Hawks raid City Power HQ; Desiree Ellis coy on Banyana future: Today's top 7 stories in 7 minutes
News24 brings you the top stories of the day, summarised into neat little packages. Read through quickly or listen to the articles via our customised text-to-speech feature.
Anelisa Khubeka/News24
'Put the heat on black okes': Witness testifies in July unrest Phoenix murder trial
- A witness testified that tavern owner Trevor Gopal incited violence against black individuals before the assault on taxi driver Jabulani Dlamini during the July 2021 Phoenix unrest.
- Dlamini was allegedly attacked with various weapons and set alight, later dying in the hospital, while four accused face charges including murder and incitement.
- The witness, Anard Chetty, described the brutal assault on Dlamini and claimed Gopal instructed that Dlamini and his friends be burnt along with the taxi.
Supplied
'She cried with me': How FW de Klerk's widow and Cradock 4 family found reconciliation
- Elita de Klerk, widow of FW de Klerk, has been supporting the Cradock 4 families in their quest for truth about the 1985 murders of anti-apartheid activists, despite believing her late husband was not involved.
- Elita met with Fort Calata's widow, Nomonde, and family, leading to emotional discussions and a developing friendship despite differing beliefs about De Klerk's role in the killings.
- The Calata family appreciates Elita's willingness to engage and listen, viewing her actions as a step towards reconciliation and honoring the sacrifices of the Cradock 4.
9 LIVES: 'Cat' Matlala to face charges for botched hits on taxi boss 'Joe Ferrari', DJ Vettys
- Vusimusi 'Cat' Matlala will face charges for botched hits on taxi boss Joe Sibanyoni and DJ Vettys, with ballistic analysis linking seized guns to at least 10 high-profile killings.
- Matlala's alleged connections to top cops and politicians, including former Police Minister Senzo Mchunu, led to a judicial commission of inquiry and Mchunu being placed on special leave.
- Despite being under investigation for procurement fraud, Matlala's company scored R50 million from a police health services contract, highlighting his access to state procurement.
Hawks raid City Power Joburg HQ in R500m corruption investigation
- The Hawks raided City Power's headquarters in Johannesburg, investigating alleged fraud and corruption exceeding R500 million.
- City Power CEO Tshifularo Mashava is the main target of the investigation, which focuses on tender-related graft.
- The investigation documents detail alleged price inflation and payments to contractors for incomplete work.
Cut civil service by 50%, repeal BEE to grow SA, says Moeletsi Mbeki
- Moeletsi Mbeki argues South Africa's economic stagnation stems from prioritising mineral exports with unskilled labour over human capital and innovation.
- He proposes halving the public sector to redirect savings into infrastructure and skills development, criticising the current government and BEE for hindering economic growth.
- Professor William Gumede suggests replacing the current BEE with initiatives that support small businesses, skills development, and infrastructure projects, while also focusing on merit-based appointments and corruption reduction in key state entities.
Desiree Ellis coy about her Banyana future: 'We will sit down to look at a way forward'
- Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis was evasive about her future with the team ahead of their WAFCON third-place play-off against Ghana.
- The match against Ghana will be Jermaine Seoposenwe's last for Banyana Banyana, marking the end of her international career after over 100 caps.
- Ellis emphasised the importance of winning the bronze medal for Seoposenwe and injured Gabriela Salgado, while also highlighting the need for younger players to step up and take on leadership roles.
Oupa Bopape/Gallo Images
'South Africans will resonate with this movie': Anele Mdoda's high hopes for Embeth Davidtz-directed film
- 'Don't Let's Go to The Dogs Tonight,' a film executive produced by Anele Mdoda, Trevor Noah, and Frankie du Toit, premiered after its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival on 30 August 2024.
- The film, directed by Embeth Davidtz and based on Alexandra Fuller's memoir, explores a child's coming-of-age during the Rhodesian Bush War, with themes of war, family, and racial dynamics.
- Anele Mdoda emphasises the film's resonance with South Africans and encourages artists to own their intellectual property and create their own stories for a global audience.
Show Comments ()
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Man Caught Vaping in Airplane Bathroom in Viral Video Speaks Out
A flight attendant caught a passenger vaping in an airplane bathroom. She warned him it was a fire hazard but the man recorded her and claimed he was the victim. Passenger Peter Nguyen admits he vaped on the flight from Phoenix to San Francisco but claims that his dignity was violated after the flight attendant was alerted to him using an e-cigarette inside the bathroom and, he says, she forcibly opened the bathroom door. Nguyen spoke with Inside Edition's Jim Moret. Solve the daily Crossword
Washington Post
5 hours ago
- Washington Post
U.S. escalates human rights criticism of South Africa and Brazil
The Trump administration is significantly escalating U.S. government criticism of perceived foes in South Africa and Brazil as the State Department's political leadership reimagines America's role in documenting human rights abuses around the world, according to leaked draft documents reviewed by The Washington Post. The department's annual human rights reports, which are scheduled to be transmitted to Congress on Tuesday, according to a memo seen by The Post, are expected to target the South African government for its alleged mistreatment of White Afrikaner farmers and the Brazilian government for its alleged persecution of former president Jair Bolsonaro, an ally of President Donald Trump. Human rights advocates, foreign leaders and other critics of the Trump administration say its claims about both governments are exaggerated. Within the State Department, there is considerable unease, too, over how the writing of these and other country-specific human rights reports were shaped compared with past years, with some saying the process was unduly politicized. The Post also has reviewed leaked draft reports for El Salvador, Israel and Russia. Those documents eliminate previous descriptions of abuses, including government corruption, prisoner abuse and persecution of LGBTQ+ individuals. The State Department has declined to comment directly on the draft documents but last week issued a broad defense of the administration's shift in priorities. 'Governments around the world continue to use censorship, arbitrary or unlawful surveillance and restrictive laws against disfavored voices, often on political and religious grounds,' a senior State Department official, speaking on the condition of anonymity under the agency's rules, told reporters. 'We are committed to having frank conversations … with our allies, our partners and also our adversaries to promote freedom of expression around the world.' This official also noted that the forthcoming human rights reports had been restructured to remove redundancies and increase readability. Representatives of the South African and Brazilian embassies in Washington did not respond to requests for comment. Current and former State Department officials familiar with this year's human rights reports describe a divisive process with internal disputes over certain countries, including South Africa, resulting in a months-long publication delay as drafts begun during the Biden administration underwent substantial revision. Uzra Zeya, a top official for human rights at the State Department during the Biden administration who now leads the Human Rights First nonprofit, said that Secretary of State Marco Rubio was seeking to 'weaponize and distort human rights policy' in a way that rewards rights-abusing allies while targeting political opponents and critics. The report for South Africa focuses on what the Trump administration says is the 'land expropriation of Afrikaners and further abuses against racial minorities in the country,' the draft documents show. Trump has claimed the country's White minority faces a 'genocide,' though human rights groups, and even some Afrikaner groups, have resoundingly dismissed that as untrue. Trump lectured South African President Cyril Ramaphosa during a visit to the White House in May, with the U.S. president showing his visitor purported video evidence of what he claimed proved the persecution of Afrikaners. While Ramaphosa acknowledged there were problems with safety in some rural parts of his country, he forcefully rejected the idea that White South Africans were being singled out — and at least one of the images Trump showed during the tense meeting was later found to not show South Africa at all. That same month, the Trump administration welcomed to the United States about 60 White South Africans as refugees, making a rare exception to its broader halt to refugee resettlement programs for people fleeing war or facing persecution around the world. The U.S. has also cut aid to South Africa and is planning to boycott November's meeting of the Group of 20 industrialized countries to be held in Johannesburg. U.S. officials have complained not only of the treatment of White Afrikaners but also South Africa's support of legal cases against U.S. ally Israel at the International Court of Justice. The draft report includes a lengthy section on antisemitism in South Africa. According to two people with knowledge of the process, speaking on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution, career State Department staff pushed back on some of the proposed language in the South Africa report. There were specific concerns, these people said, about use of the word 'genocide,' which carries significant legal implications for U.S. policy under domestic and international law. One person with knowledge of the process said the administration wanted not just to strip down the South Africa draft left by the prior administration but reshape it entirely, highlighting claims of persecution against Afrikaners despite doubts about their veracity. A Trump political appointee, Samuel Samson, led the draft's rewriting after Africa subject matter experts in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor refused to continue their involvement, citing the inclusion of false and misleading information, this person said. Samson later visited South Africa in July to conduct research, according to local media reports. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In Brazil's draft report, the State Department accused the country's left-wing government of 'disproportionately suppressing the speech of supporters of former president Jair Bolsonaro,' who is accused of attempting to stay in power with a violent coup. Bolsonaro has denied the charge. The draft report specifically mentions Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, stating that he 'personally ordered the suspension of more than 100 user profiles on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter)' in a way that impacted Bolsonaro's supporters on the far right. The Trump administration expanded U.S. sanctions on Moraes last month, with Rubio alleging the judge had committed 'serious human rights abuse, including arbitrary detention involving flagrant denials of fair trial guarantees and violations of the freedom of expression.' Moraes has pledged to ignore the sanctions and continue his work. Bolsonaro and his allies have appealed to Trump for help as he faces a variety of charges related to the 2022 attempted coup, which occurred roughly two years after Trump's supporters, hoping to overturn his election defeat in 2020, carried out a violent assault on the U.S. Capitol. 'I always talked about the prosecutions that Trump suffered. If he wants to say something about me, he'll decide to speak,' Bolsonaro told The Post this year. Administration officials have defended the shift in U.S. human rights priorities, and it's not unusual for a new administration respond to different trends, such as perceived attacks on freedom of expression in Europe and other democracies. The State Department human rights reports are the most comprehensive on the subject compiled by any single body in the world, and they are widely used in both U.S. and international courts. In particular, they are often used in immigration court during hearings on asylum and deportations. Appearing in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in May, Rubio clashed with Democratic lawmakers, who asked why the State Department had canceled long-standing refugee programs but started a new program that focused specifically on Afrikaners from South Africa. Rubio said that the South Africans who arrived in the United States 'thought they were persecuted' but acknowledged there were millions of others facing persecution around the world who would not be resettled as refugees in the U.S.
Bloomberg
9 hours ago
- Bloomberg
South Africa's DA Sees Ruling Coalition Weathering Latest Rift
South Africa's second-biggest party reiterated its intention to remain within the fractious coalition government, saying its continued participation had the backing of most of its members and should boost its support in next year's municipal elections. The 10-party coalition was formed 13 months ago after the African National Congress failed to secure a parliamentary majority in a national vote for the first time since apartheid ended in 1994. The ANC has since clashed repeatedly with the Democratic Alliance, its main rival, over policy and appointments, raising doubts over whether the so-called government of national unity will remain intact.
