NUMSA’s Submission to NERSA on Eskom’s Application for a tariff increase

NUMSA is extremely irritated and dismayed by the opportunistic call made by the Eskom board and its management to increase the electricity tariff by 19%. This demand by Eskom is nothing less than the abuse of power and holding hostage the entire economy and its people. numsa.org.za/

Community takes over control of radio station in North West

Residents of Letlhabile near Brits in North West province took over the control of a local radio station on Monday, demanding that the board disband and the station manager resign since the radio station has failed to call an AGM for the past seven years. citizen.co.za

Are South African health workers being silenced into malpractice?

The cries of the 140+ deceased Life Esidemeni residents were unheard – despite pressure sores and other unaccounted wounds, signs of starvation and dehydration. It is only in retrospect that we see they were not the only ones who were unheard – those who predicted the train wreck and voiced their concerns were no more acknowledged than those that have fallen. dailymaverick.co.za/

Caution over Collaboration Schools

For profit or not, Collaboration Schools are likely to introduce well-known aspects of privatisation: undermining democratic school governance and introducing market principles into education. One of the core aspects of the model is how it restructures SGBs – opinion from Equal Education.iol.co.za

Zimbabwean socialist responds to ‘palace coup’ facing Mugabe’s regime

The Zimbabwean armed forces seized control of the capital Harare and detained president Robert Mugabe early on Wednesday morning. It is the result of a spiralling political crisis facing the regime, with rival factions of the ruling Zanu PF party jostling for power. socialistworker.co.uk/
Read Mahmood Mamdani’s appraisal of Mugabe, writing in 2008

Africa’s richest woman gets fired

The daughter of former Angolan leader Jose Eduardo dos Santos was axed from her influential post as head of the Sonangol state oil company. businesslive.co.za/

Richest 1% own half the world’s wealth, study finds

The world’s richest people have seen their share of the globe’s total wealth increase from 42.5% at the height of the 2008 financial crisis to 50.1% in 2017 theguardian.com/

U.S. soldier in Niger ambush was bound and apparently executed, villagers say

The case has received enormous attention in the United States because of conflicting accounts over whether the soldiers were on a low-risk patrol or had changed plans and set out in pursuit of Islamist insurgents. washingtonpost.com/

The Logic of Drug Legalization

The Drug Lords of today exist because of the extraordinary profits resulting from criminalization. Estimates run in the half a trillion range globally per year. counterpunch.org/

Many older Americans are living a desperate, nomadic life

In her powerful new book, “Nomadland,” award-winning journalist Jessica Bruder reveals the dark, depressing and sometimes physically painful life of a tribe of men and women in their 50s and 60s who are surviving America in the twenty-first century. marketwatch.com/

India Rules Sex With a Child Bride Is Always Rape in a Massive Win for Girls’ Rights

It’s a landmark change to India’s marital rape laws. globalcitizen.org/

ITF: ‘new era for fishers begins’

The International Transport Workers’ Federation describes the coming into force of the ILO Work in Fishing Convention, 2007 on November 16 as having the potential to open up a new era for millions of fishermen worldwide. maritime-executive.com/

Nestlé Makes Billions Bottling Water It Pays Nearly Nothing For

The corporation’s operation in Michigan, U.S., reveals how it’s dominated the industry by going into economically depressed areas with lax water laws. bloomberg.com/

Uber loses appeal in UK employment rights case

Ride-hailing app had appealed against ruling that drivers were workers with minimum-wage rights and not self-employed. theguardian.com/

100 years on from the Russian Revolution, could a 21st century revolt bring about the end of capitalism?

Since 1917, countless social movements have taken their cue from this momentous uprising, and its lasting impact on the world may yet to be felt fully. independent.co.uk/

1917 Russian Revolution: The gay community’s brief window of freedom

In January 1921 Russian Baltic Fleet sailor Afanasy Shaur organised an extraordinary gay wedding in Petrograd. At the time Russia’s gay community was enjoying a brief window of tolerance. bbc.com/

How colonial violence came home: the ugly truth of the first world war

The Great War is often depicted as an unexpected catastrophe. But for millions who had been living under imperialist rule, terror and degradation were nothing new theguardian.com/