<a href="http://www.mg.co.za/specialreport.aspx?area=ancconference_home"><img src="http://www.mg.co.za/ContentImages/321750/Icon_ANCconference.gif" align=left border=0></a>We can all agree that through our collective efforts, South Africa has been transforming for 13 years. A country seemingly bent on self-destruction changed course, achieved an extra­ordinary reconciliation and embarked on massive reconstruction and development to bring about a better life for its people.

Celebrity businessman Mandla Mthembu is confident that his company, Martial Eagle Investments, will be the winning bidder for a 55% controlling stake in Johnnic Communications. Johncom has already announced plans to unbundle and restructure, but Mthembu says he hopes to finalise the offer before the group splits. In this case he would gain control of the lucrative <i>Sunday Times</i>.

Human ancestors used make-up and enjoyed shellfish dinners much earlier than previously thought, according to scientists. The discovery, made by analysing fossilised remains of an ancient beach community in the Western Cape, shows that key elements of modern human behaviour were in place more than 165 000 years ago.

The world’s best hope for a malaria vaccine is still on track, with news this week that the RTS,S/AS02D vaccine appeared to cut severe disease by 58% among young Mozambican children. The researchers also reported that new infections of malaria among the one- to four-year-olds vaccinated appeared to be reduced by 65% — but warned that this figure should be treated with caution.

Justice Minister Brigitte Mabandla has told the Ginwala Commission that suspended National Prosecuting Authority boss Vusi Pikoli’s submission to the Khampepe Commission was behind the ”irretrievable breakdown” in their relationship. The Mail & Guardian has learned that this was the reason put forward by Mabandla’s legal team.

Communities claiming a large slice of the northern Kruger National Park (KNP) want full title to their land without any developmental restrictions. The land would remain part of the world-renowned wildlife reserve, says the Limpopo Land Claims Commission. Negotiations over this proposed settlement of the second-largest land claim in the Kruger could set a precedent for claims by communities dispossessed during apartheid.

ANC MPs on Thursday rallied around embattled Minister of Health Manto Tshabalala-Msimang to protect her from the ”unfair treatment” that she has received at the hands of opposition parties and her other detractors. A motion, tabled in Parliament on Thursday afternoon, was shot down by the ANC because it was bent on “damaging her integrity and injuring her dignity”.