Hi there. 🙋🏾♀️
In this week’s rather war-heavy wrap, we unpack the US attacks on Iran, where they likely stem from and what the implications could be for the rest of the world. We even explain why some people are now betting on war. Yes, apparently that’s a thing. Read on to find out more.
In politics, Cape Town’s mayor wants to lead the DA, while Patrice Motsepe is doing that classic political dance of “I’m not saying yes, but I’m definitely not saying no” about the ANC. We break it all down for you. Speaking of the ANC, two new statues in eThekwini have residents riled up.
In cricket, our boys have sadly been knocked out of the T20 World Cup. Meanwhile, an Orlando Pirates player is clearly enjoying life overseas with his new team, and judging by social media, they’re very happy with their new signing.
And lastly, our condolences to the loved ones of comedian and actor Soli Philander, who passed away on Wednesday following a battle with cancer. Thank you for all the laughs and love, Soli.
So, let’s dive into these stories and more in this week’s wrap, brought to you by the explain.co.za team. 😄
Format:
▁ ▂ ▄ ▅ ▆ ▇ █BRIEFS
NATIONAL
- Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis is officially in the running to become the DA’s next leader. 👀 He announced his bid on Friday, after John Steenhuisen previously confirmed he won’t seek re-election at April’s congress. Hill-Lewis says he plans to keep his day job if elected, describing the mayoralty as work he loves, a move similar to Helen Zille’s in 2007. Backed by senior figures like Siviwe Gwarube, he has framed his campaign as a moment of renewal for the party.
- President Cyril Ramaphosa unveiled 10m-tall statues honouring Nelson Mandela and Oliver Tambo on Tuesday in Durban. Mandela towers over visitors at Moses Mabhida Stadium, while struggle veteran and icon Tambo is placed along South Beach. The DA argued the money would be better spent fixing Durban’s water, housing, and sanitation woes, but eThekwini mayor Cyril Xaba pointed out the budget came from the tourism department. As with the Mandela statue in Sandton, Xaba is hoping the statues will attract tourists… and hopefully more than just pigeons. 😆
- Orlando Pirates academy graduate Mbekezeli Mbokazi has taken US soccer by storm. 🔥 He joined Chicago Fire, which competes in the Major League Soccer in the US and Canada, in December. Within 48 hours of his signing being announced, Chicago Fire gained about 180,000 new social media followers, with more than 572,000 South African accounts now following them. Two games in, the young South African defender is also part of the Bafana Bafana setup ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
- The Proteas missed out on their first T20 World Cup title, yet again! 😅 SA was knocked out by New Zealand in Wednesday’s semi-final, losing by nine wickets. The Proteas went into the game unbeaten and had trumped New Zealand earlier in the tournament, but knockout cricket proved different. It’s another heartbreak after losing to India in the 2024 final. Coach Shukri Conrad admitted his side was outclassed. Mzansi will now turn its attention to the ODI World Cup next year, jointly hosted in SA, Namibia, and Zimbabwe.
- Mosiuoa “Terror” Lekota passed away on Wednesday, aged 77. 🕊️ The former Robben Islander helped to found the United Democratic Front in the 1980s. He went on to serve as defence minister and ANC chairperson under Thabo Mbeki. When Jacob Zuma took over the ANC, Lekota walked away in disgust and co-founded his own political party, Cope, in 2008. The party showed early promise but never really got off the ground. Lekota stepped back from politics last year after a period of illness. A giant of the struggle, now at rest.
INTERNATIONAL
- South Sudan is edging dangerously close to full-blown civil war. 😔 At least 178 people were killed in a surprise attack on a village near the Sudan border on Sunday, with women, children and security forces among the victims. Clashes between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and those allied to suspended vice-president Riek Machar have been intensifying since December, displacing an estimated 280,000 people. The 2018 peace deal that ended their last civil war is looking very shaky.
- Democrats and Republicans are choosing who they will field for the US midterms. 🫣 The primary season kicked off on Tuesday. It’s a big deal as the Republicans control both the House and Senate, the equivalent of our parliament. That means Trump’s power has been largely unchecked, but a Democrat win could change that. For the blue party, in Texas, centrist seminary student James Talarico beat firebrand Jasmine Crockett, raising the question of whether Democrats want fighters or pragmatists heading into November’s elections.
- Nepal’s elections today could be about to make a rapper the country’s next prime minister. 😎 Balendra Shah, known as Balen, is a 35-year-old former rapper turned Kathmandu mayor who resigned his post to directly challenge four-time prime minister KP Sharma Oli for his own seat. With 46% of Nepal’s population under 24, young Nepalis fed up with corruption and a lack of jobs are absolutely losing it over him. Oli’s motorcade, meanwhile, drove through his own stronghold largely ignored. The vibes don’t lie.
- Trump-linked money has surfaced in war betting markets. Prediction platforms Polymarket and Kalshi saw traders wager millions on whether the US and Israel would strike Iran and whether US President Donald Trump would authorise military action. Some users reportedly made hundreds of thousands of dollars from bets placed shortly before the strikes became public, raising questions about whether people with advanced knowledge may have profited. Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr, sits on Polymarket’s board, and several Kalshi staffers have joined the Trump administration. 👀
- Paramount Skydance finally won the bidding war for Warner Bros Discovery. They clinched the deal for about $110 billion (about R1.75 trillion!), after Netflix walked away at the last minute, following a bruising battle.🎬 The mega-merger will combine streaming platforms Paramount+ and HBO Max in a direct challenge to Netflix’s dominance. CEO David Ellison has already flagged significant job cuts, rattling the industry. The deal still needs regulatory approval, and US senators are raising antitrust concerns about the new media giant’s potential market power.
▁ ▂ ▄ ▅ ▆ ▇ █ BIG STORIES
1️⃣How decades of tension with Iran finally erupted into war
The United States and Israel’s war on Iran, brewing for weeks, exploded into action on Saturday.
The country’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was immediately killed in a targeted strike. So were several top leaders – including the very people the US had hoped would replace him.
One of the deadliest incidents so far was the bombing of an Iranian school, where up to 168 people – most of them likely children – were killed. The US is investigating the strike, insisting it does not target schools, which would be a war crime.
The consequences have been swift and devastating.
Iran retaliated within hours, launching missiles at Israel, US bases in the region, and Gulf states allied with Washington. This includes strikes near airports in the United Arab Emirates, leaving travellers across the popular transit hubs stranded.
According to Al Jazeera, at least 1,045 people have been killed so far.
But how did we get here?
The hostility between Iran and the US stretches back more than 70 years. In 1953, the US and the United Kingdom backed a coup that overthrew Iran’s prime minister after he nationalised the country’s oil industry, which had largely been controlled by Britain. The Shah then returned to power, but many Iranians viewed him as a puppet of the West. His rule ended in 1979 when the Iranian Revolution toppled the monarchy and created the current Islamic Republic.
Then US President Barack Obama briefly stabilised relations in 2015 with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. The deal, signed by Iran and six world powers, limited Iran’s nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief. But in 2018, US President Donald Trump withdrew the US from the agreement, seemingly because it was an Obama legacy, and reinstated heavy sanctions.
Since then, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has continued a decades-long push for the US to strike Iran, arguing its nuclear programme is an existential threat.
Iran received its first taste of what was to come in June last year, when US and Israeli strikes hit major nuclear sites. Washington said the attacks had badly damaged the programme, raising questions about what triggered the latest escalation.
Trump has pointed to Iran’s brutal crackdown on protesters over the past year. But two things can be true at once: Khamenei was a corrupt autocrat, and the US and Israeli strikes violate international law. Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has emphasised the last point – and put his money where his mouth is. He’s refusing to let the US use its bases in his country to carry out strikes.
Trump, who campaigned as a “president of peace”, promising to keep the US out of foreign wars, now finds himself presiding over one of the most dangerous conflicts in years – even though most Americans don’t support it, according to early polls.
There’s unlikely to be a quick end to the war – and the global risks are real. Shipping has collapsed in the Strait of Hormuz, which carries a fifth of global oil supplies, causing oil prices to spike 14% since the weekend. In addition, about one-third of the global fertiliser trade passes through the strait, affecting food security globally.
South Africa, who has controversially remained a “friend” of Iran historically, has offered to help mediate, with President Cyril Ramaphosa saying the country is ready to step in if talks begin. But for now, diplomacy feels very far away.
2️⃣Who’s fooling whom? Inside Patrice Motsepe’s shadow campaign for ANC presidency.
The ANC presidential race has become… interesting. And potentially well-resourced. 🤭 A mysterious website called “PM27 Savumelan” went live last week, and lobbyists backing billionaire Patrice Motsepe have come out of the woodwork. This is the same slogan (meaning “we agree”) that was seen on branded T-shirts in January. No one has taken responsibility for the website. So far.
The website states that Motsepe is the most credible, unifying, and visionary leader to guide the ANC and South Africa.
But, there’s a twist… Motsepe has repeatedly dismissed talk of him running for the ANC presidency. In September, he said he didn’t need to enter politics to make a meaningful contribution to Mzansi. The very next month, he jokingly reiterated that being president of the country wasn’t a challenge he wanted to “waste his time on”.
Despite these denials, his name continues to make the rounds, which the ANC leadership isn’t too chuffed about. ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula, himself a potential candidate, issued a stern warning to party members in January not to discuss the leadership race. In a statement on Monday, the party said campaigning was prohibited until its national executive committee gave the go-ahead.
Political commentators have suggested Motsepe’s recent retirement as executive chairperson of African Rainbow Minerals could be seen as a strategic move ahead of running for ANC president. After all, it mirrors the actions of current president (and Motsepe’s brother-in-law) Cyril Ramaphosa, who stepped down from his business interests in 2014. But new JSE requirements mandated that Motsepe step down, meaning this could be a red herring.
If Motsepe is indeed contesting the race, wins the ANC presidency, and the party goes on to win the next general elections (yes, we know, there’s a lot of “ifs” in there), he would be the first president not to have been a key figure in anti-apartheid organisations. And, unlike his potential opponents, he doesn’t have a coalition or backing from branches. “The other hopeful candidates – while denying that they are campaigning – have been building their coalitions for the past year or more,” Carol Paton wrote for News24. Money alone won’t get Motsepe the top spot.
ANC veteran and former finance minister Trevor Manuel isn’t convinced Motsepe would make a good president, saying that he has not demonstrated leadership. Speaking on Mbuyiseni Ndlozi’s African Renaissance podcast, Manuel said Motsepe was a “very interesting chap”, who had become wealthy because of “luck”.
We can’t be sure whether Motsepe is running, but it’s clear the ANC leadership race is maintaining its drama-filled tradition. As we head into the elective conference in 2027, get the popcorn ready. This season is about to get spicy.
3️⃣Mzansi’s labour laws could change. Here’s what you need to know.
One thing South Africa has always been strong on is legal protection for workers. But, like anything, it’s a work in progress – and our labour laws could soon be strengthened even further.
On Friday, the Department of Employment and Labour published the Labour Laws Amendment Bill and the Labour Relations Amendment Bill, as well as related government notices. The proposals would expand protections to more workers and close gaps in existing regulations.
Workers who’ve been retrenched, employed parents-to-be, and gig workers all stand to benefit, among others. And there’s even a sweetener for employers as well.
But what exactly has been proposed?
🔹Statutory severance pay would increase from one week’s pay to two weeks’ pay for every completed year of service.
🔹The Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration would get stronger powers to enforce its rulings. Workers could also take disputes about severance pay straight to the commission or a bargaining council, rather than challenging the entire dismissal.
🔹 A single employed parent would get four months of leave. If both parents work, they would share four months and 10 days between them. The change follows a landmark Constitutional Court ruling we told you about last year and would replace the current patchwork of maternity, parental and adoption leave.
🔹 The bill introduces what’s called a “presumption of employment”. In plain English, gig workers, delivery drivers and similar workers could be treated as employees unless companies can prove they are genuinely independent contractors.
🔹 Another proposal would treat film and television workers as employees rather than contractors, giving them access to benefits like sick leave, maternity leave and compensation for workplace injuries.
🔹 Employers would have to spell out guaranteed hours, availability periods and notice for cancelled shifts. If a shift is cancelled without proper notice, the employee would still have to be paid.
Some changes, though, could help employers. The proposals make it easier for employers to fire a new employee during their first few months on the job.
Lisa Szöke, associate director at Guy & Associates, told Business Tech that companies have raised this issue for years. “I think that’s been quite a long-term gripe – that you hire someone and then you essentially have a permanent employee, regardless of the fact that you still want that kind of initial period to assess.”
But before you start celebrating, the proposals aren’t law yet.
“It’s currently just a bill that’s been tabled and then it needs to go for public comment,” Szöke noted.
That’s it from us at The Wrap, an award-winning product of explain.co.za – simple news summaries for busy people. 💁🏾♀
The Wrap is sponsored by explain’s agency division. We specialise in content marketing for purpose-driven organisations, often with a pan-African reach. Mail info@explain.co.za for a quote.
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