The Weekend View

Wildlife organisations, Ban Animal Trading - BAT  and the EMS Foundation are bracing for a fight to stop the sale of lion bones. This after the two organisations became aware that the South African Predator Association - SAPA - has instituted High Court action against the government in an effort to compel the Environment department to establish an annual quota for the sale of lion bones and d...

The Indigenous Cinema Alliance  - ICA - recently announced its 2025 fellowship line-up with the addition of new members to its expanding global network that now includes a South African. Khoikhoi Cultural and Language Revivalist, Toroga Denver, has been added to the line-up of the international group that promotes indigenous film and television. Denver joins other indigenous film makers from...

Many South Africans have gone off the grid because of the country's challenge with electricity supply. This week Eskom implemented stage 6 , after a number of unit failures at the Camden, Majuba and Medupi power stations. The three days of loadshedding was more than enough to remind South Africa that the country is not out of the woods yet. Amid load shedding, South Africans have become victims of...

Government says there will be no extension for spaza shops owners to register their businesses. YESTERDAY MARKED the final day for spaza shop operators and other food-handling outlets to register their businesses with local municipalities. Many are frustrated and uncertain about their business future ..  For reaction we are joined on the line by National Informal Traders Alliance of South Afr...

The late Namibian founding president Sam Nujoma, who died 3 weeks ago aged 95, will be laid to rest in a state funeral TODAY, which has been declared a national holiday.  Nujoma, a guerilla who headed the South West Africa People's Organisation - SWAPO - which led the liberation struggle, was the country's first president after it won independence from South Africa in 1990. He will be laid to...

A meeting between US president Donald Trump and his Ukrainian Counterpart Volodomyr Zelensky has ended in an unprecedented diplomatic spat, in full view of the world's media…and Trump declaring that Zelensky is not ready for peace with Russia. Trump took to his social media platform Truth, after the meeting, to accuse Zelensky of disrespecting the oval office after an exchange of words whic...

The United Nations Security Council has entered the Eastern DRC fray. The Council has unanimously adopted a resolution calling on the M23 rebel group to immediately cease hostilities and withdraw from all controlled areas in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The text - supported by all 15 members of the Council -also called on the Rwanda Defence Forces to cease support to the M23 and to immediatel...

Recent news of the recovery of R670-million by the liquidators of VBS Mutual Bank brought relief that verified creditors will be reimbursed monies deposited to the institution before it collapsed in 2018. The good news has however turned sour for individual depositors who have now learnt that they have been put at the back of the queue and may have wait a lot longer to recover their money. Many ha...

Eskom has THIS MORNING escalated loadshedding to Stage six  until further notice.  Yesterday afternoon, the power utility announced the implementation of stage three loadshedding after 3 weeks without rolling blackouts. We reached out to the power utility but spokesperson Daphne Mokoena said she will only speak to the media after today's press briefing. But to get a sense of the current...

More families of the SANDF soldiers killed in the DRC bury their loved ones THIS WEEKEND. Rifleman Derrick Maluleke was the first of the 14 South African soldiers killed in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to be buried last weekend. The remaining 13 burials are happening this weekend with the final one set down for the 1st of  March. Bongiwe Zwane spoke to SABC reporters Katlego Nyoni i...

The Film and Publication Board has raised concerns over a video clip posted on various social media platforms showing a group of men being assaulted at Zanzou Club in Pretoria. The men were being forced to perform explicit sexual acts.  According to the FPB this violates or shows disrespect for the right to human dignity. Now the FPB is warning that it is a criminal offence to distribute in p...

The Palestine Solidarity Campaign will TODAY hold a mass rally at Sea Point in Cape Town to, among other things, denounce the plan to relocate Palestinians from Gaza to Egypt and Jordan. Under the plan, which has since been rejected by many countries, US president Donald Trump envisages that Gaza will be remodeled, under US ownership and control, as an international resort. Today's rally is also s...

International Relations and Cooperation Minister, Ronald Lamola has hailed the G20 Foreign Affairs Ministers meeting as historic.  He briefed the media following the gathering of international envoys from the world's influential economies, who've been discussing several global issues.  This comes as the world is battling with multiple challenges, from geopolitical tensions to climate cha...

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy THIS WEEK said Ukraine would not accept any bilateral agreement on its fate reached by Russia and the US without Kyiv's involvement. He called for Europe to have a seat at the table in negotiations to end the war. The Ukrainian leader made the comments, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump spoke to Russian leader Vladimir Putin and announced the start of negotiatio...

Congenital heart defects are the number one birth defects in the world and affect 1 in every 100 babies. The defects, which affect the structure and function of the heart, also present here in South Africa, where there is a serious lack of facilities dealing with children born with this illness.  Grateful Hearts, a non-profit organisation, is aiming to raise awareness about this silent killer...

The decision by the US government to temporarily freeze funding to the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) alongside all other foreign aid for at least 90 days has had immediate effects on people living with HIV  according to Doctors Without Borders (MSF).   The independent medical humanitarian organisation says although the US has since clarified that certain treatment p...

Hamas is TODAY expected to release three captives from Gaza as scheduled following talks with ceasefire mediators, Egypt and Qatar. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had earlier THIS WEEK threatened to withdraw from the ceasefire deal with Hamas if the hostages were not released by midday TODAY, raising fears of a return to full scale war. Hamas was accusing Israel of violating terms of th...

Divisions in Umkhonto we-Sizwe Party - MKP - in Mpumalanga continue to deepen with two rallies from opposite camps set to take place TODAY. MKP convener in the province, Busisiwe Mkhwebane is expected to hold a meeting in Nkomazi Municipality later today while the expelled MKP provincial leader, Mary Phadi, is also slotted to address a rally in Volksrust where she is expected to welcome new member...

Are you still feeling the butterflies from YESTERDAY's Valentine's Day date? Beware of romance scammers who pretend to love you, but what they really love is only your money, and they want lots of it. No matter how great you spent your Valentine's Day, it's important to recognise the warning signs of romance scams — and find out quickly if you should be walking away from potential love inter...

INTRO: Members of the five-fold ministries affiliated to the Mahikeng Ministers Fellowship will THIS WEEKEND celebrate the 24th anniversary of the interdenominational association of church leaders. Among those in attendance will be the President of South African Community of Faith Based Fraternals - SACOFF - which recently hosted a conference of faith leaders, government and political parties to e...

A summit of African leaders to address the crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has directed army chiefs to meet within five days and "provide technical direction on an immediate and unconditional ceasefire". The meeting, which came to a close in Tanzania YESTERDAY, brought together the leaders of the eight-nation East African Community (EAC) and 16-member Southern African Development...

Namibia's founding president Sam Nujoma has died. Nujoma who passed away on Saturday night aged 95, was revered for leading his country to independence from apartheid South Africa in 1990. A towering figure, Nujoma headed the South West Peoples' Organisation (SWAPO) that led the liberation struggle since its inception in 1960.  

A summit of African leaders to address the crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has directed army chiefs to meet within five days and "provide technical direction on an immediate and unconditional ceasefire". The meeting, which came to a close in Tanzania YESTERDAY, brought together the leaders of the eight-nation East African Community (EAC) and 16-member Southern African Development...

The International Criminal Court - ICC - has condemned US sanctions on it's staff and has vowed to continue its judicial work. This after US President Donald Trump signed an order to impose sanctions on ICC staff accusing the international court of what he termed  "illegitimate and baseless actions", following the ICC's issuance of an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanya...

President Cyril Ramaphosa will be among SADC leaders who are due to meet in Tanzania TODAY in a special joint summit with East African heads of state to address the Democtratic Republic of Congo crisis. Bitter rivals DRC President Félix Tshisekedi and Rwanda's President Paul Kagame are both expected to attend. The summit comes as Malawi's President Lazarus Chakwera has ordered his military...