Last week's ruling by the Western Cape High Court means that Independent Newspapers is one step closer to gaining access to the Nel report (aka the “Rasool report”) from the ANC. What this case illustrates, however, is that – even given the provisions of the Promotion of Access to Information Act – attempting to access information is like trying to get blood out of a stone. And that's before the so-called secrecy bill becomes a reality. By THERESA MALLINSON.

As global newspaper audiences decline, some media organisations are latching onto emerging tools and open-source technologies to make news more relevant, personalised, and 'hyper-local'. Investigative journalism is being reinvented and reporters are doing their jobs in unimagined ways. 'Data journalism' is becoming the competitive differentiator for global news. By MANDY DE WAAL.

The recent case of two journalists detained in South Sudan, and their subsequent release without charge, illustrates the difficulties the media faces in the newly independent country. South Sudan may now be free, but its press clearly isn't. By THERESA MALLINSON.

Last week president of The Gambia, Yahya Jammeh, gave journalists yet another one of his strongly-worded messages. In short: media freedoms will be curtailed for the good of development. He doesn't seem to notice, or care, about the false binary his remarks imply. By THERESA MALLINSON.

Cosatu, the Right2Know Campaign and the South African National Editors’ Forum have announced a coalition against the Protection of State Information Bill. Though loosely based, the coalition between the groups will pool efforts to lobby the National Council of Provinces and other parties of interest, and if all else fails, will present a united front against the bill at the Constitutional Court. By SIPHO HLONGWANE.

The National Press Club continued its Black Tuesday anti-Secrecy Bill campaign with a noon protest outside Primedia’s offices in Sandton. The gathering of about 60 journalists remained firm in its resolve to keep on speaking out against the Protection of State Information Bill, while continuing to engage with government on the issue. By THERESA MALLINSON.

When Egyptians went to the polls on Monday, several journalists and bloggers were still nursing bruises and broken limbs after the crackdown on the media in the lead up to the elections. Others remained in jail. Seems the country's current military rulers are no better than the Mubarak regime – certainly not in their treatment of the press, particularly female journalists. By THERESA MALLINSON.

Vultures circle above Malema's political corpse; Cop17; Jay Naidoo on lessons learnt in Brazil; MacWeek: City Press (republishes) what Mac told the Scorpions; photographer David Goldblatt's heroic gesture; SA's food price inflation; and trouble in Timbukto. By iMAVERICK TEAM.

Photographer David Goldblatt devoted many years to chronicling the iniquities of apartheid and bigotry. His decision to decline the Order of Ikhamanga reveals the veteran lensman has lost none of his appetite for highlighting injustice. By REBECCA DAVIS.

Over the last week, the fracas surrounding Mac Maharaj has been getting a tad repetitive. Journalist after journalist asked him directly: “Did you lie to the Scorpions?” and time after time he refused to answer the question, citing his rights under the NPA Act. Now that City Press has dug up a 2007 story about the matter – including actual transcripts of the 2003 Scorpions inquiry – it seems that Maharaj did, indeed, fail to tell the truth. He's still trying to spin the story as Mac vs the media, though. By THERESA MALLINSON.

July 2012 will be 50 years since the Rolling Stones first performed at the Marquee Club in London. After a four-year hiatus, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Ronnie Wood are back jamming together in anticipation of the event. As for Mick, seems he’s still sore at Keef for writing all that stuff in the book. Still, if the front man shows up, it could be one of the biggest parties in history. By KEVIN BLOOM.

The world’s most iconic music magazine, Rolling Stone, was launched in South Africa on Wednesday. The title promises coverage of “everything from young visionaries and icons to politics, movies and more”. BY REBECCA DAVIS.

Before Black Tuesday’s Parliamentary vote in favour of the Secrecy Bill, massed opposition had warned of challenging it in the Constitutional Court. Naturally, ANC MP Luwellyn Landers is confident that it’ll pass Constitutional muster. By SIPHO HLONGWANE.

Many Black Tuesdays to come; Mac Maharaj in red-hot seat; Syria's regime condemned; Egypt's burning, again; and New York mayor Michael Bloomberg's ambitions. By iMAVERICK TEAM.

Protests against the Protection of State Information Bill took place around South Africa on Tuesday morning in the lead up to the bill being voted on in the National Assembly in Cape Town at 2pm. The Right2Know Campaign organised a series of pickets, while concerned citizens donned black clothes or armbands in reference to the National Press Club's “Black Tuesday” campaign. The bill was passed by Parliament on Tuesday afternoon, but civil society is set to continue fighting the controversial legislation. By GREG NICOLSON, THERESA MALLINSON, MANDY DE WAAL and REBECCA DAVIS.

“If you think we’re going to curl up and die, think again.” That’s the strong message this country’s top investigative journalists sent ANC MPs who voted in favour of the Protection of State Information Bill in Parliament. The local muckrakers said the bill was designed to intimidate whistleblowers and insider sources so as to make investigative journalism even tougher, if not more dangerous. By MANDY DE WAAL.

The president’s spokesman Mac Maharaj has had time to think things through following the Mail&Guardian and Sunday Times reports alleging - yet again - he accepted bribes for tenders as transport minister all those years ago. On Tuesday, he was ready with a slightly more nuanced answer. But he still refused to answer whether or not he had lied to the Scorpions. And for now, it appears that the M&G is headed for a sticky showdown in court against Maharaj. By SIPHO HLONGWANE.

It was hardly a surprise that members of Parliament voted overwhelmingly for the Protection of State Information Bill on Tuesday afternoon. The final tally was 229 MPs for the bill and 107 against it, with two abstentions. Although the vote marked a sobering day for South Africa's constitutional democracy, it is just the first step in a bid to get the legislation on our law books, and civil-society activists and the media are fighting the process with everything they've got. By THERESA MALLINSON.

Slowly but surely, a whole lot of people are coming to terms with the fact that the African National Congress just ain’t what it used to be. But, writes CHRIS VICK, that could be because their view is a nostalgic one hinged on the ANC of Mandela, Sisulu and Tambo, rather than the reality of what the 99-year-old ANC really is.

The Secrecy Bill: Welcome back, Magnus Malan & Adriaan Vlok; MacBeth Maharaj; Ethiopia sends troops into Somalia; and Deep-fried man. By iMAVERICK TEAM.

Waiting for Black Tuesday; the Mac Maharaj affair: blow by blow; Mogoeng & Hlophe; PayPal Founder Peter Thiel; the Pope visits Voodoo Africa. By iMAVERICK TEAM.

It was not the most opportune time for a literature festival in Johannesburg. In an act of daring cunning that never fails to raise the ire of motorists, cyclists had commandeered this city’s roads while in a restive enclave of Illovo, a group of men battled for ascendancy in a game of cricket. While the more uncultured of the city’s booklovers were in raptures at the cinema, the pretentious snobs among the literary class were robbed of an opportunity to listen to some of literature’s living greats reflect on the shifting position of women in African literature. By KHADIJA PATEL.

Presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj has had a rough few days. As well as being the subject of the Mail & Guardian's censored lead story on Friday, two days later the Sunday Times published a page-one story alleging that Maharaj and his wife received millions from French arms-company Thales. He's responded with defensive tactics: firstly, emphasing his rights under current legislation; and secondly, pointing fingers at other people (especially the media and that bladdie agent, Nic Dawes), rather than addressing the matter at hand – the accusation that he lied to the Scorpions. By THERESA MALLINSON.

The latest news in the ongoing controversy surrounding the Protection of State Information Bill is that MPs will vote on the matter on Tuesday. The National Press Club has dubbed the day “Black Tuesday” and called on South Africans to don black as a form of protest; the Right2Know Campaign is organising multiple simultaneous pickets and Public Prosecutor Thuli Madonsela has set up a team to investigate concerns around the bill. Whatever happens on Tuesday, South Africans fighting for access to information will not be silenced. By THERESA MALLINSON.

Victorian author Jane Austen was only 41 when she died, and the cause of death has never been verified. Now a crime novelist investigating the matter claims that Austen may have been the victim of arsenic poisoning. By REBECCA DAVIS.

Did you know that the US government is allowed to access your Twitter account? Well, that's according to a court ruling handed down on Thursday, which saw a judge rule against three WikiLeaks volunteers who sought to keep their Twitter-account information private. By THERESA MALLINSON.

A hundred years of South African political cartoons are lovingly curated in a new book which explores how cartoonists have described – and made light of – South Africa’s fraught relationship with the outside world. It’s funny, it’s informative, but it’s also a strangely serious insight into what’s wrong with international relations. By SIMON ALLISON.

This Friday's Mail & Guardian features a greatly redacted version of its lead story about a Scorpions' investigation of Mac Maharaj, after his lawyers alerted the paper to the fact that publication would contravene the NPA Act. The M&G is now seeking the director of public prosecution's permission to publish the story. If (or, more realistically when) that is denied, the newspaper will challenge the law on constitutional grounds. It hasn't escaped anyone's notice that what amounts to censorship of the media will become increasingly common should the Protection of State Information Bill be voted into law next week. By THERESA MALLINSON.

However racist we think South Africans are, the Americans can do it far more professionally – and shamelessly enjoy it too. They’ve even exported an all-black comedy tour to show South Africans how it’s done. How comedy is done, I mean, but we all learned fresh things about the colour charts too. By LESLEY STONES.

The Malema political Ponzi scheme; Trash n Pay – new bill will put the squeeze on unioins; Chelsea Clinton's new job; superscientist David Eagleman; and the new Toyota Yaris. By iMAVERICK TEAM.