Illustrative image: Cyril Ramaphosa, South Africa’s president at City Hall for the State of the Nation Address (SoNA) in Cape Town. (Photo: Dwayne Senior/Bloomberg via Getty Images) | Donald Trump (Photo: John Taggart/Bloomberg via Getty Images) 
The Weekend Wrap
Ramaphosa pushes back on US; Trump’s brush with apartheid; and SA telescope spots a cosmic giant 32 times the size of earth.
‘We will not be bullied’ — resolute Ramaphosa stands up to US
Official communiqués have reduced the Stilfontein dead and emaciated to children of a lesser God, as if the State’s representatives neither know nor care that the Buffelsfontein mine was built on the sweat of migrant workers, many from neighbouring countries.
By Ferial Haffajee
AfriForum lobbied Trump about land expropriation, now he wants to cut SA’s health funding
AfriForum is opposed to the Expropriation Act. That is its prerogative. But it is unacceptable to be lobbying the government of the most powerful country in the world to sanction South Africa in any way.
By GroundUp Editors
The Weekend Wrap
How South Africans fought and won the fight against Eskom increase bid; navigating expropriation; boosting your health through connection.
‘We will not be bullied’ — resolute Ramaphosa stands up to US
Anyone wondering if President Cyril Ramaphosa would attempt to placate the Trump administration got their answer at Thursday night’s State of the Nation Address — where Ramaphosa staked out a very different set of South African values.
By Rebecca Davis
AfriForum lobbied Trump about land expropriation, now he wants to cut SA’s health funding
AfriForum is opposed to the Expropriation Act. That is its prerogative. But it is unacceptable to be lobbying the government of the most powerful country in the world to sanction South Africa in any way.
By GroundUp Editors
‘Reduce salaries, reduce perks’ – What DM readers would do as president for a day
President Cyril Ramaphosa will deliver his annual State of the Nation Address on Thursday and address a long list of problems. Inspired by Bruce Whitfield’s The One Thing, we asked Daily Maverick readers: If you had the President’s seat for 24 hours, what’s the one thing you’d do?
By Daily Maverick
‘SA is violating rights, treating certain people badly’ – Trump’s words inadvertently echo fundamentals of apartheid
US President Donald Trump has accused South Africa of confiscating land, ‘treating certain classes of people very badly’ and of violating their rights. His words to the South African government describe the fundamentals of apartheid.
By Caryn Dolley
SA had a better story to tell at the Mining Indaba this year
South Africa and its mining industry had a better narrative for investors who come from far and wide to enjoy the delights of sunny Cape Town in its full summer bloom.
By Ed Stoddard
From the red carpet to the joint sitting, Sona 2025 in pictures
Below is a selection of images from the State of the Nation Address (Sona), held on 06 February 2025 in Cape Town.
By Maverick Life Editors
Looking good: SA under-19 Women make their first World Cup final after smashing Australia
The Junior Proteas Women side have one final hurdle to climb to clinch South Africa’s second under-19 World Cup trophy after thumping Australia by five-wickets in their semi-final.
By Keanan Hemmonsbey
Elon Musk is many things, but Einstein he’s not
The Tesla, Trump & Twitter guy is way too functional, too mercenary, too glib, too lacking in humanity and any kind of self-awareness, and too morally compromised to be any kind of philosopher king.
By Mike Wills
Daily Mini Crossword Quickie
The paradox of KZN’s killer shark nets and baited hooks in Marine Protected Areas
Shark nets and baited hooks continue to be operated within three of South Africa’s Marine Protected Areas, raising questions about the effectiveness of these sanctuaries and the future of shark protection.
By Julia Evans
Companion — a spiky antidote to the usual anodyne Valentine’s fare
For people who loathe the usual romances that release in time for Valentine’s Day, Companion is a spiky antidote, combining horror, dark comedy and commentary about controlling relationships. Here is a spoiler-free review.
By Noelle Adams
South African telescope discovers a giant galaxy that’s 32 times bigger than Earth’s
It’s been a bit troublesome to understand the physics behind what’s going on with Inkathazo.
By Jacinta Delhaize
Why My Fair Lady, a 70-year-old American musical based on a century-old British play, matters
Hubristic Henry Higgins, callow Eliza Doolittle, roles that have been performed thousands of times around the world. But in a slick, richly rendered new version of My Fair Lady, actors Craig Urbani and Leah Mari manage to shine new light on these beloved characters. In the process they help invigorate and elevate this South African production of an unrivalled classic from the pantheon of musical theatre.
By Keith Bain
We’ll be forever loving Jah: Bob Marley turns 80
On 6 February 1945, a star was born. In the Parish of St Anne’s in a village named Nine Mile in the mountains of central Jamaica, Robert Nesta Marley was born to Cedella Malcom Booker and an already absent father, plantation manager Norval Sinclair Marley.
By Mark Heywood
How shopping for tomatoes humbled me
I was stumped by the pricing unit of tomatoes when determining value for money. For a confessed math whizz, I couldn’t differentiate between grams and kilograms. How embarrassing!
By Ray Mahlaka
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