Top 10 stories of the day: Shivambu appeals for volunteers

Here's your daily news update for Sunday, 22 June 2025: An easy-to-read selection of our top stories.
News today includes Floyd Shivambu making a public appeal for progressive volunteers just a day after being snubbed from his party's parliamentary list. He suggested that the appetite for another political option in South Africa is strong.
Then, the United States carried out strikes on Iranian nuclear sites but it raised two major questions: how effective were they, and what will Iran do next?
Meanwhile, a record-breaking purchase has been sealed in Clifton, with a five-bedroom apartment sold for a whopping R145 million.
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Top 10 stories
Shivambu makes public appeal for progressive volunteers
Floyd Shivambu has made a public appeal for progressive volunteers just a day after his parliamentary list snub.
Former MK party secretary-general Floyd Shivambu. Picture: Gallo Images / Fani Mahuntsi
After being removed as uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party secretary-general, Shivambu was expected to be sent to serve in parliament, but was left off the list of names announced by the party on Saturday.
Shivambu said on Thursday that he would not be leaving the MK party or forming a new political party, but instead would engage with community leaders on a possible way forward. In a video address posted on Sunday morning, he spoke of the positive response he had received.
CONTINUE READING: Shivambu makes public appeal for progressive volunteers
Did the US strikes succeed, and how will Iran respond?
The United States' strikes on Sunday on Iranian nuclear sites raised two major questions: how effective were they, and what will Iran do next?
This satellite picture taken on June 22, 2025, shows a close-up view of craters after US strikes on Iran's Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant (FFEP), northeast of the city of Qom. Picture: Satellite image 2025 Maxar Technologies / AFP
US President Donald Trump said the air raids 'totally obliterated' the main nuclear sites, calling them a 'spectacular military success'.
So far, Tehran has given little away about its response, although Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the United States had 'crossed a very big red line'.
CONTINUE READING: Did the US strikes succeed, and how will Iran respond?
Record breaking Clifton apartment: Here is how much it sold for
The lifestyles of the rich and the famous have no better setting than the opulent streets of Clifton.
Image for illustrative purposes. Picture: iStock
To rubber stamp the suburb's position as the premier location for wealthy property owners, a record-breaking purchase has been sealed.
A five-bedroom apartment along Clifton's 1st Beach has reportedly just been purchased for a whopping R145 million.
CONTINUE READING: Record breaking Clifton apartment: Here is how much it sold for — report
SA engineers unlawfully jailed in Equatorial Guinea are 'safely back home'
Frik Potgieter and Peter Huxham, the two South African engineers who spent more than two years in jail in Equatorial Guinea, have finally returned home.
South African engineers Frik Potgieter and Peter Huxham returned home on Saturday night after being detained in Equatorial Guinea for more than two years. Picture: X/@RonaldLamola
According to their families, the men were able to return to South Africa after receiving a pardon from Equatorial Guinea's President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo.
Potgieter and Huxman had been detained since 9 February 2023 and were facing drug trafficking charges. They were arrested while working in the country for the company SBM Offshore. The families had maintained that these charges were fabricated.
CONTINUE READING: SA engineers unlawfully jailed in Equatorial Guinea are 'safely back home'
Higher education minster accused of covering up tender irregularities
Fresh accusations of mismanagement have been made against Minister of Higher Education and Training Nobuhle Nkabane.
Minister of Higher Education and Training, Dr Nobuhle Nkabane. Picture: Screenshot/ SABC YouTube
The minister was this week accused of ignoring claims of corruption at the Construction Education and Training Authority (Ceta), despite documented evidence submitted by a whistleblower. This adds to Nkabane's shaky tenure a minister after she was accused of lying to parliament about Sector Education and Training Authority (Seta) appointments.
Nkabane is now being accused of covering for Ceta CEO Malusi Shezi, who a former employee believes is involved in tender rigging.
CONTINUE READING: Higher education minster accused of covering up tender irregularities — report
Five more stories of the day:
Yesterday's news recap
READ HERE: Top 10 stories of the day: Shivambu not going to parliament | Wanted kidnapper killed during raid | Two soldiers stabbed to death

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eNCA

an hour ago

• eNCA

Iran threatens US bases in response to strikes on nuclear sites

USA - Iran on Sunday threatened US bases in the Middle East after massive air strikes that Washington said had destroyed Tehran's nuclear program, though some officials cautioned that the extent of damage was unclear. With aerial assaults between Iran and Israel raging - including fresh strikes by Israel on what it said were military targets in Iran - the US State Department issued a worldwide caution alert for its citizens traveling or living abroad. International concern focused on fears that the unprecedented US attacks would deepen conflict in the volatile region after Israel launched a bombing campaign against Iran earlier this month. Ali Akbar Velayati, an advisor to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said bases used by US forces could be attacked in retaliation. "Any country in the region or elsewhere that is used by American forces to strike Iran will be considered a legitimate target for our armed forces," he said in a message carried by the official IRNA news agency. "America has attacked the heart of the Islamic world and must await irreparable consequences." In a sign of possible nervousness about a wider war, oil prices jumped by more than four percent at one point in early trading in Asia. President Donald Trump urged Iran to end the conflict after he launched surprise strikes on a key underground uranium enrichment site at Fordo, along with nuclear facilities in Isfahan and Natanz. "We had a spectacular military success yesterday, taking the 'bomb' right out of their hands (and they would use it if they could!)" he said on social media. And while the US president did not directly advocate regime change in the Islamic republic, he openly played with the idea - even after his aides stressed that was not a goal of American intervention. "It's not politically correct to use the term, 'Regime Change,' Trump posted on his Truth Social platform. "But if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn't there be a Regime change??? MIGA!!!" Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told a Pentagon press briefing earlier that Iran's nuclear program had been "devastated," adding the operation "did not target Iranian troops or the Iranian people." Standing beside Hegseth, top US general Dan Caine said that while it would be "way too early" for him to determine the level of destruction, "initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction." Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meanwhile said his country's military strikes will "finish" once the stated objectives of destroying Iran's nuclear and missile capabilities have been achieved. "We are very, very close to completing them," he told reporters. - Tehran protests - As Iran's leaders struck defiant tones, President Masoud Pezeshkian also vowed that the United States would "receive a response" to the attacks. People gathered Sunday in central Tehran to protest against US and Israeli attacks, waving flags and chanting slogans. In the province of Semnan east of the capital, 46-year-old housewife Samireh told AFP she was "truly shocked" by the strikes. "Semnan province is very far from the nuclear facilities targeted, but I'm very concerned for the people who live near," she said. In an address to the nation hours after the attack, Trump claimed success for the operation, and Vice President JD Vance followed up Sunday morning. AFP | Jack GUEZ "We know that we set the Iranian nuclear program back substantially last night," Vance told ABC. But he also suggested Iran still had its highly enriched uranium. "We're going to work in the coming weeks to ensure that we do something with that fuel," he said. "They no longer have the capacity to turn that stockpile of highly enriched uranium to weapons-grade uranium." Another Khamenei advisor, Ali Shamkhani, said in a post on X that "even if nuclear sites are destroyed, game isn't over, enriched materials, indigenous knowledge, political will remain." Rafael Grossi, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council that craters were visible at the Fordo facility, but no one had been able to assess the underground damage. - Retaliation risk - The main US strike group was seven B-2 Spirit bombers that flew 18 hours from the American mainland to Iran. In response to the attack, which used over a dozen massive "bunker buster" bombs, Iran's armed forces targeted sites in Israel including Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv, with at least 23 people wounded. Nine members of the Revolutionary Guards were killed Sunday in Israeli attacks on central Iran, local media reported, while three people were killed after an ambulance was also struck. Israeli strikes on Iran have killed more than 400 people so far, Iran's health ministry said. Iran's attacks on Israel have killed 24 people, according to official figures. The United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Oman, which had been mediating Iran-US nuclear talks, criticized the US strikes and called for de-escalation, while France, Germany and Britain called on Tehran "not to take any further action that could destabilise the region." Late Sunday the US State Department issued a "worldwide caution" for Americans, saying the conflict in the Middle East could put those traveling or living abroad at an increased security risk. "There is the potential for demonstrations against US citizens and interests abroad," the security alert said. "The Department of State advises US citizens worldwide to exercise increased caution."

The Citizen

an hour ago

• The Citizen

Assault on Iran signals ‘oil crisis'

The US's strike in Iran could lead to increased transport charges and hiked fuel costs. Israeli security forces and first responders gather at the site of an Iranian strike that hit a residential neighbourhood in the Ramat Aviv area in Tel Aviv on June 22, 2025. AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP The last time there was a crisis this serious in the Middle East, during the Arab-Israel war of 1973, the rest of the world suffered in what is now called the 'oil crisis', as Arab oil producers reduced supplies and petrol stations everywhere ran out of fuel. In South Africa, that manifested as draconian restrictions, including a ban on fuel sales after hours and over weekends, as well as a reduction in the national speed limit from 120km/h to 80km/h to conserve fuel. When US President Donald Trump ordered the B-2 bombers to destroy Iran's supposed nuclear weapon development facilities, he set the world on what might well be a similar trajectory to 1973. This time, even if the Arab oil producers don't announce an embargo, Iran may forcibly close the Strait of Hormuz, through which most oil flows… or the Houthi rebels in Yemen may resume attacks on merchant shipping and US Navy vessels in and around the Red Sea. Those actions will have knock-on effects in increased transport charges and hiked fuel costs, which will, again, be felt around the world. Worryingly, too, Russian Deputy President Dmitri Lebedev said 'a number of countries are ready to directly supply Iran with their own nuclear warheads'. That would ratchet tensions up to a shade less than World War III in the minds of many people. It also seems that despite the ongoing Israeli assault on Iran, Tehran is far from finished… and if you doubt that, look at the damage being visited on Israel. How long the Israeli population, concentrated as it is in a very small area compared to the size of Iran, will be able to tolerate the situation, remains to be seen. Finally, will the US bombs bring the Iranians to the negotiating table – or will they harden their resolve to fight on? NOW READ: Did the US strikes succeed, and how will Iran respond?

Daily Maverick

an hour ago

• Daily Maverick

US joining war on Iran creates major political headache for SA

With the world on tenterhooks following the US bombing of Iranian nuclear sites, South African politicians have been notably cautious in articulating their initial positions. By sunset on Sunday, 22 June, as news of the extraordinary US bombing of Iran's nuclear facilities at Israel's behest continued to ricochet globally, barely a single South African politician seemed willing to come out publicly with a position on the matter. Fikile Mbalula. Gayton McKenzie. Herman Mashaba. These are hardly shrinking violets when it comes to making their views known on forums like X — yet on the matter of the Iranian bombing, at the time of writing, there was a deafening silence from them. Neither was there yet an official statement available from either the DA or the ANC, suggesting that SA's two biggest political parties were to some degree agonising over what, exactly, to say. From Parliament's committee on international relations: niks. The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) was mute on Sunday too, and a Daily Maverick query to its spokesperson, Clayson Monyela, went unanswered. Ramaphosa issues mild reprimand of US By mid-afternoon, President Cyril Ramaphosa had grasped the nettle — kind of — and released a statement that said relatively little. 'President Cyril Ramaphosa and the South African government have noted with a great deal of anxiety the entry by the United States of America into the Israel-Iran war,' it read, followed by a weak rebuke of the Trump administration. 'It was South Africa's sincerest hope that President Donald Trump would use his influence and that of the US government to prevail on the parties to pursue a dialogue path in resolving their issues of dispute.' The statement concluded, as is on brand for Ramaphosa, with a call for 'peaceful resolution'. Despite the fact that Tehran and Pretoria enjoy warm diplomatic relations, Ramaphosa's statement revealed the diplomatic egg dance that the situation presents to the South African government. South Africa cannot risk alienating the Trump administration further, with the relationship still on life support from the buildup to the Trump-Ramaphosa Oval Office showdown in late May. The Israel factor is a significant complication The difficulty for Pretoria is that the Iranian strike was overtly carried out at the behest of Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu. Trump's brief televised announcement, confirming that US fighter jets had targeted multiple nuclear research sites in Iran, ended not only with 'God bless the Middle East' and 'God bless America' but also, specifically, 'God bless Israel' — a closing flourish that left little doubt about whose interests were being prioritised. South Africa has positioned itself internationally as one of the staunchest critics of Israel's conduct, culminating in its landmark International Court of Justice case accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza. Pretoria has also publicly cut diplomatic ties with Israel, formally downgrading the embassy. In the face of this new regional escalation, it must now consider how to balance that principled commitment with its allegiance to Iran, a fellow BRICS member — while simultaneously avoiding direct confrontation with a still-dominant United States. With that in mind, the silence of the political class on Sunday was, frankly, understandable. BRICS buddies band together? South Africa and Iran have shared membership of BRICS since an invitation was issued to the latter at the 2023 Johannesburg summit. Other BRICS states were less hesitant in responding to the bombing. The Chinese foreign ministry issued an unambiguous condemnation: 'China strongly condemns the U.S. attacks on Iran and bombing of nuclear facilities under the safeguards of the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency]. The actions of the U.S. seriously violate the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and international law, and have exacerbated tensions in the Middle East. China calls on the parties to the conflict, Israel in particular, to reach a ceasefire as soon as possible, ensure the safety of civilians, and start dialogue and negotiation.' Saudi Arabia, whose new BRICS membership sits awkwardly with its often-fraught relationship with Iran, struck a more guarded tone. Its official English-language X account posted: 'The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is following with great concern the developments in the sisterly Islamic Republic of Iran, represented by the targeting of Iranian nuclear facilities by the United States of America.' The United States, meanwhile, was vocally backed by a handful of close allies. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer offered a firm endorsement of the bombing, posting on X: 'Iran's nuclear programme is a grave threat to international security. Iran can never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon and the US has taken action to alleviate that threat.' But from other corners of the West, the reaction was unease rather than celebration. Carl Bildt, co-chair of the European Council on Foreign Relations, called the bombing a 'clear-cut violation of international law'. UN Secretary-General António Guterres said he was 'gravely alarmed' by the use of force by the US. A massively unpopular war Complicating the picture for South Africa is the fact that this conflict is likely to be widely unpopular across the globe — including among Western populations. Comparisons are already being drawn with the disastrous US invasion of Iraq in 2003, and social media suggests a growing generational divide in how such conflicts are understood as the post-World War 2 political consensus crumbles. Young people in particular are questioning why Israel, which has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and possesses undeclared nuclear weapons, is held to a radically different standard than Iran, which remains under international inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency. This is also a moment when support for Israel is at an all-time low. Tens of thousands of protesters flooded European capitals over the weekend, voicing opposition to the ongoing bombardment of Gaza. In June, a YouGov poll showed support for Israel in Western Europe had sunk to its lowest levels ever recorded. In Germany, France and the UK, only between 13% and 21% of respondents now hold favourable views of Israel, compared to 63% to 70% expressing negative sentiments. As South Africa mulls its response, the stakes are particularly high. The government has sought to portray itself as a champion of the Global South, a defender of international law, and a broker of multipolar diplomacy. The entrance of the United States into open hostilities against Iran, with Israel applauding from the wings, tests every aspect of that narrative. DM