Top news items in major S. African media outlets

The following are highlights of South African major media outlets on Thursday.

-- Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Wednesday he is available to take on the position of president of the ANC in 2017 should he garner enough support to do so.

"It would be very humbling to get into a key position like that, to lead," said Ramaphosa. "I am available to stand," he said. (News24)

-- The rand fell over 2 percent on Thursday morning as the dollar was the chief beneficiary of the Federal Reserve's first and only interest-rate hike of 2016, rallying to a 10-month high against the yen after officials signalled a steeper path for borrowing costs. (Fin24)

-- Justice and Correctional Service Minister Michael Masutha said on Wednesday South Africa will continue to call for the abolition of the death penalty worldwide.

Masutha was speaking during the exhumation of the remains of 13 members of the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania's former armed wing, Poqo, who were executed by the apartheid government. (South African Broadcasting Corporation) Endite