Daily Maverick

OpenAI to preview GPT-6 Cyber within days, Fortune reports

Sept 24 (Reuters) - OpenAI is set to preview a cybersecurity-focused AI model, GPT-6 Cyber, within days and launch a new product designed to help customers deploy it more securely and automatically, Fortune reported on Thursday, citing multiple sources familiar with the plans.

Trump welcomes China’s Xi with fanfare, but no breakthroughs emerge

WASHINGTON, Sept 24 (Reuters) - US President Donald Trump welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping to the White House on Thursday for a lavish summit that was heavy on symbolism but light on substance, with no sign of breakthroughs on thorny issues such as AI, trade, Taiwan and the war with Iran.

UNCOOPERATIVE GOVERNANCE: Armed guards deployed to bar suspended city manager from entering NMB premises

Armed guards blocked suspended Nelson Mandela Bay city manager Noxolo Nqwazi from City Hall after a disciplinary ruling said she could return to work.

STUDENT FUNDING: MPs slam NSFAS over R616m middleman payouts for accommodation system

MPs questioned how an NSFAS accommodation system initially estimated at below R50m led to R616m in payouts.

GREEN LUNG BOOST: Turning the corner — steady revival of Nelson Mandela Bay’s oldest park

With the right collaborations some say St George’s Park could become ‘the Central Park of Gqeberha’. Progress is slow, but strides are being made to rejuvenate Nelson Mandela Bay’s oldest public park.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS 2026: Lungisa says he’s ready for the Nelson Mandela Bay mayoral chain

Andile Lungisa says he is ready for the Nelson Mandela Bay mayoral seat and is preparing to take drastic decisions on the Coega Development Corporation, as he fights his removal from the ANC PR list in Nelson Mandela Bay.

NEW BEGINNINGS : Haashim Pead tug-of-war puts club rugby’s biggest challenge into perspective

The Stormers’ signing of the ‘third-choice’ scrumhalf serves to show how South Africa’s leading franchises are stacking their squads ahead of a marathon 2026/27 club season.

France to send military to protect Saudi Arabia on Red Sea oil route, Macron says

PARIS, Sept 24 (Reuters) - France will send troops and defence systems to Saudi Arabia to help protect the Red Sea port city of Yanbu, which is key for energy transport, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday.

At UN, Netanyahu defends Israel as delegates storm out

UNITED NATIONS, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu mounted a forceful defense of Israel's actions in the region at the UN on Thursday, seeking to counter growing international isolation ahead of elections he could lose, as dozens of delegates streamed out.

TRC ROULETTE : I saw nothing, heard nothing, former justice minister Jeff Radebe tells TRC inquiry

Former justice minister Jeff Radebe tells the Khampepe Commission he knew nothing about alleged deals halting apartheid-era prosecutions and recalls no intervention over delayed cases.

HORN HEIST ARREST: Wildlife trafficking net widens — Hawks nab a fifth suspect on World Rhino Day

The staged rhino horn heist complainant who opened an allegedly false armed robbery case last year, has finally been arrested and unmasked

THE WRECKER-IN-CHIEF: Trump’s chaos abroad mirrors the damage he’s inflicting on Washington

Donald Trump brought vast incoherence to domestic and international policy for the US – echoing the damage he is doing to the face of the country’s capital city. The next president will have a massive task to restore any semblance of normality.

RIGHT OF REPLY: Cape Town Deputy Mayor Eddie Andrews’ response to Daily Maverick’s Rubber-Stamped series

Questions from Daily Maverick regarding data analysis of Municipal Planning Tribunal (MPT) decisions and response from Eddie Andrews, the City’s Deputy Mayor and Mayoral Committee Member for Spatial Planning and Environment.

THE TIES THAT BIND US: Ramaphosa uses Heritage Day address to condemn gender-based violence after Ekurhuleni killings

Speaking at a Heritage Day event in Oudtshoorn, President Cyril Ramaphosa called gender-based violence a national shame, and promised action after Ekurhuleni killings and warned freedom remains deeply unequal.

RUBBER-STAMPED (PART 2): Testing the teeth of CT’s planning tribunal: Penalties, objections and refusals in 1,328 rulings

For more than three years, in the Blaauwberg district of Cape Town, ratepayers have been sounding the alarm on the proliferation of illegal and structurally unsafe buildings. In this second part of Daily Maverick’s analysis of all Municipal Planning Tribunal rulings from 1 July 2025 to 31 July 2026, we look at what the data say about the efficacy of administrative penalties. We also look at the numbers on objections, conflicts of interest and refusals.

ANALYSIS: Economic fire — Interest rate adjustment makes for interesting braai chat

The end of the age of austerity was always premised on global stability, so an interest rate hike the day before you light your braai for Heritage Day should come as no surprise.

OUR CITY NEWS: R10bn urgently needed to fix Joburg’s crumbling roads

With a R10bn budget and ringfenced financing, the city could overhaul its decaying road network and avoid harming the country’s economic heart, says Johannesburg Roads Agency CEO Zweli Nyathi.

HERITAGE DAY: Reimagining SA’s true heritage somewhere over the rainbow beyond roots, rituals, myths, fairy tales

Today South Africans should acknowledge that all fairy tales come to an end and a more realistic and factual origin story has begun to write itself.

THE INTERVIEW: We asked Trevor Noah what makes SA comedy special — here’s what he said

As captain of Bafunny Bafunny, Trevor Noah is championing local comedy at the first-of-its-kind Festival of Comedy. Daily Maverick caught up with the comedian for an exclusive interview about the festival and the cultural value of comedy.

US ESCALATION: Pretoria puzzled by punitive US travel bans — ‘What more must we do?’

Even the US ambassador has acknowledged South Africa’s progress in meeting President Donald Trump’s demands, says President Cyril Ramaphosa’s special adviser, Alistair Ruiters, in response to a travel ban on unnamed South Africans announced by the US.

COP IN THE DOCK: Sibiya’s grand fall from grace — from directing dockets to sex predator accused

Deputy National Commissioner Shadrack Sibiya played a critical role in the police service – he was responsible for all case dockets in South Africa. But now he’s a sexual assault and human trafficking accused, and a reference to a strip club in the case against him points to converging criminal controversies.

REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: Estonian echoes — SA’s digital public infrastructure looks like it was made in Estonia

While Estonia is the current model of a modern e-governance capital, it’s hard to listen to local tech leaders talk a big game about digital sovereignty when you know that the technology is imported.

IN PICTURES: Giant pumpkins, Oktoberfest, The Addams Family musical, and more from around the world

Moving, tragic, surprising, inspiring, terrifying, shocking... This is a selection of images from our planet over the past seven days.

WELCOME BACK: Great white shark spotted in False Bay after eight-year absence

Bold as brass, a lone great white shark made a big splash off the coast of Cape Town on Wednesday, September 23, becoming the first of its species to be sighted and filmed in False Bay in nearly eight years. These sharks disappeared from False Bay, largely because of predation by killer whales with an appetite for shark livers.

SPOTLIGHT: Is Aspen right to abandon lenacapavir for an unproven HIV prevention pill?

Aspen Pharmacare has announced that it will not be manufacturing the lenacapavir HIV prevention injection, and that it will instead focus on producing alimatravir, an experimental HIV prevention pill.

GOING FOR A SONG OP-ED: AI and the future of creativity — can artists’ histories travel with their work?

During a Creative Cnergy panel on AI, one core question emerged: as AI makes content creation seamless, will the human stories and history behind the art get erased?

Watch – Swimming SA to pay Tatjana Smith interest, faces scrutiny over kit’s deal

BRAAI DAY: Five ways with pork — sosaties, 3 chops recipes, and a crackling good quest

Green fig preserve, grilled apples, fresh orange with rosemary and cinnamon, and the classic combination of honey and mustard are all great options for pork on the braai. And yes, you can cook a hunk of pork belly on the braai – I should know, I’ve done it.

BRAAI DAY: Five ways with lamb and mutton on the coals

Prepare a whole lamb rib or flank for a bunch of friends and family, or debone a lamb leg – you’ll be really chuffed with yourself after the effort – or have another go at turning out the perfect lamb chop.

BRAAI DAY: Five ways with a chicken flattie, skewered and grilled

Nearly everyone loves chicken, and a spatchcocked fowl tends to make people very happy. Here are five ways to do one on the barbie. Note that one is likely to feed four people, so if there are six or eight of you, do two.

BRAAI DAY: Five ways with braai bread this Heritage Day

If you can master the basics of a simple braai bread, you can adapt it in all sorts of ways. Here are five.

BRAAI DAY: Five beefy recipes for the coals this weekend

Beef is versatile and is not only about steaks. We’ve trawled through years of braai recipes to find some of your Food Editor’s favourites. Here’s his beefy take on braaied meat.

WHAT’S COOKING: Two good reasons why Braai Day can be a Salad Day too

Ring the changes with a cheerful innovation on a potato salad, and a couscous salad of delicious simplicity.

SPOTLIGHT: Health policy trailblazer Precious Matsoso credits patience, faith and The Beatles

Precious Matsoso tells Spotlight how, over three decades, she helped shape some of the most consequential health policy negotiations in South Africa and in global governance. She also shares memories about her Soweto childhood filled with music, science and political uprisings.

FEMINIST HISTORY: Pacifist Emily Hobhouse’s 1926 state funeral to be brought back to life in Bloemfontein

A century after the state funeral of British pacifist, feminist and humanitarian, Emily Hobhouse, in Bloemfontein, the Emily100 movement is planning to re-enact the event. The recreation, taking place on 31 October 2026, will bring new life to Hobhouse’s story and connect younger generations to an important chapter in South Africa’s history.

HERITAGE AND RESTITUTION OP-ED: We walk to remember what apartheid erased of Newlands and Claremont

This Heritage Day, NCHERS undertakes its fifth Walk of Remembrance not as an exercise in nostalgia, but as a symbolic act of resistance against the slow violence of forgetting.

GROOT BOEREWORS TREK: Succulent & spicy — the very best boerie in the land

After traversing South Africa in search of the very best that a stukkie boerewors can be, the wagons have come in, delivering a load of wors from every corner of the land. And we have a decisive winner.

Taiwan to maintain ‘close contact’ with US on arms sales

Taiwan will continue to keep in close touch with the US to promote the implementation of arms sales according to plan, a defence ministry official said on Wednesday, ahead of a meeting between the US and Chinese leaders in Washington.

Ethiopian Airlines suspends flights to Tigray region after takeover of Mekelle airport

Ethiopian Airlines suspended flights to Ethiopia's northern Tigray region on Wednesday after Tigrayan forces seized the airport in the regional capital Mekelle from federal police, according to local sources.

Wife of US seismologist held in China says Trump will ask Xi to free him

The wife of a US expert on North Korean nuclear tests who has been imprisoned in China since late 2024 said on Tuesday the White House has assured her that President Donald Trump will ask Chinese leader Xi Jinping to free her husband when the pair meet this week.

Death toll from capsized ship in Indonesia rises to 26 as search continues for 109 missing passengers

The official death toll from a passenger ship that capsized and sank in Indonesia's Java Sea rose to 26 on Wednesday, up from the previous 20, with rescuers expecting to find more bodies as the ongoing underwater search widens, officials said.

JUSTICE DENIED: Honoured in Constantia, reviled in Liberia — fugitive war criminal Guus Kouwenhoven dies free

Dutch war criminal Guus Kouwenhoven recently died. Some honoured his life at a church service in Cape Town, where he lived opulently while fighting extradition to the Netherlands.

DEFYING GRAVITY: Young SA gymnast has turned self-doubt into a winning routine

Daniel Mclean placed fifth in his debut Commonwealth Games and is now heading for his first senior World Championships.

CRICKET FEAST: Proteas’ David Miller pumped for exciting home summer as World Cup nears

The Proteas begin their busiest home summer of cricket in nearly a decade with a 50-over series against Australia. Later on in the year, South Africa will also host Bangladesh and England in multi-format series.

Zelenskiy says Russia planning new mass attack on Ukraine

Sept 22 (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia was planning a new major attack on his country, in comments published on Tuesday.

Trump threatens to annihilate Iran as diplomats push for deal at UN

UNITED NATIONS, Sept 22 (Reuters) - US President Donald Trump warned on Tuesday that he could annihilate Iran if there is no deal to end the war, but also suggested an agreement could come soon amid a diplomatic push at the United Nations.

SAPS IN CRISIS: The State versus Shadrack Sibiya — unpacking the explosive rape, grooming, human trafficking charges

A charge sheet sets out the grim case against top cop Shadrack Sibiya, alleging that he plied a group of friends with alcohol at what he called a ‘classy place’ – a strip club – then raped one of them, aged 18, at a hotel. He is also accused of sending explicit messages to a 16-year-old.

LOCAL ELECTIONS 2026: Gayton McKenzie promises debt write-offs, ‘Abahambe’ crackdown in Nelson Mandela Bay

With the 2026 local elections approaching, PA leader Gayton McKenzie says voters should give his party five years to govern Nelson Mandela Bay, promising a fresh approach to the metro’s debt, jobs, services and immigration.

THE CONVERSATION: What happened when a South African school switched from English to bilingual science tests

Well‑resourced mother‑tongue bilingual science lessons and tests can improve Grade 4 performance and parent involvement, suggesting scalable bilingual education across South Africa.

NEW CHAPTER: ‘This time the decision is mine’ — Tatjana Smith returns to competitive swimming

South Africa’s most decorated Olympian, Tatjana Smith, has reversed her retirement and will make her competitive return at the South African Short Course Championships this weekend.

LEADER OF MEN: Swiss Army Knife Esterhuizen becomes ninth new Springbok captain in Rassie era

Utility player André Esterhuizen will become the 68th man to lead the Springboks in a Test when they take on the Wallabies in Perth on Sunday.

LOCAL VEHICLE PRODUCTION: Minister of Small Business Development Ndabeni pushes for localised manufacturing in automotive sector

Minister Stella Ndabeni calls for reliable infrastructure and competitive local manufacturing while imported vehicles gain ground and automotive suppliers struggle with power disruptions.

DIGITAL SOVEREIGNTY: SA is under cyber siege — and the situation will only get worse

Over the past month, Hungry Lion, Bidvest Bank, the Furniture Bargaining Council, CarTrack, Serengeti Estates and Toyota South Africa all experienced cybersecurity incidents. South Africa doesn’t even have a national AI policy yet, but the loudest conversation at GovTech 2026 was about digital sovereignty.

XENOBAROMETER: Xenophobic surge dials up trauma for many immigrant pupils at SA schools in 2026

XenoBarometer tracks the anti-immigrant movement and its impact. We aim to surface underreported stories, paying close attention to potential rights abuses, emerging patterns in anti-immigrant mobilisation and failures in the government’s response.

The Conversation: Moving for work — the hidden health impacts of SA’s urban migration

Migration can improve livelihoods without uniformly harming health, researchers find, but urban diets, obesity and blood pressure risks highlight the need for mobile healthcare planning.