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.

Point by Point Response to Likud Party Propaganda

As Israel's myriad human rights abuses and contraventions of international law have become impossible to deny, one argument that apologists for Israel routinely fall back on is: While Israel has engaged in human rights and other abuses, other countries commit far worse abuses. Therefore, it is wrong - and possibly indicative of anti-Semitism - to focus excessively on Israel's wrongs.

South Africa’s DA party asks court to compel Zuma to set up influence-peddling inquiry

South Africa's main opposition party said on Monday it had asked the Constitutional Court to compel President Jacob Zuma to establish a judicial inquiry into alleged influence-peddling in his government. The Democratic Alliance's application came days after Zuma asked the High Court to set aside a report by the former Public Protector which called for an investigation into whether he and some cabinet members and state companies had acted improperly.

S. African protesters demanding free college education throw human feces to disrupt classes

The University of Cape Town re-opened Monday after closing because of security concerns, but police were on campus and used a stun grenade to disperse protesters outside a university building. Another building was evacuated because of vandalism by protesters who tossed sewage in the corridors, said the statement.

BRICS leaders discuss how to shape global trade, finance

Leaders of BRICS countries, from left, Brazilian President Michel Temer, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and South African President Jacob Zuma raise their han... . Leaders of BRICS countries, from left, Brazilian President Michel Temer, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping and South African President Jacob Zuma leave after a gr... Four people were killed and nine were injured on Saturday after an out-of-control pickup truck plunged off the San Diego-Coronado Bridge and plowed into crowd gathered at a festival below, authorities said.

OPINION: We are obligated to build democratic, inclusive societies

We are all ethically obligated to look for a way out that builds democratic and inclusive societies and to reject chauvinists like Donald Trump and Vusi Khosa and President Zuma, says the writer. Picture: Eric Thayer We are ethically obligated to say that, yes, black lives matter, poor people's lives matter, women's lives matter, writes Imraan Buccus I have been watching the aftermath of the local government elections from the United States.