S. African MPs voice concern over delay in releasing terms of reference for state capture inquiry

South African MPs on Wednesday expressed "grave concern" over the delay in releasing the terms of reference with regard to the Commission of Inquiry into state capture. President Jacob Zuma must issue the terms of reference as a matter of urgency and this must be based on the remedial action of former Public Protector Thuli Madonsela's report on state capture, said Mathole Motshekga, Chairperson of Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services.

American Refugee Visits His Native Parallel Universe: Beauty and Horror

It's one thing to read about the United States in the news every day, or hear about the growing sociopolitical insanity from friends via the Internet. It is another thing altogether to come back to the land of one's birth and citizenship for a few weeks, and to observe it all directly.

Canada’s Love Affair with Monuments to War

I wondered about this when reading about a recent tussle in the nation's capital over the location for yet another celebration of people killing each other. Last month the Canadian War Museum complained to the National Capital Commission about the planned site of the National Memorial to Canada's Mission in Afghanistan.

ANC betrayed SA by not putting the brakes on Zuma

President Jacob Zuma... it does not take tactical wizardry to use inflated ANC membership figures to control branches and congresses and, ultimately, to secure the presidential secession. It's a mistake to deduce from Jacob Zuma surviving the past tumultuous dozen years without going to jail or being ousted, that he is some kind of Machiavellian genius.

US experts share avian influenza best practice with African governments

US avian influenza experts met high-level officials from eight African countries in Pretoria this week, to share best practice in the prevention and control of the outbreak. As part of broader US poultry sector efforts to collaborate with African counterparts to enhance global food safety and security and ensure the success and sustainability of the poultry industry, the first sub-Saharan Africa seminar on avian influenza was hosted by the US Department of Agriculture and the USA Poultry and Egg Export Council this week.

South Africa Exits Recession in Second Quarter as GDP Rises 2.5%

South Africa's economy exited its second recession in almost a decade in the three months ended June 30 after agricultural output surged. Gross domestic product increased an annualized 2.5 percent in the second quarter compared with a revised decline of 0.6 percent in the previous three months, the statistics office said in a report released on Tuesday in the capital, Pretoria.

Italian farmer turns field into Putin portrait ahead of G20

Italian farmer turns field into Putin portrait ahead of G20 The 135-meter -wide Putin portrait that artist Dario Gambarin created only can be properly viewed from above due to its scale. Check out this story on USATODAY.com: https://usat.ly/2tNVdt0 An Italian land artist has created a giant portrait of Russian President Vladamir Putin in a field near the Italian city of Verona.

On this day in 1921, this woman was the 1st to preside over a House session

In 1947, Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel was shot dead at the Beverly Hills, California, mansion of his girlfriend, Virginia Hill, apparently at the order of mob associates. Here, Siegel, right, shakes hands with his attorney Jerry Giesler after a Los Angeles Superior Court judge dismissed an indictment charging Siegel with killing New York gangster Harry Greenberg on the ground that the state had not proved its case, Feb. 5, 1942.

No bail for Nigerian human trafficking pastor

A Nigerian pastor charged with human trafficking, sexual assault and the rape of young girls and women was refused bail in the Port Elizabeth Magistrate's Court on Friday. The televangelist has been in custody since April 20 and will remain behind bars based on reasons around conspicuous passports and an inclination to interfere or intimidate state witnesses.

Test bowler Tsotsobe charged with match fixing

Former test bowler Lonwabo Tsotsobe was charged on Monday with conspiring to fix matches in a 2015 Twenty20 tournament, the fourth ex-South Africa worldwide implicated in corruption in the long-running investigation. "Failing to disclose to the designated anti-corruption official full details of any approaches or invitations to engage in corrupt conduct under the code".

‘Zuma Must Go:’ Hundreds Of Thousands March Against South Africa’s President

However, Zuma's firing of Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan in a Cabinet reshuffle has intensified concerns about South Africa's struggling economy and government corruption, and some top ruling party leaders openly criticized the decision. NAN reports that the president welcomed one of the marches, by the civil society group Save South Africa that was planned for outside the Union Buildings, the site of Zuma's offices in the capital, Pretoria, saying it was the group's legal right to do so.

From Opponents To Former Allies, Pressure Mounts Against South Africa’s Zuma

Forward with reshuffle forward... just once of the chants from the #ANCYL at the Germiston stadium this evening. Image by Julia Housdon South African President Jacob Zuma is reported to have fended off calls from within his own ruling ANC Party to resign, prompting a bounce in the fortune of the rand.

Black lives don’t matter in xenophobic South Africa

Foreign nationals and members of various South African civil society groups take part in an anti-xenophobia march through Cape Town, South Africa. Last week was an ugly, humiliating one for South Africa; a country once considered a jewel of democracy on the African continent has been gripped by a wave of xenophobic violence .

Not all foreigners are criminals, says Zuma

President Jacob Zuma on Friday called for restraint ahead of the planned march against foreign nationals which is being organised by a group calling itself the Mamelodi Concerned Residents. "The situation has become more serious in light of current threats of violence and acts of intimidation and destruction of property directed at non-nationals living in South Africa," said Zuma in a statement issued by the Presidency.