Latest news with #Johannesburg
Reuters
an hour ago
- Politics
- Reuters
South Africa's DA party withdraws from national dialogue
JOHANNESBURG, June 28 (Reuters) - South Africa's Democratic Alliance, the second-biggest party in the country's coalition government, has withdrawn from a national dialogue due to a dispute with President Cyril Ramaphosa, DA party leader John Steenhuisen said on Saturday. The national dialogue is a process launched by Ramaphosa to unite the country after last year's election.
The Herald
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Herald
Radio icon Wilson B. Nkosi to receive lifetime achievement honour at inaugural SA Voiceover Awards
Veteran radio broadcaster and voiceover legend Wilson B. Nkosi is to be honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the first-ever South African Voiceover Awards (TSVA) in Johannesburg on October 4. Nkosi, a revered figure in the world of radio and voice artistry, has spent decades behind the mic, capturing the hearts of South Africans with his unmistakable baritone and soulful delivery. From Sunday soul sessions to brand campaigns that echoed across generations, his voice has become part of the nation's cultural fabric. Announcing the accolade, TSVA president Sinemivuyo Mpulu said the award recognises more than just Nkosi's body of work — it honours a legacy. 'We are beyond excited to honour uBab' Nkosi, a voice that echoes in the hearts of millions,' Mpulu said. 'This is a moment to celebrate not just a career, but a legacy that continues to inspire.' Nkosi's contribution to the radio and voiceover industry spans more than three decades, having started his career in the early 1980s. Best known for his long-standing role on Metro FM, his warm and authentic presence has not only entertained but also united communities through music and storytelling. The South African Voiceover Awards aim to shine a spotlight on the often-unsung heroes of the audio industry — the voices behind radio, television, advertising, and digital platforms. This year's event marks a milestone for the industry, and the organisers promise a night of glamour, celebration and recognition for South Africa's finest vocal talent. The awards ceremony is expected to draw prominent names from media, entertainment, and broadcasting.
The Herald
4 hours ago
- Politics
- The Herald
Ramaphosa cancels his trip to Spain in case DA decides to leave GNU
President Cyril Ramaphosa has cancelled his planned trip to Spain at the eleventh hour in anticipation of a major announcement by GNU partner the DA as the fallout over his axing of deputy minister Andrew Whitfield heightens. TimesLIVE understands that Ramaphosa has decided to stay in the country in case the DA decides to leave the government of national unity (GNU) on Saturday. The DA is said to be considering exiting the one-year-old coalition after Ramaphosa this week fired the party's deputy minister of trade and industry Whitfield without consultation. The blue party's federal executive is meeting on Saturday to decide the way forward after giving Ramaphosa 48 hours on Thursday to also fire ministers implicated in corruption, state capture and other forms of wrongdoing. Ramaphosa said he decided to axe Whitfield after he undertook a trip to the U.S at the height of the diplomatic tensions earlier this year without his authorisation. Whitfield argued he had asked Ramaphosa for permission to travel and decided to go after not getting a response after 10 days. The DA has taken a dim view of Ramaphosa's actions and has given him until 3pm on Saturday to reverse his decision to fire Whitfield. The DA said it would consider its continued participation in the GNU should he not reverse this decision. The DA believes Ramaphosa has been ill-treating the party by taking decisions without proper consultations including the signing of several laws. So aggrieved is the DA over its treatment that the party even voted against the proposed budget to hike VAT - a move that has created even further tensions in the GNU. Sources with intimate knowledge say Ramaphosa, who was expected to travel to Spain on Friday evening on a commercial flight, decided to miss the trip in case the DA's federal executive meeting on Saturday morning decides to leave the GNU. 'The president said he is not going any more, just in case the DA does funny things like leaving the GNU,' said a senior government insider. Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya on Saturday morning confirmed Ramaphosa had cancelled his trip. He said Ramaphosa's decision was informed by the possibility of the DA exiting the GNU. 'Indeed, the president has cancelled his trip to Spain to keep a close eye on developments at home ,' said Magwenya. The DA is expected to hold a press briefing at 3pm to inform the nation what it will be doing going forward after Ramaphosa said he would not meet the party's 48-hour deadline. TimesLIVE
Malay Mail
16 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Malay Mail
Stealing back what was stolen: South African game ‘Relooted' targets colonial spoils (VIDEO)
JOHANNESBURG, June 28 — Under the cover of darkness, Nomali jumped over a wall, burst into a museum and snatched a human skull from a pedestal before escaping through a window to the wail of an alarm. The daring heist was not the work of a real-life criminal. Nomali is the protagonist of a new action-packed video game where players 'reclaim' artefacts taken from African countries to be displayed in the West. Developed by Johannesburg studio Nyamakop, Relooted is set in an imaginary future but tackles a topical issue: calls for Western institutions to return to Africa the spoils of colonisation. Players are tasked with taking back 70 artefacts — all of which exist in real life — with a 'team of African citizens', said producer Sithe Ncube, one of a team of 30 working on the game. The items include the 'Benin Bronzes' sculptures removed from the former kingdom of Benin more than 120 years ago, and which The Netherlands officially returned to Nigeria on June 21. Another is the sacred Ngadji drum from Kenya's Pokomo community, which was confiscated by British colonial authorities in 1902. 'Its removal destabilised the community,' Ncube said as an animated drawing of the wooden instrument flashed on her computer. Players 'can see where it's from... and read about the history,' she said, giving a demo. 'Is it stealing?' On the screen a crew of characters in Afrofuturist costumes debated a plan to recover the remains of Tanzanian chiefs hanged by German colonial forces. One asked: 'Is it stealing to take back what was stolen?' 'We are going to do whatever it takes to take back Africa's belongings, and we are going to do it together,' said the character Nomali. 'Sometimes the stories behind these (artefacts) are actually very upsetting,' Ncube told AFP. 'It makes you see how much colonialism has affected... and shaped the world.' Growing up in Zambia, she knew of her country's iconic 'Broken Hill Man', a skull about 300,000 years old held in London's Natural History Museum and which is also featured in Relooted. But it was only when working on the game that Ncube realised how many African cultural artefacts were held abroad, she said. In France alone, museums stored about 90,000 objects from sub-Saharan Africa, according to a 2018 report commissioned by the government. 'Africans, to actually see these things that are part of their own culture, have to get a visa, pay for flights and go to a European country,' Ncube said. 'My whole life, I've never seen 'Broken Hill Man'.' Sithe Ncube, producer at Nyamakop video game studio, plays a soon to be launched video game called 'Relooted' at their office space in Rosebank, near Johannesburg, June 20, 2025. — AFP pic Skewed identity The looting of artefacts over centuries robbed communities of their 'archives' and 'knowledge systems', said Samba Yonga, co-founder of the digital Museum of Women's History in Zambia. 'Our history predates colonisation by millennia,' she told AFP, but many people 'don't even realise that we have a skewed sense of self and identity.' Reclaiming these objects would enable 'a shift in how the next generation views their culture and identity,' she said. The same hope underpinned Relooted, which was unveiled this month at Los Angeles' Summer Game Fest where it attracted a lot of interest from the diaspora and other Africans, Ncube said. 'I hope that the game encourages people from other African countries to want to tell their own stories and bring these things to light,' she said. One character felt personal for the producer: Professor Grace, Nomali's grandmother and described as 'the brains behind the mission'. 'I started seeing my own grandmother in her,' Ncube said with emotion. 'She represents a connection between our generations, fighting for the same thing we've always been fighting for.' — AFP
News24
a day ago
- Business
- News24
Fly away, Dick Foxton; your work is done
When someone passes away, there is a line that gets trotted out during tributes that it has largely lost meaning: 'He/she touched a lot of lives.' Then there are those times when it actually means exactly that. And more. This was the case with Richard Foxton, more commonly known as Dick or by the fun nickname Foxy. Foxton passed away at the weekend at the age of 82 after a life lived to the full. A veteran media man, he managed Newsweek's operations for nearly a decade during the early days of African independence. He shuttled between his beloved Nairobi and Johannesburg, the city he would later learn to love more than any other. Although born in India, he spent his formative youth years in Kenya, a period about which he had warm memories. Moving to South Africa in 1971, he joined the famed Group Editors, a public relations firm made up of some of Johannesburg's newsroom veterans. It grew to be one of the country's most influential communications companies, boasting blue chip clients who wanted the brains and experience housed under that roof. Ever the consummate networker, he was ready to branch off on his own by 1981 and launched Foxton Communicating. This lowly newspaperman often reminded him that the reason the business became so successful was that it was started in the year the great Tottenham Hotspur won the 100th edition of the FA Cup in a classic victory over Manchester City. It was in this role as the founder and head of Foxton Communicating that Foxton's larger-than-life persona became legendary. The business model was innovative. He represented chairmen (yes, that's what they were called), CEOs and most of the deputy CEOs as well. The uniqueness of the model was that he would connect the company leadership directly to editors so that they could get a picture of the state of play first-hand. Over long, liquid lunches, editors would also share their perspectives on how they saw the respective companies. At results time or when a crisis hit, a direct line had been established. Moreover, the editors had a better understanding of the headwinds and undercurrents affecting the business climate. But there was an added benefit for the CEOs: they were interacting with individuals who had the pulse of the nation and could get insights that would be useful in their strategic planning and in future interactions with government policymakers and decision-makers. Everybody was the winner: the editors and industry leaders got inside each other's heads and the facilitator obviously got his cheques. But, for Foxton, it was not just about a payday. He genuinely enjoyed connecting people and relished the conversations he was privy to, and he appreciated it even more when they were no longer dependent on him. His connections extended to the political sphere, stretching to the highest offices in the land, where he proffered his services and advice on a pro bono basis. His generous pro bono work also extended to causes he believed in, touching the lives of many. But it wasn't just his work that made Foxton the person who filled up the room with his personality; it was the gregarious, humorous raconteur in him that made him irresistible company. In a tribute to him in Business Day this week, the newspaper's former editor Peter Bruce fondly recalled that 'he was a fabulous name-dropper and he had really been around'. And around he certainly had been. If you have lived the life that he lived, you can be given a free pass on that so nobody begrudged the stories, which were often on repeat and delivered with such panache. Many were serious stories, some were cautionary tales and several were hilarious takes. The 'name-dropping' consisted of encounters with heads of state, ministers, sporting legends, religious leaders and corporate titans. Not many of us can regale others with stories from dinners, lunches or just audiences with figures as diverse as Nelson Mandela, Margaret Thatcher, Mother Teresa, FW de Klerk, George Matanzima, Harry Oppenheimer, Donald Bradman, Middle East royalty and global music stars. There would be jokes galore, also often told on repeat. But each time they were told, it would be just as funny as the first time. The liquids would flow forever, with Foxton encouraging willing and reluctant participants to have another, another and yet another. He colourfully encouraged his lunch partners to 'drink like monks at the end of Lent' or to 'drink like there's an army of bloodthirsty terrorists marching up the road'. Foxton would always talk about his children and grandchildren, and made a point of keeping up to date about yours. Close friend Khulu Mbatha wrote in City Press this week how he had always had stories about Lelo 3, Lelo 4 and Lelo 5. This was in reference to a little grandchild who updated her name according to her age. As anyone who interacted with Foxton would attest, no conversation would be complete without an ode to Thuli Madonsela, his life partner and absolute love of his life. To the rest of the world, she was the courageous former public protector and social justice activist, but, to Foxton, she was the summer rain that made his life verdant. Foxton never held high office in the public or private sector, but the life he lived had much impact on South African society. Most importantly, however, he was just a blerry nice guy. As we bid goodbye to this amazing South African, it is worth sending him off with the words of Bob Marley and the Wailers' song Rastaman Chant. 'One bright morning when my work is over Man will fly away home One bright morning when my work is over Man will fly away home Say one bright morning when my work is over Man will fly away home.' Your work is over now, Dick. You may fly away home to that sweet place called Paradise.
