Former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, aka the Baddest Man on the Planet, is no role model, in or out of the ring. The uncontrollable rage that drew Tyson from the streets into the ring also proved to be his undoing several times throughout his boxing career, as he succumbed to his aggressive impulses and substance abuse.

At the second appearance of accused Skielik murderer Johan Nel recently in Swartruggens, it was clear that racial tensions in the town had not died down. His appearance at the town’s magistrate’s court attracted different groups, each with its own agenda. Local politicians insisted that Nel’s shooting spree was a ”racially charged” crime.

While many South Africans are up in arms over losing two to three hours of electricity a day because of Eskom’s load shedding, there are people who have always had their “load” shed. In Princess informal settlement, an area that has never had electricity, David Mogorosi’s dwelling is something of an oddity.

You sense an overwhelming feeling of anticipation as you pass the rooms in the maternity ward. Tumi Gaoaketse’s excitement is contagious as she leads us to her baby’s bed. Onthatile was born on December 6 at the hospital in Dobsonville, Soweto. His mother describes him as a gift from God; the baby boy she gave birth to a year ago died shortly after he was born.

In a class action suit that recalls the Treatment Action Campaign’s battle to access free antiretrovirals, the residents of Phiri in Soweto have instituted legal proceedings against the City of Johannesburg. They are challenging the installation of prepaid meters in March 2004 and the decision of the city on the amount of water allocated free to the city’s poor residents.