I am inspired to write this article (in ebullient defence of our worthy and misunderstood presidential representative) by the quite unseemly attacks made on his character and intellect in last week’s <i>Mail & Guardian</i> ("Mbeki’s malaise goes deeper than Parks").

Former apartheid police files on Dumisa Ntsebeza, the former chief investigator of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, are among several that have disappeared from the safekeeping of the South African Police Service since 1998.

South African Tomas Scheckter has secured the top drive he was looking for in next year’s Indy Racing League championship.

Orlando Pirates finally started their Castle Premiership campaign at their new home ground — the Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace on Wednesday night with a 1-0 win over a disappointing Manning Rangers.

Boris Becker reaches the next milestone today on his troubled journey through life after tennis when he goes into the dock in a Munich courtroom, accused of tax evasion on a grand scale.

The battle for which African country becomes the first ever to host the World Cup finals began Wednesday when Fifa opened bidding for 2010.

Two explosions were heard on Thursday near a Moscow theatre where 700 people are being held hostage by Chechen rebels demanding an end to the war in the Caucasus republic.

There is an ironic parity between utterances made recently by Sir Antony Sher and those made some years ago by another South African-born actor, Janet Suzman.