Latest news with #R30k
TimesLIVE
25-06-2025
- Automotive
- TimesLIVE
Renault Duster 1.3T Intens excels as an urban adventurer
The Renault Duster is jointly produced by Renault and Romanian subsidiary brand Dacia. It should be the last word in the segment considering Eastern Europe gave birth to the dominant crossover segment with the Russian Lada Niva. With 54 segment alternatives from Europe, Japan, Korea, Malaysia and China to contend with, is the third-generation Renault Duster model on test this week up to the challenge? Three models are on sale, and differently configured. Our Cedar green car is the Renault Duster 1.3T Intens, a front-wheel drive, seven-speed automatic mid-tier offering costing R520,000. The entry level Duster Zen that shares similar mechanicals is R30k cheaper while the range-topping Duster 1.2T Zen that comes with a hybrid drivetrain, 4WD underpinnings and a manual transmission exclusively costs R30k more. The chunky design continues inside the cabin that's transformed dramatically from old, with a neat minimalist approach. It is ergonomic and sensible with remote finger controls for the climate system, mirrors, central locking and volume control, but many of the settings have moved into digital menus within the standard fitment 10.1' infotainment touch screen. A 7' digital instrument cluster is for the driver and amenities include a 360° camera, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, air-conditioning and electric windows. The seats and steering wheel are manually adjusted and the seating was comfy and well-judged. Other likable bits are the roominess for four or five passengers, and a 472 l boot, though the tailgate isn't electric.
The Citizen
19-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Citizen
Talent shows, tantalising food and tequila – upcoming events to enjoy
Talent shows, tantalising food and tequila – upcoming events to enjoy 19 June – Sundowners on Eat Street at the Lifestyle Centre with DJ Katie La Femme from 4-6pm, followed by open mic night from 6-8pm. – Bingo and Quiz Night at the Lyric Lounge in the Ballito Centre of Design from 6-9.30pm. Free entry. Find out more at 20 June – The Black Lapels will entertain Eat Steet from 6.30-9.30pm. 21 June – Kids Fun Day at Dolphin Coast Pre-Primary from 9am-2pm. Kids will enjoy face painting, a jumping castle, reptile demonstration and plenty of fun activities. Free entry. – Mums & Tots programme at Tongaat Central Library from 10-11am. Target age 2-5. Children's Book Club follows from 11am-midday. Target age 6-12. Recurs every Saturday – contact Vigie Padayachee at 084 445 5069. – Lunch at the Market at Lifestyle Centre with the musical stylings of Angel from 12.30-3.30pm. – 'The Way it Was' starring Andrea Giglio at the Lyric Lounge from 7-9.30pm. R100. 22 June – Sunday lunch at the Market with Hale Mary from 12.30-3.30pm, or with the Kickstands on Eat Street from 1-4pm. – Ballito's Talent competition kicks off at the Lyric Lounge from 2pm. First of three auditions. R100. 28 June – Ballito Bowl Skate Jam from 2-6pm, with R30k in prize money on the line across Grom and Open divisions. Registration opens at 12pm. – The Tequila & Mexican Food Festival returns to the Manor House from 11am-8pm. Spoegwolf, Timo ODV and others to perform. Tickets starting at R300 from 30 June – July 4 – Farming God's Way training at All Souls Anglican Church, Sheffield. R250 registration, 8.30am-4pm daily. Registration essential via inundo@ or 063 742 5575. 30 June – July 6 – The Ballito Pro Challenger Series main event at Willard Beach. 6am call onwards daily. 2 – 4 July – Free Ballito Pro music concerts from 5.30pm till late at Salt Rock main beach. More details at Stay in the loop with The North Coast Courier on Facebook, X, Instagram & YouTube for the latest news. Mobile users can join our WhatsApp Broadcast Service here or if you're on desktop, scan the QR code below. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading! Stay in the know. Download the Caxton Local News Network App Stay in the know. Download the Caxton Local News Network App here
Time of India
29-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
"Will not turn the other cheek" Shashi Tharoor reaffirms India's firm stance on countering terrorism
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor , who is leading multi-party delegation to Panama, on Wednesday (local time) reaffirmed India's firm stance against terrorism and said that the country will not turn the other cheek and will respond to any further attack. Speaking at an event organised by the Indian Embassy, Tharoor emphasised the teaching of Mahatma Gandhi to live without fear. "He (Mahatma Gandhi) also taught us in his brave leadership in our struggle for freedom that we must always stand up for our rights. We must always stand up in principle for the values we believe in, and we must live without fear that freedom from fear is what we in India have to fight for these days against the evil attacks of malign men who are called by the world as terrorists, but who believe that by doing this kind of thing of coming into our country, killing innocent people and going off again that they will somehow achieve some larger political or religious cause," Tharoor said. Play Video Pause Skip Backward Skip Forward Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration 0:00 Loaded : 0% 0:00 Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 1x Playback Rate Chapters Chapters Descriptions descriptions off , selected Captions captions settings , opens captions settings dialog captions off , selected Audio Track default , selected Picture-in-Picture Fullscreen This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Text Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Caption Area Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Drop shadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Drivers Who Earn Less Than R30k/Month Can Slash Car Insurance Costs – See If You Qualify AutoTrends Learn More Undo "That is not something that any self-respecting country will give into, and even the land of Mahatma Gandhi will not turn the other cheek when this happens, we will respond," Tharoor added. Further speaking about Operation Sindoor , Tharoor criticised the Pakistan Army for giving a funeral to terrorists killed during India's operation. Live Events "When we struck the terror headquarters, we took some lives, and of course a funeral was conducted. There were some very prominent people at that funeral. There was at least one individual whose name had been listed by the United Nations Sanctions Committee. It was people in uniform from the highest threat echelons of the PakistArmy and police mourning at the funeral of designated terrorists. This is the country that now says we are innocent. We did not do it. You do not mourn for people you do not know," Tharoor said. Tharoor stressed the motives behind the Pahalgam terror attack , stating that it was to undermine India and to undermine the economy of Jammu and Kashmir. "This terrorist action was in pursuance of a cynical set of objectives that sadly only the Pakistani military seems to want to pursue to undermine our country, to undermine the Kashmiri economy, which was booming with tourism... I was told by my friend, the Indian Ambassador to Washington, that there were more tourists in this place in Kashmir in Pahalgam than in Aspen, Colorado," Tharoor said. Earlier in the day, Shashi Tharoor-led delegation on Wednesday (local time) met with the President of the Republic of Panama, Jose Raul Mulino, at the Presidential house. The delegation led by Tharoor includes Shambhavi Chaudhary (Lok Janshakti Party), Sarfaraz Ahmed (Jharkhand Mukti Morcha), G M Harish Balayagi (Telugu Desam Party), Shashank Mani Tripathi, Tejaswi Surya, Bhubaneswar Kalita (all from BJP), Mallikarjun Devda (Shiv Sena), former Indian Ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, and Shiv Sena MP Milind Deora.
Zawya
28-03-2025
- Business
- Zawya
How the South Africa consumer class cuts costs?
When Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana delivered the 2025 National Budget Speech on 12 March, the nation wondered if the GNU was really taking the country's cost of living crisis by the horns and wrestling it to the ground. Concerns about the impacts of the value-added tax (VAT) increases over the next two years, rising costs of debt servicing and the lack of decisive strategies to tackle rising consumer costs have risen out of the dust. Brandon de Kock, director of storytelling at BrandMapp says, 'By the fourth quarter of last year, South Africa's consumer confidence index was at -6 points. It's not the worst it's ever been, -36 points in 1985, and far from the best at 26 points in 2018. But it's a notable recovery from the recent pandemic lows which fell to -33 points in 2020. Take a step back and it looks to be a clear indication of the resilience of South Africa's consumer class who have quite a few tools at their disposal to deal with the rollercoaster of life.' Shifting demographics in the consumer class The latest BrandMapp survey, which tracks the behaviours and sentiments of South Africans living in household with disposable incomes, from R10k a month to the millionaire class, provides insights into how the consumer class (which they define as those adults who can freely buy goods and services above their basic survival needs) are financially managing their households. Despite the sluggish economy and the cost-of-living crisis, De Kock says, 'The important context to bear in mind here is that according to the latest National Treasury data, the consumer class in South Africa grew at about 7.5% last year, which means it outpaced inflation.' 'However, the growth of the consumer class is not spread evenly across the different income brackets. If you divide the personal income earners of SA into the core consumer class earning R10k to R30k per month, the Top Enders earning R30K to R80K and the Millionaires earning R80K or more you start to see some interesting shifts. The core represented 56% of all taxpayers back in 2020, but now it only represents 46%. It means there's a significant rise in the Top End with more than half of the consumer class, 54% now sitting in the R30k to millionaire income brackets. While this is obviously not great for the country's gini coefficient, it appears that while the rich are getting richer, the number of people earning relatively high incomes, living aspirational lives and driving potential growth seems to be increasing at an equally rapid rate.' What costs are the SA consumer class cutting? When it comes to strategies to deal with the rising cost of living, BrandMapp shows that there's not much difference between mid-income and top-end earners, the exception being that middle income earners are 50% more likely to be considering getting a second job. Around a fifth of the consumer class are thinking of cancelling Dstv, spending less on alcohol and their mobile data packages, while less than 10% are thinking about cancelling some insurance and downgrading their medical aid. De Kock says, 'What's interesting is to see that some of the habits we learned during the pandemic are hanging around like long-Covid. 35% of the consumer class are considering cutting back on clothing budgets and 31% say they are likely to go out less to the movies and restaurants. All-in-all, with home grocery delivery, meals-on-wheels and streaming services, a mid-to top-income South African home is a comfortable place to be, and we have learnt that staying home more in our trackie pants is a relevant cost-saving strategy.' GENERIC: Does the province you live in shape your cost-saving strategies? If you live in Gauteng, you're more likely to deal with rising costs by working more with 28% of the consumer class in the province saying they are open to taking on a second job. By comparison, a side-hustle is only attractive to 23% of KwaZulu-Natal respondents and 21% of those in the Western Cape. Gauteng consumers are also more likely to cancel Dstv and cut back on alcohol. However, their enthusiasm wanes when it comes to going out less to movies and restaurants (31%) or staying home for the holidays (16%). By contrast, these are top strategies for Western Cape consumers with 36% content to go out less and 19% considering staying home for the holidays – perhaps, it helps to live in the country's top tourism region. The top three cost-saving strategies for KwaZulu-Natal are 28% considering going out less to movies and restaurants, 23% getting a second job and 19% cancelling Dstv. How will the different generations stretch their budgets? Not surprisingly, South Africa's well-heeled boomers are the least likely to be thinking about any cost-saving measures, and at the other end of the scale, Gen Z and Millennials are the most open to a wide range of ways to cut their expenses. De Kock says, 'What we see is that going out less to movies and restaurants, staying home more and cutting back on clothing budgets are major strategies across all generations, which mirrors our Covid cost-cutting habits. Millennials are the most likely to cut back on alcohol (24%), get a second job (30%) and spend less on clothing (38%), while Gen Xers are mostly likely to withdraw from their pensions (11%) and cancel Dstv (24%). 36% of Gen Z are hoping that going out less to movies and restaurants will help get them through the month, and 29% are considering staying home more. 28% are thinking about changing where they shop to find the best prices.' The cost-cutting gender divide – clothes and alcohol De Kock says, 'There's an interesting story in the differences between the ways that women and men are approaching the cost-of-living crisis. Women are 50% more likely than men to consider cutting their clothing budgets and changing where they shop for groceries. In a switch around, men are 50% more likely than women to be thinking of cutting back on alcohol and withdrawing funds from their home loans. Women are also more likely to be looking for a second job than men, and more willing to clean their own house.' In the end, lower prices win the day For retailers and brands wanting to meet the South African consumer in the moment, it's crucial to grasp how important pricing and promotions are across the mid- to top-earning households. 'When we ask them about general shopping habits, 58% of South Africa's consumer class say that they always look out for sales and discounts,' concludes De Kock. '34% say that the lowest price is the top factor when choosing where they shop – more important than convenience, quality and value. The youngest consumers are most hooked on the lowest price with 39% choosing a store on this basis.' Visit for an overview of what's in the new data.
