The Weekend Wrap
Ramokgopa's rise; how Eskom’s 2025/26 electricity tariffs will affect residential customers; and the curious history of cannabis as a health product.
Ramokgopa is on a seemingly stellar trajectory — but there are obstacles on his path to power
With the ANC desperate for figures associated with success, Electricity and Energy Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa stands out. However, he has to deal with two difficult problems that could dent his image.
By Stephen Grootes
SA set for a rougher ride under Trump’s new ambassador Leo Brent Bozell III
Leo Brent Bozell III was due to head the Voice of America and other US government media operations — until Donald Trump effectively terminated them.
By Peter Fabricius
The Weekend Wrap
Ramokgopa's rise; how Eskom’s 2025/26 electricity tariffs will affect residential customers; and cannabis’s curious health history.
Ramokgopa is on a seemingly stellar trajectory — but there are obstacles on his path to power
With the ANC desperate for figures associated with success, Electricity and Energy Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa stands out. However, he has to deal with two difficult problems that could dent his image.
By Stephen Grootes
SA set for a rougher ride under Trump’s new ambassador Leo Brent Bozell III
Leo Brent Bozell III was due to head the Voice of America and other US government media operations — until Donald Trump effectively terminated them.
By Peter Fabricius
How Eskom’s 2025/26 electricity tariffs will affect residential customers
This article reports on a study by EE Business Intelligence conducted for the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) on the impacts on Eskom’s direct residential customers of the utility’s restructured electricity tariffs and electricity price increases for the 2025/26 financial year.
By Chris Yelland
AfriForum and Solidarity Movement’s Washington lobbying trip is big on hype, scant on details
The Solidarity Movement has gained unprecedented levels of publicity through their Washington visit where they have repeatedly claimed to have met with some of the most powerful people in the US. But who were they? Daily Maverick's Rebecca Davis explains.
By Rebecca Davis
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zk8qrbApiekDiversity diverted — global headwinds force rethinking of BEE in SA
South Africa’s economic and social stability hinges on genuine, not superficial, transformation.
By Yeshiel Panchia
We swipe our phones and casually ignore 80 dead children in under an hour
Is our ignorance and perhaps wilful blindness about what is happening in Gaza just about the politics of the region, the duration of the genocide? Or does it suggest something else?
By Mark Tomlinson
US-SA relations — some adults in the room are needed
The South African-American bilateral relationship is gyrating wildly and without much effort to set a stable course. There is a better way, but that will take some actual effort by serious people from both nations.
By J Brooks Spector
Groundbreaking lawsuit could be the start of professional tennis reform
Last week the Professional Tennis Players’ Association launched a lawsuit against the ATP Tour, the WTA Tour, the International Tennis Federation and the International Tennis Integrity Agency. Why?
By Craig Ray
Breaking barriers – I finally found a way to lose weight without injections such as Ozempic
Weight loss, when done correctly, is hard, tedious, grinding work, but the benefits for your physical and mental wellbeing are significant enough for you to push through the pain.
By Sukasha Singh
Robbing a bank when no one’s looking
The Saya de Malha Bank is existentially crucial to the planet because it is one of the world’s biggest seagrass meadows and thus carbon sinks. However, because of its remote location, it is not protected by any major binding international treaties.
Ian Urbina
From hempseed gruel to CBD: the curious history of cannabis as a health product
Today’s regulatory gaps and health concerns about CBD reflect those of the 19th century, when cannabis was first commercialised by the food industry.
By Lauren Alex O'Hagan
Gold beneath the gloom — five amazing things to explore in Jozi
It’s good to be reminded that alongside the urban decay, there are vibrant attractions too.
By Bridget Hilton-Barber
Daily Mini Crossword Quickie
Poutine — that’s what needs a tariff on it
Oh and Buffalo wings (yes, they’re from actual Buffalo, New York state). And white-haired old hippies in ponytails wearing tie dye in the hippie netherworld that is Woodstock today. Yep, we were on a trip through the Midwest to get my kid back to college.
By Chris Pretorius
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