Daily Maverick

The mini budget keeps SA diplomacy afloat, but structural rot still festers

The Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement offers Dirco a temporary lifeline, but underlying governance failures,…

Xenophobia’s high price — why ConCourt’s defence of refugees matters for us all

The Constitutional Court’s refugee judgment protects constitutional rights. Misreading it fuels xenophobia, threatens…

REPEAT CONVICT: SA double murderer ‘with racist alter ego’ may lose US citizenship over lies

Brian Smith, originally from South Africa, has been found guilty in the US of lying to become a citizen there. In the…

INTERVIEW: Godongwana says coveted investment-grade status is now ‘within reach’

Markets certainly welcomed this version of the MTBPS. The yield on the benchmark 10-year government bond fell 20 basis…

TEST BRILLIANCE: Titanic Temba Bavuma inspires a Proteas win for the ages against Australia

The Proteas levelled the three-match Test series against Australia with an innings and 31-run victory at St George’s…

SUPPLY CRISIS: Foul water scares hit Joburg suburbs — councillors blame ‘cowboy’ contractors

Joburg’s eastern suburbs have faced repeated water cuts this year as contractors fixing sewerage infrastructure…

LOCAL ELECTIONS 2026: A red beret in the Deep South — meet the EFF’s unlikely ward candidate

Gabrielle Maritz is reluctant to reduce people to demographics, but the Cape Town Ward 61 candidate might not be what…

INSPIRATIONAL STORY: From a Gqeberha bus stop to Spike Lee’s desk, a friendship becomes acclaimed film

Two boys bonded over football at a bus stop in Bluewater Bay in the 1990s, building a friendship across apartheid’s…

Watch - Ramaphosa’s reform message as polls show continued ANC decline

THE FINANCIAL WELLNESS COACH: Weighing up rental income against long-term investment growth

It could be worth holding on to a property that generates an attractive amount of money each month, but its future…

AFTER THE BELL: Mini budget applause is meaningless to young jobseekers hustling on street corners

South Africa’s debt signals may reassure bond markets, but this means little to unemployed young people hustling daily…

GROUNDUP: High court sets aside multibillion-rand ARV contracts over procurement irregularities

The high court has ruled that irregularities made parts of the Department of Health’s multibillion-rand ARV tender…

GROUNDUP: Mob beats immigrant man to death in central Durban

Fifty people marching up Dr Pixley kaSeme Street fatally assaulted an immigrant man on Thursday morning.

A 100-day plan to keep Joburg’s lights on

City Power’s collapse threatens Johannesburg’s future. The Centre for Development and Enterprise outlines a 100-day…

SA’s R13bn social grant cuts are arbitrary, cruel and economically short-sighted

The Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement cuts R13-billion from social grants, including child support and SRD grants.…

SOUND POLLUTION: Stadium noise and nuisance put Nelson Mandela Bay residents’ rights on the line

Residents living near the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium say years of noise and litter from events have harmed their…

DISEASE DISASTER: Angry neighbours, game sales in jeopardy as Addo’s foot-and-mouth disease crisis deepens

Neighbours say SANParks has not been playing open cards about foot and mouth disease in the Addo Elephant National…

IN THE DOCK: Suliman Carrim’s legal woes deepen as Absa vehicle smuggling allegations emerge

The legal troubles of ANC-linked businessman Suliman Carrim have deepened, with allegations that he colluded with Absa…

PRESS FREEDOM: Media wins as court reopens trial of Zuma-linked spy in R12m fraud case

A Gauteng high court order has reopened the R12-million State Security Agency Project Mayibuye trial, granting public…

Business Reflection: Loaded for Bear: MTBPS shines light on lost revenue from missed mining opportunities

If it were not for bungled policy and implementation suppressing investment in the mining industry, the size of the…

ARSON ATTACK: Tibet’s exile government asks Pretoria for protection, SA says leave it to SAPS

The Central Tibetan Administration has called on the government to ensure the safety of its representatives in South…

POLL PERIL: ANC campaigner suffers electric shock and broken leg during poster drive

Eskom and City Power have warned political parties not to attach their posters to electricity infrastructure.

LOCAL ELECTIONS 2026: This new Soweto party uses Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi’s face to win votes

KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi isn’t involved in Vuka SA, but the new Soweto-based party is using…

GROUNDUP : Life as an asylum seeker in SA’s broken immigration system

For years seeking asylum has been near impossible. Facing xenophobia, arrest and deportation, three refugees, from…

FRENCH LETTER: The violence of 17 October has a long backstory (but who cares about history?)

Trigger warning: don’t read this piece if you want to cling to your romantic idea of France as the country of love and…

Beatings, cyberattacks and threats darken Vucic’s Serbia ahead of elections

Serbian activist Marko Marjanovic was on his way back from the supermarket in Belgrade when masked officers bundled him…

Taiwan probes organised crime links to China’s ‘transnational repression’

Taiwan is probing organised crime's links to Chinese efforts to carry out "transnational repression", a security…

Two killed, 8 injured in attack on airport in Saudi oil city Dammam

Two people were killed and eight were injured in an attack on Wednesday evening on King Fahd International Airport in…

Russia frees retired US schoolteacher in goodwill gesture as Putin meets Witkoff

Russia freed Stephen Hubbard, a retired US schoolteacher in custody since 2022, from prison on Wednesday and took him…

WHAT’S COOKING: Throwback Thursday: Ash-baked potatoes

Have a fresh look at potatoes baked in the coals, in this Throwback Thursday piece first published in 2022. Go back a…

QUIZ: The local elections are coming. How much do you know?

Voters go to the polls on 4 November. Answer ten questions on local elections to see how well you know the parties, the…

THE INTERVIEW: Stephen Symons’ Starlorn finds fragile humanity amid the fractures of war

Inspired by the true story of World War 2 Luftwaffe ace Hans-Joachim Marseille and his unlikely bond with a black South…

Government websites go dark after AI-discovered flaw sparks security scramble

Oct 21 (Reuters) - Government websites in Europe and elsewhere went offline on Wednesday after the disclosure of…

North Korea’s Kim Yo Jong warns South Korea, says border loudspeakers to be ready

SEOUL, Oct 22 (Reuters) - North Korea will place anti-South Korea loudspeakers on standby along the entire border…

New World screwworm cases confirmed in wildlife in Texas, beef cow in New Mexico

WASHINGTON, Oct 21 (Reuters) - The US Department of Agriculture said on Wednesday it confirmed the first detection of…

Meta strikes deal to keep Zuckerberg in California after wealth tax concerns

Oct 21 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms has struck a deal with Mark Zuckerberg to keep him living in California after the CEO…