A Zimbabwean playwright who has repeatedly challenged the Mugabe regime and a Burmese comedian who has recently been sentenced to 45 years in prison have been honoured with international awards.Cont Mhlanga, who has written 21 plays and published three books, won the inaugural $50,000 (£32,300) ArtVenture Freedom to Create prize for his political satire, The Good President.

The origins of Enoch Sontonga and the song he wrote, Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika are humble and rather obscure.
Enoch Sontonga, from the Mpinga clan, of the Xhosa nation, was born in the Eastern Cape in about 1873. It is believed that he received training as a teacher at Lovedale Institution and was then sent to a Methodist Mission school in Nancefield, near Johannnesburg.

The presidential campaign of Senator Barack Obama has hired Selam Mulugeta, an Ethiopian American, who formerly served as a Congressional Staffer and Special Assistant to Rep. Mike Honda (D-Calif.), founder and Chair of the Congressional Ethiopia and Ethiopian American Caucus.“I will be a Field Organizer in the Northern Virginia region”, Mulugeta told Tadias Magazine.

South Africa: Jessica Mbangeni is one of South Africa’s highly sort after female Imbongi (praise poet) – and is currently making waves with a slate of high-profile live performances that have cemented her global reputation as one of the country’s most gifted creative talents.

Women's Day will be celebrated in Joburg's cultural hub, Newtown, with a five-day festival of creative activities.Newtown is going to be filled with the feisty spirit of feminine creativity during the week of 6 to 10 August.

Works from the Collections of Cirque du Soleil, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and Redpath Museum, McGill University.The selection features fifty stunning pieces of high-quality, traditional African art – objects, sculpture and masks – from the sub-Saharan region.