News24 | Peet Viljoen arrested; Iran war left Tashas’ founder fearing the worst: Today’s top 7 stories

News24 brings you the top stories of the day, summarised into neat little packages. Read through quickly or listen to the articles via our customised text-to-speech feature.

- DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis has asked President Cyril Ramaphosa to remove John Steenhuisen from the Cabinet, as he is being demoted from agriculture minister to deputy minister of trade and industry.

- Willie Aucamp, the current minister of forestry, fisheries and the environment and a farmer himself, will replace Steenhuisen in the agriculture portfolio.

- Steenhuisen has been in conflict with farming organisation SAAI throughout his tenure and recently lost a court case regarding the private rollout of foot-and-mouth disease vaccines.

- The Hawks arrested disbarred lawyer Peet Viljoen at OR Tambo International Airport upon his arrival in South Africa after being deported from the US.

- Viljoen was arrested in connection with the alleged fraudulent sale of Johannesburg Property Company properties dating back to 2010.

- He is expected to appear on charges of fraud, theft and forgery in the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crime Court on Thursday.

- Ordering him to repay the state-funded millions spent on his legal fees in his corruption case will result in severe injustice, former president Jacob Zuma claimed.

- Zuma wants the Constitutional Court to overturn the ruling of the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria that he should repay the R28.9 million, with interest.

- He claimed he was a “victim” of the state’s illegal decision to provide him with the funds.

- Former DA leader Helen Zille’s decision to meet with March and March has drawn criticism from her party, with senior leaders saying she lacked permission to do so.

- Zille said she told Geordin Hill-Lewis about the meeting and did not need permission.

- She cautioned March and March leader Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma that renewed violence against foreigners would be disastrous for South Africa.

- Tashas founder Natasha Sideris feared business failure when the Iran war erupted, causing 30 to 40% sales drops at some UAE stores just as she was set to sign a major expansion deal.

- She credits working from the ground up in her father’s restaurant with building the grit and tenacity needed to lead through crises and make decisive decisions under pressure.

- The group now has 45 outlets across five countries and responded to the crisis by temporarily cutting salaries to preserve jobs, with Sideris emphasising humanity and treating staff as “one family”.

- As the changing of the guard is in motion in the Springboks set-up, the v