Staff Reporter

‘Good morning and welcome to today’s virtual bus outing in our six-day nostalgia tour package. Today we are going to be taking a look at a few of Johannesburg’s colonially inspired architectural treasures, all of them filled with pre-democratic memories.

<a href="http://www.mg.co.za/specialreport.aspx?area=zuma_report"><img src="http://www.mg.co.za/ContentImages/243078/zuma.jpg" align=left border=0></a>Jacob Zuma’s legal team is set to launch an application to set aside corruption and fraud charges against him. The bid to knock out the state’s case — based on the claim that the former deputy president’s right to a fair trial has been unfairly prejudiced — was mooted last year, but has now been set in motion, Zuma’s attorney Michael Hulley confirmed on Thursday.

Denel, the loss-making defence parastatal, is to get a government rescue package that could reach more than R5-billion as it struggles to ward off insolvency, to restructure and to attract new strategic partners. The new funds should clear the way for the announcement of an equity partnership with the Swedish firm Saab.

The South African National Defence Force appears to be escaping somewhat from the stranglehold of expenditure on the strategic defence procurement package as the repayment peaked last year and drops off from 2006 to 2008. Of the total defence costs of R23,5billion for 2005, R9,2billion was allocated to the Strategic Defence Account.

Relatives of the original composer of <i>The Lion Sleeps Tonight</i> have dropped a lawsuit against Disney after settling for an undisclosed sum of money with a United States music publishing house. The family of the late Solomon Linda, who composed the original Zulu tune for the song, was claiming R10-million in damages from the entertainment giant.

Top Hamas leader Ismail Haniya looked set Thursday to be appointed new Palestinian prime minister as Israel prepared to impose a series of sanctions after the Islamists form a new government. Hamas sources said Haniya, who led the radical movement to a landslide victory in last month’s general election, was clear favourite to be installed as head of government after Saturday’s inaugural session of the new Parliament.

The Richtersveld community and state-owned diamond miner Alexkor have concluded a framework agreement that lays out terms for the settlement of the massive land claim launched in 1998 against the company. In terms of a memorandum of understanding signed by representatives of the claimants and the company, the community will get a large stake in Alexkor.

In the Medium Term Expenditure Framework delivered in October last year, Trevor Manuel announced that projections for the budget deficit over the next three years would be substantially lowered from about 3% to about 2%. In Wednesday’s Budget he reduced this even further to 1,5% for next year, falling to 1,2% by fiscal year 2008/09.

Police brandishing whips and some carrying guns broke up demonstrations by women and students in Bulawayo city and arrested 159 of the protesters who were marching across the city calling on President Robert Mugabe to resign. Meanwhile, the police on Sunday night heavily assaulted informal traders near Harare’s Market Square bus termini.

Stepping back from the big media-fed "Holy jihad, Batman!" wankfest that’s erupted recently over some arbitrary doodles that appear to infringe on some people’s "religious" ideas of reality, I can do no better than to point you towards a United Kingdom <i>Daily Telegraph</i> article looking at the whole highly suspicious charade.

Iran said on Tuesday that the fatwa or religious edict condemning British author Salman Rushdie to death over his novel <i>The Satanic Verses</i> will remain in force forever. The announcement was made on the anniversary of the 1989 edict issued by the leader of Iran’s Islamic revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

Social Development Minister Zola Skweyiya says that last week’s article "Oilgate: Did Majali try to bribe Skweyiya?" excluded important information he provided to the newspaper. We publish his full responses to reporter Sam Sole’s questions.

A top Zimbabwean judge has said it is not the duty of the judiciary to spring anyone into political office, in what virtually amounts to a rebuke against opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai who has petitioned the courts to nullify President Robert Mugabe’s 2002 re-election victory.

As we hurtle towards municipal elections in South Africa in a matter of weeks, the escalating campaign by various parties, to make people sit up and take notice seems to demonstrate a fear that apathy has taken hold of our populace a mere decade after the universal franchise was finally won in the wake of a long and bitter struggle.