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Excrement wars continue in Cape Town

More faeces has been dumped at government offices in Cape Town despite a heavy police presence around the city bowl. The Western Cape provincial government and the City of Cape Town on Monday reinforced security on the roads leading to the city, on the trains and around the provincial legislature, after picking up that further “poo

Teen gunned down by Syrian rebels

Photographs of the bloodied face of a 14-year-old boy executed in front of his parents by jihadist rebels in northern Syria have thrown into stark relief the sometimes extreme justice meted out in rebel-held areas. Fighters of the al-Qaeda front group the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria accused Mohammad Qattaa of blasphemy, but a

Mandela’s Qunu prepares for influx

As former president Nelson Mandela spends his fourth day in hospital, his home village of Qunu was preparing for throngs of visitors, the Sowetan reported. Some residents were preparing to turn their homes into home-stay accommodation, as they said there might not be enough place in the village should the ailing icon die, according to

Malema to launch a new party soon

Expelled ANC Youth League president Julius Malema is preparing the ground to form a new political party. The organisation will advocate a radical policy shift in favour of black South Africans. The Star can reveal that Malema is consulting his supporters with a view to establishing a movement that will “restore the dignity of blacks”

SA billionaire wants his money back

Billionaire entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth has taken the government to court to have the country’s exchange control system declared unconstitutional. He also wants the Pretoria High Court to set aside a R250-million levy he had to pay to get some of his assets out of the country and for the Reserve Bank to return the

‘Arrest Obama for war crimes when he visits SA’

The Muslim Lawyers Association in Johannesburg wants US President Barack Obama arrested and tried for war crimes when he arrives in South Africa on June 29. It submitted a 600-plus page document to the Office of the National Director of Public Prosecutions on Friday asking for an investigation into Obama’s involvement in the Middle East.

Family gather at Mandela’s bedside

Relatives of Nelson Mandela yesterday spent hours with him at the Pretoria hospital at which he is being treated for a recurring lung infection. His former wife, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, and two female relatives, arrived at Mediclinic Heart Hospital just after 3pm yesterday. Shortly before that Mandela’s daughter from his first marriage, Makaziwe, had arrived. Then

Nelson Mandela: journalists moved from hospital

A fence was erected on Monday evening next to one of the entrances of the Pretoria hospital where former President Nelson Mandela was believed to be. Police officers set up the barrier where numerous journalists had been camped out, close to a busy street in Arcadia. Tshwane metro police officers ordered journalists to move their

South Africa is world’s biggest exporter of oranges and grapefruit

International Relations Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane and European Commission vice-president Baroness Catherine Ashton discussed citrus exports on Monday. “Yes, we engaged on the citrus issue and there has been an undertaking, and producers will still be engaging,” Mashabane told reporters in Belgium. “Discussions have already been accelerated, and scientific research would continue [into the citrus spot

Mandela in intensive care: Mac Maharaj

Former president Nelson Mandela is receiving intensive care at a Pretoria hospital, presidency spokesman Mac Maharaj said on Monday. “Today the doctors are saying his condition is unchanged,” he told reporters from his office at the Union Buildings. “He is under expert attention and they [doctors] are doing everything to keep him comfortable.” Maharaj said

Malema’s farm bought on auction by an Afrikaner

Expelled ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema’s cabbage and tomato farm in Limpopo was on Monday auctioned for R2.5 million. The uncontested bid was made by Calli Calitz from Wencor Holdings — an abattoir in Polokwane. Bidding for the 140 hectare farm worth R4 million began at R800,000. The only female bidder who seemed to

Government officials not barred from visiting Mandela: ANC

Former president Nelson Mandela’s family has denied barring government officials from visiting him in hospital, the ANC said on Monday. “We have spoken to the family about this report and they deny that they issued such an instruction or spoke to the media on barring the ANC and government from visiting Madiba,” said spokesman Jackson

Mandela death parties? No, but I’ll feel safe in the Wimpy

by Dan Roodt When Margaret Thatcher died, British leftists and her Labour Party enemies threw “death parties” in a distasteful display of Schadenfreude. Whether Mandela will die today or live to be a hundred is irrelevant to my argument, as the idea of his death has already provoked a number of reactions, including a tweet

Obama orders overseas target list for cyber-attacks

Barack Obama has ordered his senior national security and intelligence officials to draw up a list of potential overseas targets for US cyber-attacks, a top secret presidential directive obtained by the Guardian reveals. The 18-page Presidential Policy Directive 20, issued in October last year but never published, states that what it calls Offensive Cyber