(Gemma Ritchie/M&G)
In local headlines:
Business Day
- Matjila probe finally gets off the ground
More than a year after allegations that put a cloud over Africa’s biggest asset manager, lawyers have asked for information to assist with an investigation into Public Investment Corporation CEO Dan Matjila.
- AVI pays dividend, warns of tough year
Consumer goods group AVI, the owner of Five Roses, Bakers and I&J, was bracing itself for a tough financial year, with many of its businesses likely to experience low or negative growth rates until the economy recovered, the company said on Monday.
- Free State shelled out R79m to Gupta media
The Free State government channelled about R79-million into Gupta-owned media companies during the time it was headed by Ace Magashule, who was linked over the weekend with an alleged plot to oust President Cyril Ramaphosa.
The Star
- Premiers splurged on Guptas
More explosive evidence came to light yesterday at the state capture commission, with revelations of how premiers, including ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule, pumped millions of rand into propping up the Gupta media empire.
- Another school sex video out
The Gauteng Department of Education was shocked and deeply concerned after another Hammanskraal school pupil was caught on video engaging in sexually proactive misconduct.
The Citizen
The DA’s seven point recession recovery plan may have some merit, but it fails to address the real elephants in the room: the massively bloated civil service and Cabinet, accord to a leading economist.
- Ex-coach on child rape cites ‘lies”
The former Parktown Boys’ High School assistant water polo coach, Collan Rex, who is accused of a multitude of sexual offences against young boys, told the High Court sitting at the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court on Monday that one of the boys who testified against him had hay tendencies.
Sowetan
- Son to testify, Zuma urged to do likewise
Former president Jacob Zuma should appear before the commission of inquiry into state capture regardless of his position or stature, head of the ANC presidency Zizi Kodwa said on Monday.
In global headlines:
The title of John Bolton’s speech in Washington – “Protecting American constitutionalism and sovereignty from international threats” – sounded innocuous enough, if a little pompous.
But its text represents the Trump administration’s most devastating and unrestrained attack to date on the global rules-based order and its legal flagship, the international criminal court.
Put bluntly, it is an all-out bid by Donald Trump to end the ICC, the world’s foremost criminal tribunal, and with it, the very concept of international justice. Bolton is the man wielding the knife. And there is a strong possibility they will succeed. (The Guardian)
The United Nations has warned of the potential for the “worst humanitarian catastrophe” of the 21st century over the impending assault on the rebel-held Syrian enclave of Idlib by the forces of President Bashar al-Assad.
The UN agency coordinating relief efforts in war-ravaged Syria said that 30 000 people had already been displaced, amid air strikes by Russian and Syrian government troops, and that another 800 000 could move, triggering a massive crisis. Up to three million civilians live among the farmlands and agricultural hubs of Idlib, which is militarily dominated by rebel groups that include a large contingent of fighters inspired by al-Qaeda. (The Independent)
The European Union’s chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, has said it is “realistic” to believe that a Brexit deal can be agreed between the UK and the EU within the next two months. (The Guardian)
Russia is set to hold its largest military drills in almost four decades beginning Tuesday.
Dubbed Vostok 2018, the massive exercise will involve nearly 300 000 troops, more than 1 000 planes, helicopters and drones, and up to 36 000 tanks, armoured personnel carriers and other vehicles, as well as up to 80 ships and other vessels, according to Russian officials.
Defence Minister Sergey Shoygu said the war games would be the biggest since 1981, the year Ronald Reagan was inaugurated as US president and the Cold War dominated his foreign-policy agenda. (NBC)