
Cabinet's travel splurge; UK blocks Malema: Today's top 7 stories in 7 minutes
News24 brings you the top 7 stories of the day.
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.
Hey, big spender! SA's travel-happy Cabinet racks up the travel bills
- Despite strained public finances, Cabinet ministers' travel budgets remain unaffected.
- ActionSA requested travel cost details from all 34 Cabinet members, including costs for support staff.
- Responses showed varying travel habits among ministers, with some being big spenders and others more cautious.
Charity 'icon' may have used donor money for beauty treatments, judge says
- Tears Foundation founder Mara Glennie is accused of transferring R2 million in donor funds to her company, Fireworx Management Solutions, for personal expenses.
- A court application revealed concerns about the financial management of the non-profit, leading a judge to dismiss the application and question the legitimacy of a supposed loan.
- The judge has called on Glennie to explain why she shouldn't personally pay the court costs and directed regulators to investigate potential financial irregularities.
UK declines Malema visa application due to his 'extremism'
- Julius Malema has been denied a UK visa due to his support for Hamas and statements about 'cutting the throat of whiteness', deemed 'extremist' behaviour by the UK Home Office.
- The Home Office cited Malema's past statements, including his intention to arm Hamas and his remarks about the potential for violence against white people, as reasons why his presence in the UK would not be conducive to the public good.
- Future visa applications are unlikely to succeed unless he provides compelling new evidence and changes his stance.
Bidders Choice Group
Bentley, Maybachs, and Hiluxes: MaMkhize's Royal AM cars go under the hammer
- A fleet of 14 luxury cars linked to Shauwn Mkhize and Royal AM Football Club is being auctioned to settle a tax debt.
- The auction includes a rare Mercedes-Benz S680 Maybach 'Edition 100' and a Bentley Continental GTC, among other vehicles.
- Bids open on 27 June and close on 2 July, with a R50 000 registration fee required for interested bidders.
THEGIFT777/Getty Images
Kyalami owner plans R180m upgrade amid F1 bid
- Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit plans a $10 million (R180 million) overhaul to meet FIA Grade 1 standards for a Formula 1 race.
- The upgrades will include safety features and improved spectator amenities, potentially taking three months.
- South Africa is competing with other African nations to host an F1 race and needs government support and sponsors to fund the bid.
(Gallo Images/Alet Pretorius)
Boks laud Proteas for showing fight at Lord's: 'That's all SA want to see,' says Rassie
- Rassie Erasmus was inspired by the Proteas' ability to overcome criticism and pressure during their World Test Championship win.
- Siya Kolisi praised Temba Bavuma's tenacity and leadership, highlighting the team effort and individual contributions to the Proteas' victory.
- Kolisi emphasised the significance of the Proteas' win, noting the challenges they faced and the team's resilience in achieving the historic victory.
Kayla Oaddams/WireImage
US filmmaker Tyler Perry faces explosive lawsuit as actor alleges sexual assault
- Actor Derek Dixon is suing Tyler Perry for $260 million, alleging sexual harassment and assault.
- Dixon claims Perry created a 'coercive, sexually exploitative dynamic' after promising career advancement.
- Perry's attorney denies the allegations, calling them fabricated claims of harassment and a shakedown attempt.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Fox News
2 hours ago
- Fox News
Trump and Rubio secure Rwanda-Congo peace treaty amid Pakistan's Nobel Prize nomination
President Donald Trump announced on Friday he and Secretary of State Marco Rubio had secured a "wonderful" treaty between Rwanda and Congo, as Pakistan formally nominated him for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize. "I am very happy to report that I have arranged, along with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a wonderful Treaty between the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Republic of Rwanda, in their War, which was known for violent bloodshed and death, more so even than most other Wars, and has gone on for decades," Trump wrote in a Truth Social announcement. The president noted representatives from Rwanda and the Congo will be in Washington on Monday to sign documents. He went on to discuss his chances at winning a Nobel Peace Prize, claiming he wouldn't get one, "no matter what I do." "This is a Great Day for Africa and, quite frankly, a Great Day for the World," Trump wrote in the post. "I won't get a Nobel Peace Prize for this, I won't get a Nobel Peace Prize for stopping the War between India and Pakistan, I won't get a Nobel Peace Prize for stopping the War between Serbia and Kosovo, I won't get a Nobel Peace Prize for keeping Peace between Egypt and Ethiopia (A massive Ethiopian built dam, stupidly financed by the United States of America, substantially reduces the water flowing into The Nile River), and I won't get a Nobel Peace Prize for doing the Abraham Accords in the Middle East which, if all goes well, will be loaded to the brim with additional Countries signing on, and will unify the Middle East for the first time in "The Ages!" "No, I won't get a Nobel Peace Prize no matter what I do, including Russia/Ukraine, and Israel/Iran, whatever those outcomes may be, but the people know, and that's all that matters to me!" On Wednesday, India refuted claims by Trump that he had stopped the war between Pakistan and India. Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri wrote in a news release that "talks for ceasing military action happened directly between India and Pakistan through existing military channels, and on the insistence of Pakistan," according to a report from Reuters. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated India "has not accepted mediation in the past and will never do," Misri noted in the statement. The mention of a Nobel Peace Prize came nearly two hours after the Government of Pakistan published a lengthy post on X, formally recommending Trump for the honor. "The Government of Pakistan has decided to formally recommend President Donald J. Trump for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize, in recognition of his decisive diplomatic intervention and pivotal leadership during the recent India-Pakistan crisis," the post read. "The international community bore witness to unprovoked and unlawful Indian aggression, which constituted a grave violation of Pakistan's sovereignty and territorial integrity, resulting in the tragic loss of innocent lives, including women, children, and the elderly." Pakistani leaders said at a moment of heightened regional turbulence, Trump demonstrated "great strategic foresight and stellar statesmanship" through "robust diplomatic engagement" with both Islamabad and New Delhi, securing a ceasefire. "This intervention stands as a testament to his role as a genuine peacemaker and his commitment to conflict resolution through dialogue," the post continued. "The Government of Pakistan also acknowledges and greatly admires President Trump's sincere offers to help resolve the longstanding dispute of Jammu and Kashmir between India and Pakistan—an issue that lies at the heart of regional instability. "President Trump's leadership during the 2025 Pakistan India crisis manifestly showcases the continuation of his legacy of pragmatic diplomacy and effective peace-building. Pakistan remains hopeful that his earnest efforts will continue to contribute towards regional and global stability, particularly in the context of ongoing crises in the Middle East, including the humanitarian tragedy unfolding in Gaza and the deteriorating escalation involving Iran." According to The Nobel Prize's website, to be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, a person must be a "qualified nominator," which includes national governments, heads of state, previous award winners, and members of specific international organizations. The nomination process is confidential, and entries are due by Jan. 31, hence the 2026 nomination.


Bloomberg
3 hours ago
- Bloomberg
In a Global Storm, Markets Reward Indifference
Amid the geopolitical and economic maelstroms of 2025, diversified investors may end up remembering the first six months for something altogether less dangerous or dramatic. In the face of bloody conflicts stretching from Europe to the Middle East and Africa, a chaotic trade war and America's deepening domestic crises, the year has still managed to see the strongest stretch of synchronized market gains in years. Rather than spelling a slow-motion disaster for bulls, months of whiplash across equities, fixed income and commodities have rewarded strategic indifference while punishing overconfidence. Strategies that spread risk across assets are outperforming by near-historic margins, a shift from the concentrated bets that favored the likes of Big Tech stocks in recent years.

Travel Weekly
5 hours ago
- Travel Weekly
Is AI something we need to embrace ... or survive?
Richard Turen Consider this one in an ongoing series of columns that will eventually be written by AI, I'm sure. I was not anxious to open the door to this subject. Perhaps articles about AI's potential impact on our industry should best be written by those who study and design AI in the tech sector or at universities. Many travel advisors I speak to say they will embrace AI when it can do more. Some think it is a threat in terms of eliminating the need for professional, human advisors. Why, after all, rely on the travel knowledge and experience stored in one single brain when you can more quickly access the collective wisdom of tens of thousands? In our time together, I have not addressed in depth the potential impact of AI. I do not want to try to predict where it/we are headed. I do not want to pretend that I have any scientific expertise in the field. But I thought it might be helpful to devote some space to just talking through some of my observations over the past several years regarding the impact of amateur or, if you prefer, "artificial" intelligence on our industry. I have been keeping files on the progress of AI over the years, knowing I would write about it at some point when I felt I had a handle on the subject. Any objective observer would look back and marvel at the progress that has been made in technology in a few years and, all too often, in just a few months. Should we be worried? Should we be unusually proactive? Or should we do the one thing we as a profession never do: Should we actively communicate to our clients that AI is a potentially destructive way to enable a machine to plan the best moments of one's life? In wondering what the future might hold for our little shops that sell the world, I decided to start with the source: "While AI is gaining ground in the tourism sector, this does not mean that travel agents will disappear. On the contrary, their role is evolving. Rather than focusing on flight and hotel research, they can now focus on their true expertise: advising, guiding and offering unique experiences." That is not an altogether reassuring statement. If we lose the ability to compete with AI in flight planning and accommodations, does that mean that we all need to convert to the highest level of personal FIT planning? And will that be profitable? Do we want to engage in a profession where we are no longer trusted to do 75% of what most of us do for a living? I did not write the statement. Google AI wrote it in response to my question. It is the only part of this column I did not write. And it is interesting in terms of Google AI's confidence that it will soon be taking over several of the most critical functions we fulfill. And there is a question left unanswered: If our "true expertise" is offering "unique experiences," how will we compete with a technology that can scan tens of thousands of unique experiences at any destination in the world within moments.? A comment from respected Stanford professor Fei-Fei Li illustrates the major goal of AI and its immediate focus. She said there was a phrase from the 1970s that AI "is a machine that can make a perfect chess move while the room is on fire." Machines lack contextual understanding. Travel industry skeptics, and I am not one of them, claim that the lack of conceptual understanding is the reason that AI will never replace the home-based IC or the office-based corporate agent. Let's continue this conversation next time -- there may, after all, be a new AI breakthrough to report.