One of the biggest land invasions ever seen in South Africa has sparked a court battle between the government and a white farmer who says he is being effectively expropriated. The Supreme Court of Appeals in May ordered the state to compensate Braam Duvenage and resettle around 40 000 people who moved onto his farm in Benoni outside Johannesburg after their nearby township ran out of living space. But state attorneys refused, saying Duvenage should deal with the matter and they took the case to the Constitutional Court.

"As the first African woman to receive this prize, I accept it on behalf of the people of Kenya and Africa, and indeed the world." With these words, Wangari Muta Maathai accepted the Nobel Peace Prize Friday in Oslo. Maathai used her lecture to warn that environmental destruction must be reversed so that "humanity stops threatening its life-support system." Saying that as a mother she hopes her selection for this award will inspire young people, Maathai acknowledged the work of "countless individuals and groups across the globe" who "work quietly and often without recognition to protect the environment, promote democracy, defend human rights and ensure equality between women and men."