The headlines of the leading newspapers on 28 July 2025:
NATIONAL:
# Business Day:
Reports president Cyril Ramaphosa wants to pressure South Africa to speed up the production of new energy vehicles and vehicle parts. The paper writes Ramaphosa says South Africa is in the ideal position to manufacture battery electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids, and hydrogen vehicles.
# And the Netwerk24 website:
Reports president Donald Trump and the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, have signed a trade agreement under which a 15-percent tariff will be imposed.
Then the website writes the retired head of the Hawks, lieutenant general Godfrey Lebeya, says that the government has been aware of collusion between political leaders and crime syndicates for years.
And finally, there is news about a police captain from Protea Glen in Soweto who shot dead his girlfriend, who is also a police officer, and her brother at her birthday party, after which he took his own life.
GAUTENG:
# The Star:
Writes South Africa’s relationship with the United States is on a knife-edge, as the US House Foreign Affairs Committee proposes a bill to impose sanctions on senior leaders of the African National Congress. The proposed US-South Africa Bilateral Relations Review Act of 2025 calls for a comprehensive 120-day investigation into Pretoria’s foreign policy, targeting individuals who act against US interests.
# Sowetan:
Also reports on the Soweto police captain who shot and killed his girlfriend and her brother and then committed suicide.
# And The Citizen:
Writes experts believe that the mayoral committee member of the Patriotic Alliance in Johannesburg, who resigned, Kenny Kunene’s political career is not over and he will make a comeback.
WESTERN CAPE:
# Die Burger:
Reports another South African woman was attacked on a boat in the Bahamas. The 28-year-old woman was attacked with a knife by a 35-year-old colleague before committing suicide by jumping off the passenger ship. Both were employees of Royal Caribbean, and according to the shipping company, the woman’s condition is stable.
Then the newspaper reports that a man with only one leg stole a police vehicle from the Umhlali police station in KwaZulu-Natal. He was arrested after an hour-long pleasure ride.
And finally, it is reported the Weather Service says the sunny weather at the beginning of the week in the Western and Eastern Cape will give way to rain and gusty winds.
EASTERN CAPE:
# Daily Despatch in East London:
Reports the South African Social Security Agency has stopped providing hot meals to flood victims.
And writes a shortage of interpreters is causing delays in Eastern Cape courts.
KWAZULU-NATAL:
# The Witness in Pietermaritzburg:
Writes that the Msunduzi municipality is busy with a project to combat stock theft.
And reports that the Proteas coach, Shukri Conrad, says he is satisfied with the triangular series in Zimbabwe.
And finally from NAMIBIA:
# Republikein in Windhoek:
Reports that only about seven-percent of all suspects arrested for rhino-related crimes in Namibia over the past decade were convicted by the end of 2024. According to the paper, most of these are habitual criminals who have already been arrested up to eight times.
And secondly, the newspaper writes that the ATKV Pluimpie Awards were a glamorous event for Afrikaans.