Marleen Smith

Exactly 111 years since the birth of writer J.R.R. Tolkien in Bloemfontein, the Free State capital now aims to convert itself into a site of pilgrimage for the thousands of enthusiasts worldwide captivated by the fantasy world of Middle Earth.

Around 100 white Free Staters braved the spring rain on Wednesday to attend a mass meeting in Bloemfontein organised by the provincial ANC aimed at ''bridge-building'' between it and the white community.

With an expected midsummer drought around the corner, rainfall during the next two to three weeks could determine the success of the next South African maize harvest

A conservation campaign promoting South Africa's yellowfish above the exotic bass and trout has elevated the indigenous species' popularity with anglers so much that foreigners are starting to visit the country to add yellowfish to their trophy lists.

A senior inspector for the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was attacked by two lion breeders at a controversial predator auction in Hoopstad in the Free State on Friday.

Free State ANC leaders met a group of Afrikaner community leaders on Thursday in what has been likened to the watershed Dakar talks in 1987 during the apartheid era.

The salvage team on the grounded Jolly Rubino off the northern Kwazulu-Natal coast had to be evacuated on Wednesday due to the intensifying fire on board, Smit Salvage said.