News

Son of Transkei soil joins Concourt bench

By MICHELLE SOLOMON MOUNT Frere-born advocate Mbuyiseli Russell Madlanga was yesterday sworn in as a Constitutional Court judge. The latest addition to the Concourt bench brings a host of notable achievements. Mdlanga was born in Njijini village in 1962, and despite his apartheid-era education managed to come top of his class throughout his tertiary education…. Read More ›

State ‘drags feet’ in R2m damages claim

THE Eastern Cape health MEC faces a R2-million lawsuit over medical negligence.

Ndoda Alfred Magoswana lodged medicalthe case against the health department after an allegedly botched appendix operation left him partly deformed and unable to work.

Misty mountain-top magic for everybody

By MICHELLE SOLOMON and JAI CLIFFORD-HOLMES NESTLED on a plateau of the Amatola Mountains in the midst of a cool, prehistoric forest lies Hogsback, a small settler village with one main street and bursting with personality. Hogsback residents form part of a close-knit community of environmental activists, tourism professionals, adventurers and creative craft makers. Hogsback… Read More ›

Mandela’s old classrooms fixed

THE dilapidated school block where struggle heroes Nelson Mandela and Robert Sobukwe once learnt has been restored to its former glory.

Three anglers drown and one survives in Fish River tragedy – front page

TWO East London men drowned on Saturday evening and a third is missing after their boat capsized while fishing at the Fish River mouth near Port Alfred.

Press Council has not dismissed Communications Department complaint against Sunday Times

The Press Ombudsman has denied allegations made by the National Department of Communications that the Press Council formally dismissed its complaint against Sunday Times editor Phylicia Oppelt.

In a South African Press Association’s (SAPA) report published on News24 this morning, communications spokesperson Wisani Ngobeni reportedly claimed that the Press Council had turned away the department’s complaint against Oppelt.

Anti-Harassment Act heralds end to cyberstalking

A NEW law against stalking and harassment came into effect over the weekend after many years of campaigning by sexual violence NGOs.
The Protection from Harassment Act (PHA) was adopted by parliament in 2011, and came into effect on Saturday April 27.
In a statement the Department of Justice (DoJ) explained that the PHA would provide South Africans with an in expensive civil remedy to deal with harassment, mainly by means of a court order preventing the harasser from con tinuing with the unwanted behaviour. Any person that con travenes such a court order is guilty of an offence and liable to fine and/or a maximum prison sentence of five years, according to the DoJ.
A Rhodes University student spoke to the Daily Dispatch about an online stalker that has been harassing her since October 2012. The student asked not to be named.

Tales from the floods – City Press

My report for the City Press on the October floods in the Eastern Cape, and how they affected people living in the Makana local municipality. Pictures by Adrian Frost.

Declining internet freedom in Russia – Alexey Sidorenko

Internet freedom and access to information is increasingly at risk as mega-powers like Russia and China seek to limit outgoing information flows and dissent, said Alexey Sidorenko of Russia-based Teplitsa. Sidorenko was the keynote speaker of day two of the annual Highway Africa conference on media development hosted by Rhodes University, Grahamstown.

Avusa refuses access to 2008 Sunday Times report

So. On May 3, on World Press Freedom Day and 20 years on from the Windhoek Declaration, the editor-in-chief of Avusa refused to grant me access to information. Specifically, he has refused to grant my access to information application, where I requested access to a 2008 report about apparent gate-keeping failures at the Sunday Times,… Read More ›