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Weekly news summary
The best way to engage with our content is by subscribing via WhatsApp, email or podcast. But if you prefer good old-fashioned web-browsing, below is a record of all our weekly news summaries.
October’21 Wrap: You CAN change SA. Here’s how
Hi there 🙋🏽♀️ In this week’s edition of The Wrap, we’re looking at a great mix of big moves in the public space, important cultural
7 October’21 Wrap: Phansi Facebook, phansi!
Hi there 🙋🏽♀️ In this week’s edition of The Wrap, we’re looking at the great Facebook outage and what it means, what you need to
30 September ’21 Wrap: R. Kelly, you’re cancelled forever
R Kelly has been found guilty, politicians are playing at being architects and we were reminded that yes, Zweli Mkhize’s son did buy a Louis
23 September ’21 Wrap: The Dickason Killings double standard
Happy Heritage Day! 🇿🇦 As a gift from the explain team to you, we’ve compiled a playlist of our favourite recent tunes by the hottest
Briefs
Individual summaries on key news items, thoroughly researched and fact-checked.
Adele is back!
One divorce, a few years of mental health issues and some dramatic weight loss later, our favourite British pop star, Adele, is back. She’s about
Uganda recognises its first trans citizen
Cleopatra Kambugu, a Ugandan activist who advocates for sexual and gender minorities, has made history as the first transgender person in Uganda to have their
Mogoeng Mogeong: the end of an era, and a few errors
Mogoeng Mogoeng‘s term as Chief Justice officially ends at midnight on Sunday. When Mogoeng was appointed to the role in 2011, many were alarmed. President
Accountability Monitor: Another national police commissioner to face the music
The police commissioner plays an important role in South Africa. If our police minister is akin to the chairman of the board, the police commissioner
Explainers
Videos, FAQs, charts and more – whatever it takes to help you understand. These are also delivered via our subscription services.
Local government elections explained
The local government elections are just ten days away! As we reported last week, power is shifting and your vote could lead to meaningful change.
New licence rules for SA motorists
Feeling guilty about not renewing your driver’s license yet thanks to the pandemic? Don’t worry – you and about three million other South Africans are
Accountability Monitor: Tracking the fight against corruption
In light of recent arrests related to corruption and state capture, in this developing story, we’ll be keeping tabs on the corruption-related arrests in both the public and private sector.
Ramaphosa’s big energy announcement explained
Self-generation is by far the quickest way to bring additional megawatts onto the grid and lobby groups have been hard at work to increase that threshold, as that really could be the magic bullet to help the country’s energy crisis.
Deep Dives
In-depth takes on key topics, with the breadth that is often missing in daily reports, also delivered via our subscription services.
‘Carry the label with pride’ Ron Derby on ‘BEE appointments’ and more
How long should it take for Cyril Ramaphosa to turn the country around, and what’s the strengths of our economy we don’t hear about often
Tanzania gets its first woman leader: who is Samia Suluhu Hassan?
Often described as soft spoken, Hassan is anything but a timid leader.
Our stories: the burden of student debt
Our staff shares their experiences with navigating student debt during their time as tertiary students, as student protests continue across the country.
How Meghan and Harry’s South African plan was scuppered by powerful royal insiders
As the fallout from THAT Meghan and Harry interview with Oprah Winfrey continues to reverberate around the world, it’s emerged that South Africa played a
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Deep Dives
In-depth takes on key topics, with the breadth that is often missing in daily reports.
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Explainers
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Local gov
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Weekly Summary