12 things that happened this week you should know about
Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package. Need to catch up on what happened this week before that big dinner party? From Nkandla to the Zika virus, we round up some of the big stories - local and international - that made the news...
1) Zuma proposes plan to 'pay back the money'
The Presidency on Tuesday night issued a statement saying President Zuma had asked the Constitutional Court to appoint the auditor-general and minister of finance to “independently and impartially” determine how much money he owes for the Nkandla upgrades. However opposition parties appeared unimpressed by the move. The Democratic Alliance (DA) said it will go ahead with its Constitutional Court action against the president while EFF leader Julius Malema came out guns blazing, calling Zuma a crook and demanding the influential Gupta family 'get out of South Africa'.
2) Drought hits home and neighbours
Ratings firm Moody's this week warned that South Africa's weak growth outlook will hobble the country's ability to raise tax revenues and take measures to tackle the effects of severe drought. The Western Cape government said it needs R88m to avert total disaster for farmers whose livelihoods have been decimated by the drought in parts of the province. In neighbouring countries, President Robert Mugabe declared a state of disaster in most rural parts of Zimbabwe while the Lesotho government met with development partners this week to lobby support for dealing with the drought.
3) Thabo Mbeki dismisses notion he was aloof
Former president Thabo Mbeki this week released his latest letter, attacking his detractors - including journalists and senior ANC members - who constantly "propagated (the) notion" that he was aloof and thus he "must go".
4) Riah Phiyega fights back
Suspended national police commissioner Riah Phiyega said on Wednesday she believes there is a “witch hunt” against her as she prepares to prove her fitness to hold office. The Independent Police Investigative Directorate’s (Ipid) this week announced it had registered cases against four people involved in the Marikana police shootings in October 2012‚ including Phiyega and former North West commissioner Zukiswa Mbombo.
5) UN panels rules on Wikileaks founder
A United Nations panel ruled on Thursday that Wikileaks founder Julian Assange had been "arbitrarily detained". The Australian ex-computer hacker, whose website enraged Washington and governments worldwide by publishing hundreds of thousands of secret files, has been holed up for three and a half years in a cramped room in the embassy. Ecuador granted him political asylum in 2012, while Sweden wants him extradited over an allegation of rape.
6) FW de Klerk in the news again
On the anniversary of FW de Klerk’s announcement to unban the ANC‚ the little-known Anti-Racism Action Forum announced that it will lodge criminal charges against the former president for crimes they didn’t get amnesty for at the Truth and reconciliation Commission. Former ANC treasurer-general Mathews Phosa meanwhile praised De Klerk‚ and thanked him for his role in the liberation of South Africa.
7) American election picks up speed
The White House race picked up speed in New Hampshire this week after Iowa voters opened the 2016 contest by knocking the showman Donald Trump into humble second place behind Republican nominee Ted Cruz, while Hillary Clinton scraped past a surging Bernie Sanders in the Democrat race.
8) Global response to Zika virus
The World Health Organization warned the Zika virus, which has been linked to a microcephaly outbreak in Latin America, could spread to Africa and Asia, as it launched a global response unit against the new emergency. Meanwhile the U.S. National Institutes of Health, the Public Health Agency of Canada and the Butantan Institute in Brazil have started work on a potential Zika vaccine.
9) SA in top 5 for 'misery'
South Africa cracked a top-five ranking in the world this week - unfortunately the bad news is that it is for the world's "unhappiest economies". The good news is that SA is not No1 in news agency Bloomberg's "misery index". That dubious honour goes to Venezuela, which retains the title it acquired in 2015.
10) Thousands flee Syria
Tens of thousands of Syrians were apparently streaming towards Turkey on Friday as regime troops pressed a major Russian-backed offensive around Aleppo, while Moscow and Ankara traded barbs over the escalating crisis. Western nations have accused Syria's government of torpedoing peace talks this week with its military offensive, and Washington demanded Moscow halt its campaign in support of President Bashar al-Assad.
11) Man 'sucked out of plane'
At least one passenger was missing, feared killled, after an explosion on an Airbus A321 that made a hole in the fuselage and forced the plane to return to the Somali capital of Mogadishu to make an emergency landing. Aviation experts and the pilot who landed the plane safely after the explosion reportedly said they feared the blast was a bomb. There has been no official confirmation of the cause of the explosion.
12) ON THE LIGHTER SIDE: Tokyo zoo stages 'zebra escape'
A zebra escaped from its enclosure in a Japanese zoo on Tuesday, giving one keeper a heart attack and injuring another - at least that was the scenario of a drill aimed at dealing with runaway animals. The zebra - actually a zoo staff member dressed up in a furry suit - supposedly bolted from a cage at Tokyo's Ueno Zoo after an earthquake destroyed its enclosure.
Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package.