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WATCH: The Somizi exercise video everyone is talking about
Opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi called on the Congolese people to peacefully resist President Joseph Kabila after the latter stayed in power on Tuesday despite the expiration of his constitutional mandate.
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Tutu's daughter loses South African church licence after gay marriage
Reverend Canon Mpho Tutu-van Furth can no longer preside at Holy Communion, weddings, baptisms or funerals after handing in her licence because the church does not recognise gay marriage. She said her father, the retired archbishop and celebrated anti-apartheid campaigner, was "sad but not surprised" at the news. "The canon (law) of the South African Church states that marriage is between one man and one woman," Tutu-van Furth said in an email. "After my marriage... the Bishop of Saldanha Bay was advised that he must revoke my licence. I offered to return my licence rather than require that he take it from me." Mpho and Marceline Tutu-van Furth have been on honeymoon on the Indonesian island
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‘Isis threat real for SA’
It’s been confirmed by the government that South Africa is being used by Islamic State militant groups as a “logistics” hub, and the government has identified a number of “sleeper cells” that are operating in the country. Yesterday, Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba made the announcement, confirming the country’s prominence as a zone of heightened activity for the likes of IS and other terror groups. “The government is aware that there are people who are using South Africa... as a hideout,” Gigaba said, addressing a news conference. Concerns have been raised, however, over the country’s preparedness to deal with terrorist attacks, as well as the government’s lack of communication in passing on valid information timeously to South African citizens.
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Yes‚ I want my own team
Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane says she wants her private office team to be staffed with people of her own choice. This comes after reports that Mkhwebane’s security detail escorted her predecessor’s chief of staff out of the building‚ citing concerns about her security. The Huffington Post reported that Bonginkosi Dhlamini was marched out of office on Wednesday. The City Press also reported at the weekend that Mkhwebane is said to be so anti-Thuli Madonsela that she threatened the secretariat of the African Ombudsman and Mediators’ Association (Aoma) that South Africa would withdraw from hosting the association’s conference if it invited Madonsela. On Tuesday‚ Advocate Mkhwebane issued
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Grace Mugabe on R100m spending spree
With Zimbabwe teetering on the edge of financial collapse, First Lady Grace Mugabe is spending millions on new properties and jewellery and is building the country’s most expensive schools for the elite. With grinding poverty and a cash crisis which means there are never-ending queues outside banks, many Zimbabweans, including some within the ruling Zanu-PF, are embarrassed by Mugabe, 51, because there is no rational explanation for the source of her R100 million spending spree. Among her recent “shopping” was a spectacular diamond, a massive property in the heart of Harare’s richest suburb, a luxury villa and construction of the most expensive private schools in the country. Many are shocked that Mugabe recently paid more than R60m for a property of about 48.5 hectares in the heart of Borrowdale, about 15km north of Harare close to the mansion which the First Family built for about R140m, and where they choose to live rather than in the smaller, colonial era State House.
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Security guard bags R33m Lotto jackpot
Durban - A KwaZulu-Natal security guard is more than R33 million richer after bagging the Lotto jackpot this month. The man, who bought the R45 winning ticket at Hollywood Bets in Durban, was at work when he found out that he had won, and thought he was dreaming. Before his big win, he said he had been living hand to mouth. “I will ensure I never have to be poor again and will make sure my life is secured,” he said. The man said he had never won anything before, and was now a true believer that people really do win the lottery. He said he had been playing the Lotto since it began 16 years ago. The money would be used to buy a house for his family and he would invest the rest. The Mercury
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Sundowns set to sign Zamalek players
Mamelodi Sundowns are set to sign a few players from Zamalek SC, who they beat in the final of the Caf Champions League to be crowned Kings of Africa two months ago. A source told Phakaaathi that the players – whose identities are yet to be established – approached Sundowns coach, Pitso Mosimane and offered to join his team. “Egyptian football is stalling and Zamalek have toyed with the idea of quitting the league and the players are worried about a lack of game time which would stall their international careers,” said a source.
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Nigeria Is Dancing On the Cliff
Former United States Ambassador to Nigeria and an expert on Nigerian and African affairs, John Campbell, in this one-on-one interview with PREMIUM TIMES Washington Bureau reporter, Bisi Olanipekun, discusses Nigeria, his new book on South Africa and the U.S.-Africa relations especially with the incoming Trump administration. PT: As a former ambassador and political counsellor to Nigeria and South Africa respectively, how would you assess the importance of these two countries to the United States and the world? Campbell: I would argue that Nigeria and South Africa are the two African countries of the greatest strategic importance to the United States. Nigeria because of its sheer size, but also
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Traditional rainmaking ceremonies resurge in parched Zimbabwe
ZIMUNYA - Under worryingly clear skies, men gathered amid sparse, drought-shriveled trees at the edge of this remote village in eastern Zimbabwe to sing, whistle and ululate. They were calling the rain. “We must go back to our traditions for solutions to these droughts,” said 80-year-old Nekias Mukwindidza. His grandfather Tenzi (Lord) Chitowo was a revered rainmaker in the area as far back as the 1940s, and Mukwindidza is confident that reviving the abandoned custom could help relieve Zimbabwe’s worsening droughts. “I know what I am talking about because I grew up taking part in these ceremonies,” he said. “And they could bring rainfall, back in the days." But as rainmaking makes a comeback
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Dlamini-Zuma calls for 'open borders' in State of Continent address
African Union (AU) Commission chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma has called for a borderless Africa to allow free movement by the continent’s people, something she says would boost tourism and trade within Africa. She said the commission is in the process of developing a comprehensive protocol of free movement that she hoped would be signed by 2018. Dlamini-Zuma, who held Cabinet portfolios of Health, Foreign Affairs and Home Affairs in the democratic government and served under all the three post-1994 presidents, is hoping for many African countries to adopt this system. In her AU State of the Continent Address in Durban on Monday, Dlamini-Zuma said the experiment of collapsing the borders eased
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'Confiscate cellphones from distracted drivers‚ then hit them in the pocket'
Traffic officials trying to combat the annual carnage on South Africa’s roads over the festive season are endorsing initiatives to seize cellphones from motorists who use their cellphones when driving — and to fine them R2‚000. The Road Traffic Management Corporation said on Tuesday it supports municipal initiatives to improve compliance with the rules of the road by confiscating cellular phones and imposing heavy fines on motorists who drive without driver’s licences. “In our quest to decisively deal with lawlessness on the roads and promote safety‚ we unequivocally and without any reservation support the initiatives taken by certain municipalities to enforce bylaws that seek to promote compliance with the rules of the road and change human behaviour‚ in particular the confiscation of cellular phones used while driving and the payment of R2‚000 fine for the reclaimant of such equipment‚” RTMC CEO Advocate Makhosini Msibi said.
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Wits students jet off to US for Boeing internship
A South African female university student will be jetting off to the US for a six-month internship at Boeing, the world’s largest aerospace company and leading manufacturer of commercial jetliners and defence, space and security systems. Mbalenhle Sekautu, a 25-year-old Master’s student in Strategic Marketing at the University of Witwatersrand (Wits), will be travelling to Boeing in Seattle, Washington, in January 2017. Boeing on Tuesday said it had selected two students from South Africa to join an elite group of international students for the internship at the company’s facilities in the US. The International Business Internship Program (IBIP), which was launched in 2012, provides students
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Zimbabwe cricket bleeds players just as badly as SA
Before South African cricket fans complain about the amount of local players turning out for other countries, consider Zimbabwe for a moment. On Tuesday, the Australian selectors announced the inclusion of Hilton Cartwright for the second Test against Pakistan. Cartwright, a 24-year-old all-rounder, was born in Harare and grew up on a tobacco farm in Marondera, a town 72 km east of the Zimbabwean capital. Also read: Proteas wait anxiously on Faf du Plessis’ ruling Strictly speaking, Cartwright wasn’t lost to Zimbabwean cricket because his parents were forced to emigrate to Australia when he was 7. His father was one of the white farmers affected by Robert Mugabe’s controversial land reform programme.
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Nigeria: Indonesia Announces New Visa Policy for Nigerians
The Indonesian Ambassador to Nigeria, Harry Purwanto, on Tuesday announced his government's new policy for issuing visas to Nigerians and other foreigners wanting to visit Indonesia for any purpose. Mr. Purwanto told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that under the new policy, his Embassy would no longer be involved in visa processing, but only in the collection of visa applications. The ambassador, who did not give any reason for his government's new visa policy, said the processing of visas to Indonesia would henceforth take a much longer time. "Nigerians seeking visas to Indonesia should know that the Indonesian government has introduced a new visa application and issuance policy.
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'No one produced Hlaudi, I produced myself'
Durban – Former SABC chief operating officer Hlaudi Motsoeneng has said he does not need a position or matric to drive transformation, and he will drive it at any company or government department. Addressing members of the ANC Youth League in Durban on Tuesday night, Motsoeneng said young people should emulate him by being radical in demanding transformation and job opportunities. Despite having admitted to not having matric, Motsoeneng did not mince his words in saying that his life was not limited to the SABC. He said wherever he went he would drive transformation. The Western Cape High Court ruled last week that Motsoeneng should be removed from his post as SABC COO. However, Motsoeneng said
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Zimbabwe: Mugabe Off to Singapore Hideout
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The battle for ANC presidency heats up: Ramaphosa vs Dlamini-Zuma
The African National Congress’ (ANC) leadership succession race has begun, with the main contenders for the top job, Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa and outgoing African Union chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, set to face each other at the ruling party’s 54 national elective conference next year. Although the ANC has cautioned its leagues and alliance partners against jumping the gun by making pronouncements on the party’s succession debate, at least Ramaphosa has given his clearest indication that he is ready to throw his hat into the ring to take over the reins from President Jacob Zuma. While Dlamini-Zuma, who has got the backing of the so-called “Premier’s League”, an informal ANC lobby group purportedly led by the premiers and provincial chairpersons of the Free State, North West and Mpumalanga, has previously said there is nothing wrong if the ANC Women’s League (ANCWL) wanted a female president.
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Zille takes on Madonsela
Western Cape Premier Helen Zille says she will not resign following reports that the Public Protector has provisionally found the province’s controversial communications tender was invalid. Zille had earlier undertaken to resign if any “corruption” was found to have taken place in awarding the two- year branding and communications contract to leading marketing firm, TBWA Hunt Lascaris, in 2011. But in her response on Sunday, Zille noted that Public Protector Thuli Madonsela’s “draft report” had found “no corruption whatsoever”. She also disputed several “findings” in the interim report and threatened to challenge these in the High Court unless they were excised from Madonsela’s final report,
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Komphela adamant he never takes criticism personally and wishes a Merry Christmas to fans and media
Kaizer Chiefs coach Steve Komphela says the pressure he’s been under in the past few months has made him stronger and built his character. Komphela had an often tempestuous relationship with the club's supporters for the better part of the year and there were times when things got so heated that police and security personnel had a closer relationship with him than even his own shadow. The Chiefs coach said the pressure from supporters and the media‚ especially during the times when the club couldn't buy a victory‚ made him stronger rather than broke him. ‘‘We appreciate the pressure you put because part of the pressure you put on us does not only build our character but it also reveals our character‚"
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SACP: Hit squad behind six recent political party assassinations in Durban
“When people are in a car roaming through the community and people are being shot at random and in quick succession - our experience tells us that there is a hit squad.” Mthembu was speaking at a press briefing on the murders of six people, from the SACP and the ANC, in Inchanga, Durban, in the past two weeks. This brings the total number of political killings in the area to 12 for 2016. Despite a strain in the relationship between the provincial SACP and ANC earlier in the year, Mthembu assured journalists that the alliance partners had resolved their disputes. He said there appeared to be a small group of people who sought to destabilise the area. “The most recent killing was Zazi Mthembu,
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