South Africa

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South Africa Will Expand AIDS Fight

In policy shift, country will ramp up testing and drugs for babies

(Newser) - South Africa said today it will expand HIV testing and treatment for pregnant women and babies, an eagerly awaited shift in a country that has more people living with HIV than any other. Today's speech by President Jacob Zuma on World AIDS Day was viewed as a turning point for...

The Meaning of Caster Semenya
 The Meaning of Caster Semenya 
Nov 23, 2009 1:43 PM CST

The Meaning of Caster Semenya

Gender a more fluid concept than sports are prepared to handle

(Newser) - South Africa has rallied around Caster Semenya, but the IAAF still has no idea what to do with her—or the question of gender as a whole. Semenya’s case is particularly personal for South Africans. The country has an unusually high number of intersexed individuals, and apartheid left behind...

Semenya Will Keep Medals; Gender Test Confidential

Board rules in favor of South African runner

(Newser) - South African runner Caster Semenya will keep her 800-meter gold medal from the world championships, and she'll keep the results of her gender tests to herself, the South African sports ministry said today. The ministry also said that the 18-year-old Semenya will be allowed to keep her prize money. "...

Scientists Find Ancestor to Giant Dinosaurs

It's a link between smaller bipeds and huge quadripeds

(Newser) - Paleontologists in South Africa have found a new dinosaur, a sort of missing link between smaller two-legged creatures that dined on plants and the long-necked carnivorous giants of Jurassic Park. The new species, aardonyx celestae, was 20 feet long and walked on two feet. But crucially, it was able to...

At 40, Sesame Street Hasn't Aged a Bit
 At 40, Sesame Street 
 Hasn't Aged a Bit 
CAN YOU TELL ME HOW TO GET...?
Nov 9, 2009 4:00 AM CST

At 40, Sesame Street Hasn't Aged a Bit

Classic kids' show pioneered educational entertainment

(Newser) - The first kids who learned the letters of the alphabet from Sesame Street could have grandchildren by now—but Big Bird hasn't aged a day. Using TV to educate preschoolers was a radical concept in 1969, when Sesame Street founder Joan Ganz Cooney and Muppet creator Jim Henson launched their...

Rumors Raise Concerns About Mandela's Health

Don't worry about 91-year-old's reduced schedule: grandson

(Newser) - Nelson Mandela is increasingly out of the public eye, raising questions about his health. The first black president of South Africa “recently decided to cut back his engagements even further and spend more time with his family,” the head of his foundation tells the Guardian . Rumors that he...

Skin Has 'Poignant Power'
 Skin Has 'Poignant Power' 
MOVIE REVIEW
Oct 30, 2009 9:59 AM CDT

Skin Has 'Poignant Power'

Tale of black girl born to white parents taps apartheid's madness

(Newser) - A true-life tale of the struggles of a dark-skinned girl born to white Afrikaners in '50s South Africa, Skin scored with critics, though some found it a bit too black-and-white.
  • Skin "serves as a stirring allegory for birthright and the assertion of one's identity in the face of oppression,
...

$5M African Leadership Prize Goes to ... Nobody

Committee passes over all three candidates, doesn't award $5M to any

(Newser) - Nobody has won this year's $5 million Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership, the committee responsible for picking a winner announced today. That’s an enormous snub to the people eligible for the award, who include former heads of state Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria,...

Strip Club's Ad Pokes Fun at Hermaphrodite Runner

'No need for gender testing!' billboard draws complaints

(Newser) - A strip club’s seemingly obvious reference to the South African runner revealed to be a hermaphrodite is, predictably, drawing complaints—though the club’s owner says his billboard proclaiming “No need for gender testing!” underneath a busty model isn’t a stab at Caster Semenya. Lolly Jackson...

$20M Diamond Found
 $20M Diamond Found 
Sep 30, 2009 1:42 AM CDT

$20M Diamond Found

Egg-sized diamond ranks among the highest quality gems ever discovered

(Newser) - A giant diamond experts believe ranks among the top 20 gems ever found has been unearthed at a South African mine. The egg-sized, 500-carat sparkler was found at the same mine where the biggest diamond in history, the Cullinan, was found in the 19th century. The diamond is being analyzed...

S. African Gets Life in Rape, Killing of Lesbian Soccer Star

Lesbians targeted by rapists who aim to 'correct' them, say activists

(Newser) - A South African man has been sentenced to life for his part in the gang-rape and murder of one of the country's leading female soccer players, the Independent reports. Eudy Simelane, 31, who played for the national team, was raped repeatedly and stabbed 12 times before being dumped in a...

James Dean Lives—at Least in New TV Ad

Company's clever spot imagines what actor's live could have been

(Newser) - James Dean is resurrected in a new TV ad for a South African investment firm, the Telegraph reports. The ad depicts Dean advancing through life as if he had he not died at age 24—directing his own films, leading a Vietnam War protest, going to a developing nation on...

Athletics Boss: I Lied About Semenya

'Tell me someone who has not lied to protect a child,' Chuene says

(Newser) - The president of Athletics South Africa admitted today that he lied to cover up gender tests conducted on runner Caster Semenya, saying he was trying to protect her, the Mail & Guardian reports. Leonard Chuene also admitted to rejecting advice from an ASA team doctor to withdraw Semenya from last...

S. Africa Team Hid Semenya Gender Tests

Officials knew about testes, testosterone

(Newser) - Officials at Athletics South Africa covered up tests showing that Caster Semenya had internal testes and unusually high testosterone levels, the Mail & Guardian and Times of London report. ASA leaders told Semenya that the tests, conducted early last month, were for drugs and let her compete in Berlin—where...

Semenya Ban Would Start World War III: S. Africa

Sports minister steps up defense of racing champ

(Newser) - South Africa’s sports minister threatened “the third world war” if Caster Semenya is barred from competing in women’s sporting events because of the results of a sex test, the BBC reports. Such a decision “would be totally unfair and totally unjust,” said the official. “...

Semenya Is a Hermaphrodite: Aussie Tab

South African track sensation has no uterus or ovaries: source

(Newser) - South African track star Caster Semenya is a hermaphrodite, the Daily Telegraph of Australia reports. The 18-year-old has no ovaries or uterus, according to the tabloid, which cites "a source closely involved" in tests ordered by the international track and field governing body after Semenya won the gold medal...

Experts Called In to Review Semenya's Gender Tests

South African track champ may be suffering chromosomal disorder

(Newser) - The International Association of Athletics Federations' gender testing on Caster Semenya is complete, and enough doubt remains that she is truly female that experts have been called in to examine the results, the Daily Telegraph reports. The review will determine whether the South African runner suffers from a chromosomal disorder...

Semenya's Makeover Downright Cynical
 Semenya's Makeover 
 Downright Cynical 
OPINION
Sep 8, 2009 8:37 PM CDT

Semenya's Makeover Downright Cynical

Too bad South African athlete can't just 'wear pants if she feels like it'

(Newser) - The appearance of Caster Semenya, the runner who was the subject of gender controversy at last month’s world championships, all made over on the cover of a South African magazine has blogger Anna N., on Jezebel, smelling a rat. “It’s hard not to see the shoot as...

South Africa Rages as Canada Grants White Asylum

Charges of racism after one-man board approves refugee

(Newser) - A white South African man won asylum in Canada after a one-man immigration board ruled that his "fear of persecution by African South Africans" was justified, reports the Times of London. Brandon Huntley fled to Canada in April and told authorities he was attacked seven times by blacks calling...

Huge Welcome Home for 'First Lady' Semenya

(Newser) - World champion sprinter Caster Semenya received a heroine's welcome today in Johannesburg, where thousands of South Africans waved signs reading "Our first lady of sport" and "100% female woman." The 18-year-old runner, caught up in suspicions about her gender, had a huge smile as spectators sang and...

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