Rural South Africa Gets Taste Of World Cup
by Tshego Letshwiti (Profile/Interview | Yahoo - May 26)
Outsiders are rare as rain in this dusty corner of northern South Africa. So when cars carrying government workers, flags and a sound system arrived at the community sports field, curious villagers streamed in. more details | go to article

South Africa Pushes To Make The Cup Its Own
by Celia W. Dugger (Profile/Interview | New York Times - May 23)
The official mascot of Africa’s first World Cup — a stuffed leopard with spiked green hair — was made in China. The official World Cup anthem, “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa),” was written by the Colombian pop star Shakira. The official restaurant? McDonald’s. more details | go to article

Amid Cup Fervor, Revisiting Pain Of Apartheid
by William C. Rhoden (Profile/Interview | New York Times - May 17)
My introduction to Hugh Masekela came in 1968. Amid great turbulence, assassinations and riots, Masekela’s hit single “Grazing in the Grass” became the breezy anthem of a hot summer. more details | go to article