(Gemma Ritchie/M&G)
In local headlines today:
Sowetan
Zimbabwe is on tenterhooks as the country awaits the formal results of the general elections today, amid clashes between troops and opposition protesters in the capital Harare.
- Plan to loot Bafokeng millions
A timely intervention by the forensic investigators has prevented crooks from defrauding a North West community of millions of rands from the bank account of its investment company.
Business Day
- Screws tighten on NPA’s Jiba, Mrwebi
President Cyril Ramaphosa has dropped his predecessor Jacob Zuma’s legal battle to protect controversial prosecutions heavy weights Nomgcobo Jiba and Lawrence Mrwebi — and told both that he intends to launch inquiries into their fitness to hold office.
- Aim is for ‘explicit clarity’ in land law
The ANC will amend the Constitution in order to make it “explicitly clear” that land can be expropriated without compensation, but it is not targeting the entire property clause.
- Control of SAA is given back to public enterprises
Embattled national airline South African Airways has reverted to the department of public enterprises after reporting to the Treasury for almost four years, according to a presidential proclamation gazetted on Wednesday.
The Star
The peaceful voting process praised across the globe went up in smoke yesterday when the Zimbabwean military opened fire on rioting MDC Alliance supporters, killing three people in Harare’s CBD.
Broke SABC can’t pay its service providers
The cash crunch afflicting the SABC has now affected its service providers, who have been unceremoniously informed that they will not be paid for July.
The Citizen
Protests after Zimbabwe’s historic election turned bloody yesterday as three people were killed during demonstrations over alleged vote fraud and President Emmerson Mnangagwa appealed for calm.
The ruling party says it’s a “myth” that land will be freely available after amending the Constitution. “We are not nationalising … we are giving land to those who will use it.”
Daily Sun
Only a year ago he started his church in Freddie’s Tavern so people could pray and drink at the same time. Now he has named himself the first black pope.
In the global headlines today:
The law allows for on-the-spot fines for harassment on the street or on public transport, and will make it easier for judges to classify intercourse with a minor under 15 as rape. “Upskirting,” or taking photos under a person’s clothes without their consent, will also be a finable offence. (DW)
President Trump called on Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Wednesday to end the special counsel’s inquiry into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, issuing an unambiguous directive on Twitter to shut down an investigation that even now is scrutinising his tweets for evidence of obstruction. (The New York Times)
Last month, Bloomberg reported that Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon and owner of the Washington Post, has accumulated a fortune worth $150-billion. That is the biggest nominal amount in modern history, and extraordinary any way you slice it. Bezos is the world’s lone hectobillionaire. He needs to spend roughly $28 million a day just to keep from accumulating more wealth. (The Atlantic)
The Swedish royal family is no doubt glamorous, and so is the crime that left them—and their subjects—short two priceless historical crowns and a royal orb. On July 30, in broad daylight, two thieves jumped into a speedboat moored below the Strängnäs Cathedral in southeastern Sweden and escaped with these 17th-century accessories. (Qaurtz)