EVIDENCE WA KA NGOBENI, Johannesburg | Friday THE Special Investigative Unit (SIU), the state’s premier investigation authority, is to shut down a string of long-standing probes into alleged fraudulent activities involving government officials and private individuals as part of a plan to overhaul its operations. The unit, which has been struggling to cope with its […]

SIERRA LEONE on Thursday released 41 rebels from prison including Paolo Bangura, a former foreign minister, a government statement said. It said the detainees were freed in the afternoon from Freetown’s high-security Pademba Road prison. All were members of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebel group and had been held under a sweeping emergency law. […]

EGYPT’S attorney general will examine demands for Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to be investigated with a view to trying him for involvement in the alleged killing of Egyptian prisoners during two Arab-Israeli wars, legal officials said Thursday. The Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights (EOHR) has filed a complaint with attorney general Maher Abdel Wahed […]

THE Namibian man who had his hands and feet chopped off by his sister died in the intensive care unit at the Oshakati State Hospital on Tuesday. David Moses Halwoodi (33) survived for a week after Ndapandula Jafet hacked off his hands and feet with a panga. According to hospital sources, Halwoodi’s died as a […]

After months of uncertainty over his fate, the orphaned elephant’s future is now secure Fiona Macleod KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife authorities have given the go-ahead for the return of Sahib, the mighty African elephant bull who has been bullied and abused in a German circus for 18 years. When he comes home, he will be known as […]

Andy Capostagno looks at Sarfu’s restructuring Because there is a Test match in Dunedin this weekend there is no rugby being played in South Africa. If the restructuring of the administration of South African rugby announced earlier this week can solve that particular conundrum we’ll all be a lot happier. SA Rugby (Pty) Ltd became […]

Cheryl Goodenough A district municipality in KwaZulu-Natal has accused the national government of acting unconstitutionally by failing to pay revenue to district municipalities. The Uthukela district municipality lodged an urgent application in the Pietermaritzburg High Court last Friday. The matter is set down to be heard on August 13. President Thabo Mbeki and Minister of […]

Recent censorship allegations doing the rounds locally show how easily falsehoods are spread on the Internet David Le Page For two weeks the Internet has been the spawning ground for widespread, distorted rumours about the government’s alleged plan to institute Internet “censorship” measures, “similar to those introduced in China”. The Interception and Monitoring Bill about […]

analysis Jayne Arnott and Helen Alexander On August 3 the Pretoria High Court declared section 20 (1) (a) of the Sexual Offences Act, which prohibits “unlawful carnal intercourse for reward”, unconstitutional. Although it still needs to be confirmed by the Constitutional Court, this ruling means that it will no longer be a crime to sell […]

Arundhati Roy achieved worldwide success as a Booker Prize-winning novelist. But she has given up the glory trail to become India’s most prominent activist. She tells Madeleine Bunting why she now risks jail Arundhati Roy burst on to the Indian national stage from nowhere in 1997. A drop-out architecture student and one-time aerobics instructor, she […]