Election tracker shows failing ANC support
A tracking study of by-elections by analyst Gareth Van Onselen shows declining voter support for the ANC, with varying levels of achievement by its rivals. This is not an opinion poll, but a moving monthly average of party support in the by-elections it contested over the past 12 months. The ANC, which attained 45.6% in the 2021 municipal elections, ended the cycle on 34.9%. It has fallen steeply in urban centres. Other parties tended to be better, but were invariably more selective in choosing which by-elections to contest. The Democratic Alliance went from 21.7% in 2021 to 37.5%, and the Economic Freedom Fighters from 10.3% to 13.9%. The Patriotic Alliance has achieved significant successes, although it has contested a very small number of wards.
Leon hits back at allegations over role of his firm, Resolve Communications
A week after former DA leader and ex-Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen implied that Tony Leon was exercising undue influence on DA ministers, Leon sat down with News24 editor Adriaan Basson for an extended video interview to present his perspective. Leon is one of Steenhuisen’s predecessors in the DA and now chairman of the public relations firm, Resolve Communications. He denied any wrongdoing, and defended lobbying as a normal part of democratic engagement. He noted that government ministers were adults who were free to accept and reject overtures. On the question of Starlink access, he pointed out that introducing Low Earth Orbit satellite connectivity was in fact DA policy. Government leaders, he continued, needed to accept their own agency, rather than seeking to divert responsibility for their actions.
Senior Iranian leaders at Khamenei’s funeral, but new leader absent
State TV showed three sons of the former Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei – Mostafa, Meysam and Masoud Khamenei – praying beside his coffin and those of four other family members yesterday, but Mojtaba, the son who has succeeded him as Iran’s supreme leader, did not make an appearance. Sources close to the inner circle have said Mojtaba Khamenei’s face was disfigured and he suffered a significant injury to one or both legs in the attack that killed his father and family members on 28 February, when Israel and the US bombed Iranian targets at the start of the war.
Government taking action against illegal online gambling
South Africa’s gambling regulator, the National Gambling Board (NGB), has issued a request for expression of interest from service providers to block illegal online gambling websites. The illegal, or unregistered, sites – which are said to account for 62% of a market on which some 16 million South Africans spend more than R50 billion – pay no tax and fall outside normal consumer-protection arrangements. The watchdog said that blocking illegal gambling websites would contribute towards the suppression of illegal gambling activities. Licensed operators are subject to strict regulatory oversight, including age verification, anti-money-laundering controls and robust responsible gambling measures, safeguards that are largely absent in the illegal market.
Byzantine city uncovered in Egypt’s western desert
Archaeologists in Egypt have uncovered a well-preserved Byzantine-era – 4th century – city in the Dakhla oasis, with residential and religious structures, including a basilica-style church. Archaeologists also uncovered bread ovens, kitchens, grinding tools and bronze coins bearing portraits of Byzantine emperors, Latin inscriptions and Christian symbols. A group of gold coins unearthed dated to the reign of Roman emperor Constantius II, who ruled between 337 and 361
Kubayi suggests foreign plotting had a role in anti-migrant protests
Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Mmamoloko Kubayi has claimed that there is a connection between the recent anti-migrant protests and South Africa’s global positioning, specifically its case at the International Court of Justice against Israel. In an interview, she was “generic” (her formulation) in her comments, but said of Israel: “They will fight back in a manner that seeks to show South Africa is not a country with moral authority to advocate for human rights.” She offered no evidence of this, although similar claims have been made by Minister Ronald Lamola.
Sources: News24, BBC, Sunday Times, Business Day, The Guardian, Reuters