Encouraging healthy eating habits and positive body image in children is essential for fostering self-esteem and preventing disordered eating later in life.
Higher Education Minister Buti Manamela ditched a key parliamentary meeting on Tuesday that was set to address the chaos occurring at the important NSFAS entity. This is after Manamela controversially placed the entity under administration on grounds that the board members don’t agree with. Allegations are that Manamela is getting advice at the ANC’s Luthuli House.
Saru president Mark Alexander’s call for drastic change must be heard if the sport is to maximise its potential and address the issue of player welfare.
The head of Starbucks Korea has been fired after a marketing campaign sparked public outrage and boycott calls for evoking painful memories of a brutal military crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in 1980.
MADRID, May 19 (Reuters) - Former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero is being investigated for alleged influence peddling and related crimes, the country's High Court said on Tuesday.Zapatero's office in Madrid was being searched along with three other premises, the court said in a statement, adding that the former premier had been summoned to testify on June 2.Zapatero, a key ally of current Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, has already denied any wrongdoing before a lower house committee.The case puts more pressure on Sanchez, who is already dogged by a corruption investigation into alleged kickbacks involving key members of his inner circle, as well as probes involving his wife and his brother.Sanchez's office did not reply to Reuters' requests for comment.Zapatero led Spain from 2004 to 2011, winning two absolute parliamentary majorities with landmark policies such as withdrawing Spanish troops from Iraq and legalising same-sex marriage. He is the first Spanish prime minister - current or former - to be formally investigated by the judiciary since the transition to democracy.In a statement, the Socialist Party said that Zapatero was a pioneer of progressive policies that now underpin Spanish society and that the political right and far right had never forgiven him for this.The investigation is part of the so-called Plus Ultra case, linked to the 53 million euro ($62 million) state rescue in 2021 of domestic airline Plus Ultra through state holding company SEPI during the COVID-19 pandemic.The High Court is examining whether the bailout was properly approved. The aid has drawn political fire as critics said it was not clear that Plus Ultra was a strategically significant asset and that it had weak finances and links to Venezuelan shareholders.The conservative opposition People's Party (PP) has repeatedly criticised Zapatero's business ties in Venezuela in the years following his departure from government.The PP on Tuesday described Zapatero as Sanchez's "muse" and said the two allies were linked by corruption allegations."Both have used their families to enrich themselves and both have denigrated the institution they represent or have represented," the right-wing party said in a statement.($1 = 0.8597 euros)(Reporting by David Latona; Editing by Charlie Devereux and Hugh Lawson)
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau instructed senior State Department officials to facilitate and approve a visa for a fugitive former Polish cabinet minister, allowing him to flee to the United States from Hungary, three people familiar with the matter said.
A 47-year-old suspect accused of overseeing one of the most notorious prisons in Libya was known as a ruthless torturer nicknamed "the angel of death" by detainees, prosecutors told judges at the International Criminal Court on Tuesday.
Mental illness affects so many, but finding practical, compassionate guidance can be a challenge. Daily Maverick Connect is opening the floor to your questions with a veteran mental health expert.
South Africa must translate its macro stability into household relief. As belts increasingly tighten, this is no longer a technical matter, but an ethical and constitutional one.
Consumers deserve transparency when interacting with AI systems, as undisclosed automation impacts trust, communication, and decision-making during conversations with companies.
All eyes are on President Cyril Ramaphosa and members of the National Assembly in this contentious matter, but we citizens are also being put to the test.
The country may be the canary in the coal mine for an epidemic of loneliness that knows no borders. So entrenched is its people’s social isolation that a lexicon for it has been spawned – words for degrees of disconnection, vanishing from society and dying alone and undiscovered.
WASHINGTON/DUBAI/KARACHI, May 18 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday he had paused a planned attack against Iran after Tehran sent a peace proposal to Washington, and that there was now a "very good chance" of reaching a deal limiting Iran's nuclear program.
SAN DIEGO, May 18 (Reuters) - Two teenage gunmen opened fire on Monday at the Islamic Center of San Diego, California, killing a security guard and two other men outside the mosque before the suspects were found dead, apparently from self-inflicted gunshot wounds, police said.
In a damning ruling, a court found that Advocate Luzelle Adams acted selfishly while overseeing Mosiuoa Lekota’s finances, leading to more than R2m allegedly being misappropriated during his incapacity.
The extortion and money laundering case against taxi boss Joe ‘Ferrari’ Sibanyoni and his co-accused was struck off the roll by the Kwaggafontein Magistrates’ Court on Monday after State prosecutor Mkhuseli Ntaba failed to appear in court.
May 18 (Reuters) - A U.S. jury in Oakland, California, ruled against Elon Musk in his lawsuit against OpenAI on Monday, finding the artificial intelligence company not liable for allegedly straying from its original mission to benefit humanity.
WASHINGTON, May 18 (Reuters) - The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Monday that one American tested positive for Ebola as part of its work in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where there is an outbreak of a rare strain of the virus, but advised that the immediate risk in the U.S. was low.
With a career spanning 46 years investigating some of apartheid’s worst atrocities – including the 1992 Boipatong massacre – as well as prosecuting apartheid’s ‘Doctor Death’, the head of the army’s chemical warfare unit Dr Wouter Basson, and Vlakplaas leader Eugene de Kock, Torie Pretorius has played a key role in the South African justice system.
Prosecutors say alleged underworld figure and murder accused Nafiz Modack’s repeated delays are derailing his court case and that the judge should order an end to his defence, which includes repeated postponements for witnesses who never materialise.
As the WHO declares a global emergency due to an Ebola outbreak in east Africa, South African officials assure a low risk of local transmission and emphasise the need for vigilance.
As global health leaders gather this month for the World Health Assembly in Geneva, the question is no longer whether climate change threatens health. Africa needs climate action that saves lives now.
While its own lawyers insisted that the provision to introduce controls over where medical practitioners and nurses could work was crucial for the future implementation of the National Health Insurance, the government on Monday maintained a firm stance on the future of the National Health Insurance.
The number of people in South Africa on antiretroviral treatment remained roughly unchanged from 2024 to 2025, according to just-published estimates from the leading mathematical model of HIV in the country. This suggests that the disruption of US aid for HIV services has slowed the growth of our HIV treatment programme, but the impact so far is not as severe as some researchers feared it might be.
South Africa does not have a corruption problem alone. It has a selective outrage problem. The Constitutional Court’s Phala Phala ruling of last week may be the moment South Africa discovers whether our society is capable, finally, of applying the same standard to those it admires as to those it despises.
South Africa’s housing crisis is no longer simply about how many homes are being built, but whether the country’s outdated funding model can keep pace with rising construction costs, expanding mandates and modern housing standards. As provinces are asked to deliver larger, safer and more dignified homes with relatively stagnant budgets, the pressure is mounting for a fundamental rethink of how housing delivery is financed.
South Africa entered the 2026-27 maize marketing year with another record harvest and sizeable carryover stocks after exports in the previous season fell short of expectations amid weak demand from traditional Far East buyers. However, improving regional demand in southern Africa, possible tighter supplies linked to an approaching El Niño cycle, and firmer global prices could revive export activity and support maize prices in the months ahead.
As more people go off cooking, fast-food outlets are reshaping our dining habits, and this business is changing in interesting ways, with companies like Famous Brands dramatically reducing waste and cutting out plastic as they adapt to our ever-changing tastes.
The continued confinement of Lammie, Ramadiba and Mopane rests on an assumption that their needs can be met within the Johannesburg Zoo. The available evidence suggests that this assumption is no longer secure. An alternative exists.
South African sovereignty was already under siege from the baseless misinformation that President Trump used to welcome the Voetsekkers, but the latest round of xenophobia has inspired a digital attack from inside the continent. This is a war we are not ready for.
Reading is arguably the most difficult task one must learn, requiring both formal education and practice. What does the science of reading say about the possible consequences of reading on digital devices versus books?
Brown Mogotsi may face an uphill battle when he makes a formal bail application next week after the police revealed that the gun allegedly used in a staged assassination attack on his vehicle was also used in a murder and armed robbery case.
Nthabiseng and Gregory Mkhize have spent six years turning an abandoned Soweto school field into a certified organic farm, and they are just getting started.
India may be the world’s most populous country, with 1.42 billion people and challenges like high youth unemployment, but powerful allies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi are championing larger families to counter a declining fertility rate.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said plans to strengthen frontline units on the border with South Korea, as well as other major units, were key to "more thoroughly deterring war," state media KCNA reported on Monday.
Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni has signed into law a contentious measure that he says aims to curb foreign influence in the country despite heavy criticism from quarters such as the central bank, warning it could trigger "economic disaster".
Clinical nutritionist Dominique Ludwig combines expertise, research and learnings from 30 years of practice with approachable, delicious cooking in her book No-Nonsense Nutrition.
SEOUL, May 18 (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics 005930.KS and its South Korean labour union are set to join a new round of government-mediated pay talks on Monday, in a bid to avert a strike at the tech giant, which accounts for nearly a quarter of the country's exports.
May 17 (Reuters) - An Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda has been declared a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization, after 80 deaths were attributed to the disease.
The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa’s R3.5-bn ‘too tall’ locomotives contract was one of South Africa’s most costly procurement scandals. Newly obtained tax records offer compelling clues that link Prasa’s disgraced former CEO to a recipient of some of the botched deal’s allegedly illicit funds.
Appearing at the Khampepe Commission of inquiry into delayed Truth and Reconciliation Commission prosecutions, former National Prosecuting Authority head, advocate Shaun Abrahams, denied succumbing to any political interference.
SOFIA, May 17 (Reuters) - Bulgarians celebrated on Sunday their country's surprise first win in the Eurovision Song Contest as they welcomed home Dara, who triumphed with her catchy, crowd-pleasing, optimistic dance track "Bangaranga".
DUBAI, May 17 (Reuters) - A drone strike caused a fire at a nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates, officials there said on Sunday, as U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran must act "fast" after efforts to end the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran appeared to have stalled.
In healthier politics, an entire agenda would not depend on one person. And while the nuances might shift as leaders changed, a party would not divert dramatically from its chosen path.
Donald Trump’s lavish welcome in Beijing showcased China’s pageantry, but revealed the imbalance in US-China relations and the challenges ahead for American diplomacy.
As pressure mounts over the real source of all those dollars, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s business and political supporters want him to stay in office, fearing what could happen if he’s forced out.
A suburb once known as a refuge for Randlords is becoming increasingly vulnerable as absentee ownership, lack of service delivery and weak municipal enforcement take their toll.
The Russian state atomic energy corporation, Rosatom, is pushing hard to extract uranium from the arid Kalahari region by pumping sulphuric acid into a transboundary aquifer shared by Namibia, South Africa and Botswana.
SAA’s new acting CEO is facing strong headwinds to turn the business around from the cliff face it was about to crash into - but he is confident that he can do it, without a bailout.
The ongoing leadership vacuum in the Nelson Mandela Bay metro raises concerns as Parliament investigates irregular job hiring and the absence of an acting city manager.
Following court battles and power cuts, the Gauteng Department of Education is reviewing its decentralised funding model, arguing that school governing bodies lack the financial expertise to manage soaring municipal bills.
Nelson Mandela Bay officials ignored two warnings about an expiring fuel contract, resulting in a crisis as the city faced severe flooding and emergency response delays.
With its upcoming Conference of the Left, the South African Communist Party must confront its history and embrace a more radical, anti-capitalist stance to effectively challenge the status quo.
More than 140 years after it was shipped from Scotland and assembled in Gqeberha, the Pearson Conservatory is finding new life through community care, public use and ongoing efforts to protect one of Nelson Mandela Bay’s historic landmarks.
From the Garden Route’s droughts to Limpopo’s deltas, the climate crisis is hitting Africa with ‘polycrisis’ complexity that traditional modelling fails to capture. Wits University’s Professor Laura Pereira and a global team of scientists are calling for Integrated Transformative Scenarios, a new research agenda designed to break the monopoly of Western economic assumptions and give the Global South a seat at the modelling table.
Nkwamabzi Primary School was once a school defined by what it lacked: water, food and resources. Today, it is defined by what it grows. Principal Zakhele Xulu put down the chalk and picked up a spade, turning a tiny, two-teacher school into a regional lifeline that feeds the hungry and empowers families to start their own gardens.
A diversified portfolio faces challenges as three companies – Prosus, Karooooo and Accelerate Property Fund – navigate unique hurdles amid market volatility, highlighting the need for cautious optimism.
Ted Turner was truly one of a kind. Restless, brash, virtually unstoppable, he created a new path for how the world learnt about itself that can be compared to the impact of the printing press and electronic communication itself. Turner passed away last week, on 6 May, at the age of 87.
A new court application by the Helen Suzman Foundation argues that Parliament has a constitutional obligation to assess whether Julius Malema remains fit to serve on the Judicial Service Commission, given his recent conviction, conduct and repeated public attacks on members of the judiciary.
In this edition of the Weekend Wrap, we unpack the political fallout facing President Cyril Ramaphosa as the Phala Phala saga refuses to fade, why axed social development minister Sisisi Tolashe leaves behind a trail of controversy and the widening web of arrests linked to the Madlanga corruption probe. From missing cocaine consignments and Parliament’s textbook exposé to winter comfort food, elephant culling in KZN and the mystery behind waking up at 3am – we’ve got your weekend reading covered.
A young man dressed in clothing carrying a seemingly intentional but confusing message entered the renowned heritage church in Braamfontein on Thursday, 14 May, and violently desecrated its most sacred altar, while screaming religious profanities at congregants.
ANC-aligned businessman Brown Mogotsi launched an application for the withdrawal of a Madlanga Commission of Inquiry evidence leader. But now he’s heard that his application has failed and that he should be referred to police for investigation for allegedly submitting a ‘falsified’ record that is key to the saga.
Leader of the National Coloured Congress (NCC), MP Fadiel Adams, has been released on R10,000 bail on strict conditions in the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court in KwaZulu-Natal.
The net appears to be closing in on Sergeant Fannie Nkosi after police added fresh charges of defeating and obstructing the course of justice – this while his brother still holds a Tshwane security contract worth almost R3-million despite it being flagged at the Madlanga Commission.
Mamelodi Sundowns are into the Champions League final for the second successive season. A year ago, their final foray ended in heartbreak. In the 2026 decider against Morocco’s AS FAR, the Brazilians can erase that pain and plaster over what has been a disappointing domestic campaign by their extremely high standards.
An Australian court upheld a landmark decision for a transgender woman on Friday, ruling that her exclusion from a female-only app because she appeared to be a man amounted to an act of discrimination.
Russia and Ukraine swapped 205 prisoners of war each on Friday, part of an agreement linked to a three-day ceasefire earlier this month brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump.
The Philippine justice minister said on Friday that the country will "definitely" submit to a request from the International Criminal Court to arrest a top senator wanted for alleged crimes against humanity during his role in a bloody "war on drugs".
Rush trampoline park in Claremont, Cape Town, recently teamed up with Autism Western Cape to host an open day for about 200 children living with Autism Spectrum Disorder, as part of an ongoing effort to build safe and inclusive play spaces.
Hungary's new government faces mounting pressure to rethink a planned halt to non-EU worker visas, with companies and business groups warning an abrupt ban could hit output in an already tight labour market.
GoTyme Bank is turning employees into shareholders as it enters its next growth phase. CEO Cheslyn Jacobs says the scheme is about ownership, not retention, giving staff a stake in the digital bank’s push for scale, profitability and long-term trust.
We invited Sally Andrew, doyen of the Klein Karoo and creator of Tannie Maria, to join TGIFood in selecting a pair of Karoo recipes ahead of this weekend’s Franschhoek Literary Festival.
It is with devastation that we tell you that our Gig Guide curator and queen Maria McCloy passed away on 12 May after suffering heart failure. We hope you enjoy her final work here. It is a work we regard as a final testament to what she loved: arts and the artists. Rest in peace, queen.
It’s the honesty and deep humanity of Horst Kleinschmidt’s nuanced confession that sets the tone for Mark Kaplan’s latest film, a four-part series, Untold Courage.
OAKLAND, California, May 14 (Reuters) - A lawyer for Elon Musk hammered at the credibility of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on Thursday, near the end of a trial over whether to hold the ChatGPT maker and its leaders responsible for allegedly transforming the nonprofit into a vehicle to enrich themselves.
LA PAZ, May 14 (Reuters) - Explosions were heard during violent clashes in La Paz on Thursday, as mining groups took to the streets, calling for the resignation of centrist President Rodrigo Paz.
BEIJING, May 15 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump and China's Xi Jinping are set to meet on Friday to wrap up a two-day state visit that has featured pomp and business deals but also a warning from Xi that mishandling the Taiwan issue could send relations spiraling.
Ignored recommendations, weak internal controls and oversight failures, irregular contracts, and administrators receiving packages of R500,000 above a proposed R2.5m salary cap have plunged the Construction Education and Training Authority (Ceta) deeper into crisis, while students waiting for stipends continue to suffer.
Amid competing claims over his bail eligibility, National Coloured Congress leader Fadiel Adams’ fate hangs in the balance as the court considers his alleged role in obstructing justice in a murder investigation.
The social development minister, who was finally axed by President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday after months of scandal, leaves behind an inglorious legacy.
Characterising repeated legal challenges as a ‘Stalingrad defence’ tactic that has stalled justice for years, Judge Nkosinathi Chili has ruled that former president Jacob Zuma’s long-running 1999 arms deal trial must finally proceed.
Nelson Mandela Bay metro finds itself in a Catch-22 situation as the company it irregularly leased a municipal asset to, raising public backlash, has now failed to pay its electricity bill.
Large parts of Nelson Mandela Bay have been without water for up to 20 days, while teams scramble to restore electricity outages that have lasted for more than two weeks.
FoodForward SA’s mother-and-child nutrition programme is aimed at pregnant women and kids under five in vulnerable communities in the Western and Eastern Cape, providing critical support.
A Hawks officer has detailed messages allegedly sent between people with suspected links to a R286m cocaine consignment intercepted in Johannesburg nearly five years ago. Two police officers faced criminal charges in the saga.
In keeping with the law of unintended consequences, the US military aggression against Iran has sent the helium market spiralling — but one century-old company was ready for this exact moment.
The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition has steered SA’s economic transformation agenda into a legislative storm that the minister must navigate.
Retrenchment can be daunting at any age, but especially at 50. Understand your financial priorities and retrenchment package essentials to secure your future.
Two school investment competitions, run by Coronation and the JSE, are using simulated markets to teach learners and students about risk, patience, diversification and the noisy business of separating headlines from long-term value.
One of the positions within Bafana Bafana where there is little certainty before the 2026 Fifa World Cup is the goalkeeping department. Captain Ronwen Williams is the only player whose place is cemented, barring injury.
The peril of larger vehicles on our roads is compounded by safety standards that too often neglect African markets. And then there’s the matter of Toyota Starlets buzzing around South African roads with a zero-star rating.
The global energy transition is no longer being driven primarily by climate policy, but by the geopolitical and financial contradictions of the petro-dollar order itself. As China and India electrify at scale and expand renewable-powered growth, rising oil instability is accelerating a shift toward a multipolar, multi-currency world in which energy, finance and geopolitical power are being fundamentally reconfigured.
KwaZulu-Natal’s elephant ‘overpopulation crisis’ is being presented as scientific inevitability. But official replies reveal contradictions, missing evidence and a regulatory process that has yet to catch up with the rhetoric.
Amid the struggles facing legacy media institutions, South Africans increasingly no longer wake up in the same country. We used to share a front page; now we share an algorithm – and the algorithm sorts us before we have had our coffee.
This year’s hockey interprovincial tournament gave players the opportunity to showcase their talent as national coaches aim to narrow the selection pool ahead of the Hockey World Cup in August.
Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, Sindisiwe Chikunga, has been appointed as the acting minister pending a full-time appointment, says President Cyril Ramaphosa.
This is a major concern in Nelson Mandela Bay, as the hub of automotive and component production, and also home to agro-processing for global markets and multinational manufacturers and exporters of pharmaceuticals, beverages, as well as the supporting networks of suppliers and logistics providers.
Official voters’ rolls from Mozambique’s 2024 elections reveal fraudulent registrations, including Zanu-PF activists and Zimbabweans without voting rights.
A Panama-flagged crude oil tanker managed by Japanese refining group Eneos 5020.T has passed through the Strait of Hormuz, ship-tracking data from LSEG showed on Thursday, the second instance of such a Japan-linked oil ship making it through.
What is required, if the unqualified and immediately realisable right to basic education is to be safeguarded, is not simply better ad hoc responses to extreme weather events but a shift towards a basic education system that is intentionally designed to withstand them.
Ukraine's anti-corruption court on Thursday ordered the arrest of Andriy Yermak, a close ally of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and former head of his administration, on money-laundering charges.
Britain's former deputy prime minister, Angela Rayner, a potential rival to leader Keir Starmer, said on Thursday she had been cleared of deliberate wrongdoing over her tax affairs, overcoming a hurdle to mounting any leadership bid.
The Philippine Senate will convene as an impeachment court on May 18 ahead of the trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, its president said on Thursday, with tensions flaring as the country's most powerful political clans face off.
It was a very strong night for both the Patriotic Alliance and the ANC as both parties picked up Northern Cape wards, and showed good growth in a North West ward.
A journey through the Cango Caves, South Africa’s first tourist attraction, is filled with breathtaking formations and historical significance dating back 80,000 years.
May 14 (Reuters) - Russia attacked the Ukrainian capital Kyiv with drones and missiles early on Thursday, officials said, damaging several buildings, including one which partially collapsed with residents likely trapped under rubble.
May 13 (Reuters) - The Italian Open quarter-final between Italy's Luciano Darderi and Spain's Rafael Jodar was interrupted in bizarre circumstances on Wednesday when smoke from fireworks at the neighbouring Stadio Olimpico drifted across the Foro Italico.
NEW YORK, May 13 (Reuters) - A New York man was found guilty on Wednesday of acting as an unregistered agent of the Chinese government after a trial over federal prosecutors' allegations that he operated a "secret police station" on behalf of Beijing in Manhattan's Chinatown neighborhood.
HAVANA, May 13 (Reuters) - Cuba has completely run out of diesel and fuel oil, the country's energy and mines minister said on Wednesday, as the capital Havana faces its worst rolling blackouts in decades amid a U.S. blockade that has strangled the island of fuel.
The media producer, publicist and accessories designer who documented post-apartheid South Africa’s urban culture and put African textiles on the street, the runway and the global stage died at Milpark Hospital from heart failure on May 12.
Despite 656,000 matric passes in 2025, the challenge of youth unemployment looms large — how businesses can support the Social Employment Fund to create opportunities.
South African municipalities are sitting on gold mines of your personal data — ID numbers, addresses, billing details — and they are catastrophically unprepared to protect it. No skills, ancient tech and bureaucratic red tape have left our local governments wide open to ransomware gangs and phishing attacks. And the thieves? They’re already inside the house. Daily Maverick’s Lindsey Schutters explains.
As the rise of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK threatens Labour’s grip on power, Britain’s fractured politics could endanger vital UK-Africa relations, echoing historical grievances and political turmoil.
The Department of Social Development has suspended Minister Sisisi Tolashe’s special adviser, Ngwako Kgatla, following a Public Service Commission report that found he was partially responsible for falsifying his niece’s CV to help secure her an illegal appointment.
The arrest of prominent taxi boss Joe ‘Ferrari’ Sibanyoni has revived scrutiny of his business empire, influence in the transport industry and alleged criminal associations.
Amid South Africa's foot-and-mouth crisis, Agriculture Minister Steenhuisen advocates for a mass vaccination strategy, but challenges remain for farmers and the cattle industry.
As Parliament starts the process of appointing an impeachment committee to consider the claims against President Cyril Ramaphosa, it may be important to consider what the aims of this panel should be. It should be about finding the truth. But, given the interests of the parties involved, that is unlikely to happen.
A police officer who previously faced criminal charges over a R286m cocaine consignment intercepted in Johannesburg says that the talk was that it belonged to Crime Intelligence officer Feroz Khan, who was previously cleared of any wrongdoing.
MPs were incensed on Wednesday after SAPS leaders and Ipid members struggled to answer questions regarding the investigation into an alleged cover-up of the theft of US dollars at President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm.
Of the many headaches Barbara Creecy inherited in the transport portfolio, the Road Accident Fund is probably the one that keeps her up at night. But now there’s a plan.
Former National Prosecuting Authority head Vusi Pikoli testifies that Jackie Selebi manipulated political power, including Thabo Mbeki’s influence, to obstruct TRC prosecutions and undermine justice.
Floodwaters that swept through Nelson Mandela Bay between 5 and 8 May left behind more than damaged roads and submerged infrastructure — they exposed the strain on a city already struggling to keep its systems intact. Within three days, municipal reporting platforms logged more than 100 infrastructure-related complaints.
The Middle East conflict may have sent petrol prices higher and household budgets into a fresh state of panic, but employers should be careful not to mistake a short-term oil shock for another 2008-style financial crisis.
Maria McCloy, a vibrant force in Jozi's cultural scene, leaves behind a legacy that redefined South African pop culture and connected artists far and wide.
Piped gas has been cut off in parts of Yeoville, Berea, Hillbrow and Observatory, with Egoli Gas blaming safety risks, illegal connections and crime – leaving low-income households scrambling to afford alternatives as questions mount over promised rebates.
While a recent study hints at a link between fruits and lung cancer, overwhelming evidence supports the health benefits of fruits and vegetables for overall wellness.
Renewable energy systems not only have to be clean, they have to be shared through a private/public partnership that ensures that inequalities in our society are not deepened.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has "significantly" cut the size of his motorcade to save fuel, a government source said on Wednesday, days after he urged citizens to tighten their belts amid a surge in energy prices triggered by the Iran war.
Keir Starmer faced his biggest challenge yet on Wednesday when his health minister was reported to be readying his resignation to try to trigger a contest to replace a British prime minister who had sought some respite to set out his government's agenda.
Philippine Senator Ronald dela Rosa said on Wednesday that his arrest was imminent and urged people to mobilise to prevent him from being sent to the International Criminal Court.
An unknown thief snatched the 800-year-old skull believed to be of Saint Zdislava of Lemberk from a display box in a church in the northern Czech Republic and ran away with the relic, police said on Wednesday.
At his Durban office, Professor Willem Hanekom tells Biénne Huisman about taking a ventilated young patient to the Sea Point Promenade, living with HIV, the need for an African research agenda and the recurring joy that has defined his career.
As KwaZulu-Natal education officials prepare to manage more than 25,000 candidates for the 2026 mid-year exams, the focus is on more than just security. Mental health advocates are encouraging families to prioritise ‘progress over perfection’ and open up honest conversations about the pressure behind the desk.
Sports minister Gayton McKenzie reiterated the department’s plan to temporarily take over the Soweto Marathon. He will meet with the race organisers and Athletics South Africa next week to help restore governance structures.
The Sony World Competition announced the finalists and shortlists for their 2026 professional awards. The Awards spotlights photographers telling the stories of our time. Here is the selection of images from the professional competition in the documentary category.
BEIJING, May 13 (Reuters) - China is resolved to oppose independence for Taiwan, and its capability to "crush" separatism is "unbreakable", the country's Taiwan Affairs Office said on Wednesday, ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump's arrival for a summit in Beijing.
NEW YORK, May 12 (Reuters) - Meta META.O employees distributed flyers at multiple U.S. offices on Tuesday to protest the company's recent installation of mouse-tracking software on their computers, according to photos of the pamphlets seen by Reuters.
When the issues around the Department of Basic Education’s new Foundational Phase textbook catalogue were unpacked in Parliament on Tuesday, it became clear how cutthroat the industry competition really is.
The intense storms that struck the City of Cape Town and surrounds over the past 48 hours have caused flooding in at least 26 informal settlements, leaving homes damaged, belongings destroyed and families in desperate need.
As anti-immigration protests surge in South Africa, incidents of violence and a lack of police intervention bring critical scrutiny to state accountability in protecting vulnerable communities.
The Madlanga Commission has exposed the deep rot within SAPS, with the fallout reaching the highest ranks of law enforcement as senior officers have been arrested and hauled before court to answer to corruption allegations.
The ongoing R35m streetlight tender scandal in Nelson Mandela Bay raises questions about accountability as 21 implicated officials remain in their positions amid allegations of corruption.
Policeman Marumo Magane has described how ‘all hell broke loose’ at a R268m cocaine interception when he and a few others were suspected of plotting to steal the consignment. He has also acknowledged he was ‘clueless’ at the crime scene, but has denied fresh suggestions of complicity.
ABIDJAN, May 12 (Reuters) - Ivory Coast's Coffee and Cocoa Council (CCC) will send officials to the centre-eastern part of the country to calm tensions among farmers who protested last week over unsold cocoa stocks they say are rotting, despite a council pledge to buy the beans, a source close to the council told Reuters.
President Cyril Ramaphosa is preparing to challenge the Section 89 report in court, a report that could ultimately result in his impeachment. At the same time, National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula has announced plans to begin the process of establishing an impeachment committee to question the president over the theft at his farm. In this episode of Power Chat, Daily Maverick Associate Editor Ferial Haffajee and reporter Victoria O’Regan unpack the latest developments and examine what may lie ahead.
VIENNA, May 12 (Reuters) - The Eurovision Song Contest gets off to a tense start in Vienna on Tuesday with the first semi-final featuring Israel, whose attendance prompted five countries to boycott over the Gaza war, though an initial street protest was barely noticeable.
The Treasury’s criticism of the Auditor-General exposes a deeper contradiction at the heart of South Africa’s accountability system: the very institution complaining about compliance burdens designed many of the rules now under attack. While there are legitimate flaws in the state’s performance management framework, the AG’s latest findings suggest the bigger danger is not excessive auditing, but a growing political appetite to weaken oversight instead of fixing the systems that repeatedly fail citizens.
The term, impeachment, is being bandied about these days in various countries because of the behaviour of some very senior officials, but what, exactly, is an impeachment? What does it mean, and where did it come from? Let’s take a quick deep dive into this question (to enable readers to speak with knowledgeable authority to friends).
Nelson Mandela Bay could be placed under provincial administration if it fails to resolve a leadership crisis over suspended city manager Noxolo Nqwazi, Cogta MEC Zolile Williams has warned.
From Sea Monster’s global King’s Trust International entrepreneurship game to FinMaster’s pizza-box-to-retail board game journey, South African developers are showing that financial literacy may stick better when it feels less like homework and more like play.
Starmer and Ramaphosa rose to power as corrective figures, promising stability after years of chaos and institutional decay. Now both risk becoming symbols of drift themselves, as public frustration, weak growth and populist challengers expose the widening gap between political caution and effective leadership.
By all accounts, Hasina Subedar is who you call when you need to roll out, well, anything new in public health. Known for her grit, grace and humour, the non-conformist middle child from Pietermaritzburg started out as a nurse 30 years ago. She is now responsible for getting the game-changer medication for HIV prevention into 360 clinics around the country.
An unemployment rate of more than 30% is the ‘new normal’ for South Africa, an insidious indicator that has defined this decade and Cyril Ramaphosa’s presidency. And it could yet scale and surpass the record of 35.3% reached in Q4 2021.
Tebogo ‘ProVerb’ Thekisho captured an audience with the charm of an uncle you wish you had. The laidback storyteller is one of South Africa’s most recognisable voices, having spent decades in the entertainment industry. While many were introduced to him as the host of IdolsSA or through his clean conscious hip-hop, he has never been confined to one lane. His career spans business, writing and academia.
Whenever there is a dispute involving a big corporate you can tell how serious it is by the level of the person involved. And when the CEO has to step into the ring you know that things have escalated, that whatever is going on has come to pose some kind of risk to the business.
While flooding across several provinces has been declared a national disaster, farmers in the Kouga Municipality in the Eastern Cape are struggling to come to terms with their devastating losses.
The demise of New York’s Tammany Hall is instructive in South Africa’s quest to dismantle entrenched urban machines built on patronage, fear, dependency and access to jobs.
It’s easy to take our eyes for granted. But our recent research shows they took an incredible evolutionary journey to reach their current familiar form.
Players who took the LIV Golf millions and are now enquiring about a pathway back to the PGA Tour are not finding a warm reception from those who stayed.
A Dutch hospital quarantined 12 staff members in a preventive measure after blood and urine from a hantavirus patient were handled without observing strict protocols.
African leaders used the second day of a summit with French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday to push for easier access to credit that could help fund major investments and boost economic growth.
Israel has sent batteries for its Iron Dome air defence system along with personnel to operate them to the United Arab Emirates, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said on Tuesday.
About a third of South Africa’s labour force is without a job, and things are bound to get worse as the economic outlook sours with each passing day of the Middle East war triggered at the end of February by the US and Israeli attacks on Iran.
As nurses continue their essential home visits and care, the clinic represents hope and healing for a community navigating both health challenges and social adversities.
The controversy surrounding the crumbling Johannesburg Art Gallery (JAG) and the risk imposed on artworks is not a new predicament, but one with deep roots.
May 10 (Reuters) - British pop star Dua Lipa has filed a lawsuit against Samsung Electronics 005930.KS seeking at least $15 million in damages, accusing the South Korean tech giant of using her image without permission to market its television sets.
LONDON, May 11 (Reuters) - Keir Starmer came under renewed pressure on Monday when four ministerial aides stepped down and more than 70 Labour lawmakers publicly called for the British prime minister's resignation after his appeal for another chance seemingly fell on deaf ears.
The Madlanga Commission of Inquiry last week heard how a cocaine consignment worth about R200m was stolen from a Hawks building in KwaZulu-Natal. Now it’s emerged that R55m worth of cocaine went missing from another shipment seized by police.
Reflecting on his efforts to transform the higher education sector, the outgoing director-general, Nkosinathi Sishi, says he remains passionate about his role and is eyeing a second term. However, members of Parliament are unconvinced, citing a lack of capability and a sector in crisis.
Before demanding President Ramaphosa’s resignation, it’s crucial to recognise that the legal path of impeachment requires careful scrutiny and cannot be rushed.
In this video, Rebecca Davis looks at documents that suggest a former household employee of Social Development Minister Sisisi Tolashe may have been required to pay half of her government-funded monthly salary to the minister’s daughter.
Thembani Mkhize, Rashid Seedat and Shannon Whitaker
Op-eds
Three scenarios developed by the Gauteng City-Region Observatory and the Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection paint a picture of what South Africa's richest province might look like in 2035, with each pathway named after a popular song.
Weaponising the law through selective prosecution reveals a harrowing truth: Democracy’s decay can be cloaked in judicial robes, as the powerful dismantle opposition under the guise of legality.
After a week of heavy rains, much of the Western Cape has been hit with a second cold front in a short space of time, which has resulted in at least one death, schools closing down, flooding, and water and electricity outages.
When Iranian-linked forces effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz in late February 2026, South Africa’s grain farmers watched fertiliser prices spike by as much as 59% in a single month. Some in the sector say the vulnerability was always there, and that the answer has been in the soil all along.
President Cyril Ramaphosa will take the parliamentary report on Phala Phala on legal review, which could take up to a year, say experts, and the process could run in parallel with an impeachment committee sitting.
After possible exposure to a hantavirus victim, a South African passenger has tested negative for the virus, but health authorities are now monitoring nearly 100 close contacts linked to an outbreak aboard the luxury cruise liner MV Hondius. While no South Africans were on board the ship, several passengers later travelled on flights with South Africans, and medical personnel in South Africa treated two infected patients.
PORT-AU-PRINCE, May 11 (Reuters) - Hospitals in Haiti's Cite Soleil evacuated their patients and aid group MSF suspended its activities there on Monday as fighting between armed groups operating in the area that began a fortnight ago deteriorated over the weekend.
WASHINGTON, May 11 (Reuters) - Two out of three Americans think President Donald Trump has not clearly explained why the country has gone to war with Iran, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll completed on Monday that also showed his approval rating ticking up from the lowest level of his term.
Yuresh Maharaj’s day does not begin with markets, emails or the machinery of a financial services group. It begins, more prosaically and perhaps more revealingly, with his children. For the man tasked with leading Liberty while also running Standard Bank Group’s Insurance and Asset Management business unit, that domestic opening note says something about the discipline required to hold two large executive realities in the same pair of hands: one rooted in the Liberty brand and another embedded in the broader Standard Bank machine.
History will remember the Boxer stock exchange listing as the smartest move available to stabilise Pick 'n Pay’s debts. But in-store workers will be the next difficult decision that may go unnoticed.
With mobile networks needing to play in the phone space and the financial space, the overlap between what we used to know as banks that would facilitate financial transactions, and networks that provided phone calls, is growing dramatically.
When top Crime Intelligence officer Feroz Khan was contacted about gold allegedly found in the possession of Durban businessman Tariq Downes, he allegedly lied and said Downes was part of an undercover operation that did not exist and ordered his immediate release.
If you often find yourself awake at 3am, you're not alone. Here are some of the reasons that might be behind these awakenings as well as ways to enhance your sleep.
At Bloemhof Dam in North West province, local fishermen Fanas Tshukudu, Anthony Duiker and Thabang Mofokeng depend on their daily catch as a crucial source of income, sustaining both their households and small-scale trade in the surrounding communities. Their work reflects a steady rhythm of survival and resilience, shaped by the waters of the dam and the livelihoods that depend on it.
Philippine lawmakers on Monday overwhelmingly backed the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte, setting the stage for a trial in the Senate that could end her hopes for a presidential run in 2028.
Chinese and U.S. anti-narcotics authorities arrested five suspects and seized a batch of drugs in a joint investigation of a drug smuggling and trafficking case, China's state-run news agency Xinhua reported on Monday.
Nigeria's Defence Headquarters on Monday denied reports of civilian deaths from airstrikes on suspected bandits in the northern Niger state, saying the strikes were intelligence-led and hit only militant targets.
Poland will seek answers about how a former minister wanted on abuse of power charges managed to travel from Hungary to the United States, a foreign ministry spokesperson said on Monday, after Warsaw's hopes of bringing him to trial were thwarted.
The majority judgments of the Constitutional Court — that the National Assembly erred in deciding not to interrogate the Phala Phala matter — reveal a court that takes very seriously its role as an independent custodian of the Constitution and its values. It also raises two intriguing possibilities for the way forward.
A resident in the Western Cape is being tested for the Andes virus after possible exposure during a flight, as authorities track the ongoing outbreak from the cruiseliner the MV Hondius. Meanwhile, passengers and crew began disembarking from the ship at the Port of Granadilla de Abona in Tenerife on Sunday. So far, eight cases have been linked to the outbreak on the MV Hondius.
South African medical scientists have, just like with Covid-19, once again done the country proud by working fast and efficiently to discover the cause of death and illness on a stricken cruise ship.
Minister Gayton McKenzie pledges action against corruption in the Cultural and Creative Industries Federation while restoring funding to vital arts projects.
Daniel Peter Al-Naddaf, Hopolang Selebalo, Kayin Scholtz, Stanford Ndlovu, Tatiana Kazim, Tess Peacock and Tshepo Mantjé
Op-eds,Maverick Citizen
The approval by Cabinet of the Children’s Act Amendment Bill is a major milestone for young children and the practitioners caring for them. But the promise of reform will only be felt when more Early Childhood Development (ECD) programmes can register, more eligible children are funded, and Parliament passes the Bill without delay.
While the Gamtoos River Valley still needs to assess the extent of the damage caused by its biggest flood in recent memory, one farmer took to the raging waters in his rubber duck to bring supplies to people cut off from their communities.
The South African agricultural sector is highly competitive and has doubled in size, yet it has failed to create jobs at the scale the country needs or include smallholder farmers in its orbit of opportunity. A new approach is needed to move beyond the current dual economy model and unlock a more inclusive growth path through strategic investment and empowerment.
In the run-up to South Africa’s November 4 local government elections, the battle for voters is shifting sharply to social media – with young people a prime target, mistrust surging and viral fakery and mischief harder to detect. The Electoral Commission’s outreach deputy CEO, Victor Shale, answers questions about the troubling reality at ground zero.
Minister of Correctional Services Pieter Groenewald, a Freedom Front Plus veteran and former leader of the party, has found himself embroiled in suspicious online political support networks.
Amid international concerns over supply disruptions due to geopolitical tensions and weather patterns, current agricultural supplies remain ample, preventing a crisis but leaving future stability uncertain.
From R3-billion in alleged prepayments, to a contract awarded to a group under investigation for bribing Transnet officials, is this Eskom’s most dubious deal ever?
The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights has warned that violence against African migrants in South Africa reflects a ‘longstanding pattern’ of grave rights violations, yet the response from political leadership has been marked more by silence, denial and escalation than accountability. As xenophobic rhetoric becomes normalised and even rewarded in public life, the line between governance and vigilante authority continues to blur.
No economy can reach its full potential while gender-based violence continues to undermine workforce stability, productivity and human capital development at scale.
In a landscape where the right and the left converge on the necessity of Black Economic Empowerment, this has been disrupted by the government’s recent proposed changes to BEE codes of practice.
South Africa’s digital nomad visa promotes foreign remote work but needs multifaceted strategies to mitigate local resentment and enhance integration within communities.
South Africa’s challenge is not that one group created corruption. It is that we inherited a system where accountability was thin – and then those who governed allowed it to remain that way, while the rest of us watched it deepen.
Africa has to make a critical shift towards self-sufficiency in addressing its HIV challenges, emphasising the need for ownership, sustainable financing and strengthened health infrastructure for lasting impact.
Despite a great start on 27 April 1994, South Africa has been marked by institutional crisis precipitated by State Capture, greed, impunity, leadership failures at the very top and lack of oversight and accountability.
The Gautrain faces a pivotal transition in 2026 that could redefine how urban rail is funded and whether it continues to rely on big public subsidies. A comparison with Hong Kong’s MTR model highlights how capturing land value around stations could offer a more sustainable alternative to fare-dependent financing.
The Eastern Cape Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs has ordered that suspended Nelson Mandela Bay city manager Dr Noxolo Nqwazi be reinstated, but the council has yet to act, leaving the metro’s top administration in flux and the CFO position unresolved.
The placement of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme under administration is not an isolated event. It is the culmination of a sustained failure to lead decisively.
We take what is unfolding in Gauteng seriously, so we must stop pretending this is a Gauteng story. It is not. It is a warning light flashing across the entire South African dashboard, and it is getting harder to look away.
With trust in government and democratic institutions at historic lows and nearly half of voters feeling unrepresented, South Africa approaches its most challenging local election in decades with many showing a desire for alternatives to established parties.
The Waikato River race strips sport back to something raw, unpolished and deeply human, where participation outweighs performance. Along a demanding 142km stretch of river, competitors are bound together by breakdowns, resilience and a shared journey, rather than the pursuit of status or spectacle.
This season of What’s Eating Us looks at the food system from the ground up: the farmworkers who make our food, the building blocks of early child development, food insecurity in cities such as Johannesburg, and all the way to policies in place, an alternative grocery store and conversations with government.
Life has become exponentially nuanced and complex, navigated now in the shadows between light and dark, not the extremes of black and white. The US still moves the pieces, but no longer alone.
Perhaps the question that everyone should be asking is not why it happened, but how it happened. How did so many people – especially the very high-powered team of experts that Kamala Harris had – not see this coming and act accordingly?
