News24 | Secret meetings claim a ‘fabrication’ – Mbeki; Zuma spy trial fight: Today’s top 7 stories
News24 brings you the top 7 stories of the day.
Graphic: Sharlene Rood
News24 brings you the top stories of the day, summarised into neat little packages. Read through quickly or listen to the articles via our customised text-to-speech feature.
Former South African president Thabo Mbeki appeared at the Kampepe Commission of Inquiry on Monday.
Supplied/GCIS
‘A fabrication’: Mbeki denies his govt had secret meetings with apartheid generals
- Former president Thabo Mbeki is appearing before the Truth and Reconciliation Cases Inquiry, which was established by President Cyril Ramaphosa in May 2025.
- Mbeki flatly denied claims by the family of the Calata Group – led by journalist Lukhanyo Calata – that his government held secret meetings with apartheid-era military and police generals.
- Calata accused Mbeki of disrespecting the commission, pointing to his legal bid to interdict it.
Suliman Carrim appears in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court for his bail application for repeatedly failing to appear before the Madlanga Commission.
Buhle Bam/News24
NPA hasn’t even decided on Suliman Carrim prosecution, lawyer says as bail ruling reserved
- Suliman Carrim, the former ANC North West regional secretary, appeared in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court for a bail application stemming from his repeated failure to appear before the Madlanga Commission.
- His advocate told the court that the National Prosecuting Authority had not yet made a decision on whether to prosecute Carrim at all.
- The magistrate reserved the bail ruling after hearing the application.
The trial of SSA operatives Thulani Dlomo (right) and Patrick Mshotola (left) began last Wednesday without notice to the public or media. Media24 and others are lodging an application to seek the court’s permission to grant the media and the public access to the trial.
Image credits: Supplied; Thulani Dlomo Foundation/Facebook
‘Unlawful, unconstitutional’: Media, civil society in court over closed trial of Zuma’s spy
- Media24 and other media and civil-society organisations have gone to court challenging the closed hearing of former State Security Agency operatives Thulani Dlomo and Patrick Mshotola in the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria.
- The applicants argue the trial began behind closed doors without prior notice or public access, and that the closure is both unlawful and unconstitutional.
- The case centres on Dlomo, who has been linked to Jacob Zuma, and the groups seeking a court order compelling the trial to be open to the media and the public.
Newly arrived South Africans listening to US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau and Homeland Security Deputy Secretary Troy Edgar deliver welcome statements in a hangar near Washington Dulles International Airport last year.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Max du Preez | The R5.6m refugee drive: How Afrikaner nationalism and MAGA built a fiction
- Columnist Max du Preez argues that a multimillion-rand US-funded campaign – estimated at around R56 million – has been designed to recruit Afrikaners to register as refugees by promoting a narrative of genocide and victimhood.
- Du Preez contends the campaign is a fiction, manufactured through an alliance between Afrikaner nationalist sentiment and MAGA-aligned US political actors.
- His column identifies figures, including Christopher Landau and Troy Edgar, as part of the network promoting this narrative.
The US is expected to rule next month on whether SA keeps its AGOA trade benefits. Trade experts are divided on how much fallout domestic industries would suffer if SA were to be booted from the programme.
Na’ilah Ebrahim/News24
SA may soon lose AGOA benefits. What that means for local exporters
- South Africa faces an imminent US ruling, expected in November, on whether it will retain its duty-free access to the American market under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), a trade programme enacted in 2000.
- The sectors most at risk are agriculture and the automotive industry, which depend heavily on AGOA-linked preferential access to the US market.
- Trade experts are divided on the scale of the potential fallout, with some warning it could pose an existential risk for certain exporters, while others say the impact would vary across industries.
Hyron Andrews in action for the Sharks.
Steve Haag Sports/Gallo Images
The making of Hyron Andrews: ‘He was one of the special ones’
- The passing of Hyron Andrews at the age of 31 has left the South African rugby fraternity in a state of heartbreak. Andrews died on Friday while on tour with the Lions.
- His two key mentors, Tjaart van der Walt at Garsfontein and Etienne Fynn at the Sharks Academy, reflect on the qualities and formative experiences that set Andrews apart at an early age.
- Both mentors describe Andrews as having been exceptional from the start, with Fynn and Van der Walt crediting his work ethic and natural ability for his rise through the ranks.
The new Porsche 911 Turbo S is the fastest 911 yet.
Porsche South Africa
DRIVEN | Porsche’s new 911 Turbo S is stupendously fast, and you’ll want one
- The new Porsche 911 Turbo S is described as the fastest 911 to date, capable of accelerating from 0 to 100 km/h in 2.5 seconds.
- The reviewer drives the car and describes it as an “insane beast”, conveying a visceral sense of its performance and high desirability.
- The car commands attention and admiration, firmly placing it among the most sought-after performance vehicles currently available.
These summaries were written with the support of Toqan AI.
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