Author: staff

ANC Eastern Cape Provincial Chairperson Lubabalo Oscar Mabuyane. (Felix Dlangamandla/Gallo Images) With the Eastern Cape somewhat secured for the ANC, party leaders have jetted off to assist the beleaguered party in the Western Cape to regain control of the province it lost 15 years ago.For the first time in years, the ANC believes it stands a chance at governing in the Western Cape via a majority or a coalition. Resources have been pumped into the campaign, and senior ANC members have spent time in the Western Cape. South Africans need to be in the know if we want to create a prosperous…

In this photo illustration, a man looks at his phone displaying the social media X (formerly known as Twitter) page for Andrew Tate on 21 January 2023, in Bath, England. (Matt Cardy/Getty Images) In his poignant op-ed for International Boy’s Day, Jaco van Schalkwyk, the founder and CEO of The Character Company, confronts the crisis of toxic masculinity and the absence of positive male role models for boys in South Africa. Drawing from his personal journey and the transformative work of his mentorship programme, Van Schalkwyk advocates for the power of positive masculinity to fill the void left by absent…

Four suspects were killed in a shootout with police in Camperdown near Pietermaritzburg. (Sakhiseni Nxumalo/News24) A KwaZulu-Natal landlord was shocked upon learning that his four tenants killed during a shootout with police on Thursday morning were allegedly involved in criminal activities related to cash-in-transit (CIT) robberies.The landlord, Mfundisi Msomi, spoke to News24 at his homestead in Thweba, Camperdown, outside Pietermaritzburg, following the shooting there on Thursday morning. Msomi said the first of the tenants began renting in December 2023. South Africans need to be in the know if we want to create a prosperous future. News24 has kept the country informed…

UCT students have set up a camp with Palestinian flags and banners near the university’s main plaza, in solidarity with similar movements across the country and abroad. (Ashraf Hendricks/GroundUp) Students and staff at the University of Cape Town (UCT) on Thursday morning found a camp with about 10 tents, with Palestinian flags and banners, near the university’s main plaza.GroundUp reports that the camp is in solidarity with similar movements at universities such as Wits University in Johannesburg and others in the US, where students have occupied spaces calling for financial and academic boycotts of Israel because of the Gaza war…

Ditebogo Junior Phalane was killed by carjackers on Friday night. (Supplied/Gift Makoti) Tracking technology assisted Gauteng police in arresting two people linked to the fatal shooting of Ditebogo Junior Phalane, 5, at his home in Soshanguve.The two were arrested on Thursday morning at two separate locations in Soshanguve.Addressing the media in Eldorado Park hours after the arrest, Gauteng’s police commissioner, Lieutenant-General Tommy Mthombeni, said a team of police officers had moved swiftly to apprehend the alleged killers. South Africans need to be in the know if we want to create a prosperous future. News24 has kept the country informed for…

President Cyril Ramaphosa and delegates are seen at the public signing into law of the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill at Union Buildings on 15 May 2024 in Pretoria. The bill aims to direct the transformation of South Africa’s health care system to achieve universal coverage for health services and overcome critical socio-economic imbalances and inequities of the past. (Frennie Shivambu/Gallo Images) President Cyril Ramaphosa’s signing of the National Health Insurance Bill on Wednesday doesn’t necessarily guarantee that it will become law, especially if the ANC loses power, says University of Cape Town constitutional law expert Pierre de Vos. Ramaphosa…

Sibusiso Siyaya was sentenced in the KwaZulu-Natal High Court, sitting in the Pongola Magistrate’s Court, on Thursday afternoon. (Halden Krog/The Times/Gallo Images) A truck driver convicted of 20 counts of murders following a gruesome crash with a bakkie transporting schoolchildren in Pongola, KwaZulu-Natal, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison.Sibusiso Siyaya was sentenced in the KwaZulu-Natal High Court, sitting in the Pongola Magistrate’s Court, on Thursday afternoon. Earlier this week, the 29-year-old was convicted of murder, reckless and negligent driving, and failure to perform the duties of a driver after the deadly crash in September 2022. South Africans need to be…

A group of South African tobacco companies have won an interim court order blocking the SA Revenue Service (SARS) from monitoring their warehouses via CCTV.The ruling, handed down by the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria, means SARS will no longer be able to enforce a directive requiring that cameras monitor warehouses owned by members of the Fair-Trade Independent Tobacco Association (FITA). The tax agency had wanted to install the cameras to stamp out “rampant” illicit trade in tobacco and cigarette products, which is costing it billions of rands a year in lost revenues.  South Africans need to be in the know…

The ICJ had previously found that SA had shown there was a plausible case of genocide against Israel. (Michel Porro/Getty Images) South Africa told the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Thursday it has no choice but to impose a ceasefire on Israel, ordering its total withdrawal from the entire Gaza Strip as a matter of extreme urgency.The ICJ had called hearings on South Africa’s request, on Friday, 10 May, for an order limited to Rafah.”The State of Israel shall immediately withdraw and cease its military offensive in the Rafah Governorate,” read South Africa’s proposed order. South Africans need to…

Nampak rocketed 18% on Thursday after it inked a R1.2bn deal to sell its Nigerian business. (Nampak/Supplied) Shares in Nampak surged more than 18% on Thursday after Africa’s largest packaging group said it was selling its Nigerian operation in a deal valued at $68.5 million (about R1.2 billion).Nampak’s Bevcan Nigeria business has been on the chopping block for a while as the group grapples a hefty debt pile and looks to focus on being a metals business based largely out of SA. While the Nigerian business is a strong performer from an operational point of view, it has also been…