ARMED robbers have swooped on a South African gold mine near Carletonville, west of Johannesburg, and made off with gold concentrate, cash and guns. Police said the six-hour long raid on the mine, owned by world number one producer AngloGold, saw 15 robbers armed with assault rifles and pistols rush into the mine’s security control […]

MALAWI’S opposition lawmakers gave a standing ovation to three legislators who were expelled from the governing party when they entered parliament on Thursday. Former cabinet minister Brown Mpinganjira, who is facing corruption charges, and his allies Peter Chupa and Greshan Naura were expelled by the United Democratic Front (UDF) for alleged rebellion. They were greeted […]

MALAWI’s largest passenger association has rejected a government probe into the country’s deadliest bus accident yet, and demanded an independent commission of inquiry.Twelve commuters were killed and scores more injured when an overloaded Shire Bus Line double-decker exploded 40km from the capital Lilongwe on December 12. The bus was reportedly carrying 200 passengers at the […]

Kevin Mitchell darts It’s hard not to be rude about the town of Purfleet. Well, the bit of it between the railway station and the Circus Tavern. Out the station and south down Railway Cottages. Turn left across the road from Cheggie’s hairdressing salon and plough on through the sludge past the bulk containers, the […]

Thuli Nhlapo In a bid to cling to power, the now-defunct Hartbeespoort white conservative local council has rendered the newly elected council dysfunctional with the help of a controversial Pretoria High Court judge. The new Hartbeespoort/Brits local council, referred to as NW372, has been barred from using any assets, making staff changes and touching the […]

Khadija Magardie On a late afternoon in December, four years ago, Ncele Kgadima * locked herself inside a long-drop toilet on a rural plot in Ga-Maribana, Moletji, outside Pietersburg in the Northern Province. The heavily pregnant woman, 20 years old at the time, gave birth in the fetid, dank and poorly lit toilet. Then she […]

The Independent Communications Authority has called for oral and written submissions on the review of local content quota, currently at 20% for radio.

Mail & Guardian reporter Sipho Seepe, one of South Africa’s leading political commentators and academics, has joined the Mail & Guardian as a columnist and associate editor. A physicist by training, Seepe, who is principal of Vista University’s campus at Sebokeng, has emerged in recent years as one of the sharpest analysts on South African […]