Expect a series in which two world-class bowling attacks will dominate and in which Pakistan will take South Africa to the brink. That is what is on the cricket menu when the first test between these two great teams starts this Friday at the Wanderers in Johannesburg. And Graeme Smith will captain the Proteas for the 100th time. 

With labour unrest breaking out at the rate of measles in a kindergarten all over South Africa, from mines to the seemingly idyllic setting of Boland farms, 2013 is shaping up to be a very busy year for the country’s Council for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA). The three terms contained in its name, conciliation, mediation and arbitration imply that the CCMA faces a challenge as old as mankind itself. 

In his inauguration speech last  Monday, officially starting his second term as president of the United States, Barack Obama effectively confirmed the unfolding strategy by the world’s only remaining superpower to step back from its six decade-long role as global policeman. Pressing domestic matters are to receive top priority in what some observers term a new phase of American isolationism. 

The north of Africa has suddenly become the hottest theatre where the global war on terror is being fought. Not only has this developed into a war with no foreseeable end but it is also representative of the traditional role that the United States tends to play in global conflicts. 

Fresh into the new year and South Africa’s labour relations are once again degenerating. The country will not easily extricate itself from what is essentially becoming a no-win situation.

The buzzword on everyone’s lips this week is Nkandla. The Department of Public Works neatly announced the findings of its investigation on Sunday, admitting that there were tender irregularities in the procurement of goods and services for the R206-million upgrade, but that the blame for this lay with lower-ranking department officials, and not President Jacob Zuma himself.

With the conflict in Mali having spread to Algeria after France’s military intervention in its former colony, countries around the globe, including South Africa, are set to experience some of the fallout. It will come at least in the form of higher prices at fuel pumps. An international surge in the price of crude oil has already started. Predictions are that it will not be over any time soon.

South Africa’s spirited and determined fight back on Sunday against Morocco for a 2-2 draw enabled them to finish at the top of Group A in the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament. They will now meet Mali in the quarterfinal at Durban’s Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday. Bafana Bafana will go into that game as the favourites.