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The Latest Breaking News from Johannesburg

Who owns the traditional ‘family home’ in South Africa? Court sets a new precedent, but the law remains murky

A recent ruling by the Johannesburg high court in South Africa has put the definition and control of the “family house” under African customary law under the spotlight. The ruling touches on sensitive issues of cultural heritage, statutory laws of property, and South Africa’s history of racial discrimination.

The Conversation

“I don't look at the fingerboard, I listen to it. All of my fretless basses have no fret lines. I can't play on a lined fingerboard”: How Bakithi Kumalo’s swung, fretless bassline helped create one of Graceland’s defining sounds

Like much of Paul Simon’s Graceland, the 1985 session for The Boy In The Bubble took place at Ovation Studios in downtown Johannesburg

Guitar World

Robert Sobukwe, the South African leader once as revered as Mandela

Born 100 years ago, Sobukwe was a titan of South Africa’s anti-apartheid struggle.

Al Jazeera

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How South Africa’s Famo music gave birth to Lesotho’s ‘terrorist’ gangs

Lesotho’s government has banned some Famo music groups, branding them ‘terrorist’ organisations as violence escalates.

Al Jazeera

Travelling by minibus taxi in South Africa: literature highlights the perils of Black life in a racially unequal society

Minibus taxis are ubiquitous in South Africa. Far from being simply the most common form of transport, however, minibus taxis signal how precarity and racial inequality continue to define everyday life for most South Africans.

The Conversation

The play that changed my life: Janet Suzman on staging Othello in apartheid South Africa

Putting on Shakespeare’s tragedy at Johannesburg’s Market theatre was a risky endeavour and caused an astonishing reaction

The Guardian - UK

As British Airways and Virgin Atlantic battle with Rolls-Royce, the real loser is the passenger

Analysis: BA’s Easter 2025 flights from Heathrow to Cape Town are selling at three times the fare to nearby Johannesburg after Virgin Atlantic cancelled flights

The Independent UK

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Spate Of Child Poisoning Deaths Sparks S.Africa Xenophobia

The deaths of 23 children in Johannesburg this year from suspected food poisoning has ignited anger in South Africa against foreign nationals who run small corner shops known as spazas.

International Business Times

Joy Dancer: dance documentary shows the power of movement to give a voice to the silenced

In 2018, when visiting the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg, South Africa, choreographer Gregory Maqoma came across the multimedia installation The African Choir 1891 Re-imagined (2017).

The Conversation

Hundreds march to mark 35 years of Pride Johannesburg in South Africa

Hundreds of people in the South African capital have marched to mark 35 years of Pride Johannesburg, an annual event that has been critical in advocating equal rights for the LGBTQ+ community

The Independent UK

Taiwan again rejects South African demand to move its representative office from capital

Taiwan has again rejected South Africa’s demand that it move its representative office in the country from the capital, Pretoria, to the commercial center of Johannesburg

The Independent UK

‘Why shouldn’t power be Black’? How Miriam Makeba won and lost the US

The Black South African singer defied the odds to become a household name in the US. Then she was cancelled.

Al Jazeera

Major City Plans to Rename Street After Palestinian Militant Who Was First Woman in History to Hijack a Plane

The City of Johannesburg, South Africa, may rename a major street after Leila Khalid, a Palestinian woman who hijacked a plane over 50 years ago.

Latin Times

Johannesburg considers naming a street after a Palestinian woman who hijacked a plane

Officials in South Africa’s biggest city of Johannesburg have proposed renaming a major street after a Palestinian woman who was involved in the hijacking of a plane more than 50 years ago

The Independent UK

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The Conversation

South Africa’s municipalities aren’t fixing roads, supplying clean water or keeping the lights on: new study explains why

South Africa has a massive infrastructure problem. Roads, electricity supply and water management are just three areas in which there is mounting evidence of collapse and decay. This is true for big cities like Johannesburg as well as small towns and rural areas.

Al Jazeera

How a beauty queen became the face of South Africa-Nigeria tensions

After Chidimma Adetshina suffered xenophobic abuse online, young Nigerians in South Africa say they feel unwelcome.

Al Jazeera

The Indian poet who scared white South Africa – and changed it

With her stirring speech 100 years ago, Sarojini Naidu inspired united opposition to empire and white minority rule.

The Guardian - UK

‘We cannot ignore Africa’: F1 fans on continent add to Lewis Hamilton’s call for grand prix

New wave of Formula One fans inspired by Netflix series Drive to Survive say it is time for an African country to host a race

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The Conversation

Johannesburg’s underbelly is explored in Niq Mhlongo’s fresh new novel about a messy break-up

Niq Mhlongo was born in Soweto, Johannesburg in 1973 and grew up under apartheid, South Africa’s institutionalised racial segregation under white minority rule. He graduated in political studies and African literature in 1996 and then studied law, but dropped out in his final year to become a writer instead.

The Conversation

Fire safety tips at home: the risks and how to avoid them

In many African communities, fire hazards are a concern due to the materials used for building and daily activities such as cooking and heating. The risks are increased by the use of highly flammable materials in homes and the absence of fire prevention measures. A major fire in a Johannesburg…

France 24

After years of civil war, South Sudan turns its focus to wildlife conservation

The world’s youngest nation of South Sudan, which emerged after decades of civil war, is home to the world’s biggest conservation project twice the size of Portugal. The conflicts have had an unintended consequence: they delayed development, meaning few roads were built, keeping poachers out and allowing wildlife to flourish.…

Al Jazeera

A year after Johannesburg building fire, survivors feel abandoned by city

Inquiry found authorities liable for neglect after 2023 blaze killed 76 people in dilapidated building in South Africa.

Al Jazeera

In South Africa, patriarchal law cuts some women off from owning their home

How a land law seeking to fix the racial injustices of apartheid created gender barriers for Black women instead.

Digital Camera World

Viviane Sassen to showcase large retrospective exhibition at Foam

Viviane Sassen returns to her hometown to showcase her largest retrospective that delves into the work and meaning behind her illustrious career

The Conversation

Bacteria and plants could help clean up toxic waste from gold mines – South African study

Highly toxic metals are leaking out of nine abandoned mines in Krugersdorp, 32km west of Johannesburg, South Africa. The metals include uranium, arsenic, cadmium, chromium and mercury.

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