The Weekend Wrap
What legally defines treason in South Africa? The Mkhize farm debacle; and how cats and dogs ‘understand’ us. All in your weekend wrap.
What constitutes treason (and what doesn’t) in South Africa
Treason is the topic du jour. But what is treason and who has been found guilty of it in South Africa?
By Victoria O’Regan
Retirement roulette – is a GEPF payment holiday a smart bet?
The level of outperformance of the fund means that its surplus in numerical terms is R187-billion, which means the government could take not a one-year, but a three-year, funding break if it wanted to.
By Tim Cohen
The Weekend Wrap
What legally defines treason in South Africa? The Mkhize farm debacle. And how cats and dogs ‘understand’ us. All in your weekend wrap.

What constitutes treason (and what doesn’t) in South Africa
Treason is the topic du jour. But what is treason and who has been found guilty of it in South Africa?
By Victoria O’Regan

Retirement roulette – is a GEPF payment holiday a smart bet?
The level of outperformance of the fund means that its surplus in numerical terms is R187-billion, which means the government could take not a one-year, but a three-year, funding break if it wanted to.
By Tim Cohen

The Mkhize farm debacle – what else lurks in Ithala’s loan books?
The SA Reserve Bank’s Prudential Authority wants to liquidate KZN-based Ithala SOC amid major concerns over the state-owned lender’s finances. In this piece, Scorpio unpacks the recent court application before examining a questionable Ithala loan.
By Pieter-Louis Myburgh for Scorpio
Deeply distasteful — sex cruises to Antarctica set to hasten degradation of Earth’s last great wilderness
A luxury cruise line is offering sex tours to the ice continent to swap partners and learn new coital positions. It seems out of place.
By Don Pinnock

Fixing the woke, stoking the broke? Trump’s speech to Congress was full of self-praise, big promises
President Donald Trump gave his non-State of the Union speech, promising peace in our time, lower taxes and a return to the mythic golden age of the late 19th century. Meanwhile, Democrats found a new star in the senator they chose to offer their rebuttal: Michigan’s Elissa Slotkin.
By J Brooks Spector

Collapse in Chambishi — tailings failure is a canary in Zambia’s Copperbelt
The underlying conditions that allowed this disaster – weak regulation, limited enforcement capacity and Zambia’s heavy reliance on mining revenues – remain largely intact.
By Yeshiel Panchia
Branded McDonald’s desks for schoolchildren — government failing or a corporation overstepping?
McDonald’s-branded foldable desks in a public school in Cape Town have been slammed by civil society organisations for ‘turning children into walking billboards’.
By Lillian Roberts

Ernst Roets on Tucker Carlson: A closer look at Afrikaner claims and misconceptions
Roets made four bold claims — about South Africa’s collapse, the ANC’s governance, Afrikaner persecution, and societal breakdown. As an Afrikaner myself I see the same reality he does but draw starkly different conclusions. Roets is partly correct, but fundamentally wrong.
By Marius Oosthuizen
MotoGP master Marc Márquez has a chance to add to his legacy in 2025
Ducati is already the most dominant team on the MotoGP circuit at the moment. Now they have six-time champion Marc Márquez, who is hungry to roll back the years after some tumultuous times due to injuries.
By Yanga Sibembe
A mew perspective: Do cats and dogs ‘understand’ us — here are the tell-tail signs
Our pets definitely have an idea of what we are saying to them, but not in the way we think.
By Quixi Sonntag
Daily Mini Crossword Quickie
South Africa’s restaurant ‘Oscars’ — it’s about the substance, not the glitz
Hoping to win the top SA restaurant award? Get that tuxedo pressed. Get your elbow greased, you’ll be needing it. And be like Demi Moore — get your speech ready, even if you don’t end up winning.
By Tony Jackman
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