A GABONESE air force plane with three crew members aboard disappeared from radar screens as it was coming into land at Tchibanga, in the southwest Gabon, French and Gabonese officials said. The 30-seater Bandeirante aircraft, which was flying in from the capital Libreville, went missing on Tuesday. Gabonese soldiers backed by French military units were […]

A LESOTHO court martial has handed down prison sentences ranging from three to 13 years to 33 soldiers convicted of mutiny in the tiny kingdom’s 1998 uprising, put down by troops from South Africa and Botswana. The soldiers would also be “reduced to their ranks and had to be discharged with ignominy from the defence […]

The Rose of Soweto is determined to win in Montreal so he can have another bout with Glenn Catley Deon Potgieter Dingaan “the Rose of Soweto” Thobela is in high spirits going into the first defence of his World Boxing Council super-middleweight world title in Canada on Friday night. “I have worked hard to get […]

Steven Friedman Worm’s eye view The elections were, for two reasons, a fitting end to the political year. First, they allowed voters to pronounce on the government strategy which has dominated much of 2000. Second, because the electorate’s message seems to have been misunderstood as it has been for much of the year. The substantial […]

Barry Streek A fault line tore through the ranks of liberal whites this week as many rallied to sign the “declaration of commitment by white South Africans” and distanced themselves from the Democratic Alliance whose leaders have emphatically rejected the statement. The list of those pledging themselves to the declaration reads like a who’s who […]

Tara Turkington A rare camelthorn forest in the southern Kalahari is being threatened by the large-scale collection of dead wood under contract, claim outraged experts.? The 2?200ha Khai Appel Nature Reserve near Kathu, in the Northern Cape, is home to one of only two camelthorn forests in Southern Africa, and has been?declared a Natural Heritage […]

A misconduct commission looking into magistrates’ behaviour has found alcohol abuse to be a ‘big problem’ Khadija Magardie The country’s magistrates’ courts are experiencing severe bottlenecks in hand-ling and finalising cases a situation unlikely to be helped by lurid tales of tipsiness in the courts. The Magistrates’ Commission this week said that 60% of disciplinary […]

Thebe Mabanga In July this year when South Africa lost the right to host the 2006 World Cup to Germany, the Mail & Guardian lamented the development as a “sad reflection on Europe”. In one of its best editorials, the paper lambasted the European mentality, which it noted, was “bereft of generosity and redolent with […]

Barry Streekcricket As a cricketer, Robbie Armitage, who represented South Africa in 1983, was known for his fighting qualities, his determination and his style. When he died in Grahamstown last Saturday night at the age of 45 after a long battle with cancer, he again demonstrated those same qualities. He had gone to Grahamstown to […]

When villagers at Civitavecchia witnessed tears of blood falling down the face of a souvenir Madonna, they proclaimed it a miracle. But soon, experts were branding it a cunning hoax and a row ensued Alix Kirsta What strikes people most when they first see the weeping Madonna of Civitavecchia is her size. The white glazed […]