Pierre de Vos

Trump’s Fantasy Is Crashing Down www.nytimes.com/2026/03/06/o...

Happening on 18 March at UCT. If you would like to attend, please RSVP to mark.gaffley@gmail.com.

More than a month since the minister of defence announced a board of inquiry into the failure of SANDF generals to implement instruction to exclude Iran from naval exercises. Not a word since. Has the whole unlawful scheme been dropped?

ANC demands that DA removes Lesufi shower billboard After Gauteng’s premier admitted using hotels during water cuts, the DA turned the moment into a billboard — and the ANC now wants it removed, warning of court action over the AI-generated image.…

Ntanga said the court action would be brought in terms of the Electoral Act’s Electoral Code of Conduct. However, the code is only applicable once an election has been called — the local government election date has not been set. www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026...

Kristi Noem confronts grim truth that everyone is expendable in Trump world Many will regard the ex-secretary of homeland security, Trump’s first fired cabinet member, as the worst yet seen

Kristi Noem once led a dog to a gravel pit and ended its life with the cold precision of a mafia hit. On Thursday, she confronted the grim truth that she, too, was expendable when she became the first cabinet member fired in Donald Trump’s second term. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

South African President Talks Trump, Racism and That Oval Office ‘Ambush’

South African President Talks Trump, Racism and That Oval Office ‘Ambush’ www.nytimes.com/2026/03/05/w...

MMC and journalists held hostage in Alexandra ‘brothel’ during cleanup operation A cleanup operation in Alexandra escalates into a hostage situation as Johannesburg officials and journalists are trapped in a suspected brothel amid rising public outcry over lawlessness.…

MMC and journalists held hostage in Alexandra ‘brothel’ during cleanup operation www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026...

Ex-ANC MP Vincent Smith jailed for 7 years over Bosasa kickbacks and tax fraud | News24 Former ANC MP Vincent Smith has been sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment for corruption charges, including kickbacks he received from Bosasa.

🔒Zuma-era ANC MP, Vincent Smith, jailed for 7 years over Bosasa kickbacks and tax fraud www.news24.com/southafrica/...

The Machiavellian shadow: Former top prosecutor testifies how Thabo Mbeki thwarted post-TRC justice In a searing indictment of South Africa’s post-apartheid leadership, top prosecutor Anton Ackermann detailed a systematic, state-sanctioned campaign to bury Truth and Reconciliation Commission cases, ...

The Machiavellian shadow: Former top prosecutor testifies how Thabo Mbeki thwarted post-TRC justice www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026...

Beneath SA’s cop scandal — intensifying distrust and multiple investigations into law enforcers Several investigations into police officers are under way alongside two parallel hearings into whether a cartel has infiltrated South Africa’s law enforcement, adding to the already deep distrust amon...

Beneath SA’s cop scandal — intensifying distrust and multiple investigations into law enforcers www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026...

Al Jazeera investigation: Iran girls’ school targeting likely ‘deliberate’ Al Jazeera investigation raises questions over deadliest single attack of war that killed 165 schoolgirls and staff.

Al Jazeera investigation: Iran girls’ school targeting likely ‘deliberate’. Al Jazeera investigation raises questions over deadliest single attack of war on Iran that killed 165 schoolgirls and staff. www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/3/...

Targeting civilians again: Tehran an ‘apocalypse’ of hospitals in flames and children buried beneath rubble www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...

Inside health dept’s leadership decapitation: How donor funds were looted | News24 Exclusive documents obtained by News24 reveal how the officials allegedly bypassed procurement laws to appoint an investigator to target a whistleblower who had exposed R1.2 billion in fraud.

Inside health dept’s leadership decapitation: How donor funds were looted. www.news24.com/investigatio...

Raha Nik-Andish | Waiting for War Usually the last days of February are filled with anticipation of the Persian New Year holiday, Nowruz. People shop for...

‘Beside the front door, next to my slippers and outside shoes, I keep a bag with my important documents. In the morning before going to work, people check their torch batteries rather than their emails.’

Raha Nik-Andish in Tehran, from the blog.

www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2026/fe...

Revealed: Brian Molefe’s alleged State Capture era ‘slush fund’ Newly obtained bank records and related documents link alleged State Capture culprit Brian Molefe to an apparent ‘slush fund’.

Revealed: Brian Molefe’s alleged State Capture era ‘slush fund’ www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026...

Pierre de Vos | A rogue GNU: Ministers pursue party agendas over collective policies | News24 While South Africa’s annual Budget is expected to pass smoothly this year after Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana learnt hard lessons about consulting coalition partners, the government of national un...

🔒Pierre de Vos | A rogue GNU: Ministers pursue party agendas over collective policies www.news24.com/opinions/ana...

Trump and Netanyahu’s attack on Iran is an illegal act of aggression | Kenneth Roth Their actions are no different from Putin’s invasion of Ukraine or Rwandan president Paul Kagame’s invasion of the Democratic Republic of Congo

Trump and Netanyahu’s attack on Iran is an illegal act of aggression no different from Russian president Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine or Rwandan president Paul Kagame’s invasion of the Democratic Republic of Congo. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Special Edition: A Questionable War of Choice (February 28, 2026) The United States launched a major armed attack on Iran Saturday, striking military and political targets throughout the country.

"A world in which countries believe they have the right to undertake preventive strikes against those they judge to be threats would be a world of frequent conflict. That is why such actions have no standing under international law." open.substack.com/pub/richardh...

How ‘Heated Rivalry’ Thawed the Chill Between My Father and Me

How ‘Heated Rivalry’ Thawed the Chill Between My Father and Me www.nytimes.com/2026/02/27/s...

'I refute the allegations' — Ekurhuleni HR boss denies protecting Mkhwanazi The testimony of Linda Gxasheka, the suspended head of human resources at the City of Ekurhuleni, points to systemic governance failures within the metro.…

‘I refute the allegations’ — Ekurhuleni HR boss denies protecting Mkhwanazi www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026...

Goliath to appeal against high court judgment that shut the door on Venice Biennale Artist Gabrielle Goliath will appeal against a high court ruling upholding Arts Minister Gayton McKenzie’s cancellation of her Venice Biennale participation, with an artwork called Elegy, which addres...

Artist Gabrielle Goliath takes on Gayton McKenzie in appeal against high court judgment www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026...

Why 15% of South African third graders can’t read a single word — and what’s being done about it With national reading goals slipping out of reach, a new report reveals the stark reality of South Africa’s literacy crisis and how proactive provinces and private donors are teaming up to save a gene...

Sjoe: Why 15% of South African Grade 3s can’t read a single word — and what’s being done about it www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026...

Convicted fraudster appointed as Free State hospital CEO | News24 Sources expose how political networks led to a convicted fraudster being appointed as a hospital CEO.

🔒Convicted fraudster appointed as Free State hospital CEO www.news24.com/citypress/po...

Joburg’s ward committees have collapsed — residents forced to govern themselves Residents’ committees have replaced ward committees in Johannesburg, deepening inequality.…

Joburg’s ward committees have collapsed — residents forced to govern themselves www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026...

The ANC won’t, and can’t, arrest its decline in Gauteng With local elections expected later this year, the ANC in Gauteng is weaker than it’s ever been. Many of the problems have piled up over the years, but key to so many of them is political infighting, ...

The ANC won’t, and can’t, arrest its decline in Gauteng www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026...

As the ANC self-immolates, Zille and Mashaba seize race for Joburg’s future From Dada to Gogo to Homeboy: The fight for Johannesburg just got very interesting.…

As the ANC self-immolates, Zille and Mashaba seize race for Joburg’s future www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026...

How Cape Town's municipal bills are outrunning its middle-class residents Cape Town homeowners who do not qualify for income-linked rebates are paying municipal bills that have significantly outpaced inflation and salary increases over the past decade as a result of spirall...

How Cape Town's municipal bills are outrunning its middle-class residents www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026...

LUKE FELTHAM | Gambling advertising ― how to kill a fantasy The trade, industry & competition department is planning to tighten advertising

🔒LUKE FELTHAM | Gambling advertising ― how to kill a fantasy www.businessday.co.za/opinion/2026...

Johannesburg Master’s Office: allegations of corruption and incompetence “If you don’t pay the cooldrink money, your things are not going to get done”

Johannesburg Master’s Office: allegations of corruption and incompetence. "There is this perception that if you don’t pay the cool drink money, your things are not going to get done". groundup.org.za/article/joha...

The staggering cost of wrongful arrests Thousands of claims against SAPS cost R620-million in 2024/25

Unlawful arrests or detentions cost the South African Police Service (SAPS) over R620-million in 2024/25, according to an answer in Parliament by Acting Minister of Police Firoz Cachalia.

Read groundup.org.za/article/the-... by GroundUp and The Outilier.