Twelve sugar cane farms in eastern South Africa have been torched and about 1,000 black families are occupying portions of 63 sugar farms in a land dispute that has turned violent, the 'Mail and Guardian' said on Thursday. The report said that police and soldiers have been on the farms since last week to protect the farmers and to patrol the land but had been unable to prevent the arson. It added that the arson was the latest manifestation of a bitter dispute pitting the farmers, who are mostly mixed-race, against blacks who say they want back the land some 180 km north of Durban from which they were removed under apartheid.

The United Nations World Summit on Sustainable Development scheduled to take place in Johannesburg, South Africa next September will cost more than 400 million rand, the equivalent of US$ 50 million, a joint meeting of Parliament's two environmental affairs committees heard on Tuesday.

South African investigators begin public hearings today into alleged corruption by senior politicians in the hugely controversial purchase of £4bn worth of weapons from European manufacturers. But scepticism about the effectiveness of the public protector's investigation - one of three by government agencies looking into the accusations of corruption - has grown as the African National Congress has sought to use its overwhelming majority in parliament to limit the political damage.

Political parties are not fair game for the press, senior advocate George Bizos told the Johannesburg High Court yesterday. Van Niekerk and Mda lodged the application in response to a statement made by senior ANC leader Jeff Radebe to the Human Rights Commission during its hearings on media racism last year. Radebe told the commission that Van Niekerk had authored a critical opinion piece on Thabo Mbeki, who was deputy president at the time, and published it under Mda's name.

At first glance, the public hearings on the arms deal, due to start in Pretoria next week, appear to be a good thing. The government will be bringing into the open one of the most damaging sagas since 1994. And the public will be given an opportunity to judge for themselves why " and how improperly " R50-billion was spent on a sophisticated defence package. Unfortunately, if one probes a little further, the hearings have few redeeming features. Instead they appear to be the result of anything from sloppy legal thinking to a sinister exercise to sabotage the main criminal investigation.

Today, close to 500 workers from Denel division Vektor-arms making company are to protest over the employment equity, transformation, and re-alignment for black workers.

As the sun slips behind the jagged hills of the Transkei, Chief David Lingazwe surveys the land his family has farmed for hundreds of years. He smiles as he tucks a cell-phone into the folds of the traditional blanket he wears to keep out the evening chill. The chief's daughter Bonizwe has just given birth at a government hospital in Bizana, 60 km away. A year ago, Vodacom, one of Africa' biggest mobile technology players, installed a mast and base station in Amambisi village, ending isolation, but also bringing hope to this impoverished community of 30,000.

A new baseline study to determine reproductive
knowledge among young refugees in South Africa's most populous province shows that although there is a general awareness about HIV/AIDS, specific
knowledge about how the disease is transmitted and prevention strategies is "alarmingly low".

Click on the: "Click here to register for FREE Database of the Month" link near the top of the South African Studies fact sheet. Composed of 14 different databases providing access to over 769,000 records, this unique combination of databases gives access to published South African documents, books, journal articles, theses and current research, covering all topics.

South Africa is now committed to a constitutional democracy whose labour laws exceed ILO conventions, yet little improvement has been made in the quality of life of farm workers. Given that relationships between producers and workers are traditionally exploitative and paternalistic, where public regulation internationally and nationally has failed to shift this power imbalance, how can private regulation benefit farm workers? How can ethical trade in agricultural goods improve employment conditions?

When democracy came to South Africa, those who fought in the guerrilla war against apartheid may have expected to return home as conquering heroes. But almost a decade after returning from exile, many are still struggling to find a constructive role for themselves, or even jobs. Neighbouring Zimbabwe, where war veterans have turned their anger on white farmers and opposition parties, has shown how frustrated ex-combatants can become a major source of instability.

Nelson Mandela, Kofi Annan and Thabo Mbeki - all three helped to find a dignified way out for the pharmaceutical giants. The finale on 19 April 2001 was described as an "amicable settlement." For some of those following the case closely, the end was a sort of anti-climax. It took the pharmaceutical industry three years to withdraw a case it had filed in the first place. There was no judgement. But had there been a judgement, which many expected to be in favour of the government, the world would have had an opportunity to examine what exactly the government had to say in defence of its TRIPS-compliant public health action and the arguments that industry advanced to protect its patents, an international right conferred by the WTO's Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights Agreement.

Hosted by the University of Natal, the DISA project aims "to make accessible to scholars and researchers world-wide, South African material of high socio-political interest which would otherwise be difficult to locate and use." As part of that effort, DISA has recently announced the online availability of three South African journals: _Clarion Call_ (1982-91), _Pro Veritae_ (1962-77), and _Sas_ (1956-90). The journals page also lists a large number of additional titles that will be made available in the future. These include many that had been banned by the apartheid government and that were printed and distributed underground. The three journals presently available may be browsed and read by issue as digital page images. Word searching and subject searching are also planned for future versions of the site. Once completed, this archive will undoubtedly serve as an invaluable resource for scholars of twentieth-century South Africa.

The UK Tory trade and industry spokesman, Alan Duncan, was under pressure last night to explain his alleged involvement in an elaborate operation to bust UN oil sanctions against apartheid South Africa. The claims come from two fellow oil traders who claim to have personal knowledge of his career before he entered parliament.

The Reproductive Health Research Unit (RHRU) and loveLife require a SENIOR RESEARCHER. Location: RHRU - Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, South Africa. The initial contract will be for 2 years.
Closing date is: 28 May, 2001. Only candidates short-listed for interviews will be contacted. Please send a CV addressing EACH of the essential selection criteria + cover letter.

Thabo Mbeki's presidency is dogged by a bizarre array of conspiracy theories yet he has done little to set the record straight, writes Chris McGreal.

Former South African President Nelson Mandela was scheduled to meet representatives of the Burundian army, leaders of religious groups and socio-professional groups in Pretoria on 4 May, PANA reported on Thursday.

2nd International Health Conference: 'Reshaping the Nursing' with a half-day interactive workshop on 21 June 2002.

The expected arrival in South Africa of former US President Bill Clinton to address a Civil Society Initiative (CSI) gathering Tuesday has been met with angry protests from the Confederation of South African Trade Unions (COSATU).

As civil society organisations prepare to converge on Durban for the World Conference Against Racism's NGO Forum in August, South African civil society will be uniting to face the challenges of transforming racism in the country.