The Weekend View

The military officers who seized power in the West African state of Niger 10 days ago have until today to restore Mohamed Bazoum as president or face military action from the Economic Community of West African States -  ECOWAS. In an intensification of the standoff coup leader General Abdourahamane Tchiani has declared that he will not bow down to pressure and urged his countrymen to get ready to...

There is a new banking scam you need to be aware of! The Ombudsman for Banking Services in South Africa is warning consumers about a new fraud technique that exploits a growingly popular contactless payment method to empty people's bank accounts. Fraudsters are using stolen card information - such as the card number, expiry date and CVV number -  to make purchases via digital payment wallets. Thes...

There are no surprises among the teams who will contest today's semifinals at the Netball World Cup 2023 in Cape Town with the top four on the latest world rankings all advancing in the competition. England will take on defending champions New Zealand and Australia will face Jamaica. Yesterday the Proteas beat Tonga 72-46 booking South Africa's place in the 5th-place playoff on Sunday. Meanwhile,...

 African leaders pressed Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday to move ahead with their plan to end the Ukraine conflict and to renew a deal crucial to Africa on the safe export of Ukrainian grain, which Moscow pulled out of last week. While not critical of Russia, the leaders appeared more concerted and forceful than they have voiced until now. That served as a reminder of the depth of Afric...

ANC veteran Dr Snuki Zikalala has been elected unopposed as the president of the ANC Veterans League. The ANC elders are holding  their conference in Boksburg, east of Johanesburg. Zikalala was nominated for president alongside three others, including former ANC treasurer-general and home affairs department director-general Mavuso Msimang, all of whom declined their presidential nominations. Msima...

South Africa's national rugby and netball teams had a good day at the office yesterday recording wins in the Rugby Championship and the Netball World Cup. The Springboks managed to grind out victory edging Argentina 22-21 in their final Rugby Championship fixture at Ellis Park Stadium in JHB. The trophy had however already been won by New Zealand earlier following a 38-7 victory over Australia, in...

 The EFF turned 10 years old this week and today the party will hold it's final celebratory anniversary rally at the 95 thousand seater FNB stadium in Johannesburg. EFF Commander-in-Chief, Julius Malema, is expected to address the gathering at noon. On 27 July 2013, the EFF National Assembly convened at Uncle Tom's Hall in Orlando West, Soweto. In it's decade of existence, the EFF has grown to bec...

The uncertainty of South Africa's economy and the risks attributed to the unstable performance of the Rand, as well as the current market volatility, has left a lot of consumers, savers, and investors feeling uneasy about what the rest of the year will look like for the financial planning goals they've set to achieve. Some South Africans can also remember the 2008 global financial crisis that resu...

115 CEOs from many of South Africa's largest companies have signed a pledge to offer their skills to the government to help alleviate the many crises that the country faces. The CEOs committed to helping solve country's energy, logistics and security issues. The pledge was signed THIS WEEK  by CEOs from Standard Bank, FNB, Shell, Anglo American, Napsers, MTN, and over 100 other major companies. Ca...

Areas near the explosion site in central Johannesburg have been without power since Wednesday afternoon, following a gas leak explosion. The City of Johannesburg Manager, Floyd Brink, says electricity and water will be restored to areas that the recent blast in the city centre has affected. He has also confirmed the structural integrity of the buildings adjacent to where the blast took place on Li...

Nominations for the ANC Women's league's officials took place last night and results are expected today after over 3000 delegates have voted for their preferred candidates. Former ANC Women's league Secretary General, Sisisi Tolashe received 1564 nominations, whilst ANC MP, Thembeka Mchunu got 796, the leagues former president, Bathabile Dlamini bagged 258 nominations. A moment of silence was also...

It's now just 5 days to go before the Netball World Cup 2023 is held in CapeTown, the first time on African soil.  A total of 16 netball teams will compete in the Mother City to lift this trophy and New Zealand are the defending champions. South Africa is competing in Group C against Wales, Sri Lanka, and Jamaica, with the Proteas' first game on Friday, July 28th, against Wales. We spoke to Netbal...

The ANC Women's League conference is expected to get under way at the NASREC Expo Centre, south of Johannesburg this morning after a slow start due to registration challenges yesterday. Last night the National Task Team Convenor Baleka Mbete delivered the league's political report in a session which was open to the media. Today will see the delivery of the league's organisational and financial rep...

President Cyril Ramaphosa will next week travel to St Petersburg for the 2nd Russia-Africa Summit on 27-28 July. Ramaphosa will join at least 40 other African heads of state and senior leaders for the meeting focusing on deepening cooperation between Moscow and African capitals. The summit will convene just over a week after the Presidency announced that Russian leader Vladimir Putin will no longe...

The National Truck Driver's Foundation says The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) deploying soldiers to four provinces in response to a series of truck torchings is just a temporary solution which does not address the real challenges in the industry and does not guaranteer safety in the future. SANDF head of communication, Siphiwe Dlamini, said that members have been deployed to KwaZulu...

Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky's was left fuming this week after his country's hopes of quickly joining NATO were dashed during a meeting of the military alliance in Lithuania.   Zelensky went to Lithuania with high expectations of an assurance that his country would join Nato after the war with Russia was over. Instead NATO was non-committal simply telling Ukraine that it would be invited t...

Rising levels of hunger and poverty are now reportedly feeding the increase in cases of shoplifting in the country. About 6,001 shoplifters were arrested across South Africa between 2021 and June 2023. The National Institute for Crime Prevention and the Reintegration of Offenders (Nicro) has been tasked to curb the rising numbers of shoplifters in South Africa and rehabilitate them back into socie...

India's struggling efforts to reintroduce the cheetah species, extinct since 1952, have been dealt another blow, with this week's death of the 7th cheetah in Kuno National Park. 12 cheetahs were trans-located from South Africa in February this year while 8 were brought in from Namibia in 2022. In total, four adult cheetahs and three cubs have died in the past few months, raising questions from num...

The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) has confirmed that it has deployed soldiers to four provinces in response to a series of truck torchings. SANDF head of communication, Siphiwe Dlamini, said that members have been deployed to KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, and the Free State to provide support to the police in their efforts to address the situation. More than 20 trucks have bee...

Fire experts are warning of the potential fire risks associated with the installation of solar power energy systems. Last week, the head offices of cellular giant Vodacom in Cape Town caught fire. While investigations continue - there is speculation that the solar panels on the building's roof might be the cause. This comes as load shedding continues to plague South African - with many homeowners...

Today, July 9th marks exactly 2 years since the devastating July unrest that took place in Kwa Zulu Natal and some parts of Gauteng. This was allegedly as a result of the Constitutional Court's order that former president Jacob Zuma be arrested. KwaMashu in Kwa Zulu Natal became epicentre of the riots that saw shops and factories, including malls, looted over several days. Some parts of Gauteng we...

Workers fed up with corruption, crime, unemployment and the weight of rising inflation on Thursday downed tools in a national stay-away that had  the support among labour federation COSATU affiliates. Union members marched in cities across the country demanding urgent action on rising unemployment rates, wage cuts, inequality and attacks on collective bargaining. But political analysts and economi...

Parliament is calling for urgent intervention to curb the scourge of Zama Zama's in the country. This follows THIS WEEK's deadly cylinder gas-leak in Boksburg, allegedly linked to unlawful mining activities in which 17 people died and 11 others are in hospital.   Chairperson of parliament's Portfolio Committee on Mineral Resources and Energy, Sahlulele Luzipo says the body demands a comprehensive...

 The Johannesburg Zoo is calling on city residents to donate food for their animals. The zoo recently sent out a request to anyone who may have spare leafy branches ranging from Sickle bush tree,Tamboti, Knob Tree and  Bush willow to name a few.  Zookeepers are said to be  struggling to provide food for the herbivores, especially during the winter months. We spoke to Jenny Moodley, Spokesperson fo...

 The entire Banyana Banyana team has arrived in New Zealand ahead of the Women's Soccer World Cup which starts in 12 days. The first group of Banyana players departed on Wednesday evening. The second left on Thursday. The team travelled via Australia after a pay dispute with SAFA highlighting gender pay gaps in the country was resolved. The spat caused a renewed conversation around gender pay gaps...