Sibiya going ‘rogue'; SA to submit new US trade offer: 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.
Masemola claims Sibiya went rogue as police 'capture' scandal rages on
- Lieutenant General Shadrack Sibiya is challenging his stay-at-home order in court, claiming he was following orders by disbanding the political killings task team.
- National police commissioner Fannie Masemola claims Sibiya went rogue by disbanding the team against his instructions and that dockets were left dormant at head office.
- Masemola denies Sibiya's claims of being stripped of security and says the stay-at-home order is not a suspension, but meant to prevent the intimidation of witnesses during the investigation.
Fatima Gaffoor/Facebook
'I'm coming for you': Parkview top cop accused of death threats says she's the real victim
- Lieutenant Colonel Fatima Gaffoor, head of detectives at Parkview police station, denies threatening a former State witness, TM, who obtained an interim interdict against her.
- Gaffoor claims TM is stalking her, sending menacing messages including threats to 'put bullets in [her] head' and parking outside her workplace for hours.
- The case stems from TM's unhappiness with Gaffoor's handling of his complaints related to his time in witness protection after being a witness in two murder cases linked to Radovan Krejcir.
X/@MYANC
Mbalula was exercising at time of Bozwana's killing, says advocate in court bid to gag Mda
- Fikile Mbalula is seeking a court interdict against Anele Mda for social media posts allegedly falsely linking him to the 2015 murder of Wandile Bozwana.
- Mbalula's legal team argues Mda should have verified the truthfulness of newspaper reports before posting about their content, while Mda's advocate contends her comments were opinions based on media reports.
- Mda's advocate argues that requiring verification of media reports in political debate would set a dangerous precedent, potentially stifling public commentary on matters of public interest.
Fix the market or jail: Judge puts Tshwane mayor, city manager on notice
- Tshwane's mayor and municipal manager face jail time if they don't comply with a court order to fix the City's fresh produce market.
- The court found Tshwane in contempt of a 2022 order to provide full municipal services to the market, including investing R18 million in upgrades.
- The City has 30 days to provide a comprehensive plan and breakdown of spending, or the mayor and manager will face a month in jail, suspended for a year if they comply.
SA to submit new US trade offer today – but BEE, pork still contentious
- South Africa will submit a new trade offer to the US, including a concession on poultry imports by allowing the US to self-ban and self-lift restrictions based on state-level outbreaks.
- Restrictions on pork imports will remain to protect South Africa from porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome, despite US pressure.
- US demands for changes to BEE exemptions and SA's expropriation laws have not been addressed, and South Africa hopes to negotiate lower import tariffs with the US while diversifying export markets.FIRST TAKE | 'Baby AB' is no more. World, meet Dewald Brevis!
- Dewald Brevis scored a 41-ball century in Darwin, Australia, becoming the second quickest South African to a T20 century.
- His innings of 125 off 56 balls is now South Africa's highest individual score in T20 cricket.
- Brevis' performance has led to calls for him to be a key figure in the upcoming T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka and the 50-over World Cup in 2027.
'That's not correct': Miss SA organisers shut down rumours of 2025 pageant cancellation
- Miss South Africa organisers deny rumours of cancellation despite the pageant's postponement and CEO's resignation.
- The organisation cites a need for 'greater alignment with international events' and plans to expand its focus to entrepreneurship and social cohesion.
- Organisers are currently vetting contestants, promising to announce finalists and a new pageant date soon, following a citizenship controversy last year.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
38 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Police release image of car they want to trace after man is shot dead near petrol station
Police have released an image of a car they want to trace after a man was shot dead near a petrol station in West Yorkshire. Officers received a report at 9:43pm on Tuesday that a man had been seriously injured after a shot was fired from a car on Doncaster Road near the BP petrol station in Wakefield. The victim was taken to hospital where he died from his injuries. Police said he is understood to be a 50-year-old man who was living in the local area. A murder investigation has been launched and the victim's immediate family are being supported by specially-trained officers. The force said it believes the vehicle used in the offence was "on false plates" and was stolen in a burglary in Castleford, West Yorkshire, on 3 August. Police believe the car is a blue/grey-coloured Toyota RAV4 with a grey trim, displaying cloned plates FV53 FXT. The vehicle is described as being "distinctive due to having bull lights on the roof above the windshield". Anyone who may have seen the car following the suspected burglary or around the time of the shooting has been asked to contact the force. Police said the car may now have different number plates. Read more from Sky News: Detective Chief Inspector James Entwistle, of West Yorkshire Police's homicide and major inquiry team, said: "A man has lost his life, and it is an absolute priority for us to understand the circumstances of what has taken place and identify anyone who has had any involvement in this incident." He added: "Motorists who were in the Doncaster Road area last night who have dashcams fitted are also asked to check whether they have captured any footage of this vehicle. "The driver was driving in the direction of Wakefield before they have turned around near the BP petrol station immediately prior to the shooting and then driven off in the direction they came from." DCI Entwistle said the force is "dedicating significant resources" to the investigation and there is an increased police presence in the area to "provide reassurance to the community".
News24
41 minutes ago
- News24
Chad: Little hope for democracy after Masra verdict
Chad's former PM Succes Masra was sentenced to 20 years, seen as political silencing by President Deby. Masra's conviction reflects political suppression, undermining democratic reforms and fueling potential unrest in Chad. Masra's party continues grassroots activism, unifying opposition against Deby's government amid appeals for Masra's release. The sentencing of Chad's former prime minister Succes Masra to 20 years in prison is widely seen as a deliberate move by President Mahamat Idriss Deby to quieten opposition voices. Masra, who briefly served in Deby's transitional government before returning to the opposition, was convicted of illegal possession of ammunition and incitement of violence linked to unrest in the southwestern Logone Occidental region in May this year, which resulted in the deaths of 42 people. Masra has denied the charges and has vowed to appeal the decision, telling his supporters: 'I'll be back soon.' Claudia Hoinathy, the vice president in charge of leadership and women's engagement within Masra's Les Transformateurs party, said to DW that the conviction was completely unjust, having witnessed the three days of the hearings for herself. In her view, it is merely an attempt for Deby to tighten his grip on power ahead of the next electoral cycle - even at the risk of triggering instability in an already precarious transition. The only way out, she believes, is a unified front. 'There are many opposition parties who have come to see us, to support us at our headquarters, who have sent out communiques,' Hoinathy said. 'And I think that's the ultimate solution we have left, to unite.' 20-year verdict on trumped up charges? Political analyst Nixon Katembo meanwhile echoed similar sentiments, saying that the trial was never really about the charges to begin with, but rather about silencing a political rival who had already proven that he could disrupt Chad's order. This is more of a political message rather than about charges or equivalent to the charges that were brought against him. Nixon Katembo Katembo argued that the heavy prison term was intended to make sure that 'the opposition is curtailed'. After spending years in exile in the Central African Republic, Masra was invited back to Chad to help form a transitional government and was appointed prime minister under Mahamat Idriss Deby. 'Immediately after Deby tried to form a government of national unity leading up to the elections, Masra was placed at the heart of power,' Katembo recalls, highlighting the young politician's popularity. But the honeymoon between the two politicians was short-lived, as within five months Masra broke ranks, contested the presidency and ultimately lost, which Katembo believes sealed his fate. The verdict against Masra comes less than three months after Deby secured his victory in an election which the opposition claims was neither free nor fair. Masra: A threat to Chad's dynastic rule Critics say the sentence strikes at the heart of the already fragile credibility of a transition process which began when Deby took power in 2021 after the death of his father, Idriss Deby Itno, in battle. Chadian Presidency/Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images Analysts like Katembo argue that the conviction against Masra serves two main purposes: Removing a powerful opposition figure capable of galvanising nationwide protests while also sending a stark warning to anyone tempted to defy the country's ruling elite. Lewis Mudge, Central Africa director at Human Rights Watch, stressed in a statement that 'the sentence given to Succes Masra sends a chilling message to critics and demonstrates the Chadian government's intolerance of criticism and political opposition parties.' 'The courts should not be used for such political purposes,' Mudge added, highlighting that the conviction had 'upended hopes for a meaningful political opposition and an independent judiciary in Chad'. Various human rights groups have warned that the ruling could reignite pockets of unrest similar to the October 2022 protests, when security forces killed scores of demonstrators. 'Chad's regional and international supporters should denounce this politically motivated judgment and urge the country's leaders to make good on promises for democratic reform,' Mudge underlined. With Chad remaining a key military partner in counterterrorism operations across the Sahel, it is unlikely that major regional players like the African Union will publicly comment on the goings-on, though it is likely that concern for Chad's future is not limited to local voices. Fighting to galvanise opposition For Masra's supporters, the verdict confirms fears that the transition in Chad is shifting from a carefully stage-managed facade of democracy to a dynastically entrenched reality of one-man rule. Hoinathy says the party had prepared for the scenario of Masra's detention by pre-emptively putting a new leadership structure in place. 'The president of the party has appointed our dean, Bedoumra Kordje, to lead a collegial leadership team. This means that together with the vice presidents already in place, the work of the president's chief of staff and of the secretary-general will carry on while we continue to fight for his release,' she told DW. 'Our offices are open every day, and every weekend, we organise large gatherings that call on activists to come and show their disagreement with what is happening,' she added, highlighting the party's ongoing efforts to translate Masra's detention into a grassroots momentum bringing together various opposition groupings. Whether the ruling succeeds in silencing dissent in the long-run or rather fuels a broader resistance will likely depend on how far Deby will continue to push restrictions in the political space, and also whether international partners choose stability over democratic accountability. Either way, even without his arrest and detention, Masra's options appear limited, as he now has a previous conviction which automatically bars him from running for office - something even a pardon cannot erase. 'It would not allow him to come back and interact or to act as president of the party,' Hoinathy explained. Instead, Les Transformateurs are considering giving Masra amnesty, while lawyers continue to appeal the decision. If they eventually succeed with their appeal, the previous conviction could be expunged.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Young woman shot dead while walking child to bus stop, suspect at large: Police
A young woman was struck and killed by gunfire while walking a child to a bus stop in Louisville, Kentucky, on Wednesday morning, and authorities are now searching for the shooter. The child who was with the woman wasn't physically hurt, Louisville Metro Police Chief Paul Humphrey told reporters. MORE: 4-year-old girl, her grandfather, Target worker killed in 'unprovoked' shooting in Austin: Police A 15-year-old boy was taken into custody earlier in the day in connection with the shooting, but authorities determined he was not a suspect and he's been released, police said. Authorities then released images of a person of interest and said they're asking for the public's help to identify him. "We do have a description of a young black male dressed in a red hoodie and black sweatpants," Humphrey said. The shooting was in front of "very small children," Humphrey said. The children who witnessed the gunfire "are forever impacted by this," Humphrey said, noting that counselors are being provided. MORE: Search underway for man dropped off by ride share in Rocky Mountain National Park This marks the second shooting at a Louisville bus stop within one week. On Aug. 7 -- Jefferson County's first day of school -- multiple shots were fired at a bus stop, police said. No one was hurt and a suspect was arrested, police said. Officers had been positioned at the site of Wednesday's shooting each morning since Aug. 7, Humphrey said, but "today happened to be the first morning that we did not have officers at this bus stop." "Kids should be able to go to school, go to the bus stop in the morning without any fear of gun violence, of having to run for their life in the morning," Humphrey said. "It's absolutely unacceptable that these types of incidents have happened now twice in the last week." ABC News' Michael Pappano contributed to this report.
