The prosecution in the Jacob Zuma trial has gone on the offensive in a powerful bid to regain the initiative, not only in the courtroom but also in the propaganda war on the streets. The state has delivered a stinging rebuttal, countering the claim of unreasonable delays and allegations of a conspiracy against Zuma.

The volatile rand is creating havoc for companies and investors. It lost 23% of its value in seven weeks, starting in early May, and has since regained nearly 10% of its value, trading at about R6,86 to the dollar recently. This is good news for exporters and commodity producers, who complained for years that the strong rand was hurting them.

”It was an interesting few years. I was mugged, burgled and branded a liar. I betrayed the confidence of someone with HIV and chased a stranger in the hope of stabbing him. I listened to people moan from want of medicine while the wind howled through their shacks,” writes Rory Carroll.

Scientists have identified perhaps the most crucial genetic region that makes us human. Comparing human DNA with that of chimpanzees and other animals, they have found the region of the genome subject to the strongest natural selection since our common ancestry with chimps.

The African National Congress’s provincial executive council in the Eastern Cape has revoked all the powers and functions of the party’s ”disruptive” Amathole region — the second largest in the province — a month before the provincial African National Congress’s elective conference. The move is likely to galvanise a power struggle between senior party leaders in the province.

Documents disclosed by the state this week reveal Jacob Zuma’s first formal responses in 2003 to the graft allegations against him — and how some of these now appear threadbare in the face of evidence at the Schabir Shaik trial. Zuma’s written answers to 35 questions from the Scorpions have never been publicised.

Gauteng integrity commissioner Jules Browde has launched an investigation into an alleged conflict of interest involving provincial finance minister Paul Mashatile, and the undeclared business interests of provincial speaker Richard Mdakane. This follows a Mail & Guardian exposé last month.