Weekly Review: D-Day For Bell Pottinger, Guptas' Global Gambit, And Gigaba's R7.8 Billion Bailout Plan

These are the top news and politics stories in South Africa from the second last week of August that you need to know.

1. D-DAY FOR BELL POTTINGER -- The UK's PR trade association has ruled Bell Pottinger broke its code of conduct for what the DA calls its "racially divisive" campaign on behalf of the Guptas in South Africa. The controversial firm's global professional reputation now hangs in the balance. Read here and here.

2. GUPTAS' GO (EVEN MORE) GLOBAL -- First it was ANN7 and The New Age, acquired by Mzwanele Manyi through 'vendor financing' for R450 million -- and the numbers didn't quite add up. A day later the Guptas had sold Tegeta - the mining company that scored the Optimum coal mine - to a mysterious Swiss-based company. The web gets stickier and stickier. Read here.

3. SAA's BAILOUT BILLIONS -- HuffPost SA revealed that finance minister Malusi Gigaba plans to push out a R7.8 billion bailout for South African Airways -- without any consultation or assessment. The airline, according to a MoneyWeb report, loses approximately R340 million a month. Read here.

These are more stories you shouldn't miss from the week that was:

1. MUGABE ON THE RUN -- The government dealt with Grace Mugabe's assault case in a "hamfisted" way, according to legal expert Nicole Fritz. "[Diplomatic immunity] is not a grant of impunity to persons so they can come and engage in grievous assault and then be beyond the reach of the law." Zim's first lady was allowed to fly home with no charges. Read here.

2. 'DISAPPEARING DATA' -- Vodacom's technical glitch caused a lot more harm than just the loss of data and airtime, with matriculant Bongani Mthobeni losing his university application and former public protector Thuli Madonsela commenting. Read here. But just why is data so expensive in South Africa compared to other countries? Here are some of the reasons -- but there could be hope on the horizon. Read here.

3. POLITICAL NO-GO-ZONE -- People in Marikana were not happy when presidential Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma called in to the site of the massacre as part of her campaign trail. In fact, they didn't let her even get out of the car and chased her away, accusing her of exploiting their pain. Read here.

4. UNEARTHING APARTHEID CRIMES -- How will justice look for Ahmed Timol so many years after his death at the John Vorster police station and why does it matter? Ferial Haffajee takes a look at the tragic sorry of his death, which reveals a "painful past of torture, detention and cover-ups oozing back into the national consciousness". Read here.

5. BUSINESS SPEAKS UP -- Business Leadership SA's CEO Bonang Mohale says business still believes in South Africa, despite all the political shenanigans going on. "South Africa's future and our future as businesses are inseparable. We want the transformation so many in this country need so desperately," he says. Read here.

6. 'KLIPPIES AND COKE' -- The Spectator should apologise to all South Africans for publishing an article in defence of apartheid and its architect, HF Verwoerd, according to academic Dr Jamie Miller. He forensically dissects the article and finds it's not only inaccurate, it's dangerous. Read here.

The HuffPost Weekly Review is a recap of the top three news and politics stories of the week that you cannot miss. The weekly roundup is released every Friday.

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