Current+Events

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The Spear:
An incredibly controversial painting of current SA President Jacob Zuma with his pants down by Brett Murray, is the cause of a number of trials. The painting, a probable reference to the President's rape trial in December, 2005, was defaced by two men who painted over the entire picture, //and// is the reason for the ANC's (a political party) lawsuit against Mr. Murray. Zuma is a very interesting figure in South Africa, although he has been tied to corruption and illegal activities, he won the recent elections with most of the vote. he is famous for saying during his rape trial, that having a shower will prevent STD's. for more, see [|The Spear]

Mandela in Public
The freedom fighter legend Nelson Mandela has been seen in public for the first time in three months due to an illness. He was shown on television receiving a symbolic flame that marked one century of existence for his party, the African National Congress. The first democratically elected president and most avid fighter against apartheid is reaching his 94th birthday this year, and said "I used to be the leader of the ANC", and that he was "happy" to see the flame. For more, see [|Mandela]

Largest Radio Telescope Placed in South Africa
After a long debate over which country to place the Square Kilometer Array (SKA), a multitude of small dishes and 3000 45 feet wide satellite dishes to look out into space using radio technology. The new technology, many times stronger than today's dishes, will be able to see the universe at its early stages, where stars and galaxies were beginning to form, and able to catch any television broadcast from planets in orbit around nearby stars. Both Australia and South Africa will host halves of the almost 2 billion dollar project, and work will begin as soon as 2016. For more see [|Telescope]

Visions of Apartheid
Steve Bloom, a famous wildlife photographer, has recently released images of apartheid era life from the 1970's, as the regime was beginning to fall, documenting what daily life was like. Under Apartheid, Blacks and Whites were completely separated, to look at the other race was forbidden, and general indifference was seen across the color line.