January’s reading list moves between reflection and escape, pairing books that sharpen focus and rethink our relationship with money with fiction that unsettles, absorbs and lingers. Together, they offer a considered way back into attention, feeling and pleasure at the start of the year.

In this richly researched biography, published by Maverick 451, Tim Cohen, one of South Africa’s most respected financial journalists and former Business Maverick editor, explores the life and ideas of Leon Louw, the firebrand libertarian who championed freedom and enterprise during South Africa’s transition to democracy.

LONDON, Jan 26 (Reuters) – Britain and several other European countries have lost their measles elimination status, the World Health Organization said on Monday, after a jump in infections across the continent.

MEXICO CITY, Jan 26 (Reuters) – Huge demand to see K-pop boy band BTS, among the world’s most popular artists, has led Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum to formally request of her counterpart, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, that he help arrange more concerts in Mexico.

A ‘bumper harvest’ is predicted for South Africa in 2026. The rains across our country have been uneven (too little in some parts, harsh floods in others). But overall La Niña has blessed large parts of our agricultural land, enhancing the ability of commercial farmers to produce food. Sadly, that good crops won’t reduce widespread hunger is evidence of how out of joint time is in our...

The struggle for land in South Africa touches food security, identify and economic equality. For the Land and Accountability Research Centre (Larc), this reality is the driving force behind its work, including the uMhlaba Talks podcast.

This is part 1 of a three-part series that traces the origins of the Anthropocene – the current geological epoch that speaks bluntly to humanity’s impact on the environment – and the unfolding ‘Sixth Extinction’, adding to the wave of global megafaunal extinctions that began in what is popularly known as the ‘Ice Age’.

A close look at what tail docking actually involves, why it persisted long after its rationale collapsed and how a recent conviction brings South African law back into focus.

The Lehohla Ledger’s Red-Zone Thermal Map replaces abstract planning with spatial truth, overlaying hotspot analysis and mortality autocorrelation to reveal where survival is breaking down. It shows a republic split between resilient ‘health foundries’, fragile buffer zones, and 74 frozen Red-Zone municipalities where infrastructure friction, poverty, and nutrition have collapsed outcomes...

Witness E testifies at the Madlanga Commission, implicating Crime Intelligence members in the murder of ANC politician Sindiso Magaqa and exposing potential political corruption.

Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training Mimmy Gondwe is appealing to parents not to fall for bogus colleges that prey on desperate students seeking tertiary education after failing to find a space at public institutions of higher learning.

The EU on Monday hit Elon Musk’s X with an investigation over AI chatbot Grok’s generation of sexualised deepfake images of women and minors, in the latest step of an international backlash against the tool.

South Africa’s retailers lead the world in aggressive promotions, but while discount-hunting shoppers benefit, the ‘Promotional Intensity’ is hitting corporate profits. Is Walmart’s ‘Everyday Low Price’ model the smarter future?

Focus on long-term returns, not your feelings, when the markets start messing about.

More than three million Sudanese people displaced by nearly three years of war have returned home, the United Nations migration agency said on Monday, even as heavy fighting continues to tear through parts of the country.

Seasoned broadcast journalist Graeme Raubenheimer brings you The Lead, News24’s definitive podcast for in-depth reporting.

While elements of sustainability exist in the curriculum, they are too often taught as isolated concepts rather than as economically relevant, real-world skills, writes Kamryn Smith.

The latest high-profile member of the struggling main opposition Conservative Party to jump ship on Monday announced she was defecting to the anti-immigrant Reform UK party.