriage’ By Jonny Steinberg

Under apartheid, aspiring South African writers frequently marketed themselves to the world as committed and heroic anti-apartheid activists. The enormous success of Alan Paton’s Cry, the Beloved Country (fifteen million copies sold and counting) showed the way, though Paton was the real McCoy, a committed liberal who suffered for his beliefs.

Hikes: Table Mountain, Cape Town, South Africa

URBAN ROAMER (March 30, 2023) – Virtual Walking Tour on Top of Table Mountain Plateau in Cape Town, South Africa. The summit area is huge and full of stunning panoramic views around the Coastline of Camps Bay, Clifton and Sea Point.

Video timeline: 00:00​ View to City Bowl of Cape Town 00:28 Devil’s Peak View 03:15 Other side of the plateau 05:00 Twelve Apostles View 07:40 Restaurant Area on Mountain Top 08:30 Beautiful Bird – What’s the name? 08:53 Camps Bay Beach View 09:20 Lion’s Head | Clifton Beach and Sea Point View 10:30 Waiting Line to go down at cableway station 11:51 Cape Town Cityscape & Table Bay View

Also the City Bowl with its vibrant city centre and business area and even Robben island are visible from the highest point in Cape Town.

Health: 39% Of Americans Suffer Sleep Disorders

Infographic: 39% Of Americans Can’t Sleep | Statista

This Friday, March 17, is World Sleep Day, an annual event that aims to raise awareness of the importance of getting a good night’s sleep. This year’s campaign tagline is “Sleep is essential for health.” According to a study by the American College of Cardiology, up to 8 percent of deaths from any cause could be attributed to “poor sleep patterns”, while those with healthier sleep habits are less likely to die prematurely.

Data from Statista Consumer Insights shows that in the United States, 39 percent of respondents said they had suffered from a sleep disorder (problems falling asleep or staying asleep, insomnia, etc.) in the 12 months prior to the survey. Italians were among the worst sleepers in the survey at 48 percent reporting a sleep disorder, while India registered a higher share of good sleepers, with only 26 percent suffering from poor sleep.

Previews: The New Yorker Magazine – Feb 27, 2023

“Curiosities” by Edward Steed.

The New Yorker – February 27, 2023 issue:

It’s Time to Rethink the Idea of the “Indigenous”

A set of five heads connected by string. Each face is showing a different part of a map.

Many groups who identify as Indigenous don’t claim to be first peoples; many who did come first don’t claim to be Indigenous. Can the concept escape its colonial past?

Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s Minister of Chaos

As unrest roils the country, a controversial figure from the far right helps Benjamin Netanyahu hold on to power.

The Dystopian Underworld of South Africa’s Illegal Gold Mines

When the country’s mining industry collapsed, a criminal economy grew in its place, with thousands of men climbing into some of the deepest shafts in the world, searching for leftover gold.

News: Zelensky Visits UK, South Africa ‘State Of The Nation’, Swiss Skepticism

Ukraine and the UK: a new special relationship? Plus: what to expect from Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation address, Switzerland’s school for coronavirus sceptics and the latest aviation news.

News: EU Sanctions Iran, Russia-China-South Africa Naval Drills, Oslo Design

January 24, 2023 – We report on the EU’s new sanctions against Iran. Plus: a look at South Africa’s worsening energy crisis and controversial plans to hold joint naval drills with Russia and China, the latest fashion news, and this year’s Oslo Design Fair.

Preview: The Smithsonian Magazine – Jan/Feb 2023

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Smithsonian Magazine – January/February 2023:

The Misunderstood Roman Empress Who Willed Her Way to the Top

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A fresh view of Galla Placidia, who married a barbarian and ruled when the world power fell into chaos

Mesoamericans Have Been Using a 260-Day Ceremonial Calendar for Millennia

New research has the earliest evidence yet of when the timekeeping guide was used to mark the seasons

A New Discovery Puts Panama as the Site of the First Successful Slave Rebellion

Deep in the archives, a historian rescues the tale of brave maroons

News: China’s Foreign Police Stations, South Africa Impeachment

We discuss reports of China operating more than 100 police stations abroad, plus: South Africa’s parliament votes on impeaching President Cyril Ramaphosa, Indonesia bans sex outside of marriage and what will Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s presidency mean for indigenous tribes in the Amazon?

Aerial Views: Namib Desert In Southern Africa (4K)

The Namib is a coastal  desert  in  Southern Africa. The name Namib is of Khoekhoegowab origin and means “vast place”. According to the broadest definition, the Namib stretches for more than 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) along the Atlantic coasts of AngolaNamibia, and South Africa, extending southward from the Carunjamba River in Angola, through Namibia and to the Olifants River in Western Cape, South Africa.[2][3][4] The Namib’s northernmost portion, which extends 450 kilometres (280 mi) from the Angola-Namibia border, is known as Moçâmedes Desert, while its southern portion approaches the neighboring Kalahari Desert. From the Atlantic coast eastward, the Namib gradually ascends in elevation, reaching up to 200 kilometres (120 mi) inland to the foot of the Great Escarpment.[2]