Despite continuing reports of violence in Syria, the UN Security Council has been unable to act on Syria since last October, when China and Russia vetoed a proposed resolution threatening possible sanctions against Damascus if it didn't stop the violence. Although Russia and China are both well known for their contrarian stances in international relations, Russia has especially been singled out for criticism over its support of embattled President Bashar Al-Assad. Iran is, of course, doomed to be the villain in the story but Algeria has also now voiced its approbation of Al-Assad’s reform programme. By KHADIJA PATEL

Fixing our higher education system is a Herculean task. The higher education minister, Blade Nzimande is making a first stab at fixing the whole blessed mess through the publication of a Green Paper. It looks ahead to what we want in 2030. It's pretty good. And Nzimande can be pretty funny. By a slightly astonished STEPHEN GROOTES.

South Africa’s turn at the presidency of the United Nations Security Council saw President Jacob Zuma appealing for closer integration between the African Union and the United Nations. While some countries expressed minor reservations, the UNSC, for the most part, backed South Africa’s intentions. By SIMON WILLIAMSON.

It has become almost a tradition among some of our commentariat, after any major national speech by President Jacob Zuma, to bewail his speaking ability. To have a real go at how he is not a politician that gives set-piece speeches well. Sometimes we're told that we deserve better, sometimes it's explained that actually it's time for the president to fire his speechwriter. And the counter-arguments start, that English is not his first language, that his was not a political career formed through public speaking. Of course, the entire argument is wrong, misplaced and misses the point entirely. It also completely loses the fact that we have different politics to those to whom Zuma is compared. And it's insulting. STEPHEN GROOTES isn't taking it anymore.

Care to take a guess at what the most dangerous occupation in the world is? If you’re thinking “Iranian nuclear scientist”, you’ve won a free trip to Tehran and a tour of the Natanz uranium enrichment plant. For another young man working on Iran’s nuclear program has been killed. And the stakes couldn’t be higher. By RICHARD POPLAK.

As the Dutch government moved on Tuesday to ban qat, a mild narcotic plant popular in Yemen and the Horn of Africa, Yemeni activists also launched a campaign against it. Lamenting the effects of the plant on Yemeni life, activists are marking January 12th as a qat-free day in the embattled Gulf state. By KHADIJA PATEL.

Eskom’s warning of possible renewed rolling blackouts is enough to chill the heart of any South African. It’s a grim prospect – we remember the (ironically) hellish time of “load shedding”, with billions of rands lost. As dark predictions of shedding resurface, we wonder if the lessons of 2008 were completely lost? By SIPHO HLONGWANE.

Even for an eternal optimist, it’s hard to be sanguine about the news coming out of Nigeria at the moment. The strike is in its third day and worsening. The national assembly has rebelled against the executive, demanding fuel subsidies be reinstated. Boko Haram misguidedly targeted attacked a mosque. Is there any good luck for President Jonathan? By SIMON ALLISON

The first GOP primaries in the 2012 race have delivered an emphatic win to millionaire Mormon and former Massachusetts governor. The circus now moves to South Carolina, where Romney's opposition is likely to mount its last stand. By J BROOKS SPECTOR.

The mother of a prospective student died in a stampede at the University of Johannesburg on Tuesday in which 20 others were injured. The tragedy should have been averted and no one wants to take the blame. Just as they didn’t want to see the trouble coming. By GREG NICOLSON.

It's easy to stick the boot in with Thabo Mbeki. Aids, Zimbabwe, the Vusi Pikoli/Jackie Selebi saga... we could go on. But as always with our politics, it's the past that changes. His legacy could be a part of our ever-changing past. One thing he did absolutely correctly was, after stepping down without a fight, keeping his own counsel. By staying out of domestic politics, publicly at least, he allowed the current ANC leadership to be seen to be leading the country, without a former leader carping from the sidelines. But this could slowly be changing. The “how” is interesting. The “why” could be more fun. However it's the “will it continue” that is really fascinating. By STEPHEN GROOTES.

Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad spoke defiantly on Tuesday about the “internal” situation in Syria. He spoke at length about the failures of the Arab League and shrugged off Syria’s suspension from the organisation. The speech compares poorly to the theatre of Gaddafi’s oratory but, much like the Brother Leader, Al-Assad did blame protests against his government on an elaborate conspiracy. By KHADIJA PATEL.

The 2011 edition of the World Giving Index conducted by the Charities Aid Foundation, South Africa ranked a paltry 108 out of the 153 polled countries. CAF Southern Africa’s CEO Colleen du Toit believes that South Africa needs to develop a strong culture of “giving” and smart corporate social investment. The problem isn’t that we’re not giving, it’s that we’re doing it the wrong way. By SIPHO HLONGWANE.

In an effort to give readers who were enjoying their annual antipodean holiday break from, say, mid-December 2011 until this week, a bit of a heads up on some of the bigger straws that have been blowing around in our current hamatan, here is a quick crib sheet that should help you keep up your end of the conversation in the coming days. By J BROOKS SPECTOR.

The late president Ronald Reagan used to call it the 11th commandment, “Thou shall not speak ill of any fellow Republican”. If this is divine law, Mephistopheles is clearly putting out the welcome mat for the clutch of the Republican presidential candidates now rambling all over New Hampshire’s picturesque villages and industrial towns – and in the exurbs of not-so-far-away Boston – in preparation for Tuesday’s primary election. More than a gentle ramble, pedal to the metal is more like it for most candidates as the first primary of the 2012 presidential campaign is now upon us. By J BROOKS SPECTOR.

The Leveson Inquiry, investigating media ethics in the UK following the demise of the News of the World, is back in session after a holiday break. Monday saw another Murdoch tabloid, The Sun, in the hot seat. By REBECCA DAVIS.

Foreign intervention in Libya went swimmingly, at least if you’re a French, British or American policy analyst. So why is it taking the international community so long to implement something similar in Syria, where the situation is much the same? By SIMON ALLISON.

What’s less trustworthy than a Swiss Bank? It’s the unanswerable question – a showstopper by virtue of the fact that the Swiss banking system utterly lacks virtue. Bern has now been thrown into further turmoil, presaged by the resignation of the head of the Swiss National Bank. Cue the “hole in the cheese” jokes. But no one is laughing. By RICHARD POPLAK.

The African National Congress turned 100 years old on Sunday. Never a party to pass up an opportunity, the festivities were extravagant. It was a chance for comrades to lay aside their differences and take an indulgent look back over the past century, but even so, some had to be reminded that this was not the platform for factionalism. SIPHO HLONGWANE was there to take it all in.

Right. January. The month after everyone had switched off their TVs and Internet and headed to the beach. Not quite everyone, because the sausage factory kept churning. The holidays were somewhat quiet on the political front, but not so quiet as to completely bore watchful political scribes. By SIPHO HLONGWANE.

A party is a party. But a party is not necessarily a good memorable party unless there is tequila. And if someone is going to hold a party, and decides to well and truly cork the tequila, it may make for a cleaner parking lot, but for not-so-rocking a party. That, in short, is the story of the ANC's 100th birthday bash. A nice loud party. But volume is no match for potency. For the rest of it, and why this is actually a massive victory for President Jacob Zuma, STEPHEN GROOTES is back from his holiday.

It’s a strange day when the issue of breast implants could have an impact on the political future of the EU. But that’s what political analysts suggest may be at stake in the wake of a move to create EU-wide implant regulations. By REBECCA DAVIS.

A new book about Barack and Michelle Obama suggests that America’s First Lady didn’t initially adapt as smoothly to her role as her polished appearances would suggest today. By REBECCA DAVIS.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend, the saying goes; that’s how Britain, France and Nato found themselves fighting on the same side as pariah state Sudan in the Libyan revolution. They weren’t happy about it at the time, and they’re even less happy now that Libya is paying tribute to all its benefactors – including, this weekend, rolling out the red carpet for Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir. By SIMON ALLISON.

Nigeria’s major Christian leaders determinedly paint the Boko Haram violence – worsening by the day – as religious warfare, but the situation is a lot more complicated than that. If the Christian leaders don’t tone down their rhetoric, their dire predictions of civil war risk becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy. By SIMON ALLISON.

If the ANC was hoping that the lavish sums it spent on centenary celebrations this weekend would buy it some favourable global PR, the party may be disappointed. REBECCA DAVIS took a look at the international coverage of the centenary, and found it distinctly mixed.

The murder of Stephen Lawrence, the black teenager killed in a racial attack in the UK in 1993, has been said to have a greater impact than any other in modern British history. As of this week, two of his killers are finally behind bars. But many are unhappy with the leniency of the sentencing – and there’s even a politician in a racial Twitter controversy. Just like home. By REBECCA DAVIS.