🇿🇦South Africa

JSC under the gun — mountain of interviews, judicial ethics crisis on October agenda

Besides interviewing 44 candidates for 22 vacancies at 11 superior courts across the country, the Judicial Service Commission must pass reforms to its interviews and ethics processes, and also decide the fate of two judges facing allegations of bribery.

ANALYSIS: Joburg election posters — the good, the bad and the embarrassing

With so much of Johannesburg falling apart, it is astounding how few of the parties contesting for votes there focus on local issues in their election posters. The posters reveal how many of them cannot articulate a message that will resonate with voters in the major battleground of this election.

LEARNING CURVE: Online schools are growing faster than South Africa’s rules

South Africa’s online schools offer pupils a route to the National Senior Certificate, but the sector has no dedicated regulatory framework. As the government works on new rules, Umalusi has introduced interim requirements to protect the credibility of matric.

Analysis: Starlink still no closer to SA market access, despite proposed new telecom law

There are two vital updates happening in South Africa’s electronic communications laws and regulations, and neither of them makes it easier for SpaceX to bring Starlink into the country.

EXCLUSIVE: Dada Morero recorded planning big pre-election spending — ‘We are 50 days away’

Joburg Mayor Dada Morero has denied wanting to spend the City’s limited budget on infrastructure projects that look good ahead of the elections to ‘control the political narrative’.

Older persons are still carrying families, now we must help carry them

In South Africa, long after formal employment ends, many older people continue to raise children, manage homes, care for relatives and hold families together financially. While policy may describe older persons as dependents, the reality is that their labour has not stopped; it has simply changed.

LOCAL ELECTIONS 2026: Navigating ballots, candidates, and wards: Your guide to the 2026 local government elections

The countdown to the 2026 local government elections is on. Still unsure about how voting works, who is contesting your ward or what will be on your ballot? This guide has you covered.

Joburg crisis cannot be solved without competent City leadership

Finance minister Enoch Godongwana announced this month that the National Treasury is developing an “intensive intervention” to help rescue Johannesburg. The Treasury intends to work with the City for three years, irrespective of which party emerges from the local government elections on 4 November.

FOOD BASKET: R20 sugar saving highlights SA’s food affordability crisis as grants fall short

A R20 saving on value-brand sugar exposes how packaging and marketing can drive up food prices, while civil society urges the government to rethink grants and its nutrition policy.

AI agents tried to hack Canadian government website, research firm says

Sept 30 (Reuters) - AI agents tried to hack into a Canadian government website, an AI research firm said on Wednesday.

FORMULA FOR FAILURE OP-ED: Fenced in — why City Power’s ‘ringfencing’ in Joburg is a 30% revenue grab

City Power’s new 70/30 revenue split isn't ringfencing; it’s an arbitrary top-line tax. Without structural funding reform, Johannesburg’s power utility faces guaranteed insolvency.

MADLANGA COMMISSION: Sibanyoni’s Putco bid puts focus on political access, business interests

Joe ‘Ferrari’ Sibanyoni’s January 2024 meeting with President Cyril Ramaphosa and Minister Gwede Mantashe, and his apparent demand for a 30% stake in the bus company Putco, have brought into question the tax boss’s political reach and his business interests.

WILD OMISSION: South Africa’s lion bone trade — the consequences the government never considered

South Africa exported thousands of captive-bred lion skeletons to Asian markets – but never studied whether the trade fuelled demand, enabled laundering or increased pressure on wild lions.

We know who donates to SA’s political parties — but who really pays?

The Political Funding Act has failed to provide transparency as to who is donating money to the various political parties. What is needed is mandatory, proactive disclosure of beneficial ownership information to ensure voters can track actual political influence ahead of elections.

FUGITIVES VS ENFORCEMENT: SA’s Gupta extradition flop now dulls UAE’s shiny approach to catching global fugitives

The United Arab Emirates once seemed to attract global crooks. Now its justice minister has detailed tightened extradition approaches and reiterated that partnerships between countries are key. Pity then about South Africa’s failed attempt to get the fugitive Gupta brothers back from there to face State Capture accusations.

Violence against women in South Africa is national shame, president says - Reuters

Violence against women in South Africa is national shame, president says Reuters

POLITICALLY AWEH: Inside the Gathering 2026 — South Africa’s cities crisis collides with chaotic election preparation

This week’s Politically Aweh surveys a chaotic run-up to the 4 November local elections with a governing party that missed election deadlines and a potential serial killer in Ekurhuleni — before landing at The Gathering 2026: Cities Edition.

Violence against women in South Africa is national shame, president says

Eleven women’s bodies have been found in Ekurhuleni, a municipality east of Johannesburg, since July.

South African president orders action on femicide after killings

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced new measures to combat femicide and gender-based violence.

Qatari mediators press peace deal between US and Iran

WASHINGTON/CAIRO, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Qatar said on Tuesday it hopes that shuttle diplomacy between Iran and the US can lead to a breakthrough despite US President Donald Trump's denial of media reports that he was willing to ease sanctions and release frozen funds in exchange for Iranian concessions on its nuclear program.

EKURHULENI KILLINGS: Ramaphosa admits the government has failed women and vows action

In a heartfelt address acknowledging the impact of gender-based violence on women, President Cyril Ramaphosa has promised new interventions. But for the victims of the Ekurhuleni killings, it comes too late.

ENVOY SCOLDED: US ambassador Bozell demarched by SA government

South Africa summoned US Ambassador Leo Brent Bozell after his criticism of Pretoria, as Washington repeated demands on land, race policy, farm murders and perceived hate speech.

Between candour and coercion — why SA won’t bend to Washington’s dictates

ANC rebuts US envoy Brent Bozell’s ‘Five Asks’, defending South Africa’s courts, land reform and BEE while rejecting pressure to bend its constitutional principles — and insisting on an equal partnership.

UNCOOPERATIVE GOVERNANCE: Council meeting collapses, delaying decision on suspended city manager paid R6.7m and counting

After armed guards were deployed to prevent suspended Nelson Mandela Bay city manager Noxolo Nqwazi from entering City Hall last week, a council meeting to debate her future has failed to reach a quorum, delaying the matter to after the November elections.

Belgium to transfer three F-16s to Ukraine this year, Zelenskiy says

KYIV, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Belgium will transfer three F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine by the end of the year to help in its war with Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday.

UK’s Burnham risks reopening Brexit debate with bid to find consensus on EU ties

LIVERPOOL, England, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Andy Burnham risked reopening the bitter division over Britain's departure from the European Union on Tuesday by vowing to seek a consensus on closer ties with the bloc.

POLL POSITION: Ramaphosa urges caution as AU supports South Sudan elections

The African Union backs South Sudan’s 26 December elections, while Cyril Ramaphosa warns that major political, security and institutional obstacles threaten credible polls.

Why the U.S. Is Imposing New Visa Restrictions on South Africa

The Trump administration announced new visa restrictions on the country days after receiving a letter that South African officials had hoped would bring down the temperature.

Student protests and French public sector strike heap pressure on Macron

Burnham offers Britain an ‘honest conversation’ on tackling problems

What the Gabrielle Goliath case has meant for SA’s art world

PATHWAYS TO PEACE: SA demands Russia return abducted Ukrainian children

WORLD HEART DAY: Straight from the heart — Professor Karen Sliwa-Hahnle’s cardiac care crusade

Follow the money — how digital banking records are transforming accountability in SA

PetroSA collapse highlights the urgent need to reform SA’s flawed fuel standards

TRC ROULETTE : ‘I just fed them’ — Jürgen Kögl, businessman who facilitated ‘secret’ post-TRC meetings

Russia raises 2027 military spending by 27%, budget documents show

Dutch ‘reformed hacker’ arrested in ShinyHunters investigation, police and boss say

SA to pay the price of inaction as United States runs out of patience

ANALYSIS: Crossed frequencies — Minister Malatsi and deputy out of sync over SA’s spectrum future

GROUNDUP: Elections 2026: How this North West town went from boom to bust

Far-right Le Pen and hard-left Melenchon seen reaching French presidential run-off, poll shows

Wife of Malaysia’s longest-serving PM Mahathir dies aged 100

Thai court dismisses petition challenging legality of 2026 election

Trump says men arrested at UK air base used by US were looking to do ‘big damage’

DIGITAL SOVEREIGNTY: State IT agency faces fork in the road on rehabilitation journey

WAR IN EUROPE OP-ED: Call to rally nations to help Ukraine bring home children, detained civilians and POWs

LOCAL ELECTIONS 2026: ‘Battle of the DJs’ in Nelson Mandela Bay’s newly redrawn Ward 5

WORLD NEWS DAY: America was the arsenal of democracy; now it’s disarming the press

UK PM Burnham refuses to back Heathrow’s third runway project

Bill Gates joins calls for AI safeguards, including legislation

South African police probe mining feud shooting, 27 dead as elections near

Analysis: Mteto Nyati retained in Eskom board chair seat as tariff debate heats up

WORLD NEWS DAY OP-ED: Journalism and our chaotic world’s future

THE LOWLY NEWSPAPERMAN: Pretoria shifts from appeasement to resistance after unrelenting US pressure

South Africa open to more talks with US after visa dispute, minister says

South Africa open to more talks with US after visa dispute, minister says - reuters.com

LOCAL ELECTIONS 2026: Zuma pledges no ‘trouble’ at polls but still insists MK was robbed in 2024

20-day blackout: Power back on at Joburg child welfare hub despite Gauteng’s R159m debt

POLICY GAPS OP-ED: More guns won’t make South African women safer, but stronger controls will