Aderogba Obisesan

When Kabelo Thibedi finally reached breaking point and pulled a gun on a civil servant at South Africa's Department of Home Affairs, his act of desperation achieved instant results. ''If I had not done so ... I would not have gotten my ID book. It was delivered to me that same day with the age error in it corrected,'' recalls the 23-year-old.

The corruption charge against Jacob Zuma, the new head of the African National Congress (ANC), is on the agenda of the first meeting since his election of the party's national executive council on Monday, the party secretary general said on Sunday. ''The corruption charge against Zuma is on the agenda,'' Gwede Mantashe, said.

The battle to lead the African National Congress (ANC) pits an Aids dissident against a rival who took a shower as a form of safe sex, in a country that has the world's highest rate of HIV infections. The ANC is electing its new leaders at a conference in Polokwane, Limpopo, that starts on Sunday.

The leaders of emerging powerhouses South Africa, India and Brazil will meet in Pretoria this week to bolster trade and energy ties as well as flex their collective muscle on world affairs. All three countries see their alliance, known as Ibsa (India-Brazil-South Africa), as an opportunity to push the concerns of developing countries in the southern hemisphere.