Top Stories
ALL AT SEA: Ramaphosa should fire Motshekga and all of SANDF top brass for Iran fiasco, say experts
Military experts urge President Ramaphosa to dismiss Defence Minister Motshekga and SANDF leaders for failing to enforce his order to withdraw Iranian warships during joint exercises.
TRC ROULETTE : Judge Sisi Khampepe being illegally monitored by Jacob Zuma, inquiry hears
From possessing ‘secret’ emails allegedly sent from the private address of retired judge Sisi Khampepe, to hush-hush talks with apartheid-era generals, Jacob Zuma’s shadow looms large over the Khampepe Inquiry.
BIG TURN-OFF: Joburg residents in the dark as streetlight repair time skyrockets
If you think Johannesburg’s streets are looking a lot darker these days, your instincts are correct. A Daily Maverick community investigation has uncovered that the repair time for streetlights has doubled in the space of a year. Widespread crime, vandalism, and underspending are leaving frustrated residents in the dark for weeks, and in some cases, years.
DIGITAL DANGER OP-ED: Grok’s undress feature violates South Africans’ rights, and must be stopped now
Moxii Africa (formerly Media Monitoring Africa) has issued letters of demand to the South African government and to X Corp to ensure Grok AI acts immediately to disable the ‘undressing’ feature of Grok, and any other feature that allows users to create and share non-consensual intimate images and child sexual abuse material.
ANALYSIS: National Health Insurance — reports of a potential truce are greatly exaggerated
Amid ongoing legal battles over the National Health Insurance, hopes for a truce dwindle as political motives complicate negotiations on universal healthcare.
Big Stink: Cable theft leaves Nelson Mandela Bay awash in raw sewage
Cable theft and vandalism have left Gqeberha’s wastewater system in crisis, sending raw sewage into streets and homes — affecting both more affluent suburbs and under-resourced communities.
ANYONE ANSWERING?: City Power backtracks on banning reporting faults through councillors, but only temporarily
Johannesburg residents often complain that City call centres are not effective. So when City Power told residents they had to communicate with the utility directly, not through councillors, there was outrage.

2021 riots in South Africa were a test to see if the state could be paralysed – Thabo Mbeki
Former President Thabo Mbeki dismissed the idea that the July 2021 riots were a spontaneous defence of Jacob Zuma. Instead, he said it was a test.
News24 | Here are the Daily Lotto and Daily Lotto Plus numbers
Here are the Daily Lotto and Daily Lotto Plus numbers.
AFRICA UNSCRAMBLED OP-ED: From Minnesota to the Red Sea — how Somalis became the front line of global politics
The people Trump treats as expendable – the refugees, the ones he tells to go back – do not exist on the margins of history. They are the connective tissue of global politics, the ones who absorb the blows first – until the rest of the world finally realises it is standing in the blast radius too.
JOURNEYS OF MISERY: Broken promises, shattered hopes — the plight of African climate migrants seeking work in ‘wealthier’ SA
Climate refugees who abandon drying agricultural lands in frontier countries and head to South Africa to seek new livelihoods are encountering crushing hardship in this country.
Major EU states condemn Trump tariff threats, consider retaliation
BRUSSELS, Jan 18 (Reuters) – Major European Union states including Germany and France decried U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff threats over Greenland as blackmail on Sunday, as France proposed responding with a range of untested economic countermeasures.
DESERT DREAM: Nasser Al-Attiyah targets Stéphane Peterhansel’s Dakar Rally record after sixth overall victory
Known as the Prince of the Dunes, Nasser Al-Attiyah wants to graduate to King by passing Stéphane Peterhansel’s record of eight victories in the car category. The Qatari clinched his sixth overall win at the 2026 Dakar Rally.
WEATHER WOES: When the rivers rose, they stayed – how Hoedspruit’s volunteers became the ‘safari capital’s’ flood defence
As the mop-up starts, Lowveld communities pulled together during the worst floods to hit Kruger and surrounds since January 2012. Meanwhile, day visitors can return to southern Kruger on Monday.
News24 | Europe blasts Trump tariff threats, World Cup boycott among suggested countermeasures
Major European Union states decried US President Donald Trump’s tariff threats against European allies over Greenland as blackmail on Sunday, as France proposed responding with a range of previously untested economic countermeasures.

WEATHER: Heavy rain, thunderstorms and damaging winds to hit SA
Curious about what the skies hold? Discover the latest outlook for all nine provinces across South Africa this Monday, 19 January 2026.
News24 | Monday’s weather: More storms in Limpopo, thunder and rain expected in 3 provinces
The South African Weather Service has warned of disruptive rain, severe thunderstorms and strong winds, which may lead to flooding of roads and damage to infrastructure in parts of Limpopo and damaging winds in Alexander Bay and Cape Columbine. Showers and some thundershowers can be expected in the Free State, North West and KwaZulu-Natal.

One mistake can cost South African investors dearly
Investors have been urged to think twice before betting against the South African economy and the market in 2026.