Next week Julius Malema’s hate speech trial will climax when Judge Colin Lamont hands down his ruling on whether he should be allowed to sing “Dubula Ibhunu”. Over the past weekend National Prosecuting Authority head Menzi Simelane said it was time to put legislation in place to stop people being racist. But in the middle of all of this is the Equality Act. And the parts of it that are currently used to stop hate speech may in fact, be unconstitutional. Really. By STEPHEN GROOTES.

The residents of Themb'elihle, now in their fourth day of protests, have one simple demand: electricity. Beneath that, though, lies a complex mix of politics and agendas, criminality and xenophobia. By PHILLIP DE WET.

Five lessons from Themb'elihle; Tokyo and Winnie team up to fix toilet mess; MTN's interests in Swaziland; Friends of Anton Hammerl set up fund for his kids; the new Kindle's challenge to the iPad; and our Rugby World Cup predictions. By iMAVERICK TEAM.

The treasury released financial results for the fourth quarter of the 2010/11 municipal financial year. PAUL BERKOWITZ compares the numbers with previous years and reflects on another year of wasted opportunities. 

President Jacob Zuma seems to be asserting his power to appoint the Chief Justice by cancelling a consultation with DA leader Helen Zille, while Cosatu told the ANC to stop being paranoid about its president. CARIEN DU PLESSIS reports.

The long-awaited corruption trial of former French president Jacques Chirac began in Paris on Monday. Those hoping to see Chirac face the music in the dock will have been disappointed. His mental condition will likely prevent him ever setting foot in court. By REBECCA DAVIS.

As rocks and rubber bullets and more deadly ammunition continued to be exchanged in a township just outside Lenasia, PHILLIP DE WET looks at what we've already learnt from the latest service-delivery protest – and what it implies for South Africa's future.

Human settlements minister Tokyo Sexwale looked flush as he announced that ANC stalwart Winnie Madikizela-Mandela would head his sanitation task team set up in response to the pre-election toilet saga. Which, of course, wasn’t his fault at all. By CARIEN DU PLESSIS.

Violence time again: Temb'elihle; DA and Moeletsi Mbeki on South Africa's future; Mugabe's clock is ticking; ANC vs the Youth League, again; and more on Dave Duarte's nomadic leadership. By iMAVERICK TEAM. 

The Judicial Service Commission is designed to be one of the pillars of our democracy, a body that literally appoints the people who judge over us. It is, rather unsurprisingly, in the spotlight at the moment because of this last weekend’s public interview of Judge Mogoeng Mogoeng, President Zuma's nominee to the post of Chief Justice. While the Constitution went to great lengths to ensure that the ruling party of the day doesn’t get a full blown majority control of JSC, it does it look like the ANC has it firmly in its grip. By STEPHEN GROOTES.

When Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng goes down on his knees to thank God for his appointment, the faithful pastor would do well to spare a thought for ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema. Without him, the DA and others might still have been able to change President Jacob Zuma’s mind. CARIEN DU PLESSIS reports.

Bob’s sick, and despite indications to the contrary it’s not syphilis (or not just syphilis). Unconfirmed Wikileaks cables indicate that the Zimbabwean president has prostate cancer, and it’s spread. If true, this means he’s not much longer for this world, and might go some way to explaining why Zanu’s been so fractious recently. By SIMON ALLISON.

A failure by the ANC to take its own politics seriously has spawned the unruly mess that is the ANCYL, says Duncan, who believes that when it comes to discipline the ruling party is doing too little too late. By MANDY DE WAAL.

The ironies in South African politics never cease to amaze. While former president Thabo Mbeki is the ANC Youth League’s new best friend, his little brother Moeletsi is cosying up to the DA. CARIEN DU PLESSIS heard out his tips to the opposition party on economic freedom in our lifetime.

How times have changed for Julian Assange. The man once feted as a hero and a game-changer is now facing the music from commentators who are increasingly fed up with his publicity-seeking antics. By REBECCA DAVIS.

These are difficult days for Israel. Currently embroiled in plans to thwart the Palestinian bid for statehood while at the same time suffering the  defection of Turkey, domestic strife will prove an added challenge to the embattled government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. By KHADIJA PATEL.

As Palestine goes before the UN later this month in a bid for recognition of its statehood, the pre-game jostling has already begun. The US is lobbying for Palestine to drop the idea, saying it will only cause instability in the region. By REBECCA DAVIS.

A challenge to the Protection of Information Bill, if it’s signed into law, will be one of the first cases that will come before chief justice nominee Mogoeng Mogoeng, if he is appointed. But first, the bill needs some finishing touches. CARIEN DU PLESSIS reports.

Calm returned to the Themb'elihle township just east of Lenasia by midday after a morning of violent protests. But demonstrators say they'll continue blockading a road in the area until they get the answers they demand – though there is some disagreement what those need to be, and whether the ANC can supply them. By PHILLIP DE WET.

For many Americans, Labour Day on 5 September is the last chance to savour a final visit to the beach or wherever before the return to work and school. That’s because after this weekend, the election battles well and truly start. By J BROOKS SPECTOR.

At a meeting with the SOS Coalition on Friday, the minister of communications announced that a broadcasting policy review will be launched. With the SABC lurching from crisis to crisis over the last few years, it's about time something is done to fix our public broadcaster. By THERESA MALLINSON.

This weekend Cape Town's lavish International Convention Centre played host to two quite different types of events. The public interview of Mogoeng Mogoeng succeeded in attracting only a fraction of the crowd intent on expanding their scatter-cushion collection at the Homemaker's Expo next door. REBECCA DAVIS describes what went down.

As the Libyan end game drags on, members of the international community are scrambling to make friends with the Transitional National Council. But we shouldn't forget that, all-too-recently, many of these same countries were selling arms to Gaddafi. Even China – which has yet to officially recognise the TNC – is trying to play it safe, holding a meeting with the council on Friday. Of course, it's more about protecting business interests than concern for the Libyan people. By KHADIJA PATEL.

Watching someone for two days does not give you a complete picture of the person, their character, their sense of self, or even some of their more cherished beliefs; still, it can give you a good idea, especially about how they react when they are under pressure. You get a sense of what makes them get up in the morning, of where they will take the country if they get to be in charge of the one of crucial branches of the state. We failed to be impressed. By STEPHEN GROOTES.

What does the Michele Bachmann phenomenon look like in close-up? In Iowa City, an island of progressive secularism in the vast prairie bible belt, the intellectual set makes a (cautious) sport of ridiculing her. But that doesn’t mean she hasn’t got her supporters in this university town, or that the rest of her native state necessarily thinks she’s the best person for the Oval Office. By KEVIN BLOOM.

Hot on the heels of detaining opposition politicians, Ethiopia has expelled human rights watchdog Amnesty International from the country. As it extends its begging bowl further to the West, this brush with a human rights agency is set to intensify the debate around the political implications of aid to Ethiopia. By KHADIJA PATEL.

ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema suffered another setback on Friday after the ANC’s disciplinary committee dismissed his arguments to have his charges quashed. Malema used the Constitution and bits from criminal law, but judging on the long statement, the committee also did some homework. CARIEN DU PLESSIS reports from Luthuli House.

As one agenda increasingly takes hold of the national discourse and business takes cover, keeping its head ever under the firing line, the outspoken vice-chancellor of the University of the Free State, Jonathan Jansen, remains a critical voice of reason. Jansen says we all need to stop hiding, stand up, steel ourselves and be counted. By MANDY DE WAAL.

Amid all the chaos in Joburg this week, there’s a small event taking place in Cape Town this weekend that matters. In fact, it matters so much it could knock the Malema hearings into second place in terms of importance. This week could well be remembered for the public Judicial Service Commission hearing of President Jacob Zuma’s Chief Justice nominee, Mogoeng Mogoeng. STEPHEN GROOTES is not a member of the JSC, thankfully, but he has a few questions anyway.

On 11 September 2001 planes destroyed the World Trade Centre, a chunk of the Pentagon and the myth of American invincibility. Ten years on, the US is preparing for the anniversary of 9/11 in a mood of mixed caution and commemoration. By REBECCA DAVIS.