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Eyewitness News
5 days ago
- Business
- Eyewitness News
'Mail & Guardian' could be facing a jobs bloodbath as staff receive Section 189 notices
JOHANNESBURG - Popular news outlet, Mail & Guardian , could be facing a jobs bloodbath as staff at the organisation receive Section 189 notices. The notices signal potential retrenchments at the news organisation, as all staff members received notices. The notices, issued in terms of the Labour Relations Act, indicate a restructuring at the newspaper which could affect many jobs. The Mail & Guardian has been a stalwart of investigative journalism and in-depth coverage in South Africa. The move has raised concerns over the publication's future as it continues to face challenges in the rapidly changing media landscape. The publication's CEO, Hoosain Karjieker, explained: "We commenced the process about two weeks ago as this first quarter of the year, we realised that the costs are continuing to rise and the business was continuing to struggle commercially and we sort of had to make some drastic interventions in order to ensure the survival of the paper moving forward."
Eyewitness News
5 days ago
- Business
- Eyewitness News
Mail & Guardian CEO confident publication will remain available as job cuts loom
JOHANNESBURG - While the future of employees at popular publication, Mail & Guardian , is uncertain, CEO Hoosain Karjieker is confident it will remain available to its readers beyond the restructuring process. The news outlet's 25 staff members received section 189 notices, signalling a move to shed jobs as it struggles to stay afloat. But Karjieker said this doesn't signal the end of the Friday newspaper. READ: 'Mail & Guardian' could be facing a jobs bloodbath as staff receive Section 189 notices "No, absolutely not. I mean, I think that it resisted doing this type of thing. We had done some restructure during the course of last year, but we confined it to a theme that we realised as this year got underway, especially with these sort of dramatic rise in distribution costs, that a more urgent intervention was required for us to stabilise the company once again." Karjieker envisages a conclusion of the process in June but stresses that the process will not affect all employees. "After situations, one prefers not to drag the situation out for too long, but we are sort of aware and cognisant of what the Labour Relations Act requires from us. So it's very much in the consultative process and we're hoping to complete that process perhaps by the end of June or, you know, depending on how those negotiations go."
France 24
22-05-2025
- Politics
- France 24
New York Times: How Russia's intelligence services turned Brazil into a ‘spy factory'
Reactions from the South African press after President Cyril Ramaphosa's meeting with Donald Trump in the White House. South African daily Mail & Guardian recalls how the meeting started off cordial enough – Ramaphosa even brought along two South African golf stars as a nod to Trump's favourite sport. But things veered off course after a journalist asked Trump what it would take to see there isn't a genocide in South Africa. To this, Ramaphosa said, it would take listening to South Africans. And then: Trump showed him a video he claimed was proof of calls for a white genocide in South Africa – clips of South African politician Julius Malema chanting an anti-farmer song. Video clips also showed what Trump purported were the burial sites of over 1000 white farmers. In reality, it was a memorial procession from September 2020. Ambush is really the word that defines a lot of the South African front pages today. Daily News saying as much on its front page after that calamitous meeting between Cyril Ramaphosa and Donald Trump. The Sowetan says Ramaphosa "survived the ambush". The paper impressed that he staged "a pushback against lies of a white genocide in South Africa". In its analysis, the New York Times says Trump cast himself as a protector of persecuted white people. He publicly dressed down the South African president based on a fringe conspiracy theory. The US daily also reports that Brazil is trying to dismantle a network of Russian spies in the country. This fascinating investigative report looks at how Russia used Brazil as a sort of assembly line for producing Russian spies. The goal was not to spy on Brazil but for its spies to become Brazilian with passports. Brazil's painstaking investigative work, which began after the war in Ukraine, involved dismantling the network, piece by piece. It dealt a devastating blow to Putin's spy program. Times takes us through Operation East which was led by the same counterintelligence agents who investigated former president Jair Bolsonaro. They combed through millions of Brazilian identity records in search of patterns. It began in 2022 with the arrest of Victor Muller Ferreira aka Sergey Cherkasov. Authorities discovered his real birth Brazilian certificate citing a deceased Brazilian woman as his mother. Yet, upon further investigation – they discovered she never had children. Consequently, this network of ghosts began to unravel. In Ireland, a controversial rapper has been charged with a terror offence. The Belfast Telegraph reports that Mo Chara, rapper of the Irish language rap group Kneecap, was charged with a terror offence. It dates back to last November when the group displayed a flag in support of Hezbollah during a concert. Videos also emerged of the band allegedly calling for deaths of MPs. They later denied support for the groups and apologized. In the UK, Hezbollah and Hamas are declared terrorist organisations, which means it's illegal to express support for them. Irish news site Breaking News reports that it's not the group's first run-in with the law. Last month at Coachella, Kneecap ended their set with three messages on a screen accusing Israel of genocide and war crimes which sparked outrage in the US. They also commissioned a mural in Belfast of a burning Land Rover, the vehicle used in policing in Northern Ireland, which some say glorified terrorism. Finally, Taiwan has a new rock star envoy to Finland. Freddy Lim founded the Taiwanese heavy metal band Chthonic which is known as the Black Sabbath of Asia. He has now been named envoy to Finland. And his nomination is apt – the band is well known in Finland having recorded four albums with a Finnish label. As the Brooklyn based website Metal Injection notes, Finland has the most metal bands per capita – 80 for every 100k citizens. So where better than Finland to appoint a heavy metal singing ambassador!
17-05-2025
- Health
Report reveals alarming rise in suicide deaths in South Africa
A new report from Discovery Life reveals a concerning rise in suicide-related deaths in South Africa, particularly among older adults. According to the insurer's 2024 Claims Experience report, published in April 2025, suicide accounted for 45% of all life claims among those aged 41 to 60. Among individuals over the age of 50, suicide claims surged by 62% compared to the five-year average. The report shows that across all age groups, suicide was the leading cause of death from unnatural causes in 2024, accounting for 35% of such claims. This figure surpassed those from motor vehicle accidents (23%), crime (17%), trauma (10%) and other accidental causes (15%). The data reflects a troubling trend, with most claims involving older men. However, the youngest claimant was a 35-year-old woman with a history of psychological illness. Mental health support remains inadequate According to Mail&Guardian , Clinical psychologist Zamo Mbele said the rise in suicides reflects worsening mental illness, including depression, anxiety, psychotic and substance-use disorders. He also pointed to the persistent lack of access to appropriate mental health care. 'There is still too little care and a great deal of stigma, so people do not seek help,' Mbele explained. The Council for Medical Schemes estimates South Africa's suicide rate at 23.5 per 100 000 people in 2024 translating to around 14 000 deaths a year. Mbele said mental health challenges are increasing in schools and the workplace. In corporate environments, he noted that mental health responses are outdated and fail to address individual needs. A 2023 survey by the South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG) found that 60% of employees wished they could afford to leave their jobs. The study found that work was a major stressor across several sectors, including education, healthcare, government and finance. Mbele said financial stress is a common factor behind suicidality in all age groups. 'The cost of living is higher, and for many, suicide becomes a perceived way out of financial distress,' he said. While Discovery's figures mainly reflect a small segment of the population, those who can afford private insurance. Mbele said they point to a broader issue affecting people across all income levels. South Africa faces a critical shortage of trained mental health professionals. Studies show there is only one psychologist for every 100 000 people. Mbele criticised the overall quality of mental health services in both the public and private sectors, saying many professionals lack adequate training. 'There's a high demand, but the quality of care and training is often poor,' he said. According to the World Health Organisation, globally, suicide claims the lives of more than 720 000 people each year, and it is the third leading cause of death among those aged 15 to 29. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
07-05-2025
- Politics
Unions condemn education department as 464 schools drop maths
Teacher unions have strongly criticised the Department of Basic Education for failing to address the chronic shortage of maths teachers. According to Mail&Guardian, The South African Democratic Teachers Union's (Sadtu) Mugwena Maluleka questioned the department's human resource management. Noting that while universities continue to produce education graduates, many learners' needs are still being neglected. This follows shocking revelations that 464 schools across South Africa no longer offer mathematics as a subject. Naptosa's Basil Manuel added that the growing number of schools without mathematics undermines the future of the country's education system. According to the department, the affected schools include 135 in KwaZulu-Natal, 84 in the Eastern Cape, 78 in Limpopo and 61 in the Western Cape. Nationally, the percentage of learners opting to study maths dropped from 46% in 2011 to 34% in 2023. In 2024, only 255 762 learners registered for maths, down from 268 100 in 2023. Department spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga acknowledged that while maths remains a high-priority subject. Many schools lack the resources or demand to offer both maths and mathematical literacy. Sadtu claims that schools in rural areas are pressuring learners in Grade 10 and above not to take maths, fearing poor performance might lower matric pass rates. Maluleka stressed that the department must take responsibility for such practices. Research by the Human Sciences Research Council and Parliamentary Monitoring Group in 2023 found that many learners in early grades lack basic maths skills. South African Grade 9 learners ranked 38th out of 39 countries in maths and finished last in science. While Grade 5 maths performance placed the country 62nd out of 64 nations. Despite a slight improvement in the 2024 maths pass rate to 69.1% (up from 63.5% in 2023), the numbers remain troubling. The Western Cape led with the highest pass rates in both maths (78%) and science (79.4%). Rise Mzansi leader Songezo Zibi urged the department to raise the 50% pass benchmark and equip more learners with skills for higher education and jobs. Tertiary institutions require 60% to 75% in maths and science for STEM programmes. Unisa's Prof Ramodungoane Tabane said the shortage of STEM graduates threatens the country's development. Highlighting that South Africa has only one engineer per 3 100 people—compared to Germany's one per 200. Education activist Hendrick Makaneta stressed the importance of transforming the education system with a strong focus on STEM. 'Our future depends on learners gaining the skills these subjects provide. The world is evolving, and our system must evolve too,' he said. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
