The Brazilians were knocked out of the Champions League in the preliminary stage by Angolan side Wiliete SC last week and their response was not as powerful as Cardoso asked for from his players.

The quarterfinal mission has been accomplished by Sundowns but they were not at their best, maybe because of the many changes to the starting line-up made by Cardoso. The 54-year-old Portuguese gave rare starts to fringe players including Ricardo Goss, Mothobi Mvala, Thabo Cele, Sphelele Mkhulise, Siyanda Ndlovu and Antonio van Wyk.

The bench was also made up of some of the players who have had little or no action so far this season in Denis Onyango, Deano van Rooyen and Monnapule Saleng.

Some regular players were rested as Cardoso kept one eye on the Caf Super Cup against Algerian side USM Alger early next month here at Loftus.

Siyanda Ndlovu 👆🟡

Thundered in from an impossible angle 🤯

📺 Stream #CarlingKnockoutCup on DStv: https://t.co/B0jLrQW5cc pic.twitter.com/vXRTokcSDG

— SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) October 27, 2026

Visiting coach Ronnie Kanalelo went with his tried and tested players including Kagiso Mlambo, Siphosakhe Ntiya-Ntiya, Phillip Ndlondlo, Samkele Sihlali and Msindisi Kunene.

Sundowns opened the scoring in the 20th minute when Ndlovu got on the end of a delightful attacking move to smack a superb finish from an impossible angle past Gallants goalkeeper Mlambo after he was released by Iqraam Rayners.

Gallants started the second half with more purpose and were almost rewarded with the equaliser in the 56th, but Saketso Moremi was denied by Goss.

In the closing stages, Cardoso introduced forgotten attacker Saleng to replace Van Wyk and he was welcomed with loud cheers from Sundowns’ supporters in the stands.

Downs returns to action on Saturday with a clash against Durban City at Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg, where they will be looking to stay top of the Betway Premiership.

For Gallants, their mission to rise from the bottom of the standings continues when they host Siwelele FC, also in Rustenburg, on Friday night.

TimesLIVE

The department said the extended hours will enable eligible voters to collect their IDs or apply for IDs and temporary identity certificates (TICs).

From November 2 to November 4, Home Affairs offices will be open from 8am to 6pm to enable citizens to collect completed identity documents, apply for identity documents or obtain TICs where applicable.

On election day, November 4, offices will operate from 7am to 9pm, in alignment with the Electoral Commission of South Africa’s (IEC) operational hours.

“The department calls on South Africans who have applied for identity documents to collect their identity documents and exercise their right to vote,” the department said.

TimesLIVE

The two teams will be happy to have notched a hatful of goals ahead of Saturday’s huge Betway Premiership Soweto derby at FNB Stadium (3.30pm).

Wandile Duba’s stunning hat-trick saw Chiefs beat TS Galaxy 3-0 at FNB Stadium to ease the pressure on coach Fernando Da Cruz. Amakhosi had slumped to a single win in eight games in all competitions, including bowing out of the Caf Confederation Cup to Zambia’s Red Devils in the second preliminary round on Friday.

Pirates won by the same scoreline against Milford FC at Orlando Stadium, adding to their joy at reaching the Caf Champions League group stages with a 5-0 aggregate win against Namibia’s African Stars.

Wandile Duba lets his boots do the talking 🤫✌️#SSDiski | #CarlingKnockoutCup pic.twitter.com/pN5kTPByZf

— SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) October 27, 2026

Chiefs and Galaxy went to the break at 0-0, but three minutes into the second half, Duba broke the deadlock. Amakhosi won the ball on the right and some intricate inter-passing ended with Pule Modi dragging a pass across the face for Duba to bury the 48^th-minute opener.

Galaxy substitute Veluyeke Zulu fouled Mduduzi Shabalala in the area as referee Siyabulela Qunta pointed to the spot. Mfundo Vilakazi’s penalty was palmed by Rockets goalkeeper Melusi Mathebula onto the right upright, with Duba slotting on the follow-up in the 63rd.

Just three minutes later Shabalala’s through-pass released Duba to plant his and his teams’ third past Mathebula.

Pirates are shredding Milford's defence in Orlando ☠️🔥

📺 Stream #CarlingKnockoutCup on DStv: https://t.co/B0jLrQW5cc pic.twitter.com/i8iItPx5Y9

— SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) October 27, 2026

Pirates swept past Milford.

The Buccaneers were able to catch Mildford’s defence square on for all three of their goals, which all came before the break.

For their opener, playmaker Tshepang Moremi’s pass played Thapelo Mokobodi in to run through and finish past goalkeeper Siphamandla Hleza in the 17^th minute.

The Thalente Mbatha shrugged off a marker in the middle and played the pass that set Moremi down the right to round Hleza and roll in a finish for Bucs’ the second in the 34^th.

Moremi got his brace two minutes into first-half added time, beating the offside trap onto a stuning defence-splitting through-pass up by substitute Mpho Padime, who had replaced Ghampani Lungu in the 39^th.

TimesLIVE

Story audio is generated using AI

It’s been quite the introduction to Test cricket for Marques Ackerman.

Gloomy skies in Gqeberha, with Scott Boland seaming the ball one way then another.

Then to the third Test at Newlands, a series decider, and a flat pitch against a seemingly distracted Australian team and a morning of fun in the Cape Town sun on day one on Tuesday.

“I think there were a few loose balls, maybe them searching a little bit, just because there wasn’t as much on offer,” Ackerman said of the first session.

He scored 82 off 75 balls before lunch. His flashing Kookaburra blade sending the ball screaming to and over the boundary, sides of the pitch.

“You get those days where you get off to a bit of a flyer and you just go with that momentum,” he said.

Marques Ackerman 4,4,4,4 vs Starc

Give Him Some Respect my boy 😭, he's Test Legend. pic.twitter.com/tGl1kYQGD1

— Yash Jain (@yashjain4163) October 27, 2026

The art of Test match batting is knowing when to rein yourself in and that is a lesson that Ackerman clearly still needs to heed. It was interesting hearing him outline his acceptance of opening the batting, something he hadn’t done in first class cricket until last week at St George’s Park.

“I think playing the SA20 has given us a lot of different roles. So you’ve got to be quite flexible and you’ve got to make it work. Left-handers, you’re up the order, down the order, there’s match-ups, all that type of stuff. So you have to make it work,” said Ackerman.

The SA20 is also where he’s spent time with Aiden Markram, building a bond which Ackerman said helped him. “He’s been exceptional for me. That arm around the shoulder, giving me good advice as to what’s going to work, what to expect and backing certain options.

“I’ve batted with him before opening the batting in the SA20, so it’s quite a familiar relationship that we do have and having a guy like him with all the experience has been key for me.”

The SA20 has obviously been very good for South African cricket, but it probably wasn’t the right time to bring it up, given how South Africa’s innings collapsed on Tuesday.

Ackerman’s own dismissal was something you’d expect to see in a T20 match. Fearlessly attacking a spinner, but in Ackerman’s case on the first day, losing control and handing his wicket to the opposition too easily.

That’s the Nathan Lyon we know and that’s what he brings to this team.

Mitchell Starc

“You live by the sword and you die by the sword. I’ve learned that throughout my career,” said Ackerman. “I left a Test hundred out there, so I’m not really happy with that. But it’s good motivation for hopefully trying to get my first one the next time I get an opportunity.”

Mitchell Starc, one of Australia’s heroes on a day in which they fought back magnificently after appearing to be in dire straits in the first session, offered some insight from the opposition’s perspective on that dismissal.

Ackerman had already survived one opportunity when Nathan Lyon dropped him off his own bowling the second ball after lunch. But he kept attacking, and Lyon simply bided his time.

“I guess you can sort of see stuff starting to happen,” said Starc. “Clearly a young guy looking to score his first Test century — a 150 Test [match] off-spinner at the other end. Yeah, got the better of him in the end and held his nerve. That’s the Nathan Lyon we know and that’s what he brings to this team.”

Ackerman’s wicket opened the door for the tourists. Starc feared after the first session, that Australia could be in the field for two days. But a change in tactic from the seamers via the bouncer — “it’s in the kit bag for us,” Starc remarked — changed the complexion of the first day.

“We probably would have taken 329, before play started. But we can all agree we left a little bit out there today,” said Ackerman.

TimesLIVE

Story audio is generated using AI

A rescue operation is currently under way in the Eastern Cape to save three pupils and a community member trapped in the middle of a river in Mpindweni village, near Libode, as heavy rains continue to cause havoc in the province.

In an interview with the SABC on Tuesday night, King Sabata Dalindyebo Municipality mayor Mkhanyiseni Dudumayo said rescue teams were working to reach the trapped victims.

The four were reportedly stranded on a dry island in the middle of the river after heavy rains triggered widespread flooding and damaged infrastructure across the province.

“The rescue teams are currently in the river, trying to rescue them,” Dudumayo said.

The heavy flooding affected roads and bridges across the King Sabata Dalindyebo municipality.

Municipal spokesperson Olwethu Mabovula said the flash floods started at about 5pm on Monday.

The pupils had reportedly gone fishing when they became trapped as water levels rose. Mabovula said emergency services were contacted to assist, but low-lying clouds prevented a helicopter from being deployed. Rescue teams were expected to use boats to reach the children.

Dudumayo said heavy rain had affected roads across the municipality’s 37 wards, particularly in the coastal areas of Mqanduli and Coffee Bay.

He said teams had been dispatched to assess the damage and assist with rescue efforts at the Mthatha River, which forms part of the boundary between the King Sabata Dalindyebo and Nyandeni municipalities.

Areas affected include Alfred Nzo, O.R. Tambo, Amathole, Chris Hani District Municipalities and Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality.

Mabovula urged residents, particularly those in low-lying areas, to exercise caution and avoid building homes along riverbanks.

TimesLIVE

Police in the Free State have registered a case of murder for further investigation.

“It is alleged that at approximately 9.40pm, the deceased was at his residence when two unknown males approached him and called out to him. When he approached them, one of the suspects allegedly produced a firearm and shot him several times at close range,” police spokesperson Brig Thandi Mbambo said.

Mbana, who was also the DA’s Metsimaholo caucus leader, sustained multiple gunshot wounds and died at the scene. The suspects fled on foot.

Mbambo said Free State police commissioner Lt-Gen Thabang Lesia has activated the Zamdela Trio Task Team and Serious Organised Crime Unit to investigate the murder, trace and apprehend the suspects and establish the circumstances surrounding the incident.

“The motive for the killing has not yet been established, and it has not been confirmed whether the incident is politically motivated. All possible leads are being pursued as part of the ongoing investigation.”

Anyone with information should contact the investigating officer Capt Sandile Dladla at 082 453 6245 or 073 226 6788 or call Crime Stop on 08600 10111, or submit information anonymously through the MySAPS App.

The DA expressed sadness at the death of Mbana who it said will be remembered as a dedicated public servant and a champion of his community.

The party said Mbana joined the DA in 2017 and dedicated himself to political activism, community service and building the party’s grassroots structures.

“As caucus leader, through election campaigns and by-elections, and his work as a councillor and MMC for spatial planning and human settlements while the DA was in government in Metsimaholo, he remained committed to representing the people of Metsimaholo and ensuring their voices were heard,” the DA said.

The party extend its condolences to his wife, family, friends and colleagues.

It said Lesia informed the partly shortly after the shooting that police had a team investigating this incident.

“We trust the investigation will establish the motives and bring those responsible to justice.”

TimesLIVE

Story audio is generated using AI

By Sarah Morland

About 1,000 soldiers from El Salvador have been sent to Haiti in a string of deployments in recent days after four Salvadoran members of the UN-backed force in Haiti went missing, a security official in Haiti told Reuters on Tuesday.

It remains unclear who will command the new Salvadoran contingent, and how long they will operate in the Caribbean country.

The government, which has gone without elected leaders for years, has struggled to rally foreign support to fight armed gangs that have taken control of much of the capital and surrounding regions, triggering violence that has displaced nearly 1.5-million people.

Tensions have ratcheted up in Haiti since Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele announced a military operation to recover the missing Salvadorans, who have been unaccounted for since leaping from a burning vehicle during a gang ambush on the outskirts of the capital Port-au-Prince on October 18.

Bukele said they were air force technicians returning to base from a market and that he believed they were being held hostage by criminal groups.

No Haitian gang leader has taken responsibility for the attack. Gang leader Wilson Joseph of 400 Mawozo has released videos in which he denies holding the Salvadorans hostage and rejects responsibility for what happened to them.

Before the ambush, El Salvador had deployed at least 124 troops as part of the UN-backed Gang Suppression Force, according to a UN report. Bukele later said they were pilots and technicians sent to evacuate injured soldiers, not fight.

Bukele has not said how many soldiers he plans to send to Haiti. His office did not respond to requests for comment.

A US military official told Reuters the US Southern Command had provided C-130 military transport jets to partially help bring the Salvadoran troops to Haiti.

An Ecuadorean commercial airline, Aeroregional, has also scheduled further direct flights to Haiti on Tuesday, data from Flightradar24 showed. Aeroregional did not immediately respond to a request for comment and there are usually no direct flights between the two countries.

President Luis Abinader of the Dominican Republic, the only country to share a land border with Haiti, said in a press conference on Monday he was prepared to provide logistical support to the Salvadoran arrivals.

Reuters

Brazilian senator Flavio Bolsonaro has left the country for the US after losing Sunday’s presidential election and refusing to comply with a Supreme Court order to hand over his passports, two sources said.

The US embassy in Brazil did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Bolsonaro’s lawyer also declined to comment.

Bolsonaro was favoured to win Sunday’s presidential election but ended up losing in a shock result to leftist incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

On Monday, he was given 24 hours to hand in his passports as part of a money laundering probe in which he denies wrongdoing, but that deadline has now lapsed, two other sources said, leading to his documents being cancelled.

Flavio’s father, former president Jair Bolsonaro, also went to the US after refusing to concede losing to Lula in 2022.

He eventually returned to Brazil but was later given a 27-year sentence for plotting a coup. His son has yet to officially concede defeat — saying on Sunday he would seek the annulment of the result over alleged voter irregularities — but his Liberal Party said on Monday it acknowledged Lula’s victory.

A senior Brazilian federal police official said Bolsonaro has not exited the country via any regular migration point.

Right-wing influencer Paulo Figueiredo, who serves as a sort of unofficial spokesperson for the Bolsonaro family, declined to answer questions about Bolsonaro’s whereabouts.

“After months of intense work that has been unfairly thwarted, I am not in the mood to speak to the press,” he said in a message. “If I have any comments to make on any matter, I will get in touch.”

Eduardo Bolsonaro, Bolsonaro’s younger brother who lives in the US, said ahead of the vote that an election loss would require a move.

“If my brother does not win, I’m in favour of him leaving the country,” he told podcaster Steven Crowder this month.

Reuters

Brazil cancelled Senator Flavio Bolsonaro’s passports on Tuesday, after he failed to comply with a Supreme Court order to turn them in, according to two sources from the federal police, which is trying to locate the former presidential candidate.

Meanwhile, Argentina said it had no record of him entering its territory and the right-wing senator’s aides either declined to say where he was or said they did not know.

Bolsonaro was favoured to win Sunday’s presidential election but ended up losing in a shock result to leftist incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

On Monday, he was given 24 hours to hand in his passports as part of a money laundering probe in which he denies wrongdoing, but that deadline has now lapsed, the two sources said, leading to his documents being cancelled.

The mystery over his whereabouts has raised concerns he could follow the path of his father, former president Jair Bolsonaro, who moved to the United States after refusing to concede losing to Lula in 2022.

He eventually returned to Brazil but was later given a 27-year sentence for plotting a coup. His son has yet to officially concede defeat — saying on Sunday he would seek the annulment of the result over alleged voter irregularities — but his Liberal Party said on Monday it acknowledged Lula’s victory.

Argentina’s government said it had no record of Bolsonaro entering the country. Following media reports about a private plane at Iguazu International Airport on the Argentina-Brazil border, Argentine authorities checked the aircraft and its crew, finding no flight plan listing the Bolsonaro family, the statement added.

A spokesperson for right-wing Argentine President Javier Milei, who has yet to congratulate Lula on his victory, said, “There is no asylum request,” declining to give further details.

Meanwhile, a senior Brazilian Federal Police official said Bolsonaro has not exited the country via any regular migration point. Brazilians only need an ID card, rather than a passport, to enter neighbouring Argentina.

Right-wing influencer Paulo Figueiredo, who serves as a sort of unofficial spokesperson for the Bolsonaro family, declined to answer questions about Bolsonaro’s whereabouts.

“After months of intense work that has been unfairly thwarted, I am not in the mood to speak to the press,” he said in a message. “If I have any comments to make on any matter, I will get in touch.”

Eduardo Bolsonaro, Bolsonaro’s younger brother who lives in the US, said ahead of the vote that an election loss would require a move.

“If my brother does not win, I’m in favour that he would leave the country,” he told podcaster Steven Crowder on October 23.

Another source close to Bolsonaro said they could not reach him.

“I tried to talk to Flavio this morning by phone,” they said. “It rang and it rang, but he didn’t pick up.”

Reuters

Story audio is generated using AI

A 37-year-old man accused of defrauding four insurance companies of more than R2m by claiming for items he allegedly did not own has been granted R1,000 bail.

North West Hawks spokesperson Lt-Col Tinyiko Mathebula said Boitumelo Radingwana appeared in the Ottosdal magistrate’s court on Tuesday, facing four counts of fraud.

Mathebula said Radingwana was arrested on Monday by the Hawks’ serious commercial crime investigation unit in Mmabatho following an investigation into the alleged fraud.

The allegations relate to insurance policies Radingwana allegedly took out between April and August 2021 to cover personal items, including watches.

He allegedly submitted fraudulent documents to claim compensation for losses. However, an investigation allegedly revealed that he did not own the items for which he sought payment, Mathebula said.

Radingwana was granted R1,000 bail and the case was postponed to November 24 for a regional court date.

TimesLIVE

South Africa so wished it would have been boring. Opportunities to boost batting stats were wasted. A match is in the balance, when it really shouldn’t be. Australia, so down in the dumps at lunch, have life.

For the first session, this looked like being a great day for batting. 140 runs were scored in 27 overs. Marques Ackerman was walking down the pitch to Starc, chipping him over midwicket for four and then off the next ball, unfurling a deft late cut between second slip and gully that also raced across the pristine Newlands outfield.

Mitchell Starc at his very best 🤩

Late swing to dismiss Jansen 💥

📺 Stream #SAvAUS on DStv: https://t.co/rM90YyQxaw pic.twitter.com/0SMaAo7C9s

— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) October 27, 2026

Australia conceded 57 runs in the half hour leading up to lunch. There was talk of records set in the late 19th century and early 20th, being broken. Australia, missing Steve Smith — who failed a late fitness assessment shortly before the toss — wasn’t playing. The tourists looked bereft.

And then? Well stupid things happened. A lot. South African batters returned to the changeroom staring at the heavens.

The thrilling dominance of the first session was replaced by despondency. Why do they keep hooking and pulling? What the hell was Ackerman doing, 4.4 overs into the session dancing out of his crease trying to whack Lyon over the covers. A hundred was there for the taking. He didn’t take it.

Aiden Markram, so composed throughout the morning while Ackerman attacked, attempted to pull to Josh Hazlewood, and then seemed to regret doing so as he was doing so. That lack of conviction proved fatal.

Wiaan Mulder, who has starred with the ball in this series, but has so much more to offer with the bat, was out pulling too, for the third time this month. It’s time he put the shot away.

And then there was David Bedingham. Given the chance at No 3 he made 49 and 46 in Durban and here amid the carnage at the other end, he made a solid 50, filled with elegant strokeplay.

And then he did an inelegant thing, tried to hook Starc and gave Hazlewood a dancing-over-the-ropes catch at fine leg.

From 203/1, the Proteas imploded to 232/6. All the good lunch time vibes disappeared. Up in the changeroom, Shukri Conrad, removed his hat and rubbed his head. What was said at lunch, what unfolded afterwards, were totally unrelated.

5️⃣0️⃣ up 🙌

Markram loves playing the Aussies 🏏🌟

📺 Stream #SAvAUS on DStv: https://t.co/rM90YyQxaw pic.twitter.com/6snALtjpDn

— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) October 27, 2026

Pat Cummins, who was being ripped to shreds on Australian TV for his decision to bowl, had a smile on his face. That it was Nathan Lyon and Cooper Connolly who picked up two of the wickets wasn’t a concern. It may well become concerning for him as the pitch deteriorates, but Cummins wasn’t going to allow his mood to be turned sour like it was after the first session.

The Proteas had let him off the hook.

It is worth remembering that aside from Temba Bavuma — dismissed by off-spin for the third time in the series — and Markram, this is still a relatively inexperienced batting unit. It is understandable that Ackerman could get carried away with such a major landmark insight, and that Matthew Breetzke, can become tentative against spin.

But Test cricket is a harsh environment. Breetzke will know that having talked about how much he was looking forward to facing the Australians when watching the first Test from his couch.

As for those with more experience, they will know they made this too easy for Australia.

“I’d like to delete the first session,” Starc chirped, having finished with 6/72. South Africa would like to do the same with the last two.

Full scorecard here.

TimesLIVE

Story audio is generated using AI

Akilesh Gupta, an Indian national, appeared before the Lichtenburg district court on Tuesday on charges of murder, contravention of the Immigration Act, driving without a valid driver’s licence and malicious damage to property.

It is alleged that on October 19, Gupta was captured on video footage driving over an on-duty police officer. The officer sustained injuries and subsequently died. Gupta was initially charged with culpable homicide, which was later upgrading to murder.

Police identified the officer as W/O Ennice Nortman, 53, who was attached to North West provincial crime intelligence division in the Ngaka Modiri Molema district.

Police said Nortman sustained serious injuries after she was allegedly struck by a BMW SUV while crossing the driveway at Lichtenburg Mall along Dr Nelson Mandela Drive in Lichtenburg.

“She was on duty during the incident and was transported to hospital by emergency medical services for medical treatment. Sadly, she succumbed to her injuries later that evening,” police said in statement.

Gupta, 23, first appeared in court on October 21 and was remanded in custody until his next court appearance on Tuesday.

It is further alleged that Gupta does not possess valid documentation authorising him to remain in South Africa.

“He allegedly entered the country on a visitor’s visa in 2024, which has since expired,” National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Lindiwe Mabasa said.

The case was postponed until November 6 for the appointment of a Hindi interpreter and a possible bail application.

TimesLIVE

Geneva — Greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere reached unprecedented highs in 2025, potentially further warming the planet and leading to more extreme climate events, the World Meteorological Organisation said in a report on Tuesday.

The global average concentration of atmospheric CO₂ reached 426.8 parts per million in 2025, about 153% of the 1750 pre-industrial level, the report says. The level rose by 2.8 ppm from the previous year, a bigger annual increase than the average over the past decade.

Concentrations of other important greenhouse gases — methane and nitrous oxide — reached record highs in 2025, standing at 267% and 126% of pre-industrial levels, respectively. The report measures the amount of gas that accumulates in the atmosphere, not new annual emissions.

The WMO will share the findings with negotiators at the COP31 UN climate conference in Antalya, Turkey, in November, and warned that a powerful El Niño could push concentrations higher this year.

“Every additional part per million matters because it traps additional heat. In effect, we are supercharging the ocean and the atmosphere,” WMO deputy secretary-general Ko Barrett said.

“That means that heatwaves, tropical cyclones, and rainstorms are intensifying faster than our historical baselines prepared us for.”

This year, parts of the world, including Europe, saw scorching summer temperatures, as well as devastating floods in Asia and elsewhere.

El Niño likely to add to problem

The WMO said it expected CO₂ concentrations to rise further this year due to fossil fuel burning and the onset of a powerful El Niño, which will cause drier weather and make it harder for carbon sinks to absorb emissions.

The WMO also raised concern about sulphur hexafluoride (SF6), a greenhouse gas widely used in electrical equipment, saying its increase in 2025 was a record high. The global warming potential of SF6 is more than 24,000 times that of CO₂, and it can remain in the atmosphere for more than 1,000 years.

The agency also pointed to rising hydrogen concentrations, which increased 5.3% in 2010-24. Though hydrogen is not a greenhouse gas, leaks from infrastructure used to produce, transport and store it can affect atmospheric chemistry and indirectly contribute to warming. Hydrogen produced using renewable electricity can be used as a low-carbon fuel for transport.

The WMO said hydrogen leakage and the long persistence of SF6 could undermine some of the climate benefits of the global energy transition.

“The energy transition is essential and welcome, but as with every transition, it has to be done in a smart way and informed by environmental observations,” Barrett said.

Reuters

Story audio is generated using AI

By Essi Lehto

The leaders of Finland and Norway phoned Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday to urge him to end the war in Ukraine, breaking with a longstanding practice among Western European leaders of shunning direct contact with the Kremlin.

The call by Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere was an attempt to influence the diplomatic process after US President Donald Trump shifted his position in favour of Russia and US ties with Ukraine hit their lowest point in 18 months.

Stoere said he and Stubb had spoken to Putin for about 90 minutes and then to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

In a joint statement, they linked the initiative to planned peace discussions between Russian, Ukrainian and US officials in Abu Dhabi next month, their first since February.

Moscow and Kyiv remain far apart on how to end the war that began with Russia’s invasion in February 2022, and long-range airstrikes by both sides have increased this year while battle lines have remained largely static.

“The discussion (with Putin) was frank and substantive. We are neighbouring countries to Russia. The outcome of this war will have a direct impact on us and the broader European security. Ending the war requires direct discussions,” Stubb said.

Stoere said he and Stubb had “stressed the importance of de-escalation”. Both voiced strong support for Ukraine.

No softening

The Kremlin’s readout of the call did not suggest any softening of Putin’s position.

“It was emphasised that achieving a just and long-term peace is possible only if the legitimate interests of the Russian Federation are fully and unconditionally taken into account,” it said.

“At the same time, attention was drawn to the confrontational policies of EU and Nato countries, which are contributing to the prolongation of the hostilities.”

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday’s call had offered nothing new on the Ukraine conflict. He said the information war was likely to escalate, and that European countries were simply seeking a role in the negotiation process.

Western European leaders have mostly refused to talk to Putin, hoping to isolate him. But they have been sidelined in peace efforts led by US President Donald Trump, who is seen in many European capitals as unpredictable and prone to side with Putin at Ukraine’s expense.

That perception has been reinforced by deals this month in which Putin agreed to supply Russian diesel to the US and Trump eased sanctions on Russia. Ukraine has also complained of disruption to intelligence-sharing by the US and to satellite internet services on which its military relies.

Gerhard Mangott, an Austrian political analyst, said European governments had “manoeuvred themselves into a dead end” when it came to finding a solution to the war, and Tuesday’s call was an effort to establish a channel for dialogue.

He drew attention to remarks by Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov on Sunday suggesting Europe should be part of discussions.

“I interpret this as a shift in Russia’s position, given that Moscow had previously consistently rejected the idea of discussing a settlement of the war in Ukraine with the Europeans,” Mangott said.

Danish criticism

Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said the call had been co-ordinated with Kyiv and was “the right approach”.

“We welcome such active support for our diplomatic efforts and peace process,” he said, adding that he also hoped a local ceasefire around the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky could “pave the way to other steps in the peace process.”

But Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said she saw no signs that Russia wanted peace, adding, “I think Europe should stick together rather than going solo.”

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said other European leaders were not informed of the talks.

“My impression is that everyone wants peace, except for Putin himself. I have quite low expectations for this type of conversation,” Kristersson told Swedish daily DN.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said he had told Stubb and Stoere that “absolute caution and vigilance are necessary in such contacts”.

Stubb and Stoere said they acted as leaders of their respective countries and not on behalf of Europe and had “consulted thoroughly with all our partners”.

Russia has frequently accused European governments of stoking the war by arming Ukraine and refusing direct talks.

A source close to the Kremlin said French President Emmanuel Macron had been the last EU leader to speak with Putin — in a summer call that yielded no results and was not made public.

The source said Putin told Stubb and Stoere that the European involvement was welcome and that the war needed to end, “taking into account the realities on the ground”.

Asked what this meant, the person said it signified that Russia would not compromise over its aim to capture the whole of Ukraine’s Donbas region. The Europeans responded by saying a “just” peace was needed, the source said.

The two Nordic leaders may be less encumbered than their peers from larger European states such as Britain, France and Germany, whose ties with Moscow have deteriorated further.

German chancellor Friedrich Merz said attempts to end the war “can never find solutions without Ukraine” and must include European countries.

Merz said Germany and other European states wanted to establish a format to speak to Russia’s government and that Norway and Finland were playing “a very constructive role” in that effort.

The Kremlin said Putin, Stoere and Stubb would keep in touch by phone.

Reuters

London ― Russian IT specialist Yuri Belenky has been sentenced to 13 years in jail on charges of financing terrorism after the cryptocurrency exchange Binance passed details to Moscow of his donations to Ukrainian fundraising campaigns.

The 2nd Western District Military Court on Monday convicted Belenky and sentenced him to three years in prison plus 10 years in a strict-regime penal colony, according to a court statement.

Belenky, who has a Bulgarian residence permit, was detained in September last year when he flew to Moscow for a visit and has been in custody since. He denied the charges, according to the court.

Belenky had responded to online appeals to help buy medical equipment for Ukrainian soldiers by transferring money from his Binance accounts to the Ukrainian military, according to Russian law enforcement documents seen by Reuters. Some payments went to the Azov Brigade or Azov Regiment, a particular bete noire for Moscow.

Russian investigators

The same documents showed that Binance provided Russian investigators with Belenky’s transaction history last year, including records of transfers to Ukrainian fundraising campaigns, in response to a Russian request, and that the records were instrumental in prosecuting him, Reuters reported in August.

According to the records, Belenky sent more than $700 to the Ukrainian military in response to an online appeal by Arkady Babchenko, an exiled Russian critic of the Kremlin who supports Ukraine.

“The response from Binance serves as key evidence in the criminal case against Belenky,” said Yevgeny Smirnov, a lawyer with the rights group First Department, which assists people facing politically motivated prosecutions in Russia.

Rights advocates who monitor such prosecutions said dozens of Russians have been convicted in recent years for donations made through cryptocurrency platforms to causes that authorities later classified as extremist or terrorist. Many used cryptocurrency because they believed it would keep their identities secret.

Asked on Tuesday about the sentence, Binance referred Reuters to a previous statement in which it said the exchange “does not make or enforce the laws of any jurisdiction, determine charges or decide how any government uses information in legal proceedings”. It said it does not comment on confidential law enforcement requests or individual cases.

A lawyer who specialises in crypto regulation, Mike Bystrov, said in August that Binance, which left Russia in 2023 after Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent imposition of Western sanctions, had been under no obligation to provide Belenky’s data.

He said it might, in fact, have had obligations under EU data-protection law not to do so because of Belenky’s Bulgarian residency status.

Reuters

Story audio is generated using AI

The Mokopane magistrate’s court has denied bail to Mogalakwena municipal manager Morris Maluleke.

Maluleke, 43, appeared in court on October 16 to apply for bail, which was opposed by the state.

“The state argued that Maluleke faces serious charges of fraud, corruption and money laundering. It further submitted that he may interfere with witnesses and ongoing investigations, and that his release on bail would not be in the interests of justice at this stage,” National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson in Limpopo Mashudu Malabi said.

The court upheld the state’s submissions and denied Maluleke bail, finding he failed to discharge, on a balance of probabilities, the onus to show that he should be granted bail.

Maluleke was arrested on October 7, together with his company, Bona Cord Vulstasie, in connection with allegations arising from a municipal fleet management contract.

The state alleges that Maluleke initially approved a fleet contract valued at about R4m and later authorised payments totalling R24m, allegedly resulting in a substantial financial loss to the municipality.

The state further alleges that, in December 2022, Maluleke irregularly awarded a R24m fleet tender to Fleetmove (Pty) Ltd without following the prescribed supply chain management processes.

“Although payments allegedly began in January 2023, services were only rendered between April and May 2023, after the municipality’s legal division threatened to terminate the contract,” Malabi said.

Malabi said the investigation also uncovered allegations that payments totalling R230,000, which the state believes were kickbacks, were made into an account linked to Maluleke through a company of which he is the sole director.

The case was postponed until November 3 for further investigation.

TimesLIVE

The open-top Grand Sport Vitesse, the final version of the Veyron lineage, carries an estimate of CHF2.6m to CHF3.3m (R54m to R68m). Chassis 015 was displayed on Bugatti’s stand at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show to mark the model’s introduction. Finished in Jet Grey with a Tangerine and black Italian leather interior, it is one of just 92 examples produced.

A 2018 Ford GT is estimated at CHF600,000 to CHF700,000 (R12.5m to R14.5m). Finished in yellow with black racing stripes, the European-delivered example had covered 1,642km at the time of cataloguing. It comes from the model’s initial production run of 1,350 cars. The modern GT draws on the heritage of the original GT40, which won the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race in the late 1960s.

A 2008 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Edition Roadster developed by McLaren Special Operations (MSO) carries an estimate of CHF575,000 to CHF675,000 (R12m to R14m). Only six roadsters of this edition were produced.

Finished in Anthracite Grey, it has an Anthracite leather and Alcantara interior with McLaren Orange diamond stitching. Its specification includes a carbon-fibre aerodynamic package, a Handling Package, a ceramic-coated sports exhaust and 722 S wheels.

Power comes from a hand-built Mercedes-AMG V8 engine. Compared with the SLR 722 Edition, the MSO model produces 15% more downforce and weighs 50kg less.

Classic Mercedes-Benz and Ferrari models

A 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing Coupé is estimated at CHF1.35m to CHF1.65m (R28m to R34m). One of 155 examples delivered in Fire Engine Red, it was originally owned by Alex Raymond, creator of the Flash Gordon comic strip.

According to the auction house, the car remains unrestored and is being offered for the first time in 32 years. It is eligible for historic motoring events, including the Mille Miglia Storica.

A 1966 Ferrari 275 GTS carries the same estimate of CHF1.35m to CHF1.65m (R28m to R34m). Finished in Giallo yellow with a black leather interior, it is one of 200 examples produced. Described as a matching-numbers example, it comes with a Ferrari Classiche Red Book issued in 2011, documenting its certification by the marque’s heritage division.

The catalogue also features a 2020 Aston Martin DB5 Goldfinger Edition, estimated at CHF750,000 to CHF950,000 (R15.5m to R19.5m). Aston Martin Works produced 25 examples of the special edition, inspired by the DB5 driven by James Bond in the 1964 film Goldfinger.

The cars feature working novelty gadgets, including simulated machine guns, a revolving number plate and an extending rear bullet shield. This example also has an optional removable roof panel above the passenger seat. It is finished in Silver Birch, the colour associated with the original film car.

Roadsters and performance cars

A 1996 Alfa Romeo RZ is estimated at CHF65,000 to CHF85,000 (R1.35m to R1.75m). The Roadster Zagato was produced in a limited run of 278 cars and uses Alfa Romeo’s 3.0l Busso V6 engine.

Finished in black with a burgundy leather interior, this example has covered 35,918km and has been with its current owner for more than 10 years.

A 1991 BMW Z1 modified by AC Schnitzer carries an estimate of CHF65,000 to CHF92,500 (R1.35m to R1.9m). It is believed to be one of only 10 Z1s to receive the tuner’s performance modifications. Built in the final year of Z1 production, it is powered by a modified 2.7l BMW M20 inline-six engine producing 145kW.

A 1986 Lamborghini 5000 QV is estimated at CHF550,000 to CHF750,000 (R11.5m to R15.5m). Finished in red with a Champagne leather interior, it was built for the US market in February 1986 before being exported to Switzerland, where it has remained.

The sale also includes a 2013 Radical SR3 SL, a track-focused car that can be driven on public roads. It carries an estimate of CHF70,000 to CHF90,000 (R1.45m to R1.85m).

One of 55 examples produced, the road-legal racing car was imported to Switzerland as the model’s local homologation vehicle. EAS Fahrzeugtechnik rebuilt it in 2019, and it received an upgraded TTE turbocharger in 2024.

The Radical has three selectable power outputs: 177kW, 221kW and 242kW. It is being offered without reserve, meaning there is no minimum sale price set by the seller.

The full auction catalogue is available to view online.

TimesLIVE

Story audio is generated using AI

The Vereeniging labour centre was temporarily closed on Tuesday after an occupational health and safety (OHS) inspection identified maintenance and infrastructure defects that did not meet required safety standards and issued a prohibition notice for the facility.

The department of employment and labour said the closure came five days after a strategic operational pause enacted at its Soweto facility.

It said rather than viewing these consecutive notices as isolated setbacks, the department was treating them as an aggregated mandate to enforce absolute compliance.

“We are taking immediate, decisive ownership of our infrastructure footprint,” said Tshepo Mokomatsidi, the department’s chief director of Gauteng operations.

He said the department’s staff and the public deserved facilities that met every standard of safety and human dignity and that the department would not operate under a cloud of compromise.

A combined task team and contractors, through the department of public works and infrastructure, has already been deployed to the Vereeniging site to initiate immediate corrective works on the infrastructure defects flagged by the inspectors.

The facility will remain closed to the public until the inspectorate has re-examined the building, verified complete adherence to the OHS Act, and formally lifted the prohibition notice.

“The department unreservedly apologises for the cumulative inconvenience caused by these building closures,” the department said.

Vereeniging officials will for now adopt a hybrid working model.

Staff will work remotely and link with operational sister branches to ensure back-office applications, claims processing and general queries are managed seamlessly.

The department said clients in the Vaal region who require urgent face-to-face assistance are advised to redirect to the department’s closest operational service points.

TimesLIVE

Story audio is generated using AI

By Camillus Eboh

Abuja ― A group of 37 suspected illegal miners died in detention in Nigeria as a result of severe overcrowding, poor ventilation and neglect, according to a government investigation into their deaths.

The investigating committee, set up after the deaths last month sparked outrage in Nigeria, rejected earlier claims by officials that an outbreak of disease was to blame and called for compensation for victims and survivors as well as an overhaul of the agency involved.

The deaths, which included many teenagers working in ‌artisanal gold mines, triggered protests in Nigeria, raising fresh concerns about conditions in detention facilities and the treatment of suspects awaiting trial.

Deaths were ‘entirely preventable’

Jonathan Kure, chair of the committee, said the deaths were “entirely preventable” and a result of severe overcrowding, deprivation of basic necessities and ignored warnings.

“The tragedy demonstrates the consequences of systemic disregard for detention standards, supervisory responsibilities, and the welfare of persons in custody,” Kure said after his committee reviewed evidence, including detention records, autopsies, hospital reports and communication logs.

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The evidence showed the victims died from asphyxia, an acute respiratory failure caused by prolonged confinement in a severely overcrowded, poorly ventilated cell, worsened by heat stress and dehydration, Kure said.

“The evidence did not support claims that the deaths resulted from a disease outbreak,” Kure said.

The NSCDC, the paramilitary agency that locked up the miners as part of efforts to regulate mining, initially suggested the detainees may have died from an unspecified disease before later saying the cause had not been established.

The panel recommended 30-million naira (about $22,500) in compensation for each victim’s family and 10-million naira for each of the 41 survivors.

The findings are in line with testimonies from survivors who said that dozens of artisanal miners were crammed into a small holding cell and repeatedly ignored after complaining of overcrowding.

The government has suspended senior NSCDC officials pending the investigation, but the panel called for a sweeping overhaul of the agency’s leadership.

Reuters

A sharp selloff in Brazilian markets on Monday after leftist president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s surprise re-election is pressuring the veteran leader to pick a finance minister who can send a signal of fiscal discipline and reassure markets.

Sources say Lula is likely to take his time. But three sources who spoke on condition of anonymity said two key names have emerged: vice-president Geraldo Alckmin and Rafael Fonteles, the re-elected governor of Piauí state who revitalised Lula’s flagging campaign after trailing in the first round to right-wing senator Flavio Bolsonaro.

Here is a rundown of Lula’s choices:

Who is Fonteles?

Mathematician Fonteles, 41, is seen as a fiscally disciplined technocrat who could bridge the gap between Lula’s administration and wary investors.

He holds a master’s degree in mathematical economics and served as Piauí’s finance secretary from 2015 to 2022. He also completed two terms as head of Comsefaz, which represents state finance secretaries.

Who is Alckmin?

Alckmin, 73, comes from the Brazilian Socialist Party and was once the president’s centre-right rival who lost to Lula in the 2006 presidential election. He is also a former two-term governor of São Paulo and ex-trade and development minister.

Reuters reported earlier this month that Lula was weighing Alckmin as finance minister to bolster his fiscal credibility and win over centrist voters.

What is working for and against Fonteles?

Fonteles gained prominence in Lula’s campaign after a shakeup that followed Lula’s first-round finish behind Bolsonaro.

A member of Lula’s Workers’ Party (PT), he is a close ally of Lula’s former education minister and senator-elect Camilo Santana. The two worked together on Lula’s campaign in Brazil’s northeast, where the president secured a commanding lead.

In his victory speech, Lula thanked Fonteles for his role in the campaign but noted that the governor still had a “mission to fulfil in Piauí”, which some allies read as a sign he may be reluctant to bring him into the cabinet so soon.

What is working for or against Alckmin?

In his victory speech, Lula lavished praise on Alckmin’s loyalty and even handed him the microphone before speaking himself. Lula wants a finance minister he trusts completely, one of the sources said. Alckmin is someone Lula trusts “100%,” another source noted.

“There are very few people outside the PT who have that kind of relationship with Lula today,” one of the sources said.

Lula, however, may ultimately decide to retain current finance minister Dario Durigan, said the sources.

While Durigan lacks the political weight of some rivals, Lula is said to value him highly and view him as an “effective operator”, according to a fourth source.

It could come down to the chief of staff

The three sources said Lula’s choice of finance minister has become increasingly intertwined with whether Lula makes former finance minister Fernando Haddad his chief of staff.

Haddad, a member of the PT, left the finance ministry earlier this year to run for governor of São Paulo at Lula’s request — despite polls pointing to a likely defeat — to bolster the president’s base in Brazil’s most populous state. He lost.

Both Durigan and Alckmin, who are from outside the PT, are seen as having close ties to Haddad, which would also help ensure alignment between the finance ministry and the presidential palace.

Two sources also said that Lula understands that, given current market conditions, a PT figure alone would struggle to curb the slide in the Brazilian real or the surge in long-dated interest rate futures. This could boost Durigan and Alckmin’s chances of being finance minister if Haddad is chief of staff.

Reuters

Story audio is generated using AI

Terry-Anne Hart, founder and CEO of Fighters Club Boxing Promotions, returns with a two-pronged boxing event — a seven-bout hardcore boxing tournament and the official launch of the “Surviving Silver Lakes” women’s empowerment and boxing initiative series — on November 14.

The initiative helps female boxers sharpen their skills, share their stories, build careers, and find their voices in the sport.

Hart staged the IBO world junior lightweight championship bout between newly crowned champ Bernice “The Badger” Ferreira and Ellen “The Tigress” Simwaka at the Wild Coast Sun in Bizana, Eastern Cape, on May 9.

Her subsequent high-profile event, “Fight Like a Woman: Battle at the Island”, which was planned for the GrandWest Arena in Cape Town in August, had to be postponed after her house was burnt down and partners pulled out at a late stage.

Fighters Club Boxing Promotions’ media liaison officer, Luthando “Trompies” Zibeko, assured the fight fraternity that his boss was working around the clock to prepare for the November tournament.

We want women in boxing to have consistent opportunity to compete, be seen and build careers

Terry-Anne Hart, Fighters Club Boxing Promotions

“We have put all the setbacks aside [referring to the cancelled August tournament] and instead look forward to contributing to the development of boxing in the country

“These are exciting times in SA boxing ... and as a promotions company, we hope to add to that excitement.

Asanda “The Golden Girl” Simelane and Noxolo Magagula will headline the card with a six-round catchweight bout.

That reflects Fighters Club’s commitment to creating competitive opportunities and greater visibility for female boxers.

Hart said: “We want women in boxing to have consistent opportunity to compete, be seen and build careers.

She described “Surviving Silver Lakes” as a women-focused boxing reality series exploring fighters’ training, competition, personal development and ambition beyond the ring.

“The launch gives our guests a closer look at the platform we are building and the women at its heart,” she said. “Their discipline, ambition and determination deserve an audience beyond fight night.”

SA bantamweight champ Nomusa Ngema and national featherweight holder Ntombokuqala “Desert Flower” Tolashe will meet in a six-round, non-title featherweight bout.

Action will begin at 7pm.

Sowetan

The unrest, which follows the deaths of two Israeli soldiers shot by Palestinian gunmen at a checkpoint last week, unfolded as Israelis were voting in an election in which the country’s posture in the West Bank has been a major political issue.

Some Palestinian officials have accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of launching a crackdown in the West Bank to coincide with the vote, as a way to energise his right-wing supporters. The government says its operation is a response to the attack on its soldiers.

A group of Palestinian men, women and children gathered at Tuesday’s protest. One elderly man held a placard that said: “No to collective punishment, no to closures, and no to displacement.”

The military said it had fired a stun grenade to disperse them so that its operation could continue.

On Monday, the UN said more than 3,000 Palestinians had been forced from their homes by the Israeli military operation, which targeted neighbourhoods near the checkpoint where Palestinian gunmen killed the two Israeli soldiers on Friday.

Where is the democracy in all of this? Their elections are today, sure, but what about us? Aren’t we human beings? We want to go out, we want to visit the doctor

Noura Nassar, displaced resident

“Collective punishment is a grave violation of international law,” said UN human rights chief Volker Türk in a statement. “Threats to empty and erase entire neighbourhoods also raise serious concerns of ethnic cleansing.”

The Israeli military said in a statement on Sunday that troops would carry out demolitions in the area. It said soldiers had not located any weapons in searches of the houses.

Since Friday’s attack on the checkpoint, Israel has blocked the entrances to most Palestinian cities and towns across the West Bank, severely curtailing Palestinians’ freedom of movement.

Noura Nassar, a displaced resident who attended the protests, said she had struggled to get medical treatment because of the blockages.

“Where is the democracy in all of this? Their elections are today, sure, but what about us? Aren’t we human beings? We want to go out, we want to visit the doctor,” said Nassar.

Netanyahu and his main rival, Gadi Eisenkot, both oppose the creation of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel. Residents expelled from the Hebron neighbourhood said Tuesday’s election in Israel would do little to change the reality on the ground in territories Israel has occupied since 1967.

“Among themselves they will elect who is the oppressor and who will destroy the Palestinian people. That is their election,” said Sana’ Salman Abu Sneineh, another expelled resident.

Netanyahu’s government has presided over a rapid expansion of Israeli settlements, which are deemed illegal by UN bodies and ​most countries, though ⁠Israel disputes this. Under Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition there has also been a surge of militant settler violence against Palestinians.

Reuters

Spain has returned to Morocco more than a dozen sub-Saharan African and Asian migrants who reached the Spanish enclave of Ceuta and were turned down for asylum, the first deportation of its kind from the enclave since a mass border crossing in July.

The interior ministry said the group had been sent back to Morocco after it agreed to receive them, and they remain on Moroccan territory at present.

It declined to give numbers or nationalities, but migrant and rights charities operating in Ceuta said 16 people from Senegal, Nigeria, Yemen, Cameroon and Bangladesh were deported.

The NGOs claim such returns fail to take into account the risks associated with Morocco’s treatment of migrants from other countries and fly in the face of the values espoused by Spain’s leftist government.

Spain, despite its (progressive) speeches in Europe, is not ensuring that human rights guarantees are met for people who cross its borders in Ceuta and Melilla

Virginia Alvarez, an Amnesty International researcher

Virginia Alvarez, an Amnesty International researcher, said Spain’s posture was hypocritical.

“Spain, despite its (progressive) speeches in Europe, is not ensuring that human rights guarantees are met for people who cross its borders in Ceuta and Melilla,” she said. “Morocco does not respect many human rights.”

Neither Morocco’s interior ministry nor the International Organisation for Migration, which co-operates with Moroccan authorities on voluntary return programmes for third country nationals or migrants, responded to Reuters requests for comment.

A spokesperson for Spain’s interior ministry told Reuters that Morocco is considered by the EU to be a safe country, and deportations are carried out “with all the necessary safeguards”, without providing further details.

Over 48 hours in July, some 80,000 people crossed from Morocco into Ceuta, a tiny enclave that, along with Melilla, represents Europe’s only land borders with Africa. While most returned within days, thousands remain and Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s government is under pressure from the EU and a frustrated populace to fix the Ceuta crisis before elections on November 29.

Spanish authorities are housing 8,000 migrants in reception centres and processing asylum applications lodged by the majority of people remaining in Ceuta.

Several NGOs, including Amnesty International, have complained to the Spanish ombudsman that some of the more than 13,000 people the government says have returned to Morocco voluntarily since the middle of August were forced to leave, including non-Moroccans.

Reuters

The report by the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel examined violations against Palestinian civilians, including children, since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas on October 7 2023 up to September this year.

It said Israeli authorities had kept committing “genocidal acts with the genocidal intent to destroy, in whole or in part, the Palestinians in Gaza”, and that the situation had also continued to deteriorate in the occupied West Bank.

Another report by the commission in September last year found that Israel had committed genocide ​in Gaza and that top Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, incited these acts — accusations that Israel called scandalous.

The Israeli mission in Geneva said the latest report was part of a misinformation campaign to demonise the state of Israel.

“The attempt to destroy the Jewish state ... continues today through efforts by actors such as the UN Commission of Inquiry to undermine Israel’s legitimacy and deny its fundamental right to exist and defend itself,” ambassador Daniel Meron said in a statement.

Heavy munitions hit populated areas, commission says

The commission found that Israeli forces continued using heavy munitions, drones, quadcopters, artillery and sniper fire in densely populated areas during the ceasefire in Gaza.

It said the “Yellow Line”, which was presented as a temporary ceasefire demarcation, was encroaching increasingly into Gaza and becoming a de facto border, which the report said reflected Israel’s expanding territorial control of Gaza.

Palestinian authorities say more than 74,000 ​people have been killed in Israel’s assault on Gaza, launched after Hamas-led fighters killed about 1,200 people ​in southern Israel on October 7, 2023.

In its report to the UN General Assembly, the commission said the situation in the West Bank had also deteriorated sharply, with the number of Palestinians killed in airstrikes increasing from six between 2008 and October 6, 2023, to 254 between October 7 2023 and September 30, 2026.

Commission chair Srinivasan Muralidhar said the intentional killing of Palestinian civilians and destruction of homes in the West Bank was part of a broader strategy to exterminate and displace Palestinians.

Military operations since January 2025 have led to the largest displacement of Palestinians in the West Bank since 1967, with 34,176 Palestinians remaining displaced as of August 2026, the report said.

The commission also faulted the Palestinian Authority, saying it had targeted Palestinians who voice dissenting views and that journalists and human rights defenders had been killed and injured.

Reuters

The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) mines minister has suspended the head of the state agency overseeing artisanal and small-scale mining, accusing him of failing to prevent illegal mining on licensed concessions, according to an order seen by Reuters.

Minister Louis Kabamba Watum suspended Jean-Paul Kadiobo Kapongo, director-general of the Service d’Assistance et d’Encadrement de l’Exploitation Miniere Artisanale et a Petite Echelle (SAEMAPE), on October 21, the document shows.

The order says Kapongo failed to take necessary measures to prevent illegal artisanal mining on concession areas, particularly in the copper- and cobalt-rich provinces of Lualaba and Haut-Katanga. Kapongo did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The order also accused him of improperly establishing SAEMAPE revenue-collection services inside concession areas, depriving permit holders of the full use of their rights and exposing the state to potential liabilities arising from damages suffered by third parties. The suspension took immediate effect and was formally communicated to government agencies and provincial authorities on October 22.

The DRC, the world’s largest cobalt producer and second-largest copper producer, is grappling with a resurgence in artisanal mining as higher metal prices draw thousands of informal miners into licensed areas, creating tensions with industrial operators.

Major operators include CMOC, Glencore, Ivanhoe Mines and Eurasian Resources Group (ERG).

Kinshasa, which is pursuing separate minerals partnerships with the US, China and Europe, has stepped up mining reforms and enforcement as it seeks to improve governance and attract investment.

Authorities this week also restarted operations at the Musompo trading centre near Kolwezi, a key facility designed to improve transparency in mineral sales through certified weighing and analysis.

Reuters

He is accused of attempted murder.

Video courtesy of SABC.

TimesLIVE

Officials are now investigating the possible contamination.

Mayor Nasiphi Moya said the water was not distributed to communities and that tanker collections from the hydrant had been halted as a precaution.

A City of Tshwane water tankers dispose of water collected from a Cullinan hydrant after possible water deterioration that has prompted the city to halt tanker collections as a precaution.

Videos: City of Tshwane (Supplied) pic.twitter.com/Qqpi6XZVnj

— Sowetan (@Sowetan1981) October 27, 2026

Two tankers had collected water from the hydrant before the problem was reported. They were immediately withdrawn from service and the water discarded, said Moya on her X account.

All tankers that had already collected water were instructed to return to the hydrant, dispose of their loads and begin flushing while investigations continued.

Supply has been halted and the water was not delivered to communities. Trucks have been instructed to discard the water

Nasiphi Moya, Tshwane mayor

The city’s scientific services team will assist with testing water from hydrants in Cullinan, Rayton and Refilwe.

The incident has delayed water deliveries to residents who rely on tanker supplies, as the municipality works to approve an alternative collection point.

“Supply has been halted and the water was not delivered to communities. Trucks have been instructed to discard the water,” said Moya.

She apologised for the disruption, saying the delay would continue while compliance procedures for the alternative hydrant were being finalised.

The incident comes as Bronkhorstspruit and surrounding areas are battling with an outbreak of gastrointestinal illnesses that have resulted in over 800 confirmed cases. According to the city, the Bronkhorstspruit water treatment plant failed to chlorinate municipal water for approximately three weeks due to tender issues, leading to E coli contamination.

The city said its teams are testing the water supply and it is awaiting the results before determining the next steps.

Sowetan

After dominating in the morning, when they scored 140 runs in 27 overs, the Proteas looked rattled at 221/4 at tea, with David Bedingham on 41 and Ryan Rickelton, still new to the crease on 2, needing to consolidate.

Having worn hangdog expressions as they walked off at lunch, the Australians had a pep in their step two hours later, with both Marques Ackerman and Aiden Markram giving away their wickets.

5️⃣0️⃣ up 🙌

Markram loves playing the Aussies 🏏🌟

📺 Stream #SAvAUS on DStv: https://t.co/rM90YyQxaw pic.twitter.com/6snALtjpDn

— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) October 27, 2026

Ackerman, who was dropped off the second ball after lunch by Nathan Lyon in his follow-through, learnt no lessons from that let-off and two overs later was stumped attempting to blast the Australian off-spinner over the covers.

It was silly batting, and the last thing Shukri Conrad would have advised at lunch. Could it have been nerves with a hundred in sight? Given his form in the last year, one wouldn’t expect that to be the case.

It had been an aggressive innings, full of audacious strokeplay — but to get out in the manner he did so soon after the break, with a hundred there for the taking, was irresponsible.

What a shot! 😳

Aiden Markram is giving the belt treatment to Pat Cummins and I'm loving it!!! pic.twitter.com/cdzPwqPlzg

— Troll cricket unlimitedd (@TUnlimitedd) October 27, 2026

Ackerman scored 95 and will have difficulty falling asleep as he ponders the five runs he didn’t score and the frenetic way he chased them. The 158-run opening-wicket partnership looks good on paper, but if Australia contrive to win this match, there’ll be a lot of pondering over what could have been.

Markram will have similar regrets about a loose pull short against Josh Hazlewood that was top-edged to deep backward square leg, where Mitchell Starc held a good diving catch. Markram had looked like he was in for the long haul, showing the kind of patience one expects from a senior player. He then inexplicably threw it away when he had 78.

That opened the door for the tourists, with Lyon bowling last week’s hero Temba Bavuma with a peach that was beautifully flighted and which the South African captain thought would spin but instead drifted past the outside edge and onto the off-stump.

It was the third time Bavuma had fallen to off-spin in the series, and the second time to Lyon. The only Test in which he didn’t, Lyon wasn’t playing and Bavuma made 179.

Five minutes before tea, it turned worse for the South Africans, with Matthew Breetzke trapped lbw for 2 to give Cooper Connolly, one of four changes to the Australian team for this Test, his first wicket.

Breetzke was late in bringing his bat down and umpire Richard Kettleborough, standing in his 100th Test, didn’t raise his finger. But the Australians correctly chose to review, with the television replays showing the ball had struck the pad fractionally before meeting the bat.

The Proteas lost 4/81 in 26 overs in the middle session. Australia was understandably over the moon and the travails of the morning are now long forgotten, with a compelling final session in the offing.

Machado, the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, was greeted by tens of thousands of supporters on Sunday after 10 months abroad, following several failed return attempts that have strained her ties with US President Donald Trump’s administration.

“The committee expresses its hope that her return will strengthen the democratic opposition and its peaceful struggle for democracy,” the award body said.

Machado was barred from running against then-President Nicolas Maduro in the 2024 election and left the country after a crackdown on the opposition. The US military captured Maduro in early January and he was replaced by his former vice-president, Delcy Rodríguez.

A few weeks later, Machado gave her Nobel Peace Prize medal to Trump in recognition of what she called his commitment to the freedom of the Venezuelan people.

Trump thanked Machado for the accolade but has repeatedly said he deserves to receive the prestigious award himself, calling it disgraceful and embarrassing that the committee chose other candidates.

The awards committee said at the time the prize remains inseparably linked to the person or organisation that won it, though the medal can be given away.

“Much has changed in recent months, but the task remains urgent: Venezuela still requires a democratic transition founded on fundamental rights, political participation and free elections,” the committee said on Tuesday.

Reuters

Story audio is generated using AI

The defence for the accused charged with the murder of rapper Kiernan “AKA” Forbes and his friend Tebello “Tibz” Motsoane has grilled the state’s leading witness over his expertise to analyse CCTV footage.

KwaZulu-Natal organised crime unit sergeant Rajen Sanders, who has collected 17 video clips to track the movements of the accused, last week linked three men to being the spotter, tail and supplier of guns that killed AKA and Tibz in the Durban high court.

The two were gunned down as they left the now-defunct Wish restaurant on Florida Road in Durban on February 10 2023.

On Friday, he named accused five Lindokuhle Mhlaliseni Ndimande, 29, as one of the spotters in the gang who plotted the musician’s death.

Ndimande and Lindokuhle Thabani Mkhwanazi, 30, Lindani Zenzele Ndimande, 35, Siyanda Eddie Myeza, 23, Mziwelithini Gwabeni, 36, Malusi Dave Ndimande, 30, and Siyabonga Gezani Ndimande, 31, pleaded not guilty to charges including murder, attempted murder and illegal possession of firearms when the trial began on October 5.

Sanders who was in the witness box for the third day on Tuesday previously named Gwabeni as the tail who followed AKA and his crew from the time they landed at King Shaka International airport.

Ndimande’s legal representative Adv Muzi Mzelemu however questioned Sanders on whether he had the expertise to make positive identifications.

“I put it to you that you don’t possess any proficiency or expertise in facial recognition and body measurements; that is to analyse the physique of individuals,” said Mzelemu.

Mzelemu also asked Sanders how he would describe the quality of the footage.

Sanders responded that the quality was good, adding that he was able to identify some of the accused because he had watched the footage several times.

Mzelemu asked him if he could see the face of the man who was driving a BMW that passed through a Sanral toll plaza near King Shaka International Airport while following AKA’s car.

Sanders said he could not see the face but was able to identify the man by what he was wearing at the airport.

Mzelemu suggested that Sanders was not a facial recognition expert and didn’t possess the qualification to identify people.

Sanders said he had viewed the footage over 10 months and he was familiar with the accused.

Another defence advocate, William Nicholson SC, questioned the authenticity of the video footage.

Nicholson said that the footage was sourced some time after the incident could not guarantee its authenticity.

“How do we know that the footage was not tampered with since it was not sourced at the same time the incident took place?” he asked.

Judge Nomfundo Sipunzi intervened and asked Nicholson if he questioned the authenticity of the footage.

Nicholson confirmed this, to which Sanders said he could not guarantee that the footage had not been tampered with, however tampered footage changes altogether in terms of time and date.

The trial continues.

TimesLIVE

The 70th annual ceremony was held in London on October 26 2026.

BEST

ADEKUNLE GOLD

View this post on Instagram

As one of the most timid black-tie events, Ballon d’Or attendees rarely take risks. In an attempt to jazz up his look, Adekunle uses accessories to avoid a boring ensemble. Statement earrings, a striking watch and shades to top it all off, it’s a simple yet effective way to rock up at the event.

LUIS DIAZ AND GERALDINE PONCE

Luis Diaz and his partner, Geraldine Ponce ❤️ https://t.co/B7sqdIRoT1 pic.twitter.com/b43byZAbB1

— Athlete Vanity (@AthleteVanity) October 26, 2026

The pair nailed it with their couples co-ord. Football star Diaz stuns in a relaxed boxy fit suit with his missing lapel making an appearance on the skirt of Ponce’s gown. Both looks pay more attention to grooming than over-the-top accessories or hair for a sense of sophisticared yet modern simplicity.

KERSTIN CASPARIJ

View this post on Instagram

The football star (left) loves her signature slick middle-part bun that is often paired with tailored suits. The look for the night is no exception. While its been popular for men to try cropped boxy jackets, she showcases how to create complimentary shape thanks to the fit and pop of an oversized collar to elevate an understated look.

ANNA PESARRODONA

Joan Garcia and his girlfriend, Anna Pesarrodona 🥹❤️ https://t.co/B7sqdIRWIz pic.twitter.com/9HpjTQnsue

— Athlete Vanity (@AthleteVanity) October 26, 2026

In what best resembles the regal style of Megan Markle with a vampy twist, Pesarrodona is a vision with her gown and jacket combo.

OUSMANE DEMBÉLÉ

View this post on Instagram

With the right stylist, Dembélé could easily be a force to be reckoned with on any given red carpet. Playing it safe in all burgundy tux and bow tie, he certainly knew how to stand out.

BURNA BOY

There aren’t many people who can pull of a three-piece velvet ensemble, but Burna Boy takes a risk that was worth it in the end. Thanks to his tall and lanky frame, the look doesn’t create an off-putting shape that could have been elevated had he opted for a high-low updo in the hair department.

WORST

SOPHIE TURNER

While she’s no stranger to red carpets, Turner rocked up underdressed for the night. The trousers make the ensemble too casual and the jacket does not have enough design elements to be worthy of a black tie affair.

JORJA SMITH

While Smith brought the elegance, she falls into the same style trap as Turner for a look that seems better suited for a different event. This lacey number screams boudoir or Victoria’s Secret.

ALEXIA PUTELLAS

While Putellas may have been aiming for an elegant Old Hollywood moment, she fell flat with this moulting bird look. The plumes are too much and perhaps need more cinching to really help the slit (if higher) to shine, and the shoulders could do with a drop.

LAMINE YAMAL

Among the boxy looks of the night, it’s not the best — especially with the floral brooch that he can’t seem to pull off as a statement of his own making. While Chanel has never dedicated itself to menswear, Yamal could learn a thing or two from the likes of Jaden Smith, Usher and A$AP Rocky on how to make your personal style shine through the pieces available.

TimesLIVE

The court has also ordered that his name be added to the national register for sex offenders.

He was convicted of the rape and murder of his four-year-old stepdaughter following a brutal assault in August 2025.

The co-accused, who is the mother of the deceased, faces charges of failing to report the abuse and sexual offences.

Her case was separated from the man’s case, and her trial is expected to be heard in 2027.

A community leader and women’s and children’s rights activist, Cheryl Pillay, welcomed the sentence and said it would send a strong message to other perpetrators.

“It’s quite fitting for the crime, and not that it’s going to bring her back, but I think it sends out a strong message,” she said.

“I think it’s a very important message to say that, as a country and even as the justice system and community, we cannot tolerate these heinous crimes against our children — we need to protect them. It’s very, very important. We won’t leave any stone unturned to make sure that justice is served for our children,” she said.

Pillay also believes this will be an eye-opener for communities to look out for their children.

“The care of children is the responsibility of everyone. It really sends out the message, especially looking at a four-year-old and what happened in a yard where there were many other people. It’s important that we look out for children. It’s our responsibility,” she said.

TimesLIVE

What does purple taste like? Johannesburg’s jacaranda-loving residents may be able to tell you what the delicate purple blossoms sound like when they pop beneath the tyres of your car after an afternoon thunder shower, but to get an approximation of the taste of purple, you’ll have to venture to executive pastry chef Nathan Jacob’s kitchen at the Four Season’s Westcliff.

While the rest of the world is contemplating autumn, falling temperatures and the depressing business of putting on coats, Joburgers are driving through great purple tunnels of jacaranda blossoms, some on the way to the beautiful hotel that overlooks this purple network, to sample chef Jacobs’s Jacaranda Afternoon Tea.

Even our expatriates can’t bear it. A journalist friend who abandoned Joburg for New York a few years ago has taken to demanding regular photographic evidence of the jacarandas in bloom, which does nothing but make him homesick.

There are few better places to appreciate Joburg’s annual purple extravaganza than from the terraces of the Westcliff, perched above the city’s northern suburbs like a well-heeled Mediterranean village.

The hotel’s Jacaranda Afternoon Tea is an exercise in making an already beautiful season considerably more indulgent.

I’m barely through the door when Ayanda appears, ready to escort me to my table overlooking the extraordinary canopy of jacarandas below. The city’s northern suburbs spread out beneath us, the streets transformed into rivers of lavender and violet. It’s the sort of view that makes you temporarily forget about potholes, load-shedding and the municipal incompetence that generally dominates conversations about our city.

Before I’ve had time to contemplate any of these things, Ayanda presents me with an ice-cold glass of Moët & Chandon Nectar Impérial, an excellent start to a long and lazy afternoon. Cape Town may have extraordinary views of the Atlantic, but there’s nothing that beats the sea of violet that swirls through Joburg in November.

Then the tea trolley rolls in, which improves everything.

Ayanda, it transpires, isn’t only my waitress but my tea sommelier for the afternoon. And she knows a lot about tea. What she’s serving isn’t the sort of tea most of us make by flinging a bag into a mug, adding boiling water and forgetting about it until it’s brown and full of tanin. No, she is a perveyor of proper tea — tea with provenance, personality, precise brewing temperatures and an entire philosophy attached.

The Westcliff has partnered with Nigiro, the Cape Town-based luxury tea merchant founded by Mingwei Tsai, whose enthusiasm for the ancient art of tea drinking borders on the spiritual.

Nigiro sources loose-leaf teas from China, Japan, Taiwan, India and Sri Lanka, among other countries, and approaches their preparation with a reverence that would make the average local tea drinker feel barbaric.

According to Tsai, tea requires the correct temperature, infusion time, energy and, rather ambitiously, state of mind.

I have generally considered tea successful if it’s hot and someone else has made it. But Ayanda is persuasive. As she introduces the different varieties, explaining their origins, aromas and characteristics, I begin to appreciate that tea can be every bit as complex as wine. There are delicate green teas, richly aromatic blends and darker, earthier varieties, each demanding its own preparation.

Tsai believes that in our frantic, permanently distracted world, the simple act of preparing and drinking tea offers something increasingly rare: a moment of stillness. He may have a point. Particularly when that stillness is accompanied by Champagne and a view of several thousand flowering purple trees.

Of course, no afternoon tea worth its silver teapot is really about the tea. The arrival of the food is the moment when the civilised pretence of restraint begins to crumble. Afternoon tea is, after all, one of the world’s more ingenious culinary inventions: an opportunity to eat several small meals in succession while maintaining the fiction that you’re just snacking on a light refreshment.

But the procession of savoury and sweet delicacies is theatrical, and the careful presentation with its dainty portions is accompanied by the unspoken understanding that nobody is expected to count calories, or eat dinner. Among other delights, all inspired by the purple flowers, are blueberry and citrus tarts, blackberry and vanilla choux, black current macarons, cherry and dark chocolate vacherin.

For the more savoury of tooth, butter chicken pies, mushroom empanadas, beetroot-cured salmon blini, braise lamb croquettes. And then, of course, the traditionals: scones, egg mayonnaise and cucumber sandwiches with their crusts off.

The jacarandas provide the perfect backdrop. Their extravagant purple display is fleeting, lasting only a few glorious weeks before the blossoms fall, carpeting pavements and turning Joburg’s streets into an Impressionist painting.

Maybe that’s why we become so sentimental about them. For all its frustrations, Joburg has an extraordinary capacity to surprise us with beauty. From my table at the Westcliff, with Ayanda explaining another tea and the last of my champagne disappearing, I’m reminded that appreciating a city sometimes requires a change of perspective — an elevated one, with excellent service and something delicious on a plate.

My friend in New York will have to make do with photographs. I’ll send him one of the view, another of the champagne and a third of the tea trolley. There’s no reason homesickness shouldn’t come with a serving of envy.

Reservations

• The Jacaranda Afternoon Tea is served daily from October 1 to November 30 2026, with 12pm and 3pm seatings available.
• The Westcliff Jacaranda Afternoon Tea is priced at R650 per person, including a glass of South African méthode cap classique.
• The Champagne Jacaranda Afternoon Tea is priced at R950 per person, including a glass of Moët & Chandon champagne.
• For reservations, call +27 11 481 6450 or email reservations.johannesburg@fourseasons.com.

Follow Four Seasons Hotel The Westcliff, Johannesburg on Instagram at @fsjohannesburg for the latest news and experiences.

TimesLIVE

TimesLIVE

The footballer was fatally shot during a home invasion in Vosloorus, Ekurhuleni, in October 2014.

Video courtesy of SABC.

TimesLIVE

Protesters entered a Serbian television station supportive of former President Aleksandar Vucic late on Monday, interrupting broadcasting to call for the arrest of its editor, as tens of thousands took to the streets for a second night of post-election celebrations.

Serbia’s Student List, born out of a student-led anti-corruption protest movement, unseated Vucic in a historic election on Sunday, bringing to an end 14 years in power for a man who served as information minister under Slobodan Milosevic and who maintained tight control over the media.

Live footage broadcast by Informer TV showed about 30 people walk into its newsroom on Monday evening and surround editor-in-chief and owner Dragan Vucicevic. Some protesters shouted: “This is how it is in free Serbia” and “Where is Vucic now?” Some also called for Vucicevic’s arrest.

On his personal Instagram account, Vucic, dressed in a jumper displaying the crossed-out word “sorry”, called the event an attack on free speech and the freedom of journalism.

Call for calm

The student movement has no clear leader and Serbians are waiting to see whom it will appoint as prime minister and to other key positions. The leading candidate on its election list, cardiologist Ilija Srdanovic, called for calm.

“We ask of you to stay calm and dignified until the end of the electoral process, just like you have been until now,” he said in a video posted on his Instagram account. “Don’t resort to any form of violence. Your Student List and your student movement urge you on this.”

The Independent Association of Journalists of Serbia said in a statement that it would submit an application on Tuesday to have Informer TV’s broadcasting licence revoked, citing systematic violations of law and programme obligations.

“On the very first day of [Student List] power, they want to ban the media. They have said everything about themselves, and nothing about us,” Informer’s Vucicevic told Reuters.

A group of people also gathered outside the private pro-Vucic Pink TV station in Belgrade on Monday evening, which was cordoned off by police.

Earlier, public broadcaster RTV in the Vojvodina region began its evening news bulletin by apologising to viewers for failing to fulfil its role, citing uncritical one-sided reporting.

The announcement was reminiscent of a move by the main Hungarian state TV channel, which in July, following the election defeat of former prime minister Viktor Orban’s Fidesz party three months earlier, displayed a black screen with the message: “Public media cannot lie. We apologise for doing so for many years.”

Serbia was ranked 104th out of 180 countries in the 2026 World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders, its lowest position ever, and worst in the EU-Balkan region.

The Crta election monitor said last week that television stations with national reach gave three-quarters of the time allotted to politicians to government representatives. The Student List was portrayed negatively more than 80% of the time it was discussed, Crta added.

• Additional reporting by Jana Simovic

Reuters

Story audio is generated using AI

By Michael Georgy

Islamic State (IS), which once controlled large parts of Iraq and Syria and aims to rebuild its presence in the region, is back in focus after Jordan said it killed more than 20 of the group’s militants in airstrikes on southern Syria.

Jordan said the strikes targeted militant hideouts after investigators linked suspects in last week’s church attack, which killed nine people, to “terrorist groups” operating across the border in Syria. Jordanian security forces also arrested three suspects after a shootout.

IS has not claimed responsibility for the attack.

What is Islamic State?

The Sunni Muslim group emerged from the conflicts in ‍Iraq and Syria and quickly proclaimed a caliphate — a form of Islamic government — declaring ​its rule over all Muslims and eclipsing al-Qaeda as the world’s most powerful jihadist organisation.

At its peak in 2014-17, it controlled vast areas of Iraq and Syria, ruling over millions of people. It had a ​base a 30-minute ⁠drive from Baghdad, and seized the city of Sirte on Libya’s Mediterranean coast.

In territory under its control, the group imposed a harsh interpretation of Islamic law and became notorious for public executions, torture and other acts of brutality, often filmed and distributed as propaganda. It also carried out or inspired attacks in dozens of countries.

The caliphate eventually collapsed after a sustained military campaign by a US-led coalition.

Where does it operate now?

After losing its strongholds in the Syrian city of Raqqa and ‌the Iraqi city of Mosul, the group took refuge in the hinterlands of both countries.

It retains a presence in Syria and Iraq and has established activities in parts of ​Africa, Afghanistan, ‍and Pakistan.

Fighters are scattered in autonomous ⁠cells, IS leadership is clandestine and its overall size is hard to quantify. The UN estimates a membership of 10,000 in IS heartlands.

Iraqi intelligence and security officials say the group is no longer capable of holding land but it has established dangerous sleeper cells. Concerns have grown that the withdrawal of remaining US forces from Iraq could leave a security vacuum that IS could exploit.

The group claimed responsibility for an October 5 attack that killed an Iraqi federal policeman near Kirkuk, its first reported assault on Iraqi security forces since the US military completed its withdrawal. Iraqi authorities have also said they foiled an IS suicide bombing plot.

Jordan has long been part of the US-led coalition against IS. The Islamist group captured Jordanian pilot Muath al-Kasasbeh after his aircraft crashed in Syria and in 2015 released footage purportedly showing him being burnt alive.

Though Jordan is one of the more stable countries in the Middle East, its authorities have repeatedly foiled Islamist militant plots over the years.

Since suffering major setbacks in the Middle East, IS has pivoted towards Africa. According to Armed Conflict Location & Event Data, 86% of the group’s global operations during the first three months of 2026 occurred on the continent.

Many foreign fighters have joined IS’s Khorasan branch (Isis-K), named after a historic region spanning parts of present-day Afghanistan, Iran and Central Asia.

Where has it carried out recent attacks?

Middle Eastern leaders and their Western allies have warned that IS could exploit the 2024 toppling of Bashar al-Assad’s government to stage a comeback in Syria and neighbouring Iraq.

The group has declared a new phase of operations in Syria against the government of President Ahmed al-Sharaa, carrying out a spate of attacks, including one that killed four Syrian government security personnel near Raqqa.

Sources have told Reuters that IS has been reactivating sleeper cells in Syria, gathering intelligence on targets and distributing weapons, silencers and explosives.

A report by the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism said Sharaa and two senior cabinet ministers had been targeted in five foiled assassination attempts by IS.

In July, preliminary investigations into the cell responsible for bombings in Damascus showed it was linked to IS, a senior Syrian security official said. Two explosions near a hotel hosting visiting French President Emmanuel Macron wounded 18 people.

IS has also inspired hard-to-detect lone-wolf attacks.

The 2025 shooting at a Jewish Hanukkah event at Sydney’s Bondi Beach — Australia’s worst mass shooting in nearly 30 years — raised questions over whether the group was inspiring those operations once again. The police said IS appeared to have influenced the gunmen, who killed 15 people.

Demonstrating its international reach, Isis-K claimed responsibility for the 2024 attack on a concert hall near Moscow that killed 149 people.

What are its goals and tactics?

IS’s stated aim is to spread its extreme form of Islam and rule over Muslims.

Iraqi security officials say IS has undergone a big transformation since losing its territorial strongholds, evolving from a conventional military force into a dispersed underground movement that relies on clandestine cells, loosely connected operatives and courier networks.

Reuters

Its shares fell as much as 5.5%, and were down around 4% as of 9.55am GMT.

The German premium carmaker now expects an adjusted return on sales of 2%-3% in 2026, down from its previous guidance of 3% to 5%.

The company also cut its 2026 group operating profit guidance, now expecting earnings to be broadly flat year on year rather than significantly higher.

The warning comes as German carmakers continue to struggle in China, the world’s largest car market, where slowing demand and intense competition from local manufacturers are eroding sales and pricing power.

Mercedes’ core car sales fell 8% year on year in the third quarter, hit by weak demand in China.

Rivals BMW and Volkswagen also cut their outlooks earlier this year, blaming, in part, the worsening situation in China.

Metzler analyst Daniel Schwarz said China was the main reason for the weak performance of German carmakers.

Mercedes, like BMW, remains heavily exposed in China. By contrast, Porsche, which reported a profit rebound on Tuesday, has reduced its dependence on China and is pushing the brand further into the luxury segment, making it less vulnerable to competition from Chinese manufacturers expanding into Europe and other markets, Schwarz said.

Reuters

On a global scale, fashion is in a bit of a scramble. Design houses and conglomerates are making the necessary shifts to keep consumers piling up e-carts and making traffic in brick-and-mortar stores, hotels and pop-up experiences. Thanks to a robust counterfeit market and fast fashion e-tailers, it’s easy to look the part.

In markets where microtrends or subcultures have swayed buying habits towards accessories and fragrance dupes, we’ve seen old-money luxury become a backdoor to a minimal aesthetic that you can cop at any cheap retailer. Why spend thousands on imports for pricey plain tees when you can buy 10 times the outfit at the same price?

But SA Fashion Week is anything but that. Sure, the past couple of seasons have been inundated with monochromatic looks or all-black ensembles and a sea of denim designs, but this season marks a winter that is aching to add a new spark to how people want to dress. All informed by designers wanting to express themselves.

Designing introspection

Fan favourite Michael Reid debuted his eponymous brand at the New Talent Search competition to much anticipation and cheer. Dropping the Xavier Sadan title, he showcased a collection inspired by his pursuit of romance and the person he became failing to find it. The designer has always been sentimental in his approach, even in his entrance for the Scouting Menswear collection where he honoured the late Coenrad De Mol. Pieces were smelted, printed and inspired by the modular nature of Transformer and Lego toys. The grown-up version includes deconstructionism and fabric manipulations that capture the beauty of his difficult journey.

Parents and loved ones were on the minds of his fellow New Talent Search competitors, especially the call for whimsy behind Zour’s colourful collection. It’s a world full of primary colours, floral brooches and prints that have the familiarity of a grandma we all know.

But nothing brings this inward collection together more than Thabo Makhetha. It’s a bold collection, merging kaftans, blankets, capes and kimonos on a runway exploring the intersections between shared culture. Titled EAKA EAHAO (what’s mine is yours), the collection becomes a pertinent conversation on Ubuntu and how we all discuss the diversity in a country riddled with xenophobia and clanishness.

Back to your roots

Seasoned designers opted to look back at what they’ve created to better inform who they are in today’s landscape. Black Coffee’s Jacque van der Watt has pondered what we will wear in the future, but this collection looks back to the house’s roots to ponder the artistry of clothing and what it makes us feel.

That same conversation runs through the threads of Sober and Colleen Eitzen as they explore the female figure. The latter explored A-line silhouettes with a modern air, while Sober celebrates its 20-year legacy with updated classics in its fabrics and print.

David Tlale’s collection was typical of the designer’s elements — a showcase at a monumental space in Joburg — and while it was a magical setting for his safari-ready glamazons, it seemed fresh out of Valentino’s recent collection by Alessandro Michele. While Tlale brings all the boys and girls to the attention of a monument, Michele’s work themes were seamlessly tied to the story his clothing told.

Dali Ngcebetsha, on the other hand, tells the tale of history beautifully with a collection on Xhosa manhood and a playfulness you rarely see in amakrwala fashion.

Newness

SA Fashion Week also happens to be the home of denim. This season, it was the canvas of newness. Ephymol had one of the most jaw-dropping summer collections earlier in the year and this season he continues that intrigue with a “new jeaneration”. His redefined classics are the city slicker to Zayoni’s handcrafted denim that reflects South Africa’s streetwear. Sumo, on the other hand, explores individuality that feels relevant to the unisex silhouettes of today’s trends.

That same spirit of individuality can be found at Emelia D’s show. While the Congolese designer is concerned with a conversation of strength, her Neopolitan palette with bursts of oranges and blues feels like defiant expression — a stance against the grain.

Culminating in all we’ve seen this season are Anunes and Gert-Johan Coetzee. The latter loves a spectacle, even if pieces fall off on the runway. However, memory has been an important conversation for him. His farm days have brought about the new aesthetic of the brand over the past couple of years and a recent Alice in Wonderland cabaret that mirrored his ascent from farm boy to big-city designer.

Today, he explores this with a subtlety that illustrates the elements that made him excited to design — a collection that seems to define the future of the brand with awe-inspired bridal wear and dreamy silhouettes that lend themselves to baroque flair. Anunes, on the other hand, reimagines modern royalty with advanced designs, shapes and details. It’s a new look at luxury with an ochre and azure palette that takes a break from the Afrofuturism and print blocking we’ve become accustomed to.

TimesLIVE

In the first election since the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks, voters are passionately engaged over the trauma of the country’s deadliest day and the ensuing wars in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran.

Policies of Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition have been divisive at home and have deepened Israel’s international isolation, but he has defended his record as the only leader with the mettle to face Israel’s foes.

Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving leader with 19 years in office, is an unmatched political survivor, and his nationalist politics are increasingly entrenched. Israel’s fragmented system makes it difficult for an array of opponents to force out his coalition of right-wing, far-right and ultra-Orthodox parties.

A close race

His main rival, Gadi Eisenkot, a military ex-chief of staff and security hawk, aims to unseat him with the support of parties on the right and centre, as well as the rump of an increasingly marginalised left. Opinion polls show a close race, with neither leader facing an easy path to power.

Voters began casting ballots after polling stations opened at 7am. The polls close at 10pm.

The Central Elections Committee reported that 16.7% of eligible voters had already cast their ballots within the first three hours, the fastest early turnout rate since 1981.

“I think these elections are the most important of all the ones I’ve known,” said Ruth Epstein, an 81-year-old long-time left-wing voter in Ramat Gan near Tel Aviv, who voted for the opposition Democrats.

“I’m really scared about what will be here.”

Netanyahu supporter Louis Lipsky of Jerusalem said he was voting to keep the prime minister in power, crediting him with normalising relations with several Arab states under the Abraham Accords of 2020.

I am convinced that by the end of today, we will see a change — a new spirit for the State of Israel

Gadi Eisenkot

Netanyahu has campaigned on his wartime leadership and an endorsement from US president Donald Trump, his ally in war against Iran, who has said they should “finish the job”.

If neither Netanyahu nor Eisenkot can form a governing coalition in the 120-seat parliament, Netanyahu could stay on as caretaker until another election is held. His opponents have managed to wrest him from the premiership only once since 2009, and that took four inconclusive elections in two years. He was back 18 months later.

Eisenkot sees ‘new spirit’

For many of Netanyahu’s opponents, the election turns on accountability for the security failures of October 7, Israel’s deadliest day. Opposition groups have promised to hold a national inquiry, which Netanyahu’s government has resisted.

“I am convinced that by the end of today, we will see a change — a new spirit for the State of Israel — that will serve as a rectification for the past three years and for that terrible day,” Eisenkot said during a visit to kibbutz Nir Oz in southern Israel, targeted in the October 7 attacks.

He walked to the polls with Gadi Mozes, one of 251 people kidnapped by Hamas and taken to Gaza during the attack that killed 1,200 people.

Eisenkot says Israel’s response — a war which health authorities say killed more than 74,000 Palestinians — was a failure because Hamas remains in charge. He repeated his commitment to dismantle or destroy Hamas’ military and governing power in Gaza within 18 months of forming a government.

In his first public commentary on election day, Netanyahu shared an article on X about an incident in which police said three people were arrested over an election bribery attempt.

“Right-wing voters, dear Likud voters, in the face of attempts to undermine the integrity of the elections, we must go out and vote en masse, vote Likud for the sake of our country,” he said.

Netanyahu’s critics have said the prime minister may try to cast doubt on the integrity of the voting process, which his office rejects.

Itamar Ben-Gvir, leader of a far-right party in Netanyahu’s coalition, cast his vote in the Kiryat Arba settlement in the occupied West Bank early on Tuesday. He predicted Netanyahu would return as prime minister, and his own party would serve as the right-wing anchor of the government.

Arab turnout could be key

Voters from Israel’s Arab minority — Israeli by citizenship but Palestinian by heritage — were voting in “unprecedented” numbers, Palestinian candidate Ahmed Tibi said.

Eisenkot has ruled out partnering with Arab parties, citing a lack of shared values, although some experts envision them propping up a minority government to ensure Netanyahu is removed from office.

“My expectation is that we will have only a slight majority either way. No landslide,” said Israeli political analyst Amotz Asa-El of the Shalom Hartman Institute.

The wartime record

Eisenkot joined Netanyahu’s war cabinet after the October 7 attacks but quit after eight months, criticising his leadership.

Israel flattened much of Gaza in the offensive launched after October 7 and now occupies around two-thirds of the enclave under a year-old US-brokered ceasefire.

Israel also dealt heavy blows to Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon and traded strikes with Iran, culminating in a 12-day aerial campaign against Iranian nuclear sites in 2025 and this year’s joint US-Israeli war.

Like nearly all Jewish-led parties in Israel, Eisenkot opposes the two-state solution that underpinned decades of peace negotiations with the Palestinians.

But he has criticised Jewish settler violence against Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, which has surged since 2023 and strained Israel’s ties with Western states. And he opposes Netanyahu’s far-right coalition partners.

Reuters

Somalia’s defence ministry said about 75 militants were killed and another 56 wounded in the fighting in the Jameeco area of Buurhakaba district. The statement did not say how many soldiers were killed or wounded.

Somalia, in the Horn of Africa, has been grappling with a nearly two-decade-long insurgency led by al-Shabaab, which seeks to establish its own rule based on its strict interpretation of Sharia law.

The defence ministry said the militants had attacked the national army using vehicles packed with explosives and that some army vehicles were damaged.

Two soldiers told Reuters that dozens of soldiers were killed in the battle.

One of the soldiers, who gave his name as Ahmed, said he had helped transport 40 dead soldiers and more than 100 wounded to hospitals in the capital Mogadishu.

Another soldier called Farah said al-Shabaab car bombs had ruined five military vehicles and estimated that dozens of soldiers were killed in the explosions.

Somalia has endured conflict and clan battles with no strong ⁠central government since the fall of autocratic ruler Mohamed Siad ​Barre in 1991.

Reuters

The French government on Monday announced a raft of proposals, including capping some class sizes at 28, billions of euros in loans for building renovation and a revamp of the university admissions system, to try to ease popular anger.

But Sophie Venetitay, the secretary-general for teachers’ union SNES-FSU, told reporters that the measures did not go far enough, saying the size of more classes should be capped and more people should be hired to improve learning conditions for students.

It will not be enough to extinguish the anger

SophiVenetitay, secretary-general of teachers’ union SNES-FSU

“Today, what the ministry has said is only the beginning of a response,” she said. “It will not be enough to extinguish the anger.”

High school students initially blockaded their schools to protest against inadequate staffing and resources, in a movement that has since broadened to encompass general trade unions and the so-called “Yellow Vests” to express anger about weakening public services and cost-of-living increases.

The French government, under pressure from bond markets to reduce its debt level, has little spare cash to respond to protesters’ demands.

Budget minister David Amiel said the measures announced on Monday were expected to cost €5bn and would be offset with spending cuts elsewhere.

Student leaders also said the government’s concessions were a good first step but vowed to continue demonstrations on Saturday and on November 5.

Interior minister Laurent Nunez said there would be a heavy security presence on Saturday, which will come two weeks after large nationwide protests gave way to violence and looting that shocked the country and have spurred curfews and bans on large gatherings in France.

The turmoil has boosted the fortunes of French far-right leader Marine Le Pen, who is favoured to top the first round in the presidential election next spring.

Reuters

Syria said the strikes killed seven people, including three children and a woman. Jordan regretted the civilian casualties, government communication minister Mohammed al-Momani said in a post on X.

Jordan said on Monday its air force had struck what it described as militant hideouts in southern Syria after determining that the suspects behind last week’s church attack were linked to “terrorist groups” based there.

Jordanian security officials said separately that security forces had arrested two brothers and their brother-in-law after a shoot-out linked to the church attack, which killed nine people.

No group has claimed responsibility for the assault, though Jordan said the militants targeted in Syria were members of Islamic State.

Monday’s strikes sparked anger in Syria. While the Jordanian military said the strikes were conducted in co-ordination with Damascus, Syria’s government said they were carried out without prior co-ordination and announced an investigation.

Statements in recent days by Jordanian authorities that there had been no prior planning of the church attack have added to the confusion, appearing at odds with Jordan’s justification for the cross-border strikes.

Syria’s foreign ministry condemned the Jordanian strikes as a violation of the country’s sovereignty.

It said, however, that Damascus was co-ordinating with Amman and would establish a joint security committee to strengthen border security and prevent similar incidents from recurring.

Reuters

The Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) said the crash happened at about 12.43pm on Tuesday.

The light delivery vehicle was allegedly transporting workers in the back when it collided head-on with a southbound truck travelling towards Durban. The truck then sideswiped a second truck travelling northbound, according to the RTMC.

The RTMC is investigating the cause of the crash.

TimesLIVE

Story audio is generated using AI

Kaizer Chiefs are facing a crucial week that may have far-reaching consequences for their season, which started with promise but has taken a nasty turn.

Amakhosi began the campaign with hope under new coach Fernando Da Cruz but they have gone off the boil in recent weeks with one win from their last eight matches in all competitions.

They were eliminated in the early stages of the MTN8 and on Friday exited the Caf Confederation Cup in the second preliminary round, losing 3-2 on penalties to Zambia’s Red Devils after their 1-0 second leg win at Peter Mokaba Stadium made for a 1-1 aggregate scoreline.

Now Amakhosi face a week in which they play a last-16 fixture in the Carling Knockout Cup followed by the Soweto derby. They host TS Galaxy in the cup on Tuesday (7.30pm) and play their “away” Premiership derby against Orlando Pirates on Saturday (3.30pm). Chiefs cannot afford to falter in these two matches, both at FNB Stadium.

⚽️ ℂ𝔸𝔽 ℂ𝕠𝕟𝕗𝕖𝕕𝕖𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 ℂ𝕦𝕡 🏆

It's the end of the road for Kaizer Chiefs following a 3⃣➖2⃣ penalty shootout loss against Red Arrows!

🚨 LIVE
📺 SABC 3
🌐 https://t.co/afggCu6HfA#SABCSportFootball #TotalEnergiesCAFCC pic.twitter.com/saff9AS1d1

— SABC Sport (@SABC_Sport) October 23, 2026

Coach Da Cruz and his men, despite sporting director Kaizer Motaung Jnr’s public backing of the technical staff, are under pressure from a recent run that does not make for good reading. They have not won in their last five outings after draws with Polokwane City, Golden Arrows, Stellenbosch in the league and the away and home stalemates against Red Arrows that led to their demise in the Confed in the round before the group stage.

Chiefs will fancy their chances against coach Bernard Parker’s struggling Galaxy, whose three successive losses in the league to Pirates, Chippa United and newcomers Kruger United have left the Rockets wallowing in 13th place and with a mountain to climb to revive their campaign.

Defeat to Galaxy will mean they are out of two domestic cup competitions already and dropping points against Pirates will see them lose ground to third-placed AmaZulu on the log.

Also in Tuesday’s Carling action, Pirates will be out to continue their impressive recent run of one loss in eight matches in all competitions if they progress to the next round by beating Milford FC at Orlando Stadium.

Pirates will be buoyed by having qualified for the group stages of the Champions League with their 5-0 aggregate win against Namibia’s African Stars, leaving Bucs as South Africa’s sole representatives in the tournament.

Caf is a big trophy but we still have a lot to play for and we have to look forward to our match against Marumo Gallants.

Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso

In Pretoria, Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso has asked his players to bounce back strongly after Champions League elimination at the hands of Angola’s Wiliete when they host Marumo Gallants in their Carling last-16 clash at Loftus (7.30pm).

The Brazilians suffered the embarrassment of being knocked out of the Champions League in the preliminary stage as defending champions and the Carling is important for them in terms of bouncing back quickly and softening the blow.

“After the game against Wiliete SC, we had to reflect but it is important to take a step forward and continue. It is difficult to get over what happened but at the end of the day you have to take the step forward,” Cardoso said.

“Caf is a big trophy but we still have a lot to play for and we have to look forward to our match against Marumo Gallants.

“We have to overcome it and get back to winning ways and continue from there. It will make things easier than what they are now.”

TimesLIVE

Great Wall Motor said on Tuesday the Bulgarian plant would have a planned capacity of 50,000 vehicles a year, with production scheduled to start in the first quarter of next year. It did not disclose financial details of the agreement.

Chinese carmakers are racing to establish manufacturing bases in Europe to support sales growth and reduce exposure to trade barriers, after the EU imposed additional tariffs on China-built electric vehicles and discussed with Beijing an import cap on hybrid cars.

GWM’s EVs imported from China are subject to a 20.7% EU anti-subsidy duty on top of the bloc’s standard 10% car import tariff.

“We don’t just want to sell cars to Europe: we want to become part of Europe,” GWM chief technology officer Nicole Wu said.

Carmaker plans European comeback

The carmaker aims to make 300,000 vehicles in Europe by 2029, a senior executive told Reuters last year. “Looking ahead, the group plans integrated industrial parks in Europe for vehicles and components,” the company said in a statement.

GWM offers the Ora 5 in Europe with electric, hybrid and petrol powertrains. It did not specify on Tuesday which version it plans to manufacture at the Bulgarian plant.

The European comeback planned by GWM includes at least 10 new and derivative models over the next two years, and an offering beyond EVs. It has operated a research and development centre in Munich, Germany, since 2021, working on local demand research, regulatory compliance and validation.

One of the first Chinese carmakers to enter Europe, GWM made a high-profile push centred on EVs earlier this decade but struggled to gain traction.

While Chinese rivals including BYD, Chery and Leapmotor have posted rapid growth in the region, GWM’s sales were negligible, falling nearly 30% in 2025 to just 3,500 cars.

It is targeting a 3% to 5% European market share by 2030.

Reuters

Not so with Anthropic. Having warned that its artificial intelligence could one day cure cancer or kill up to 8-billion people, Anthropic has set up a complex plan for who can govern the company as its technology rapidly progresses, its Monday IPO filing showed.

Its expected $1.5-trillion (R24.98-trillion) valuation would make Anthropic the world’s most highly valued public benefit corporation, a setup under Delaware law that means the AI lab must balance investor interests with promoting a wider good.

More than fine print, Anthropic’s setup may have big implications for investors and a public increasingly adopting the San Francisco-based company’s AI. The details show how Anthropic has insulated itself from investor pressure so it can pursue what it says is best for humanity.

Anthropic gave 50.1% voting power over some matters to its seven co-founders, who, according to the filing, are “distinctly equipped to be stewards of our mission”, Reuters previously reported. Though an independent trust will control a majority of board seats, the co-founders’ supervoting power will extend to elections of the remaining directors and shareholder proposals generally.

The Monday filing revealed more intricacies to overseeing a business that Anthropic expects will outlive the tight-knit crew who created it.

Once most of its co-founders are out of the picture and their “Class F” supervoting stock is gone, Anthropic’s board will divide into three similarly sized groups, serving three-year terms.

Staggering the re-election of directors like in the US Senate, Anthropic has embraced a structure once popular as a way to stem hostile takeovers. The company has long voiced concern about the risks of AI falling into authoritarian or nefarious hands.

That structure also goes against some corporate governance tides. In this century, major US companies have largely moved to electing all directors annually, making companies more responsive to shareholder demands on areas such as executive pay and strategy.

Anthropic declined to comment.

‘Long-term flexibility’

Beyond its board, Anthropic has another governing body with its own set of rules: its long-term benefit trust.

Chaired by global health leader Neil “Buddy” Shah, the trust controls a special share class called “Class T” stock that will let it elect a majority of Anthropic’s board. Anthropic has contemplated what happens if that stock also goes away.

The goal of such eventualities is to “preserve long-term flexibility if circumstances change”, its filing said. Even if someone not bound by Anthropic’s mission to benefit humanity takes hold of its Class T stock, Anthropic’s setup would require directors to follow “provisions relating to our public benefit purpose”.

Ultimately, the trust’s power over the board makes Anthropic a “controlled company” under Nasdaq rules, exempting it from following some typical requirements such as having an independent nominating and corporate governance committee. Anthropic is using that exemption to put Daniela Amodei, its president and sister of CEO Dario Amodei, on the committee.

The leaders in charge

Anthropic also set up a safety and risk committee on its board, made up of Novartis CEO Vas Narasimhan and former White House official Chris Liddell. Billionaire Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings is Anthropic’s lead independent director.

Anthropic’s seven co-founders, the Amodei siblings among them, remain at the core of governance for the foreseeable future. This partly is through the existence of an entity called “Founder LLC”, which, after the trust, will have the biggest say in board elections.

Reuters

Martasia Griffin, mother of Nevada Pierre, said her son was involved in a dispute during a game organised by i9 Sports in Winter Park, Florida, on October 24 2026 which escalated to the point that police were called.

The incident went viral on social media and the campaign attracted more than $20,858 in donations from 771 donors.

Griffin said Nevada had loved soccer since he was one year old and had continued developing his skills with the support of his father, Don Pierre.

In the GoFundMe appeal, she described the sport as more than an activity for her son, saying it brought him joy and gave him an opportunity to learn and be part of a team.

“At only three years old, Nevada could not understand why he was being taken away from a game he loved. What should have been a happy childhood moment became heartbreaking and distressing for him and deeply painful for our family to witness,” she said.

Speaking to HuffPost, Griffin alleged league officials and other parents had gathered to discuss her son’s participation shortly after the game began.

“As soon as he started playing, they stopped the game. Other parents, the director and some of the coaches got in a circle and I knew they were talking about Nevada, trying to figure out how to let us know he can’t play so other kids could play,” she said.

Griffin said the league director told her all the children were paying to participate and therefore deserved playing time.

“They were trying to find a reason why he can’t play. Once I started speaking up for Nevada, they called the police,” she said.

She claimed other parents had threatened to leave if their children did not get enough time on the field.

In an interview with ABC News, Griffin said Nevada had scored more than 40 goals in five games during the season while playing against children two years older than him.

However, police body-camera footage released by the Winter Park Police Department provides a different account of the dispute.

In the footage, league official Thomas Hayes acknowledged Nevada was exceptionally skilled for his age but alleged the boy pushed other players while scoring goals.

Hayes told officers he had tried to discourage the alleged behaviour and had rotated children during games to ensure everyone had an opportunity to play.

He claimed Nevada’s parents had previously objected when their son was taken out of a game.

According to Hayes, the disagreement escalated after he asked referees to address the alleged pushing.

Hayes told officers the parents had argued with him and other parents. He requested that the family leave the venue and said he was willing to refund their registration fee.

Nevada’s parents disputed his account, telling officers they believed the league was excluding their son because of his soccer ability.

The Winter Park police department said it had been contacted by a league official seeking assistance with a disturbance involving league officials and the player’s parents.

“The league requested the family leave and offered to refund the league cost to family. Shortly after arrival, the officers were requested by the league official to communicate with the family as he did not want to further a disturbance. The family stated the game was over and they were leaving,” the department said in a statement shared on social media.

It said the family co-operated with officers and was provided with an incident number at its request.

“The incident was a civil matter between those parties and not criminal,” the statement said.

Griffin said the fundraiser was intended to help Nevada continue playing soccer in a more supportive environment, covering registration fees, training, equipment, uniforms and travel expenses.

“This fundraiser is about more than one painful experience. It is about protecting Nevada’s passion for soccer and making sure this moment does not define his journey. We believe every child, regardless of abilities, background or potential, deserves the chance to learn, grow and enjoy the game they love in a safe and supportive environment,” she said.

TimesLIVE

Story audio is generated using AI

“Little Tumi” was the focal point of a workshop at the Bana Pele (Children First) leadership summit in Sandton this week, where participants collaborated on a narrative envisioning an ideal childhood for South Africa’s children.

Tumi lives with and is cared for by her grandmother. Her family cannot afford an early childhood development (ECD) programme, and there is no adequately resourced centre nearby.

Although Tumi is fictional, she represents the estimated 1-million children aged between three and five who do not attend early learning programmes (ELPs), as well as those whose centres lack state funding for books, stationery and other learning materials because they do not qualify for the R24-a-child daily subsidy.

A centre must be registered or conditionally registered with the department of basic education to qualify for the subsidy.

Practitioners at the workshop called for greater government support and a direct voice in decisions affecting their ECD programmes.

According to the basic education department’s communications lead, Uvania Naidoo: “For little Tumi to be equal with other children from all walks of life, we need to ensure that all ECDs are equipped with books, [and that children can] learn through play and [have] conducive environments, in spite of where they come from.”

The R24 subsidy helps ECD centres cover the costs of running their programmes and providing learning resources. It was raised from R17 to R24 a day for each qualifying child in October last year.

The workshop came as basic education minister Siviwe Gwarube said the department was working towards a single registration process for early learning programmes as part of the Bana Pele shared blueprint, which aims to bring an additional 1.2-million children into quality early learning programmes by 2030.

Cutting the red tape is among Gwarube’s priorities. A single registration process would help providers enter the subsidised system, including those operating from homes and in rural communities.

The process is onerous at the moment. “Registering one early learning programme requires a social worker, an environmental health practitioner, a municipality and the provincial department. The practitioner should not have to carry that complexity alone,” Gwarube said.

Departments and municipalities need to co-ordinate their requirements and assist applicants, she added.

“We should be able to say, ‘Here is a checklist required by all departments to make the process faster. This is what you need to do. How can we help you?’”

This forms part of her plan to address barriers to access and make registration easier for existing community caregivers.

She also wants to help underfunded ECD providers acquire skills. “How do we make sure that uGogo from Alex is able to get some kind of training to be able to run her finances in her ECD centre?”

Lindiwe Zungu is one such childcare provider. She runs the Ncedo Day Care Centre in KwaMashu, KwaZulu-Natal, caring for 30 children and charging R100 a month. She has no access to state funding.

“When parents cannot pay, I have to use the money for my family to buy supplies, food and books,” Zungu said. “I have been trying for two years to be registered, to no avail. There is just a delay somewhere that you will encounter.”

In Gauteng, about 5,900 ECD programmes remain unregistered, according to education MEC Lebogang Maile. He cited zoning, fire and food-safety requirements — as well as unreliable water and electricity supplies in informal settlements — as obstacles to registration efforts, TimesLIVE reported.

Ntsiki Bhengu, who runs the Tholulwazi Day Care Centre, near Springs, expressed frustration over delays in registration and funding, which have also forced her to cover the costs of caring for 37 children without government support.

“I have submitted every form available, but I have not received constructive help,” Bhengu said. “This is frustrating because the cost of living is hard, but children need to learn. We are forced to close down because this is unsustainable.”

Programmes initially receive bronze status but must progress to silver or gold to qualify for the R24-a-child daily subsidy. This requires additional documentation and compliance assessments.

In an effort to speed up the process, 1,343 programmes received silver or gold approval between January and September, joining existing programmes already eligible for funding.

Gwarube said nearly 40,000 early learning programmes serving 1.6-million children were registered nationally.

Tracy Fortune, chief executive of the Early Learning Resource Unit, said registration difficulties reflected a wider affordability crisis. She noted that household income in communities with high unemployment often depended on old-age or child-support grants.

“Universal access needs to translate to universal affordability,” Fortune said. “We have seen in the poorest areas that, unless ELPs are anchored by a sustainable revenue stream, access collapses. It is very fragile, and there is a lot of economic fragility. We need a system that enables that sustainability.

“Registration needs a pathway to the subsidy, and we need to cost it and systematise it,” she said.

By 2030, the Bana Pele shared blueprint aims to:

• Expand access to quality early learning programmes, reaching an additional 250,000 children between 2025 and 2027, and 950,000 more between 2027 and 2030, bringing the total to 1.2-million children overall;
• Enable government systems by modernising core business processes, improving management information systems and digitising key functions across provincial education departments and local government;
• Improve programme quality by strengthening developmental outcomes, increasing the proportion of children classified as green (on track) in the Thrive by Five Index from 46% in 2024 to 51% by 2030, while reducing the proportion classified as red (falling far behind) from 28% in 2024 to 19%; and
• Resource the sector by mobilising financial and non-financial resources from public, private, philanthropic and corporate partners to support the targeted expansion.

This story was produced by The Education Desk, a nonprofit newsroom dedicated to addressing schooling challenges in South Africa.

Story audio is generated using AI

Churchgoers have taken to social media to express their discontent after a Cleveland pastor’s wife introduced another woman as her husband’s second wife during a church service, describing her as a “sister in marriage”.

Lydia Ford, who co-pastors LifeWorks Church in Cleveland, Ohio, with her husband Israel Ford, made the announcement on October 25 2026, introducing minister Shakayla Talley, who now goes as Ford, to the congregation as her husband’s second wife.

In a video shared on Ford’s Facebook page, Lydia told congregants the three were living in what she described as a “polygynous marriage”, which is a marriage in which a man has more than one wife.

“Prophet and I, we are living in what we would call a polygynous marriage. My husband, our prophet, he has a second wife. Y’all know her. Y’all love her. Y’all benefit from her ministry every week. I just want to take this time and it is a pleasure of mine to introduce to y’all prophet’s wife and my sister in marriage, minister Shakayla,” she said.

Ford, the church’s founder, described the arrangement as a “soulmate thing” before inviting Talley to address the congregation.

She said she wanted to address questions and concerns about the arrangement, insisting it was based on her religious convictions.

“I want to speak to the fact that I know people have questions, people have comments and concerns. It is amazing to know that this is the will of God and to live it,” she said.

Talley said she had not been disadvantaged by the arrangement and had benefited from her relationship with the pastor.

“I have not been slighted one bit. I have gained so much and I’ve learned so much from pastor. He’s poured so much into me, into our family,” she said.

Describing their relationship as a family dynamic rather than a rivalry between the women, she said they did not spend their time fighting or competing with one another.

“We are a family. We don’t walk around like individuals fighting and beefing but it is a family dynamic in the image of what God wants to put in the earth,” she said.

She thanked those who had supported the arrangement, saying it had been a journey of learning and growth.

“God just keeps increasing us, keeps blessing us, keeps taking us through the journey, and we’re learning and we’re growing, and we’ve had the pleasure of impacting so many other people around the world,” she said.

According to Talley, people in other states had reached out to express interest in living similar arrangements.

Talley also sought to clarify her position within the church, stressing she remained a minister and was not seeking to take Lydia’s place.

“I’m still minister Shakayla. I’m not a pastor. I’m not here to take any light from pastor Lydia. Not at all. I’m here to serve, to help, to submit to prophet, to our husband, and help her wherever I can,” she said.

Ford addressed the arrangement in a social media post introducing Talley to a wider audience. He challenged the belief that a man should have only one wife, presenting his position as a matter of biblical conviction rather than personal preference.

“As a nation we have been taught a man should have one wife only. This is unbiblical,” he wrote.

Ford cited Exodus 21:10 in the King James Version of the Bible to support his argument. He acknowledged not everyone in the church or among his followers would agree with the arrangement.

“Some may not accept this and choose to disconnect, and that is OK,” he wrote.

During the church service, he revealed he and Talley were approaching their third wedding anniversary.

The announcement has sparked debate online, with many social media users expressing disapproval of the arrangement. Some described it as blasphemous.

Ford’s Facebook post attracted more than 17,000 comments, more than 9,000 shares and about 9,000 likes.

TimesLIVE

I came to Moscow for Fashion Week and the BRICS+ Fashion Summit, courtesy of the Fashion Fund. The summit is a story for another day.

At the hall entrance, I caught a glimpse of a slim woman, towering over the crowd in a millinery creation, caught in the headwinds of the curtains.

We were rushed to our seats, and the dimmed room was packed. Camera torches and portable pocket lights flashed and danced around the room as guests took pictures to immortalise the moment on their phones. Elsewhere, a bold man with a tattooed head, in a dark pleather corset, took his seat with his entourage.

Closer to us sat Ksusha, one of the fashion show co-ordinators and the one who got us through the door. She turned heads herself, with an eclectic personal style that paired a formal blouse with a pencil skirt that had a sultry lingerie bralette stitched into it. As I tried to people-watch, catching what I could on the fly, I felt as though attendees had been given permission to be fashionable, which made me more curious about the show.

On every second seat of the front row, the designer had placed a copy of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment, putting the literature into her audience’s hands before a single model walked the runway. A bright pink origami paper bird sat on top of each 19th-century Russian classic. I never worked out what the Crime and Punishment novel was doing there.

The room hummed, then I felt the soft punch of the bass in the music as my expectation heightened, followed by a psychedelic hum of the melody. Then it eased as my eyes fell onto the first look.

The model walked out in a silky, champagne-hued relaxed suit with iridescent jacquard floral embroidery, accented by rose-blush fur collars and cuffs. Her hair was a messy updo with tendrils at the front, and chopsticks pinned the high bun.

The show notes titled the collection Silk of Time and named Wong Kar-wai’s In the Mood for Love as its inspiration, a film set in Hong Kong in which the wardrobe is a prominent part of the narrative. “I felt like a producer and director to some extent, because fashion shows were unfamiliar territory for me before,” Linovich said. She founded Masterpeace in 2012, starting with jewellery before the clothing followed.

Throughout the show, “real women” walked among the professional models, and a small pocket of the audience cheered them on as they passed. On the runway, I spotted pieces with Asian influence: floating silk kaftans trimmed with fringe, and intricate brocade-embroidered corsets paired with loosely fitted cargo trousers.

Reflecting on the show later, I stitched the runway pieces to her commentary: how Linovich had borrowed a film’s wardrobe, a country’s literature and a continent’s rich tailoring and pulled it all into one show. It made me wonder how, back home, our runways often draw on street culture and pop nostalgia. Here, I watched a designer reach for literature and a continent’s intellectual history, and I wondered where ours are.

When the lights came up, the guests scurried for the exit. In the seat in front of me, a woman in a Masterpeace minidress used her phone camera as a mirror for one last makeup check. Then she rose, slowly, and joined the crowd.

• Nombuso Kumalo was a guest of Russia’s Cultural Fund for the Development of Fashion and Design.

The incident, recorded on a car tracker dashcam at 8.05pm on October 9 2026, shows a man identified as Sydney Hill reacting instantly to armed assailants outside his home in KwaZulu-Natal.

In the video, Hill was seen driving out of his driveway in his bakkie with his daughter in the passenger seat, while his son stood outside the vehicle. A white car pulled up, blocking the bakkie, and two armed men rushed toward Hill’s window. Hill immediately reached for his firearm and shot at the attackers while shielding his daughter with his body.

During the exchange of gunfire, his son ran to the passenger side to pull his sister out of the vehicle while Hill continued to engage the hijackers.

One of the suspected hijackers was reportedly shot dead during the confrontation. Police subsequently arrested a 35-year-old suspect in connection with the attempt.

After the incident, Hill received a massive outpouring of support across social media for his bravery. A BackaBuddy campaign, which has generated more than R387,000, was launched four days ago to assist the family as they navigate the traumatic aftermath. The goal is to reach R500,000.

According to the campaign page, the funds will go towarsd legal fees and essential mental health support for the children.

“After a traumatic shooting incident, Hill is facing unexpected legal expenses, while the children who experienced the incident need ongoing professional trauma counselling to help them process what happened,” the campaign states.

“As a single father, Sydney carries the responsibility of caring for his children and providing them with a safe and stable future. The unexpected financial burden has placed him in a difficult position, and he cannot meet these additional costs on his own.”

The campaign organisers noted that while the full extent of the legal costs and long-term therapy fees is not yet clear, every contribution helps give the family “breathing room” to focus on healing.

Speaking in an interview with the Highway Mail, Hill, who works as a professional bodyguard, revealed his arm and leg were injured while trying to protect his children.

“I didn’t care about myself. Everything that happened was to protect my babies,” Hill said.

He expressed gratitude for the support. “I thank everyone for everything, the R10, R20, R50. It means so much to me and my children.”

TimesLIVE

On a beautiful sunny Cape Town morning, Pat Cummins was made to regret an astonishing decision to bowl, on what looks like a strip primed for batting.

Ackerman, 82* and Aiden Markram 56* registered South Africa’s first century opening stand in three years, as they unleashed an array of attacking shot-making against an Australian line-up that looked bereft in the final half-an-hour of the session.

Ackerman, playing just his second Test was feeling so full of himself that he walked down the wicket to Mitchell Starc and launched him over midwicket for four, following that with a deft clip between the slips and gully for another boundary.

Marques Ackerman 👏

He has his first Test half-century for South Africa 🇿🇦🙌

📺 Stream #SAvAUS on DStv: https://t.co/rM90YyQxaw pic.twitter.com/vkk3yHbsU8

— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) October 27, 2026

To make matters worse for the tourists, Travis Head dropped Markram on 39 off Starc. It was a sitter, with the ball looping to Head at cover.

Markram reached his 15th Test half-century shortly before the interval and was fortunate that a thick outside edge by Cummins, off the last ball before lunch, flew past Marnus Labuschagne at second slip. But there was little else to encourage the tourists in the morning.

Australia looked distracted, their heads undoubtedly spinning as they were coming to terms with the absence of their ace batter Steve Smith.

Cummins won the toss for third time in the series, choosing to bowl because of what he described as moisture in the pitch. There was little sign of assistance for the new ball other than some good bounce. An indication the Australian captain erred at the toss was seeing off-spinner Nathan Lyon bowling the 11th over.

“We don’t mind batting,” said Proteas captain Temba Bavuma.

Australia were rocked before the toss, by the absence of Smith, who had to be omitted from the starting team because of an ongoing neck injury.

Here are the last three balls of Smith's Monday 'fitness test' that caused him to pack it all up abruptly #SAvAUS

Full story on Smith's session: https://t.co/eHc0GclZqJ pic.twitter.com/kTFoNjJ4O6

— Josh Schönafinger (@joshschon) October 26, 2026

Smith was one of four changes made by the tourists to the team that lost the second Test in Gqeberha, with Cameron Green replacing Smith at No 4, Josh Inglis and Cooper Connolly coming in for Beau Webster and Nic Maddinson; while Scott Boland, who batted for over three hours in the second innings at St George’s Park and picked up five wickets, was replaced by Lyon.

“Unfortunately, [Smith’s] neck is not quite right,” Cummins said at the toss. “He tried a little bit [of batting this morning], but it didn’t work out.”

Smith has played 127 Tests, and became the third Australian batter to reach 11,000 runs in last week’s second Test. However, a blow to the head from Anrich Nortje in the first Test at Kingsmead, raised concerns about concussion and then in Gqeberha Smith received treatment on the field for a neck injury.

The day before the match, Smith faced only three balls during a fitness test, before furiously hurling his bat away, kicking the turf and leaving the net. He conducted another test on Tuesday morning, but continued to feel discomfort.

Full scorecard here.

TimesLIVE

Much has changed with the brand’s structure globally and this is perhaps one reason its local fate panned out the way it did.

Sad though the end of Nissan’s Rosslyn activities may be, the products it imports remain compelling. The Navara soldiers on and remains a decent pick-up alternative to the usual set, its ride quality and coil rear suspension being a noteworthy point.

The India-sourced Magnite was one of the first in its category to standardise six airbags, improving its Global NCAP Safer Cars for Africa scores up to five. The Qashqai was received well by critics but sadly did not garner much sales traction and has been discontinued in SA. Replacing it as a step-up from the Magnite is the Tekton, based on the Renault Duster.

But if you want something larger, the X-Trail remains part of the line-up. The current iteration was first shown in 2022 and recently underwent a mild refresh.

Testing it recently proved bittersweet: a reminder of the strong suits boasted by Nissan, and a reminder of how its popularity has dipped in recent years.

In the 2000s, the X-Trail joined the ever-growing market of road-biased family sport-utility vehicles. While the original X-Trail was a boxy thing, this latest evolution is more of a sophisticate, with a streamlined silhouette and swanky garnishes.

This includes generous ladles of bright work and, in the case of our range-topping tester, a set of 19-inch alloys with a smart diamond-cut finish.

The range begins at R559,900 for the 2.5 Visia model, the Acenta costs R688,900 and the flagship Acenta Plus 4WD is R770,900. This includes a six-year/150,000km warranty and a three-year/90,000km service plan.

The first thing we need to get out of the way is that powertrain. It is a very rudimentary pairing, with a 2.5l normally aspirated four-cylinder petrol engine linked to a continuously variable transmission (CVT). The output is 135kW/244Nm.

As expected, it does not set the road ablaze when you need to overtake quickly, leaving you feeling flat-footed. So it requires a mindful driver to extract the most from it. Achieved consumption ranged between 10l/100km at best and 12l/100km at worst.

While it is not the most sophisticated form of propulsion out there, it is likely to be durable, with fewer things to go wrong versus a turbocharged or hybrid equivalent.

It is the one odd point in what otherwise feels like a thoroughly accomplished product. Getting into the Nissan, there is a sense of quality beyond the surface finishes, which is something many Chinese rivals seem to lack. Last year we tested the new Nissan Leaf in Denmark (sadly not on sale locally) and we were impressed by the plush, upmarket interior appointments.

The updated X-Trail has much of the same vibe. From the steering wheel to the upholstery and even places you would not ordinarily touch, the cabin exudes an assuring sense of quality.

The infotainment system is a 12.3-inch unit, as is the instrument cluster in the Acenta Plus. The displays are fair, if not on the same level of tech-intensive Chinese contenders, but would you rather have bigger screens or better build quality?

The features list comprises seven airbags, an around-view monitor, blind-spot assist, adaptive cruise control and genuine leather upholstery. And it is easy to forget that it has a third row of seats for smaller passengers. That puts it in the same league as rivals such as the Volkswagen Tayron, which is pricier at R811,800.

Although performance is tepid, the road manners of the X-Trail cannot be faulted. Suspension tuning is excellent, as is insulation, while the all-wheel drive and 211mm ground clearance make for worry-free gravel travel.

It is a sizable vehicle measuring 4,680mm in length, 1,725mm in height and 2,065mm in width. Even with all seats up, luggage compartment space is 485l, extending to 651l with the third-row seats folded flat.

There are some products that we motor critics are reluctant to recommend when asked. The Nissan X-Trail is not one of them; however, one hopes the brand is here to stay despite undergoing such a significant rationalisation.

TimesLIVE

Researchers at TrendAI, a unit of Tokyo-based cybersecurity company Trend Micro, concluded the Israeli company Discover-Tech was one of the biggest sources of digital ads shown to users of SpaceX’s Starlink service, and that the ads were likely being used to geolocate or otherwise surveil them, according to the six people.

The researchers, who drew on digital advertising data in TrendAI’s telemetry for their conclusions, found Discover-Tech had become one of the world’s leading bidders for ads aimed at Starlink users, and was the No 1 bidder on Starlink traffic in more than 100 countries, including several where Starlink itself was banned or restricted. Bidding refers to the complex auction system by which advertisers secure space inside people’s browsers and apps.

SpaceX did not respond to requests for comment. Discover-Tech and its CEO did not respond to requests for comment over the past two weeks.

TrendAI released a report on October 15 about the targeting of Starlink users but did not name Discover-Tech, instead saying the party responsible was “an ad tech entity” which it called “Shadow-Earth-79”. The six sources said Shadow-Earth-79 is TrendAI’s codename for Discover-Tech.

TrendAI did not directly address questions about why its report did not identify Shadow-Earth-79 by name, saying its approach to attribution was aimed at reducing the risk of mistakes and avoiding “hype-driven labels” or “unstable actor names that can mislead defenders, distort risk prioritisation and trigger inappropriate response actions”.

Finding ways to track Starlink users has become a cottage industry as governments around the world try to get a grip on the spread of satellite internet terminals. Because they route data through SpaceX-operated satellites rather than nationally regulated telecommunications firms, the terminals can sidestep local internet restrictions, communicate in hostile areas or co-ordinate action across battlefields.

Starlink has become a particularly important resource in Ukraine, whose military relies on the service for frontline communications and directing drone strikes.

In May Israeli newspaper Haaretz and the website Intelligence Online separately reported Israeli-owned businesses were pitching clients on ways to identify and track Starlink users. Haaretz said exploiting ad data appeared to play a key role in the process.

Discover-Tech accused of wider spy effort

The same day TrendAI published its report on Shadow-Earth-79, Canadian cyber watchdog Citizen Lab and New York advertising technology firm Confiant outed Discover-Tech by name.

Both groups said the Israeli company abused the ad bidding process, which can leak data about internet users back to the bidder.

Over time, bidders can collect that leaked data, collate it and merge it with other information to de-anonymise users, follow them around the web and, in some cases, set them up for targeting with surveillance software.

Citizen Lab and Confiant said the ads had been shown inside dozens of sensitive networks belonging to media organisations, governments and tech firms.

In response to the investigations, Google, Comcast and other companies said they had removed Discover-Tech from their ad platforms.

At least one big US tech company and one international organisation recently launched internal inquiries into whether Discover-Tech’s ads targeted their employees, according to one of the people and a seventh person familiar with the matter.

Top advertiser in Yemen, South Sudan

TrendAI’s report cited suspicious bidding patterns that suggested Shadow-Earth-79 was running “targeting and tracking infrastructure rather than a commercial advertising operation”.

In addition to noting the “obvious skew” towards buying ads aimed at Starlink users, the report said Shadow-Earth-79 was the top buyer of ads in Syria, Libya, Yemen and South Sudan and was the No 2 ad buyer in Afghanistan even though “the demand for legitimate Western advertising in sanctioned or active-conflict states is effectively zero”. It said the entity won “an implausibly dominant share” of bids in several countries including Hungary, Israel, Egypt, Azerbaijan and Venezuela.

TrendAI researchers were convinced Discover-Tech was behind the suspicious bidding activity and discussed naming the company in TrendAI’s report, according to the six people familiar with the matter. However, they eventually dropped the idea of publicly attributing the activity to a named company after TrendAI executives raised legal concerns, five sources said.

Self-censorship is common in the cybersecurity industry, especially when executives fear that exposing surveillance operations could draw retribution, industry experts said.

Earlier this year, US cybersecurity company Palo Alto stripped explicit references to China from a report on a global cyberespionage campaign even though its researchers were confident the hacking could be pinned on Beijing, Reuters reported at the time.

Reuters said the report was watered down over fears that calling out China would cause problems for Palo Alto’s operations there, which were under scrutiny after a Beijing directive ordering domestic companies not to use its products.

Palo Alto said the lack of attribution in its report was not correlated with “procurement regulations in China” and any suggestion otherwise was “speculative and false”.

Reuters

The latest situation report from the DRC’s public health institute put the number of cases at 10,060, with those killed by the virus reaching 4,887.

The outbreak, caused by the rare Bundibugyo species of Ebola, was announced in mid-May and has since become the largest and deadliest in the DRC, surpassing a 2018-2020 epidemic.

It is the second-largest and second-deadliest on record behind only the 2014-2016 West African Ebola outbreak, which infected more than 28,600 people and killed more than 11,000, mainly in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Earlier this month, Kenya reported its first case and announced nine cases in total after a man who had travelled from the DRC via Uganda died in Nairobi.

Last week Nigeria became the fourth African country to report an Ebola case. Health officials have trying to work out how and where ​the patient, the wife of a Swiss diplomat who had not travelled to the DRC, ⁠contracted the disease. The Swiss government said she was believed to have contracted it in Uganda. The woman and her husband were flown to hospitals in Switzerland on Monday.

Uganda reported 20 cases in May and June, mostly imported from the DRC, but the World Health Organisation declared the country Ebola-free in August. Ugandan officials said the country does not have any Ebola cases. Uganda’s health minister said on Sunday Ugandan citizens returning to the country with a history of travel to the DRC would be quarantined for 21 days.

Reuters

The complaints target Outlier, a platform on which more than 900,000 freelancers perform various tasks that are recorded to create AI training data for clients such as Meta, OpenAI and Google. Meta owns 49% of Scale AI.

Noyb is asking regulators to fine Scale AI and to examine how the platform assigns tasks.

“You don’t work when you want,” said Thomas Le Bonniec, who spent two years studying the platform for Paris-based research collective DiPLab. “You work when the platform wants you to and there are tasks available.”

Scale AI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The complaints seen by Reuters said up to 19 trackers follow workers while they work, including recording keystrokes and mouse movements every few seconds. An investigation by DiPLab found the resulting file could be rebuilt into a video that replays a work session from start to finish.

Workers must also submit ID documents and a face video to identity verification firm Persona. The complaints said the checks were invasive, repeated without explanation, and broke EU rules on biometric data.

Outlier also uses game-like mechanisms, and bonuses are a key part of its incentive system, DiPLab found.

Outlier offered bonuses of $100 to $200 (about R1,662.18 to R3,324.36) for completing 200 tasks in 24 hours, Le Bonniec said, citing interviews with workers during his investigation. Italy’s data protection authority fined delivery platform Glovo in 2021 over similar gamification, he added.

Four workers asked Outlier for copies of their data between December 2025 and May 2026. None received an answer, the complaints said.

Reuters

Kane is the first Englishman to win the prestigious award in 25 years, after Michael Owen won it in 2001.

“Wow, wow, wow,” Kane said after taking the stage. “I am almost speechless.

“Being here in London has made it extra special. Made it a good omen for me tonight. Thank you to everyone who voted for me. I can imagine it was tough this year.

“Some world-class players in the room tonight. Congratulations to all the winners and nominees tonight and impressive showing determination and hard work can really achieve.”

HARRY KANE IS THE 2026 BALLON D'OR! #ballondor pic.twitter.com/k3CUlwLF1E

— Ballon d'Or (@ballondor) October 26, 2026

Spain midfielder Alexia Putellas won the Ballon d’Or Feminin for the third time.

Kane’s move to Bayern in 2023 brought the team trophies that had long eluded him. In 2025-26, he coupled that success with goalscoring numbers that made him the leading Ballon d’Or candidate.

The England captain produced his most prolific campaign, scoring 61 goals in 51 games for Bayern across all competitions as the German side completed a domestic league and cup double.

By the end of the season, Kane had established himself as Europe’s leading goalscorer.

His influence stretched far beyond club football.

🗣️ "Ronaldo was one of my idols growing up."

Harry Kane on it being extra special to be presented the Ballon d'Or by one of his childhood idols. pic.twitter.com/VkCWa64GrP

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) October 27, 2026

He scored six goals at the World Cup and led England to the semifinals, combining his clinical finishing with the leadership and composure that have defined his international career.

The award represents the culmination of a remarkable journey. Few players have experienced a career arc quite like Kane’s, and he thanked all of his career coaches in his emotional speech, plus Tottenham Hotspur and his wife Kate.

Once struggling to establish himself at Spurs as a youngster, being sent out on numerous loans, he developed into one of the most complete centre forwards of his generation, capable of scoring every type of goal while also functioning as a playmaker.

“It’s about the journey,” Kane said. “Anything is possible, work hard when nobody is watching.

“For any young boy or girl wanting to achieve their dreams, anything is possible. I wasn’t the kid who went straight to the top. I had to experience the downs. I had to find my way to be the very best right now.”

The Ballon d’Or has often rewarded players whose success was built on flair and spectacle, but Kane’s triumph is a tribute to consistency, intelligence and productivity on an exceptional scale.

TRES VECES REINA 👑 TRES VECES ALEXIA PUTELLAS 🇪🇸

Su tercer Balón de Oro. HISTORIA DEL FÚTBOL ✨#ballondor pic.twitter.com/w7FBgQGlwV

— DAZN Fútbol (@DAZNFutbol) October 26, 2026

Week after week, he delivered. Match after match, he decided contests. There were no prolonged slumps and few quiet nights.

His numbers were almost impossible to ignore.

Kane finished the campaign with 73 goals for club and country, a total rarely seen in the modern era. More importantly, those goals arrived in moments of genuine significance, helping Bayern collect trophies and driving England deep into the biggest tournament in the sport.

The competition for this year’s award was fierce. Kylian Mbappé broke World Cup scoring records. Lamine Yamal helped Spain to World Cup glory. Yet voters ultimately chose Kane, whose excellence lasted the entire season.

Mbappé finished second, followed by c, Rodri and Lionel Messi.

At 33, Kane has finally claimed the game’s highest individual honour, adding a Ballon d’Or to a legacy that already places him among football’s greatest strikers as England’s all-time leading marksman and their record World Cup scorer.

It’s about the journey. Anything is possible, work hard when nobody is watching.

Harry Kane

Putellas was presented with the women’s award after winning the treble with Barcelona in the 2025-26 campaign, in addition to the Spanish Super Cup. She moved to Women’s Super League side London City Lionesses in July after 14 years at Barca.

Spain and Barcelona players won the young talent awards, Lamine picking up his third trophy and Vicky Lopez taking home the women’s award for the second successive year.

Spain coach Luis de la Fuente was named men’s coach of the year, while Barcelona’s Pere Romeu won the women’s coaching award.

The men’s goalkeeper award went to Unai Simon of Spain and Athletic Bilbao, while Cata Coll of Spain and Barcelona won the women’s award.

Paris St Germain won the men’s club of the year award, while Barcelona picked up the women’s honours. Kane won the men’s striker of the year prize, while Charlyn Corral was named top women’s striker.

Arsenal and England winger Bukayo Saka was presented with the Socrates Award for humanitarian work.

Reuters

Lissu, who leads the Chadema opposition party and came second in the 2020 presidential election, began refusing food on Monday after his lawyers were denied entry to the prison where he is being held, party spokesperson Brenda Rupia wrote on X.

Tanzania Prisons Service spokesperson Elizabeth Mbezi said it would give an update on Lissu soon. Government spokesperson Gerson Msigwa did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Lissu was charged with treason over what prosecutors said was a speech calling on the public to rebel and disrupt last year’s general election. He pleaded not guilty to the charges, which his lawyer has said are politically motivated.

Tanzania’s electoral commission had barred Chadema from participating in the polls after it failed to sign a code of conduct document.

The election was marred by protests and unrest, with a government-appointed commission of inquiry saying the violence that broke out afterwards killed at least 518 people and blaming the protesters for the violence.

Chadema’s chief legal counsel, Rugemeleza Nshala, told journalists on Saturday that Lissu had planned the strike because he was denied privacy during talks with his lawyers in violation of a court order.

The court is due to deliver its judgement in Lissu’s case on November 6.

Lissu’s detention, along with the alleged abductions of government critics, has shone a spotlight on the human rights record of President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who won the 2025 election.

The government has rejected accusations of widespread rights abuses and said it is committed to respecting human rights. It ordered an investigation into reports of abductions in 2024, though no official findings have been made public.

Reuters

They also investigate the cause of brake judder on a Hyundai Palisade, explore fuel-efficient double-cab alternatives to the Peugeot Landtrek, and consider whether it’s time to replace a troublesome Lexus IS200.

TimesLIVE

The Swiss drugmaker reported a 61% drop in third-quarter operating income, which Novartis attributed to higher research and development costs and a $1.9bn partial impairment charge for del-desiran, one of two consecutive major trial setbacks unveiled in September that sent its shares tumbling at the time.

The drug, which was being tested for myotonic dystrophy, a muscle-wasting disease with no approved treatments, was obtained through Novartis’ $12bn acquisition of Avidity.

The drugmaker’s shares, however, rose 2.3% in early trade after the company also lifted its full-year core operating income guidance to low single-digit percentage growth compared with the low single-digit decline previously expected, after strong third-quarter demand for its key cancer and multiple sclerosis drugs. It maintained its forecast for low single-digit net sales growth.

No change to M&A strategy

Despite the drug trial setbacks that heightened investor scrutiny around the drugmaker’s business development strategy, and called its valuation into question, CEO Vas Narasimhan said he remained confident in the company’s acquisition strategy.

Narasimhan said the setbacks were part of drug development and that there was an overreaction by some in the market.

“We don’t need to change our M&A strategy,” Narasimhan said in a call with journalists, adding his company remains happy with the Avidity deal, which also included other experimental drug candidates.

Artisan Partners, among Novartis’ top 20 shareholders, had in September called for a shake-up of the board to improve corporate governance after the company lost nearly $30bn in market value after the underwhelming trial updates.

In the third quarter, core operating income, adjusted for special items, increased 10% at constant exchange rates thanks to higher net sales, the Basel-based company said, beating analyst expectations.

Reuters

In South Africa, the KwaZulu-Natal department of transport has published photos and footage of motorists arrested during its province-wide roadblock campaign, Nenzani La Ezweni. The operations targeting drunken driving, excessive speeding, and unroadworthy vehicles have frequently named the professions of those arrested, including lawyers, police officers, teachers, and priests.

High-profile arrests such as actress Asavela Mqokiyana, who was recently caught driving at 198 km/h in a 120 km/h zone on the N2 near Scottburgh, quickly ignite viral discussion across social platforms.

However, legal experts warn that this “name and shame” strategy crosses serious legal boundaries.

Legal expert Mpumelelo Zikalala has strongly criticised government departments for publishing images and videos of suspects before court appearances, warning that this violates suspects’ constitutional rights.

“It is not permitted to distribute images of individuals who have not yet appeared in court. Photographing motorists and posting their pictures for purposes of naming and shaming on social media is unlawful,” Zikalala said.

He emphasised that blurring faces did not eliminate legal risks: “They are merely suspects of crimes they allegedly committed. Although the department may argue that faces were blurred, people who know these motorists well can still identify them from the images and videos,” Zikalala said.

He cautioned that individuals whose pictures are published online could pursue defamation of character lawsuits or crimen injuria claims against the state, particularly if they are subsequently acquitted in court.

In response to concerns surrounding suspect privacy, KwaZulu-Natal transport spokesperson Ndabezinhle Sibiya defended the operations, highlighting the campaign’s effect on deterrence and road safety.

Story audio is generated using AI

The company linked to the Zimbabwean man who threatened to shoot women in a bathroom at a Sandton restaurant after they rejected his advances is among 75 the government has blacklisted after findings of misrepresentation.

Public works and infrastructure minister Dean Macpherson announced the blacklisting of Moriel Group and 74 other contractors during a media briefing in Pretoria on Tuesday, outlining the steps that led to the decision.

Lawrence Mudzinganyama, who was a director and executive chair of Moriel Group, came into the spotlight in September after a viral video showed him allegedly threatening a group of women.

In the footage that went viral, Mudzinganyama could be heard telling the women he was “too wealthy” for them and demanding respect during a heated exchange in which he threatened to shoot them. He was subsequently arrested and charged with intimidation.

According to Macpherson, investigations into Moriel Group began long before the social media coverage in September.

“The Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) began its investigation into the company in 2025 and served its formal notice in that year. After further investigation, an additional notice was served in September 2026,” Macpherson said.

The company held several high-level grades and it was important for the CIDB to address these concerns through a proper regulatory process. The company was afforded an opportunity to respond to the allegations

Dean Macpherson, public works and infrastructure minister

He said serious concerns had been raised about whether Moriel Group had misrepresented its financial and technical capabilities to secure public sector contracts for which it may not have been suitably qualified.

“The company held several high-level grades and it was important for the CIDB to address these concerns through a proper regulatory process. The company was afforded an opportunity to respond to the allegations,” he said.

Macpherson said the CIDB registry is an important safeguard in public procurement as it provides a framework to assess financial and technical capabilities before companies undertake work at different levels of value and complicity.

“While sometimes [submission] documents are falsified, the contractor may secure a contract they genuinely don’t deserve.

“The consequences are serious because the government may award work to a company that does not have the experience, resources or financial muscle.

“These create risk of delays, abandoned projects and financial losses, and ultimately citizens suffer the cost.”

CIDB board chair Khulile Nzo said the message is simple: access to public procurement opportunities must be earned through genuine capabilities and compliance with the rules.

It cannot be obtained through fraud, forgery and misrepresentation, he said.

“When false information is submitted to secure grading levels that have not been legitimately earned, the integrity of the registry is undermined and this creates risk for infrastructure clients, disadvantages honest contractors and undermines confidence in the procurement process,” he said.

“That is why the CIDB acts when wrongdoing has been identified. Our responsibility is not simply to act but to act fairly, lawfully and based on credible evidence.

“Beyond enforcement, we remain focused on strengthening our systems. This includes improved verification measures and enhanced quality assurance processes. In June we took a step further and started the auditing process of contractors.”

Sowetan

In a video that emerged online on Monday, Mbappe is heard saying the funniest meme he had seen of himself was one where his face had been morphed onto that of “a Chinese dictator”.

Fans have been creating memes superimposing Mbappe’s face on images of military and political leaders to suggest he has the power to call the shots at the teams he plays for.

Reuters has not been able to authenticate the video.

Mao, the founder of the People’s Republic of China, is idolised by many as the nation’s saviour, and jokes about him are considered taboo. He died in 1976.

In a statement posted on China’s Weibo social media platform, Eastroc Beverage, which featured Mbappe’s face on its drinks, said it firmly opposed “behaviour that hurts national sentiment”.

“Effective immediately, we are ending all cooperation with Kylian Mbappe,” it added.

Mbappe’s representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In an interview with L’Equipe last month, Mbappe said while some aspects of the trend were harmless fun, the viral memes depicting him as a dictator showed “a lack of political and human awareness”.

Dairy companies Mengniu and Milkground also ended their cooperation with Mbappe.

When asked about the incident, a spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry said words and actions that hurt the feelings of the Chinese people “will naturally be met with joint opposition from all sectors of the Chinese society”.

China’s state television has halted broadcasts of all matches and events involving LaLiga and Mbappe, and all advertisements involving Mbappe have been removed, state-backed media outlet The Paper reported on Tuesday.

LaLiga and Real Madrid did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Reuters

Growth in solar and wind capacity has been accelerating every year since 2021, when the coronavirus pandemic disrupted global supply chains. Clean power installations including hydropower surged a record 692 gigawatts, or 15.5%, to 5,149 GW in 2025 — representing half the world’s power capacity.

Governments have pledged to boost clean energy use to ensure reliable power supply and cut costs, particularly after the US-Israeli war with Iran choked energy supplies and inflated prices. But Irena director-general Francesco La Camera noted that there has been a slowdown in renewables deployment in China due to curtailment — or rejection of clean power when a grid hits its limits.

“The main cause of a lack of new record in additions this year is the mismatch between generation capacity and the capacity to distribute and transmit electricity,” he told Reuters on the sidelines of the Singapore International Energy Week conference.

China, the world’s biggest renewable energy producer, turned away enough clean energy to power Mexico ​for a year in the first half of 2026, while networks in nations such as Australia and Japan also failed to keep pace with a surging renewables buildout.

“The amount of the (capacity) increase in the other parts of the world this year, I don’t think it will offset the slowing down in China,” La Camera said. He declined to provide a numerical forecast for expected growth in clean energy additions this year.

Renewable energy additions are crucial to reducing ​global emissions, and the UN said in a report last week that “urgent and stringent” emission cuts were required to slow global warming.

Reuters

Church authorities said the dead were all Christians, but did not go into details on how they died or who was behind the attacks.

The Oromiya regional government and a source linked to a rebel alliance fighting government forces in the northern Tigray region traded blame for the attacks.

The Holy Synod of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church said 14 believers were killed in Merti Woreda on October 20 and 46 in Sherka Woreda on October 24.

More than 20 homes were burned and more than 20 people hospitalised with severe injuries, the church said on Monday.

The regional government said the rebel alliance launched the attacks to try to spark religious conflict without providing evidence.

The source linked to the rebel alliance said the Oromiya regional government had carried out the killings, citing conversations with two local residents.

The Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) rebel group, which the regional government has blamed for previous attacks on Orthodox Christians, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The OLA is one of seven armed groups that announced last month they had formed an alliance aimed at overthrowing Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government.

Reuters

The matter was postponed on Tuesday after the Johannesburg high court was told that the pre-sentencing report was not ready, among other things.

Kluyts, who was 14 weeks pregnant with a baby boy, was killed at a My Run event in Parkmore, Sandton, on October 29 2023.

Mahungela had pleaded not guilty and disputed the state’s case, which had relied on CCTV footage, forensic evidence and evidence about his movements on the day of the killing.

The state relied heavily on surveillance footage taken from multiple locations, including Sandhurst Preparatory School and nearby private residences, to place Mahungela near the victim shortly before her disappearance, and to later show him in possession of clothing allegedly belonging to Kluyts.

The court also highlighted recurring distinguishing features across the various videos, including a bucket hat with a distinctive square emblem, specific footwear, the accused’s build and gait, and what appeared to be a band‑like tattoo on the right upper arm.

Mahungela maintained that the person shown in the CCTV footage was not him and has described the identification as mistaken.

He was convicted in September for the murder.

In convicting, Judge Ian Cox found that Mahungela removed and concealed items belonging to Kluyts after her death, including her clothing and personal possessions, in an attempt to prevent evidence being linked to the crime.

Cox said the state had succeeded in proving Mahungela’s guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

TimesLIVE

Story audio is generated using AI

The Free State High Court has blocked a father from receiving R426,000 from his pension fund while a dispute over maintenance for his two minor children remains unresolved.

The judgment, delivered by judge Johannes Daffue, follows years of failed maintenance payments and repeated court orders that were not honoured.

The father, identified only as Mr K, worked as a prosecutor for the National Prosecuting Authority until his employment ended in 2022.

His former wife, Mrs K, approached the court after he persistently failed to comply with maintenance obligations for their children, born in 2008 and 2012. She asked the court to interdict the Government Employees’ Pension Fund (GEPF) from paying him R607,400 from his pension benefits pending the finalisation of maintenance proceedings in the Bloemfontein maintenance court.

The court found that the father had failed to pay maintenance even while he was still employed.

He is, no doubt, a recalcitrant father who has for many years neglected his children by refusing to pay towards their maintenance

Judge Johannes Daffue

In 2020 the high court ordered him to:

• pay R1,500 per month per child;
• buy clothing for the children twice a year;
• pay their school fees; and
• cover their medical expenses.

Although the couple’s divorce was finalised in October 2023, further orders followed, including one in which R160,000 was to be paid to the mother for arrear maintenance and another in which R66,000 was to be paid for a year’s future maintenance.

However, the court heard that neither amount was ever paid by the pension fund. The father also failed to pay the R2,500 monthly maintenance per child ordered in May 2025, as well as the children’s school fees.

Daffue did not mince his words about the father’s conduct. “He is, no doubt, a recalcitrant father who has for many years neglected his children by refusing to pay towards their maintenance. The history of the case has shown that the respondent is averse to paying maintenance,” said Daffue.

“It is common cause that he did not comply with the aforesaid order even when employed.”

The judge added that the father had once again shown his attitude towards his children by failing to pay their school fees and monthly maintenance after the May 2025 order.

The father argued that he could not pay maintenance because the pension fund had refused to pay out his benefits after the mother brought the application. However, Daffue did not accept this explanation.

Courts need to be alive to recalcitrant maintenance defaulters who use legal processes to side-step their obligations towards their children

Judge Johannes Daffue

“The respondent failed to set out his financial position, indicating his income and expenditure and why it was not possible to make the aforesaid payments without relying on a pay-out from the Fund,” he said.

“Courts need to be alive to recalcitrant maintenance defaulters who use legal processes to side-step their obligations towards their children.”

The judge said the Maintenance Act and the Pension Funds Act were now working together to protect children whose parents refused to maintain them.

While the mother had asked for R607,400 to be preserved, the judge found that the amount had not been properly justified. He instead ordered that R426,000 be held back:

• R160,000 for arrear maintenance;
• R66,000 for the previously ordered future maintenance; and
• R100,000 to secure an additional year of maintenance for the children.

“A child’s best interests are of paramount importance in every matter concerning the child,” Daffue said, quoting section 28(2) of the constitution.

The GEPF has been interdicted from paying the R426,000 to the father pending the finalisation of the Bloemfontein maintenance court proceedings.

Daffue further urged the maintenance court to speed up its processes and ensure that the earlier orders for R160,000 and R66,000 are enforced without delay.

“There is no reason why the fund shall not forthwith pay to the applicant the amounts of R160,000 and R66,000,” he said.

Sowetan

Story audio is generated using AI

Isibiya actress and model Asavela Mqokiyana is expected to make her second appearance in the Scottburgh magistrate’s court on October 28 for allegedly speeding in a 120km/h zone.

Mqokiyana was arrested by the Road Traffic Inspectorate (RTI) team from Park Rynie on the N2 at Ellingham. She was driving a BMW X3 SUV when she was caught allegedly travelling at 198km/h, 78km/h above the speed limit.

KwaZulu-Natal transport and human settlements MEC Siboniso Duma said Mqokiyana first appeared in court on October 19 after her arrest.

“The arrest of actress and model Asavela Mqokiyana is a reminder to all motorists that the Nenzani LaEzweni operation is still in full swing,” he said.

Duma said between October 15 and 21, the RTI and Operation Shanela teams stopped 12,073 vehicles and issued 421 speeding charges.

During the same period, 1,719 motorists were charged, including 87 for driving without licences and 141 for not wearing seatbelts. The MEC said 112 unlicensed vehicles were identified, and 140 vehicles were impounded for operating without permits.

Duma said more than 26 multidisciplinary Nenzani LaEzweni operations would be conducted between October 22 and 28, with an additional 15 operations focusing on drunk driving.

“The RTI will have no mercy this festive season, as demonstrated during Transport Month.”

Sowetan

Lula da Silva was re-elected on Sunday after the October 2026 presidential run-off election, in which he defeated challenger Flávio Bolsonaro with 51.79% of the vote. Having previously served two terms from 2003 to 2011 and returned to office in 2023, his fourth term is set to begin in January 2027.

“On behalf of the government and the people of South Africa, I congratulate my dear brother and friend, President Lula and the people of Brazil,” Ramaphosa said.

The Presidency highlighted the strong bilateral and strategic partnership between the two nations, which is anchored in South-South co-operation, multilateralism, and shared leadership within Brics, Ibsa, the G77+China, and the G20. It added that these diplomatic ties were further reinforced during Ramaphosa’s state visit to Brazil in March.

Ramaphosa described the outcome as a “victory for the Global South”.

“This victory will echo beyond the shores of Brazil. It is a victory for the Global South and progressive forces throughout the world. We affirm our commitment to continue strengthening bilateral relations between our two countries and working closely together in all multilateral fora to forge a just and better world order, underpinned by solidarity and adherence to international law.”

Lula da Silva received Ramaphosa’s well wishes with “joy and gratitude”, reaffirming their shared commitment to deepening bilateral co-operation across international bodies.

“The Brazilian people have reaffirmed their confidence in democracy,” Lula da Silva said.

“Our frequent meetings in recent years have further strengthened the strategic partnership between our countries. We will continue working together in the G20 and Brics to amplify the voice of the Global South, combat hunger and poverty, and promote the reform of global governance in defence of a more just, democratic, and inclusive international order.”

Other world leaders have extended their warm congratulations to Lula da Silva. Here are more reactions from X:

저의 각별한 친구이자 동지인 룰라 대통령(@LulaOficial)님, 누구보다 기쁜 마음으로 당선을 축하드립니다.

브라질 국민께서 보내주신 신뢰와 기대를 바탕으로 앞으로도 큰 역할 해주시리라 생각합니다. 대통령님이 그려오신 브라질의 미래를 향해 힘차게 나아가시길 진심으로 응원합니다.

함께 나눈…

— 이재명 (@Jaemyung_Lee) October 26, 2026

Toutes mes félicitations @LulaOficial pour ta réélection.

La France et le Brésil ont beaucoup à construire ensemble.

Face aux grands défis de notre temps, renforçons notre partenariat stratégique et faisons vivre l’amitié entre nos deux pays au service d’un monde plus juste.

— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) October 26, 2026

*Felicitações ao Presidente Reeleito do Brasil*🇧🇷

Felicitamos Sua Excelência Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva pela sua reeleição como Presidente da República Federativa do Brasil.

Desejamos-lhe sucessos no exercício do seu mandato e prosperidade ao povo brasileiro.

Moçambique e o… pic.twitter.com/ffFVLRvLmR

— Presidente Daniel Chapo (@daniel_chapo24) October 26, 2026

Congratulations, President @LulaOficial, on your re-election in Brazil.

The relationship between Canada and Brazil has flourished under our partnership. Let’s seize this opportunity to make it even stronger, together — to create major new trade opportunities, protect the…

— Mark Carney (@MarkJCarney) October 26, 2026

TimesLIVE

Video courtesy of SABC

TimesLIVE

Leiters took office at the start of the year. Porsche’s supervisory board appointed him to change course after the group’s electrification strategy failed to take off, resulting in €2.7bn (R50.2bn) in restructuring costs.

Leiters fleshed out his strategy for the automaker to investors earlier this month. He plans more customisation and exclusive higher-margin models, which will shrink the group, but should increase profits.

Tuesday’s results showed a 12% increase in sales of its high-margin flagship 911 car, the only model in Porsche’s portfolio for which sales rose over the first nine months of the year.

“We are implementing our strategic realignment consistently and at a rapid pace. Our focus is on our core business, a competitive cost structure and a sustainable increase in our profitability,” Leiters said.

“With the measures already implemented, we are creating the conditions to position Porsche as a stronger, more focused and more profitable company in the long term.”

Nine-month operating profit of €1.7bn (R31.6bn) followed a weak prior-year result of €40m (R744.8m), when the carmaker was hit by increased costs largely related to its halted electrification strategy, the company said.

Declining sales in China have also depressed the results of Porsche, parent Volkswagen and fellow subsidiary Audi, prompting a restructuring of the group.

Porsche’s operating return on sales hit a record low of 1.1% in 2025 but improved to 6.9% in the nine-month period, within a targeted range of 5.5% to 7.5% for the full year.

Reuters

Last month Mahungela was found guilty of kidnapping and killing former teacher Kirsten Kluyts in 2023.

Video courtesy of SABC.

TimesLIVE

The left-hand-drive supercar was completed in June 2022 and retained by Ferrari for media use. Its estimated auction value ranges from £7.5m to £9.5m.

The Daytona SP3 is the third model in Ferrari’s exclusive Icona series, which combines modern mechanicals with styling inspired by the marque’s past. Unveiled in 2022, it pays tribute to Ferrari’s mid-engined racing prototypes of the 1960s.

The name commemorates Ferrari’s achievement at the 1967 24 Hours of Daytona, when three factory-supported cars swept the podium in a symbolic riposte to Ford’s success at Le Mans the previous year.

Its design incorporates a wrap-around windscreen, pronounced wheel arches, a removable roof and distinctive slatted rear bodywork. Rather than relying on active aerodynamics, engineers concentrated on passive solutions, including underbody air-extraction channels.

Power comes from a naturally aspirated 6.5l V12 producing 610kW and 697Nm, driving the rear wheels through a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. Ferrari claims a 0-100km/h time of 2.85 seconds. The engine was the most powerful naturally aspirated V12 fitted to a Ferrari road car at its launch.

Chassis No 277499 is particularly significant because it was built and specified by Ferrari itself. Finished in three-layer Giallo Triplo Strato yellow paintwork with a Rosso Ferrari leather interior, it features extensive carbon-fibre bodywork, airbrushed Scuderia shields and red brake callipers behind 20-inch forged wheels.

The car became one of the most publicised Daytona SP3s, appearing in Motor Sport Magazine, Car & Driver and Road & Track, as well as an episode of Top Gear.

Ferrari retained the development car until March 2025, when it was purchased through British dealer H R Owen, making the vendor its first and only private owner. The odometer shows 2,948 miles (4,744km) when the car was catalogued for auction.

It will be offered with its owner’s guides, European Certificate of Conformity, tool and tyre inflator kits, removable carbon-fibre roof and fabric roof setup.

With its factory development-car provenance, extensive media history and distinctive specification, the Daytona SP3 could prove one of the most sought-after examples of Ferrari’s limited-production modern classics.

A one-of-a-kind 2025 Ferrari Daytona SP3 “Tailor Made” sold for a record-breaking $26m (about R577m) at RM Sotheby’s charity auction during Monterey Car Week in August 2025, with the proceeds benefiting The Ferrari Foundation.

TimesLIVE

Yet Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving leader with 19 years in office, remains a formidable survivor, with nationalist politics increasingly entrenched and Israel’s fragmented system potentially leaving him best placed to form a government.

Opinion polls show a close race between Netanyahu’s Likud party and its right-wing allies and a rival alliance led by Gadi Eisenkot, a former military chief of staff and security hawk with backers on the right and in the centre.

Voters began casting ballots after polling stations opened at 7am (5am GMT). The polls close at 10pm (8pm GMT).

Netanyahu has campaigned on his wartime leadership and his alliance with US President Donald Trump, who has endorsed him and joined Israel in waging war on Iran. Netanyahu said on Sunday that Trump was prepared to act again to “finally” remove the Iranian threat, but only if Netanyahu remained in power.

Eisenkot has accused Netanyahu of “relying on a campaign of fear-mongering, lies and threats” and said he was confident Trump would work “in full co-operation with any leader chosen by the people”.

Netanyahu may again depend on far-right leaders Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich to form a government. Both have faced sanctions from some Western countries that accuse them of inciting violence against Palestinians, while Ben-Gvir’s Jewish Power party has gained support in opinion polls.

Neither Netanyahu nor Eisenkot has a clear path to power. If neither can form a governing coalition in the 120-seat parliament, Netanyahu could stay on as caretaker until another election is held next year.

The October 7 reckoning

The election follows one of Israel’s most turbulent periods since its establishment in 1948, shaped by the trauma of the October 7 2023 Hamas attacks, Israel’s subsequent military assault in Gaza and deep domestic divisions over the policies of Netanyahu’s right-wing government.

For many of Netanyahu’s opponents, the election turns on accountability for the security failures of October 7, Israel’s deadliest day.

Mali Hajaj, an education ministry employee and Eisenkot supporter, said that “the most important thing is the establishment of a national inquiry because that’s where our healing will come from”.

Lisa Tortor said she hoped Netanyahu would go and “they can form a new government and do some of the repairing of the damage that Bibi has done for Jews all over the world and for Israel, and Israel’s image”. Bibi is Netanyahu’s nickname.

But Nof Gabay, an 18-year-old Likud supporter, rejected the idea Netanyahu was to blame for October 7 and called him “the right man for the state of Israel”.

“Netanyahu managed the war in the best possible way,” Gabay said.

The wartime record

Israel flattened much of Gaza in the offensive launched after October 7, when Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people and took another 251 hostage. Gaza health authorities say Israeli attacks killed 74,000 people.

Israel also dealt heavy blows to Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon and traded strikes with Iran before a 12-day aerial campaign against Iranian nuclear sites in 2025 and this year’s joint US-Israeli war.

Eisenkot has said Israel’s next government must prevent Iran from acquiring a military nuclear capability, either by force or through an “arrangement” such as a US-backed diplomatic solution.

The coalition math

Like nearly all Jewish-led parties in Israel, Eisenkot opposes the two-state solution that underpinned decades of peace negotiations with the Palestinians.

But he has criticised Jewish settler violence against Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, which has surged since 2023 and strained Israel’s ties with Western states, and opposes Netanyahu’s far-right coalition partners Ben-Gvir and Smotrich.

In some bastions of Likud support, disenchanted voters have been going door to door to turn voters against Netanyahu. Some have turned away from Netanyahu as he battles corruption charges he denies in a long-running criminal trial.

A high turnout among voters from Israel’s Arab minority, Israeli by citizenship but Palestinian by heritage, could help nudge Israel’s complex coalition arithmetic in favour of Eisenkot.

Though Eisenkot has ruled out partnering with Arab parties, citing a lack of shared values, analysts see a scenario where they prop up a minority government he leads in order to ensure Netanyahu is removed from office.

“My expectation is that we will have only a slight majority either way. No landslide,” said Israeli political analyst Amotz Asa-El of the Shalom Hartman Institute.

Reuters

The countries jointly said in the face of a potential famine, they were calling on the international community to scale up funding and urging financial institutions to adapt their ongoing programmes to the food security situation.

“Sudan is experiencing an alarming deterioration in its food security. The risk of famine in the coming months, as warned by the integrated food security phase classification, needs urgent action,” said the joint statement released by the US state department.

“The parties to the conflict bear primary responsibility for alleviating the suffering of the Sudanese people.”

Sudan’s army has been fighting the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since April 2023, when the two fell out over issues including how to integrate their forces in a planned transition to civilian rule.

In June, the UN-backed global hunger monitor, the integrated food security phase classification, said 5.1-million people in Sudan faced severe hunger. Farmers have struggled to harvest their crops since the civil war flared in 2023 and have also recently been battling a drought.

The joint statement urged parties in the conflict to authorise humanitarian operations through all crossline and cross-border routes, including air access into Darfur.

It also called on them to “sustain presence and protection of humanitarian personnel” throughout Sudan and refrain from strikes on civilian infrastructure.

The statement was signed by the US, Australia, the UK, France, Germany and the European commissioner for equality, preparedness and crisis management, among others.

The US state department said last month the Sudanese armed forces, the RSF paramilitary and their respective leaders do not “represent legitimate, constitutional governance for Sudan”.

The war has displaced more than 14-million people and unleashed waves of ethnically driven killings.

A UN investigation said in July the RSF forces carried out mass killings, rapes and forced starvation in a city they besieged and captured last year as part of an intentional policy amounting to genocide.

Washington has also accused the RSF of committing genocide and the army of carrying out war crimes. Both have previously denied abuses.

Reuters

In its latest interim results, the JSE-listed motor retailer said the sharp depreciation of Chinese and other Asian brands introduced at discounted prices four to five years ago surprised owners, forcing some to keep their vehicles for longer until trade-in offers aligned with the residual amounts owed to banks.

The trend has added to an already difficult trading environment for used car dealers. CMH, which represents 31 vehicle brands through its dealership network in South Africa, including Chinese and Indian marques, reported a 10% decline in used vehicle unit sales and a 4.7% drop in gross margin.

However, the evidence does not support a blanket assumption that Chinese cars depreciate faster than established rivals.

TransUnion valuation data shows some Chinese models lose value faster than comparable competitors. A 2025 comparison found the Chery Tiggo 4 Pro depreciated by 27.1% over three years, against 20.5% for the Kia Sonet. The Haval Jolion lost 25.4%, compared with 21.7% for the Volkswagen T-Cross.

Other analyses by Cars.co.za, Business Day and AutoTrader have found the resale values of some popular used Chinese models can match or outperform established rivals.

Putting the greatest pressure on the used car market is the growing availability of affordable new vehicles. With Chinese and Indian manufacturers competing aggressively on price and specification, buyers have less incentive to pay relatively high prices for used cars.

According to Lightstone, there has been a general decline in the retained values of used cars as affordable new vehicles from China and India have grown in market share. Lightstone data shows used vehicles began retaining less of their value in the second half of 2023, with the decline continuing over the next three years as more affordable new car alternatives entered the market.

Chinese brands grew their share of the new passenger car market to 16.8% in 2025, from 11.2% a year before, intensifying competition for established manufacturers and creating a growing pool of vehicles entering the secondhand sector.

With secondhand prices declining across the market, it is harder for owners to trade out of finance agreements.

A car need not have unusually poor resale value for its owner to end up in negative equity; the financing structure can be as important as the depreciation rate. Many buyers take finance packages with balloon payments, which lower monthly repayments but require a large lump sum at the end of the term. If the car’s trade-in value is insufficient to cover the outstanding balance, the owner must find additional cash, refinance the balloon where permitted, or keep the car.

There is also a trend for owners to hold onto their vehicles longer, as the maximum period a car can be financed in South Africa has increased to 96 months (eight years), up from the previous 72-month industry standard.

Lightstone’s July 2025 analysis found 72-month finance agreements still accounted for 72% of vehicle finance deals, while 96-month contracts had become the second-most popular term, with a 10% share.

TimesLIVE

Story audio is generated using AI

Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder Tashreeq Matthews says they will come back stronger following their CAF Champions League exit as they switch their focus to the Carling Knockout.

The Brazilians are still reeling from their failure to progress to the group stage of the Champions League, after they were held to a 1-1 draw by Wiliete SC of Angola on Friday to exit through away goals. It was the first time in over 11 years that Sundowns failed to make the Champions League group phase.

They will host Marumo Gallants in the last 16 of the Carling Knockout at Loftus Versfeld Stadium today (7pm).

“That’s what we have to look forward to, I think the next one is a very important one. We’ve to overcome it and get back to winning ways and get over this feeling, win again and continue from there,” Matthews told the club media department.

“I think that will make things a bit better than what it is.”

With the Carling, Super Cup, Fifa Inter-continental Cup, Nedbank Cup and the Betway Premiership titles to play for, Matthews said they are still motivated to go all out and try to win them.

“I think after the game, we’ve to reflect but it is also important that we take the steps forward and continue. It is difficult to get over what happened, but at the end of the day, you have to take the step forward because you have to continue,” he said.

“There are more things that need to be won, yes, it is the biggest title in Africa to win but we still have a lot of trophies to look forward to and to win.”

Meanwhile, Gallants coach Ronnie Kanalelo said they are not going to hand this game to Sundowns, but to fight to try and get into the next round.

“What we are saying is that Sundowns are beatable, and as long as they are beatable it has happened before in the past in this competition. That’s what we are looking at. We are not going into this game handing it over on a silver platter, we are going to work for it, and they are also going to work for it. That’s the only thing I know,” Kanalelo said.

Gallants eliminated Sundowns at this same stage of the competition last season and went on to reach the final before losing to Orlando Pirates.

Sowetan

Story audio is generated using AI

Barney Pityana, who is regarded as one of Africa’s leading intellectuals, has condemned the recent wave of anti-migrant violence in South Africa, which has left people dead and caused millions of rand in property damage, saying the world was watching in silence.

He made the remarks yesterday, the first day of the Africa and African Diaspora Conference in Ekurhuleni, east of Johannesburg.

The conference, which brings together delegates from Africa, the Caribbean, Latin America and Asia under the theme “The return to Africa”, serves as an independent, unifying platform dedicated to advancing African sovereignty, reparatory justice and sustainable solidarity between Africa and its diaspora.

Pityana, the former vice-chancellor of Unisa and erstwhile chair of the National Lotteries Commission, also spoke against the “genocide in Gaza” and actions of the US government, saying, “It may look like we live in a different world, or it may look like all our energies, efforts and endeavours and struggles have come to nought.

“When you look around the world in which we live today, you see blatant and stark racism. You see in our country, you see strong anti-immigrant movements that seek to throw people away, in their suffering, out of this country, for whatever reason.”

Anti-migration groups such as March and March have been leading protests across the country, calling on those who are in South Africa illegally to go back to their countries. Some of the protests turned violent, with cars and property said to belong to foreign nationals attacked and set alight. In one incident, a foreign national died after being attacked.

When you look around the world in which we live today, you see blatant and stark racism. You see in our country, you see strong anti-immigrant movements that seek to throw people away, in their suffering, out of this country, for whatever reason.

Barney Pityana

The government, labour federations and some NGOs have condemned the protests, saying foreign nationals can’t be made scapegoats for the socio-economic crises confronting South Africa.

Shifting his focus to geopolitics, Pityana said, “We see war, and a head of state and his wife being taken from their home in one country and thrown in jail in another, in the US. We see a war in Iran and everything else that has happened.”

Former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured in a US military operation in Caracas on January 3 and flown to the US, where they remain incarcerated at a detention facility in Brooklyn, New York.

Countries including Russia, China, France and Colombia criticised the raid as a breach of international law, while the US defended it as a law enforcement and counter-narcotics operation.

“We see genocide for three years now — a genocide in Gaza and the continuing genocide in the West Bank of Palestine. Let me tell you this: in all of that, it seems to some of us, especially to the victims, that the world is watching in silence,” Pityana said.

“There seems to be no World Council of Churches, and the evangelical movement that we have come to trust … the voice of the church doesn’t seem to be responsive to the pain … and suffering that we see day by day.

“It’s fair to say that nothing will bring peace to the world except us dealing with these issues as effectively as we can.”

The conference, which will have a declaration and action plans, ends on Friday.

Business Day

Tata now holds 89.42% of Iveco’s common share capital based on provisional results, both companies said.

Final results will be communicated before market opening on October 29.

The offer is set to be reopened from November 2 to 6, Iveco said.

The tender offer ending Monday ran from September 7.

The offer price was raised to €14.40 (R267.82) per share, from €14.10 (R262.24) per share, on October 9.

Tata Motors agreed last year to buy Iveco’s commercial vehicle business in a deal valued at €3.8bn (R70.6bn).

Reuters

An almost 1km section of Oxford Street between the Selfridges and Ikea stores is now closed to buses, cars, taxis, cycles, scooters and pedicabs, the office of London mayor Sadiq Khan said.

The move has been more than two decades in the making. It, and a wider regeneration project, aims to put Oxford Street back among top global shopping destinations including New York’s Times Square, Paris’ Champs-Élysées and Barcelona’s La Rambla.

“After so many false dawns, and now working with a government who share the scale of my ambition, I’m proud that we’re finally unlocking a new era for the street,” Khan said.

“Revitalising Oxford Street will boost jobs and economic growth in the capital.”

Oxford Street, connected to Bond Street and Regent Street and home to John Lewis, Marks & Spencer, Tiffany & Co and many others, has struggled since the Covid-19 pandemic, with the arrival of US sweets stores putting off many shoppers.

The pedestrianisation is the first stage of a transformation, although minimal construction will take place during the run-up to Christmas, a busy shopping period.

Plans for 2027 include more than 50 new trees, 100 new seats, two public squares, rest areas and better signage and lighting.

Oxford Street attracts about 500,000 visitors every day, according to the mayor’s office, but many flagship stores including House of Fraser and Topshop have shut in recent years, and Khan said the area had been neglected.

“This marks an exciting new chapter for Oxford Street, creating a greener, more vibrant place that will attract visitors and investment, support businesses and jobs, and drive growth in the heart of our capital,” British housing, communities and local government minister Angela Rayner said.

Reuters

Story audio is generated using AI

JF van Heerden, the 22-year-old Bulls lock, says he has learnt valuable lessons from franchise Springbok teammates and understands he needs more experience to be a genuine contender for the lock position in Rassie Erasmus’ national team.

Gone are the days when Van Heerden was only a prospect in professional rugby. The 22-year-old has come a long way since signing his first senior contract with the Bulls two years ago.

Van Heerden started in this season’s opening round of the Champions Cup, a move that painted a vivid picture of just how far he has progressed within a highly competitive Bulls squad.

His development as a professional rugby player has also been accelerated by his teammates at the Bulls. After all, Van Heerden is learning from some of the back-to-back Rugby World Cup-winning Bok players, including flyhalf Handré Pollard.

In an exclusive interview with the Sunday Times, the 22-year-old spoke candidly about the influence his teammates have had on him, mentioning the likes of Cameron Hanekom alongside the Bok players as influential figures in his career.

JF van Heerden is locked, loaded and always ready for that lineout jump! The Vodacom Bulls rising star gives us a sneak peek into what it takes to play in the number 5 lock position.#LoveChange #TrueToTheBlue @BlueBullsRugby @catolouw

— BrightRock (@BrightRockZA) April 11, 2025

“You have guys that are in the Springboks setup; they bring a different point of view back to Loftus when they come back from the Boks,” Van Heerden said.

“A guy like Cameron [Hanekom], me and him work together a lot. He obviously knows the game well and understands rugby well. So I enjoy being in his presence.

“You learn something from someone every day and it doesn’t even have to be position-specific. I mean, even from guys like Willie [le Roux, utility back] and Handré, just on how to see the game and look at it in different ways.

“The biggest thing any of those guys would tell you on attack and defence is to look up. I think a lot of young guys, and I’m talking about myself as well here, tend to get caught up with the ball and where the ball is and going after the ball and being with the ruck and all of those things.

“I think that makes a big difference — that I learned, especially from Willie, just to look up and be aware of what is in front of you instead of just where the ball is.”

Across the sporting codes, there are few things as exciting as seeing a young player showing signs of readiness for the international scene. As a result, at times, young players’ careers tend to be ruined by being fast-tracked into the Springboks.

I think it’s stuff that comes with game time and being in situations and positions where you need to make decisions like that.

JF van Heerden

However, in Van Heerden’s case, though he has a burning desire to play for the Boks he understands he still has a lot to learn before he makes the step up to international rugby.

“When those guys [the Bok selectors] feel you play well enough to be there, that call will hopefully come. For me, I wouldn’t put a timeline on anything. I think I’m learning a lot and I’m still growing as a player,” said Van Heerden.

“So hopefully, for me, I’m getting better every game, every season and every day. I’m just going after it, and hopefully the work pays off eventually.

“But I do think there is still a lot that I can to improve on as a lock to get there. But, I mean, I think it’s stuff that comes with game time and being in situations and positions where you need to make decisions like that.”

The youngster did not feature in Bulls’ 34-26 victory over Ulster at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday as he was not included in the match-day 23.

However, with the Bulls having sustained major blows against Ulster to Sango Xamlashe, Cheswill Jooste and Pollard, changes will be made, and the youngster is sure to get game time at some stage. He is raring to go for that chance and to make an impression when it comes.

Story audio is generated using AI

Sandpaper. 47 all out. World Test Championship finalists. The No 1 and No 2 teams in the world, each with a convincing win under their belts, to set up a series decider.

“It was almost like it was inevitable it was going to be one-all,” Pat Cummins mused.

“It feels like the climax of a huge series. The cricket has spoken for itself in these first couple of weeks and it’s all come together here. It’s going to be huge,” added the Australian captain about the third Test that starts at Newlands on Tuesday.

“Both teams have fired shots and you can’t wait for it to start. We’ve got, in terms of the Test team, almost two months until our next Test after this. This is your grand final for the next week. We’ll put everything into this week.”

View this post on Instagram

His counterpart, Temba Bavuma, agreed about the magnitude of the occasion. “It’s definitely not just another game of cricket,” he said.

“Some guys in (Proteas) group haven’t tasted a Test series victory over Australia. So it will be nice for them to experience what that means.”

Bavuma, Kagiso Rabada and Keshav Maharaj, have been part of two series wins against Australia — Down Under in 2016 and of course the infamous 2018 triumph in South Africa. Aiden Markram was part of that team eight years ago too.

For everyone else, the week provides an opportunity to claim a unique and valuable slice of history. The 3-1 series win in 2018 is South Africa’s only home series victory against Australia post-isolation.

Bavuma played an enormous role in putting his team in this position, with a career-best innings at St George’s Park last week.

“You come off such a high and I guess the challenge is to find a way to get yourself into the right mental space. I need to take whatever confidence I got from St George’s, but make sure I’m really present here and locked in for the next five days.”

View this post on Instagram

Both teams still look vulnerable with the bat. Where, Bavuma rescued his side from 110/6 in Gqeberha, with help from the lower order, so a week before Matt Renshaw had done the same for Australia from 120/6.

South Africa acted decisively after the loss in Durban, dropping Tristan Stubbs and Kyle Verreynne. Two new faces, Matthew Breetzke and Marques Ackerman, got to see the realities of Test cricket in Gqeberha, where under leaden skies, they were bamboozled by Scott Boland.

This week it’s Australia’s turn to make changes, although on Monday afternoon, Cummins wasn’t ready to reveal yet what those would be. He, coach Andrew McDonald and selector George Bailey were taking one last look at the Newlands surface before finalising their 11.

Bavuma felt it would spin, and with the forecast for the week good, Simon Harmer will have a big role to play on the fourth and fifth days.

Cummins said Australia was still weighing up whether to choose off-spinner Nathan Lyon, who was axed in Gqeberha. If he does come back, then it seems like Boland, who took a fiver and batted for more than three hours in the follow-on innings at St George’s Park will have to sit out the decider.

View this post on Instagram

With Nic Maddinson sent home to play in the Sheffield Shield, Renshaw will move to opener, a position he was originally selected for two months ago when he was restored to the Test team.

Cummins was “99% sure” Cameron Green would start, and probably bat in the middle order. Green made a century in the first Test against Bangladesh in August, but missed the first two matches of the current series after tearing an abdominal muscle in the last ODI in Potchefstroom.

Whatever combination the Australians settle on, the ramifications of the outcome for them at Newlands will be enormous. Win, and this group can probably continue into their home summer series against New Zealand. Lose, and jobs and careers may be on the line.

A loss won’t be as drastic for South Africa, but it will make the spotlight on the batting failures of the last few weeks that much harsher. There’s been too much chopping and changing. Bavuma knows that, and again outlined how keen he is for greater stability.

That may require him to don his cape again, like he did at St. George’s Park. “Newlands might present a slightly different challenge,” he said.

Playing XI for Third Dafabet Test vs Australia 🚨#TheProteas skipper, Temba Bavuma, confirms the playing XI for tomorrow’s third and final Dafabet Test, with the series on the line at YesPlay Newlands. 🇿🇦

🔁 One change for #TheProteas sees Gerald Coetzee coming in for Anrich… pic.twitter.com/lRZobnN0OQ

— Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA) October 26, 2026

After years of neglect, Newlands looks like the picture perfect venue it has marketed itself as for so many years. It was starting to fall apart, mainly due to the haphazard decision by immature administrators, some of whom still serve on the Western Province Board.

It still has a sanction hanging over it, from the two day Test involving India in 2024. But the storied ground has received some much needed TLC. The outfield is a lovely green. It looks picturesque again. The Australian players, including Cummins, have given it the Instagram tick of approval.

Hopefully the cricket over the next few days matches the aesthetics of the venue.

TimesLIVE

Story audio is generated using AI

Kaizer Chiefs coach Fernando da Cruz feels tonight’s Carling Knockout first-round fixture against TS Galaxy at FNB Stadium (7pm) has come at the right time after Friday’s CAF Confederation elimination.

But despite calling for calm, the Frenchman’s head could be on the block should Amakhosi be eliminated at the first hurdle of a third competition running.

Chiefs were stunned by Zambian side Red Arrows in the Confederation Cup second preliminary round at Moses Mabhida Stadium at the weekend, having also, coincidentally, lost to Golden Arrows in the first round of the MTN8 in August.

Battling Galaxy, who have had a horrid start to the Betway Premiership, could add to Chiefs’ woes should they beat them at FNB Stadium tonight. A defeat would pile more misery on Da Cruz in a week where Chiefs face the first Soweto derby of the season. Amakhosi take on Orlando Pirates at FNB on Saturday (3.30pm).

Zambia’s Arrows won 3-2 on penalties after Chiefs had taken the tie to penalties via a 1-0 win in regulation time to make it 1-all on aggregate, after losing the away leg by the same scoreline in Ndola the previous Saturday.

“It’s very good to play the next game quickly [after losing] because we can switch our focus to the next game immediately. We must make sure that we qualify for the next round of the Carling Cup,” Da Cruz said.

He emphasised that his players must not be put under pressure. “The most important thing is not to put pressure on these players,” the Chiefs coach noted, suggesting that there was no need to panic so early in the season.

“We are only in October... it’s the beginning of the season and there’s still a lot of games to be played. We must just continue to work.”

Da Cruz is also convinced that they are playing well, feeling they have just been unlucky with the results. The Chiefs coach is confident that they will win more matches going forward as he calls for intensity and character in their play.

“The team plays very well but it’s only the results that are not favouring us. We must continue this way, with character, with intensity we will win more and more games,” Da Cruz said.

Fixtures

Carling Knockout

• Tuesday:
• • Pirates vs Milford, Orlando (7pm);
  • Chiefs vs Galaxy, FNB (7pm);
  • Sundowns vs Gallants, Loftus (7pm).
• Wednesday:
• • Durban vs Stellenbosch, Chatsworth (7pm).

Betway Premiership

• Friday:
• • Gallants vs Siwelele, Royal Bafokeng (7.30pm).
• Saturday:
• • Pirates vs Chiefs, FNB (3.30pm);
  • Milford vs Sekhukhune, Sugar Ray Xulu (3.30pm);
  • Stellenbosch vs Chippa, Danie Craven (6pm);
  • AmaZulu vs Arrows, Princess Magogo (6pm);
  • Polokwane vs Galaxy, Old Peter Mokaba (6pm);
  • Kruger vs Bay, Mbombela, (8.15pm);
  • Sundowns vs Durban, Royal Bafokeng (8.15pm).

Sowetan

The show at the NFL championship game is the most-coveted showcase in the world of music. US television ratings for the halftime performance often top 100-million viewers and rank higher than the audience for the game itself.

Iconic artists including the Rolling Stones, Beyonce, Madonna, Prince and Bruce Springsteen have taken the Super Bowl stage over the years. Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny headlined the show at the last Super Bowl.

Next year’s Super Bowl will take place on February 14 in Los Angeles. It will be broadcast on Walt Disney’s ABC and ESPN television networks and will stream on Disney+ and the ESPN app.

Jay-Z’s company, Roc Nation, has produced the Super Bowl halftime show since 2019, and he plays a key role in selecting each year’s performer.

“For several years we’ve had the privilege of working closely with Jay-Z and Roc Nation, and I’ve seen the extraordinary impact he has had on the Super Bowl Halftime Show,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement.

“When we first reached an agreement with Roc Nation to produce the show, I had just one request: that Jay-Z take the stage himself one day, whenever the moment felt right to him.”

Jay-Z is known for hits such as 99 Problems and Hard Knock Life. The 56-year-old rapper has also collaborated with artists including Alicia Keys on Empire State of Mind and his wife, Beyonce, on Crazy in Love.

Reuters

When he tabled his MTBPS in parliament last week, the minister said that the National Treasury would submit a draft fiscal anchor policy soon for public comment and that legislation was expected to be shown in parliament next year.

The proposed legislation sets out fiscal sustainability as a standard in the Public Finance Management Act, requiring each elected government to commit to its own fiscal objectives, spend and allocate within fiscal guardrails, and stick to a fiscal plan.

Addressing an RMB breakfast last Thursday in Cape Town, Godongwana said that while the government of national unity (GNU) broadly accepted the fiscal anchor, getting it passed in parliament would require two crucial hurdles to be cleared.

“We’ve got to first cross the hurdle of legislative success. In other words, will the legislation [supporting] the fiscal anchor see the [light of] day? Because there would be an argument, and a legitimate argument out of the experience in countries that have had fiscal anchors, that in certain circumstances [they] have constrained the political choices that elected officials have got to make.”

He said the success of the fiscal anchor as a policy in the long term would depend on the power that parliament was willing to grant it when it was introduced in the legislative process. In a veiled reference to parties such as the EFF and MK, he said this was important in the event that a different, more populist configuration of the GNU emerged.

“Populism is growing in this country. That will depend on the political balance of forces at the appropriate time. I can’t answer that question. I know, for instance, that if a combination of two parties I have in mind were to be in power, that fiscal framework and fiscal anchor would be up in the air. So it’s going to depend on the balance of forces at the time.”

Populism is growing in this country. That will depend on the political balance of forces at the appropriate time. I can’t answer that question. I know, for instance, that if a combination of two parties I have in mind were to be in power, that fiscal framework and fiscal anchor would be up in the air.

Enoch Godongwana, finance minister

He said the Treasury has put thought into the arguments against a fiscal anchor by ensuring that the proposals are not tethered to a number but speak to the principle of adhering to fiscal guardrails and not falling into the trap of runaway debt.

“How we are avoiding that argument is by constructing not a numerical anchor but a principled anchor in the sense that parliament must agree that fiscal standards must be maintained. And, therefore, any new administration must develop a fiscal plan and that fiscal plan must meet that fiscal standard.”

The Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) has warned that the guardrails proposed in the fiscal anchor policy could run the risk of legitimising austerity as law.

In the MTBPS, “Godongwana claimed that his government’s commitment to fiscal stability is now beginning to pay off. But paying off for whom? The government continues to chronically underfund services, persecute social grant holders and underinvest in critical infrastructure in the name of ‘stability’, improved credit ratings, and investor confidence,” it said.

“Increasing unemployment and hunger are not incidental; they are the outcomes of a fiscal strategy that regards debt stabilisation as the supreme goal to which all developmental objectives must be subordinated.”

On top of this, economists at the RMB breakfast warned that economic headwinds for households and businesses were far from over. David Faulkner, RMB’s global markets research lead, said RMB was foreseeing elevated inflation in the region of 4% this year and next year.

Marie Antelme, an economist at Coronation, said that while fiscal discipline was filtering into the system, corporate capital expenditure continued to underperform.

Tidiane Kinda, IMF senior research resident representative for South Africa, said the IMF saw growth reaching 2% in the medium term.

Business Day

Trump has been on a campaign blitz through normally safe Republican states ahead of the November 3 vote, with party strategists saying they are on edge about races from Alaska to South Carolina, in part because of voter discontent over how Trump’s tariffs and the Iran war have fueled inflation.

Sounding hoarse from his recent campaign rallies, Trump said: “God didn’t make your vocal cords to do a rally every day.”

Trump is expected to visit Texas, Ohio, South Carolina, Florida and Iowa in the final days of the campaign, with voter concerns over affordability likely to weigh on Republicans, pollsters said.

Trump acknowledged the war in Iran has pushed up oil prices, but said it was a small price to pay to stop Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.

“I thought the price of oil was going to go much, much higher,” Trump said.

“It’s worked out fine and it’ll be over soon,” Trump said about the war.

All 435 seats in the US House of Representatives and 35 of the 100 Senate seats are on the ballot, with public opinion polls suggesting the Democrats will regain control of the House and have a chance to retake the Senate.

A Republican victory would preserve Republican control of Congress, which Trump has enjoyed since returning to the White House after the 2024 election, while a Democratic victory could impede the president and trigger congressional investigations into his administration.

In Mississippi, an unexpectedly competitive US Senate race has given Democrats a rare opening ahead of next week’s congressional elections.

Democrats last won a Senate seat in Mississippi in 1982. Trump carried the state by nearly 23 percentage points in 2024, and won the northeastern Mississippi county he was set to visit on Monday by 68 percentage points.

However, several election analysts no longer regard senator Cindy Hyde-Smith’s reelection as a sure bet. The Trump-endorsed Republican faces Democrat Scott Colom, a district attorney from the Columbus area, and independent Ty Pinkins, a military veteran and attorney who previously ran statewide as a Democrat.

“Cindy’s doing great but I’ve got to make sure,” Trump said. “I can’t take a chance.”

After listing economic achievements, many of them exaggerations or unverifiable claims, Trump said: “I can’t help Cindy Hyde-Smith any better than that.”

A Senate majority political action committee announced a $1.2m (R19.9m) ad campaign in support of Colom last week, and Democrats have dispatched big-name figures from former US vice president Kamala Harris to former presidential primary candidate Pete Buttigieg to campaign alongside the Democratic candidate.

Colom went to Corinth on Monday, posting pictures of himself meeting with voters outside the venue where about 5,500 Trump supporters gathered inside.

“Walking the line outside the Trump rally in Corinth, I was reminded that more unites us than divides us here in Mississippi,” Colom said on X. “When I’m elected to the US Senate, I’ll represent every Mississippian, whether you voted for me or not.”

Democrats are contesting all three Republican-held House seats in Mississippi, but none is viewed as a likely pickup opportunity. A fourth seat, represented by US representative Bennie Thompson in a heavily black district, is considered safe for the Democrats.

Reuters

Latvia on Monday became the 10th European country to approve Tesla Assisted Driving (TAD) software, following on the heels of Slovakia’s approval of the technology earlier this month. They mark another step in Tesla’s push to bring the technology to Europe, where the company is seeking support ahead of a crucial vote that could pave the way for a broader rollout EU-wide.

In Slovakia, Igor Marcek, 35, bought his own Tesla two years ago and is getting increasingly excited about the possibility of TAD, recently renamed from FSD.

“At some point the car will be able to drive on its own and save us time and energy, and we will be able to maybe deal with some other things while driving,” said Marcek, a financial agent and life coach in Bratislava.

Still, a test drive of a Tesla installed with TAD — which has a monthly subscription of €99 (R1,645) per month — highlighted safety issues.

While the software smoothly handled congested highway driving and traffic merges, Marcek had to manually slam on the brakes when the car failed to slow down for a closed barrier.

At a Supercharger station, the car failed to steer into an open charging bay, leading Marcek to take over.

“It is still a technology that is evolving so you really have to be awake there and pay attention to what the car is doing,” he said.

Safety issues

Tesla enthusiasts across Europe have mounted vocal campaigns to speed up deployment, often encouraged by the company and CEO Elon Musk to lobby local authorities.

In Slovakia, the Tesla Owners Slovakia club — which has 1,500 registered members — organised a coordinated vehicle light show outside the transport ministry to draw regulators’ attention to the technology, Marcek said.

The group also contacted the Slovakian transport ministry following the initial Dutch approval, and were in frequent contact with it, requesting updates, said the club’s president, Kristian Kratochvil.

Tesla says TAD can prevent collisions by more than four times and save lives, numbers that are highly contested by safety researchers.

The technology has faced heightened regulatory friction across the European Union. Regulators in some countries have raised safety concerns and questioned whether drivers can stay sufficiently attentive.

Reuters

Story audio is generated using AI

Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi has signalled that the ANC would prefer to form a coalition government without the DA in the province, accusing the party of undermining the ANC by opposing its policies while expecting cooperation in government.

Lesufi said the ANC would first seek an outright majority in the local government elections, but would be prepared to negotiate with other parties if it fell short of that target.

“We want it outright as the ANC first, and if we can’t reach that target, we’ll find a way and mechanism to do it,” Lesufi said.

“We’re very comfortable to run a provincial coalition without the Democratic Alliance, because they are anti-transformation.”

His remarks raise questions about whether the working relationship between the ANC and DA in the national government could be replicated in Gauteng, where the election outcome may require parties to negotiate coalition arrangements.

Lesufi accused the DA of opposing key ANC policies, including the National Health Insurance (NHI) and the Basic Education Laws Amendment (Bela) Act, while seeking the ANC’s cooperation when it suited the party.

This election has exposed their [DA’s] inexperience. It has exposed their inability to run a big metro like Johannesburg.

Panyaza Lesufi, Gauteng premier

“What do they do? They go to the Constitutional Court to stop NHI. They go to court to stop the Bela Bill,” he said.

“So they’ve been anti-ANC in their own way and in their own deeds. But when they hit the rock or they hit the wall, they want the ANC to bail them out and say that they want to run [a] coalition government.”

He added: “You don’t insult us during the day and want to work with us at night. It doesn’t work that way.”

Lesufi was once considered the champion of an anti-DA coalition in the days following the 2024 national elections which led to a clash between the Gauteng leadership and ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula.

While Lesufi has never indicated ambitions to lead the party nationally, those within the ANC who have been anti-DA have expressed their support for him possibly emerging in the national leadership in 2027.

Lesufi also questioned the DA’s ability to govern Gauteng’s metropolitan municipalities, accusing it of failing to manage coalition arrangements and leaving municipalities with debt.

He argued that the party’s campaign relied heavily on its record in Cape Town rather than its performance in Johannesburg, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni.

“This election has exposed their inexperience. It has exposed their inability to run a big metro like Johannesburg,” he said.

Lesufi claimed the ANC had demonstrated greater experience in managing coalitions, pointing to what he described as stable coalition arrangements in Gauteng’s three metropolitan municipalities.

“The experience, the expertise, the talent that we possess is unmatched,” he said.

The premier also blamed the DA for the water crisis in Tshwane, asking who had been governing the municipality when more than 13 people died of cholera. This is despite the ANC being at the helm in a coalition in the metro.

He further questioned the party’s record on municipal debt and its ability to manage relationships with stakeholders.

Lesufi said the ANC’s election campaign had focused less on large rallies and more on door-to-door engagements and listening to residents about service delivery and other concerns.

“We have abandoned what doesn’t work and concentrated on what works,” he said.

He acknowledged that the ANC still had problems to address, including service delivery failures and the performance of the economy, but said the party remained confident it would secure the results it wanted.

“What impresses us is that ordinary people have given us their ears, and ordinary people have given us advice,” he said.

Police spokesperson Col Andrè Traut said the drone unit was called out to the Riverlands Mall in Observatory, where officers met with the complainant and security personnel.

“The complainant said he had advertised a camera for sale on Facebook Marketplace and had arranged to hand it over to prospective buyers after receiving notification of an immediate payment of R29,000. However, the money did not reflect in his bank account, raising suspicions the payment was fraudulent,” he said.

The officers took the two suspects to the Woodstock police station for profiling while the complainant opened a case of attempted fraud.

“Further checks allegedly linked both men to an existing fraud case registered at the Milnerton police station. Information obtained during the investigation also linked the suspects to other alleged incidents in which three victims had reportedly been scammed. Both suspects were subsequently arrested and detained on charges of fraud.”

Traut advised people to be vigilant when buying or selling goods online.

“Scammers often use fake proof of payment and fraudulent instant payment notifications to deceive unsuspecting victims. A payment notification, screenshot or proof of payment is not confirmation that money has been received. Sellers are urged to independently verify that funds reflect in their bank accounts before handing over goods, regardless of how convincing the buyer’s proof of payment may appear.

“Members of the public are further encouraged to keep records of online transactions, including messages, contact details and proof of communication, and to report suspected fraud to their nearest police station. Buyers and sellers should exercise caution when dealing with unknown individuals and avoid allowing pressure or urgency to influence their decisions.”

TimesLIVE

Story audio is generated using AI

The government plans to strengthen its tracking of foreign nationals through electronic registration, biometric technology and a system that alerts visa holders when their permission to remain in SA is about to expire.

The chairperson of the inter-ministerial committee on migration, Mmamoloko Kubayi, outlined the plans during a media briefing in Pretoria on Monday, presenting the outcomes of the committee’s engagement with organisers of protests targeting home affairs offices.

Kubayi said the government had also agreed to establish a structured platform to:

• engage with community leaders;
• address concerns about illegal immigration; and
• prevent continued protests from undermining investment and tourism.

The meeting followed a request from community leaders who wanted to discuss:

• migration management;
• unemployment;
• hijacked buildings; and
• the government’s response to illegal immigration.

Kubayi said the delegation supported efforts to address illegal immigration but stressed it did not oppose legal migration by people who respect South African laws.

She said the government was modernising its ports of entry, including airports and seaports, to improve how it registers and tracks people entering the country.

Under the planned system, people entering SA would be registered electronically, with their visa details and telephone numbers recorded. The system would send SMS reminders before their visas expired, telling them when they had to leave the country.

Kubayi said the government was also engaging mobile network operators about improperly registered SIM cards, which she said could be used to facilitate crime and make it difficult for investigators to trace suspects.

She said the government wanted to strengthen SIM-card registration and improve the ability to trace people who changed telephone numbers.

The minister said biometric information, including fingerprints, would also be part of a broader system to track people entering the country.

Kubayi said these measures formed part of government’s longer-term migration management plans, alongside improved border infrastructure, patrols and technology.

The IMC’s five-point approach comprises:

• enforcing immigration laws;
• securing the country’s borders;
• strengthening the immigration system;
• addressing gaps in migration laws and policies; and
• working with other African countries.

The meeting also discussed the possibility of community leaders joining ongoing court proceedings involving migration and asylum seekers.

Kubayi said the delegation wanted to participate in legal cases but did not have the financial means to do so.

She said legal teams and senior counsel had offered to represent the leaders pro bono, allowing them to present their experiences and support the government’s position in court.

Among the matters discussed was the Constitutional Court case concerning the rights of asylum seekers, as well as conflicting high court judgments on whether people who had applied for asylum could be detained or deported.

Kubayi said the government had consolidated migration-related cases to help it develop a co-ordinated legal approach.

She welcomed the offer of legal assistance, saying community leaders could bring perspectives that government might not be able to present on its own.

Kubayi said community leaders had also raised concerns about hijacked and derelict buildings, including state-owned properties, allegedly being used for human trafficking, drug dealing and other criminal activities.

She said the IMC had already met representatives of all eight metropolitan municipalities to discuss efforts to reclaim buildings and outlined work under way to address the problem.

The committee had committed to continuing engagements with organisations interested in the process and providing updates on progress.

The delegation also raised concerns about unemployment, particularly among young people, and called for action to restore investment confidence and support tourism, especially in KwaZulu-Natal.

Kubayi said the organisers had committed to keeping the first phase of their protest rollout as planned, while working with the government to address the issues they had raised. She said both sides recognised the need for co-operation to prevent demonstrations from continuing without progress on solutions.

The meeting also considered concerns about non-governmental organisations allegedly involved in illicit activities. Kubayi said community leaders wanted the government to ensure that organisations were properly registered, adding that work was under way on this issue.

Kubayi said one of the main criticisms raised during the meeting was that the government was not communicating its work effectively. She acknowledged that officials were carrying out work on migration management but were not always ensuring that the public knew what was being done.

The minister said the government would work with community leaders and other stakeholders to improve communication and provide updates through different platforms.

She also acknowledged the need to make the government briefings accessible to more people, including those who did not understand English.

Kubayi said she had received feedback from radio stations that government briefings conducted in English did not reach all communities. She said the Government Communication and Information System would help explore ways to communicate more effectively in different languages.

She said the meeting was not intended to be a once-off engagement and that the government would continue working with community leaders and civil society on migration management.

TimesLIVE

Story audio is generated using AI

South Africa could secure a credit rating upgrade from Moody’s within a year or so, after the agency said the medium-term budget policy statement (MTBPS) tabled by finance minister Enoch Godongwana last week was credit positive, confirming progress in fiscal consolidation.

Moody’s, which revised its outlook on South Africa to positive from stable in May, is scheduled to give its next review on November 27, as is S&P Global. Fitch will publish its own on December 11.

Although some economists see a ratings upgrade next month as unlikely, Bank of America in a recent viewpoint said: “We view Moody’s as the most likely agency to act, with a potential upgrade to Ba1, while an S&P upgrade to BB+ remains a closer call.” On Monday an analyst at the bank said the view still holds after the MTBPS.

In its statement on Monday, Moody’s applauded South Africa’s progress in fiscal consolidation in spite of higher oil prices, tighter monetary policy and weaker nominal GDP growth than assumed in the February budget, saying this would “help to anchor fiscal improvements through the electoral cycle, even as a track record of compliance still needs to be established”.

Godongwana last week reiterated the National Treasury’s commitment to reining in debt, which he said had stabilised at 78.4% of GDP in 2025/26 and would be reduced over the rest of the decade as the country continued to grow the primary surplus and narrow the budget deficit.

He told MPs that efforts to limit bailouts of state-owned entities, to fund new commitments responsibly and prioritise investment over unsustainable consumption were beginning to pay off, creating a stronger foundation for investment, growth and job creation.

Moody’s said broad-based revenue outperformance had allowed the government to lower its consolidated deficit target for the 2026/27 financial year to 3.9% of GDP from the 4% forecast in the February main budget. This was even while absorbing a temporary extension to fuel price relief and funding additional infrastructure investment.

“This is the second consecutive MTBPS without upward deficit revisions, adding to a track record of fiscal delivery that, if sustained, would support debt reduction and upward rating pressure,” the ratings agency said.

The introduction of draft fiscal anchor legislation alongside the MTBPS was credit positive because it would help maintain prudent fiscal policy through the 2027-29 electoral cycle and preserve the strong fiscal gains beyond the administration of President Cyril Ramaphosa, it added.

“Importantly, the updated institutional arrangements will provide greater independent oversight to fiscal policymaking even as the authorities have opted against a binding numerical target.”

Prior to its improved outlook for South Africa in the May review, Moody’s in December 2025 left its credit rating unchanged at Ba2, nearly three weeks after S&P raised the foreign-currency rating for the first time in two decades from BB minus to BB and the local-currency rating to BB+ from BB, while lifting the outlook to positive. In late May, S&P affirmed both the rating and outlook.

Fitch, for its part, upgraded the country’s long-term sovereign rating by one notch to BB from BB- in June, citing prudent fiscal management despite weak growth and economic shocks. It said it saw South Africa’s debt-to-GDP levels well below those expected when it downgraded the country to BB- in 2020.

Importantly, the updated institutional arrangements will provide greater independent oversight to fiscal policymaking even as the authorities have opted against a binding numerical target.

Moody’s

The Treasury at the time said Fitch’s move meant all three major rating agencies now rated the country at BB or Ba2 — two levels below investment grade — “with Moody’s and S&P having the sovereign on a positive outlook, indicating they could look to upgrade their ratings within 12 to 18 months”.

Last week’s MTBPS projections show a rising consolidated primary surplus even with increased infrastructure spending planned, which Moody’s evidenced as a particularly notable commitment to fiscal consolidation, Investec economist Annabel Bishop said on Monday.

“Moody’s has previously indicated South Africa is in line for a credit rating upgrade, having revised the outlook to positive in May this year, which means an upgrade is likely in around 18 months,” Bishop added.

Business Day

Story audio is generated using AI

Traffic flow on the M1 freeway was severely disrupted on Monday as the Smit Street on-ramps and off-ramps in Johannesburg were closed while members of the SA Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) protested over wage disputes, causing traffic congestion in the city’s CBD and surrounding areas.

The Johannesburg metropolitan police department (JMPD) said the closures affected both northbound and southbound carriageways.

Department officers have been deployed to manage traffic and direct motorists away from the protest, with diversions in place.

Motorists travelling south on the M1 from Sandton or Rosebank have been advised to exit at Empire Road or Jan Smuts Avenue and use routes through Parktown.

Those travelling north from Booysens or other southern areas have been urged to use Booysens Road or the M2 East, and Joe Slovo Drive, to bypass the CBD.

The JMPD has also advised east-west commuters to use the M2, M11 (Victoria Avenue or Joubert Park) or the N1 Western Bypass.

Motorists have been urged to follow traffic officers’ instructions, approach diversions with caution and allow extra time for their journeys, particularly during peak hours.

TimesLIVE

In a report, the intergovernmental economic organisation said the general education certificate (GEC), which recognises learners’ achievements at the end of compulsory education, could help identify learning gaps, recognise practical skills and guide young people towards further education and employment.

However, the OECD warned that the certificate’s success would depend on the availability of credible vocational pathways and the education system’s ability to use assessment results to improve learning outcomes.

The department of basic education began phased in implementation of the GEC in 2025 after a pilot programme that started in 2021. About 80% of schools were implementing the certificate this year, with a national rollout expected by 2027.

The GEC is awarded at the end of grade 9 and is intended to give learners a broader picture of their academic performance, abilities and career interests before they enter grades 10-12 or pursue technical and vocational education and training (TVET).

Under the assessment model, school-based assessment accounts for 60% of learners’ results, while end-of-year curriculum tests account for 40%. The tests are centrally developed by the department for key subjects, including languages, mathematics, natural sciences, and economic and management sciences, while schools or provinces develop tests for other subjects.

The OECD said the centrally developed tests provide an opportunity to assess learners against common national standards, particularly in language and mathematics. However, it recommends reducing the number of centrally developed tests to focus on these two subjects, arguing that the model places additional demands on teachers and schools.

South African teachers reported an average of 77 learners per class in grades 8 and 9 in the OECD’s 2024 Teaching and Learning International Survey. About 72% said excessive marking was a source of stress, compared with 40% across OECD countries on average.

The report also raises concerns about the reliability of school-based assessment, which accounts for a substantial share of learners’ marks. It said research has found differences between school-based marks and results from standardised assessments, raising questions about whether learners across schools are being assessed consistently against national standards.

The OECD recommends using GEC results to identify learners who need additional support, particularly in foundational subjects, and ensuring that the information reaches grade 10 teachers before the start of the school year. It said targeted tuition of small groups could help learners address weaknesses before completing their secondary education.

The report highlights the extent of South Africa’s learning challenges. In the 2023 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, 55% of grade 9 learners did not reach the lowest international benchmark for mathematics. In reading, 81% of grade 4 learners failed to reach the lowest international benchmark in the 2021 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study.

The OECD said the GEC’s integrated projects, which require learners to apply knowledge across subjects, could help develop skills such as critical thinking, creativity, communication and collaboration. But it cautions that assessing these skills reliably is difficult, particularly in large classes.

During the 2024 pilot, nearly three-quarters of submissions for the assessment of these skills were incomplete. The OECD recommends reconsidering the existing approach and placing greater emphasis on helping learners recognise and develop these abilities, potentially through self-assessment, rather than relying on direct teacher assessments.

Central concern

A central concern is whether learners will have meaningful alternatives to the academic school pathway after grade 9.

Only about 1% of South Africans aged 15-19 were enrolled in upper-secondary vocational education, compared with an OECD average of 23%, according to the report. It said the country’s vocational education system remains difficult to navigate, with overlapping qualifications, limited access and poor employment outcomes for graduates.

A study of almost 4,000 TVET graduates cited by the OECD found that only 16.6% were employed 12-18 months after graduating, while 45.3% were unemployed. Among those who had found work, fewer than half were employed in fields related to their qualifications.

The report said limited access to technical subjects in ordinary schools further constrained learners’ choices. In 2024, only about 12% of secondary schools offered technical subjects, while no more than 5% of national senior certificate candidates took a technical subject.

The OECD recommends expanding vocational and technical options in grades 10-12, improving access to TVET colleges and working with employers to ensure qualifications meet labour market needs. It also suggests that industry partnerships could help schools access equipment, specialist teachers and practical training opportunities.

The GEC includes an assessment intended to help learners identify their interests and explore possible careers. The OECD said this could improve career guidance but warns that it should not be treated as a tool for assigning learners to a single occupation.

The organisation also cautioned against allowing the GEC to become a barrier to further education. The qualification should recognise knowledge and skills rather than become an exit certificate that prevents those who do not achieve a particular result from progressing to grade 10.

The OECD suggests that the department consider presenting GEC results through a comprehensive report card, combining academic results, integrated project outcomes, career interests and other information about learners’ progress.

Such an approach, it said, could help learners, parents and teachers make better-informed decisions about subject choices and future education pathways, while ensuring that the certificate supports progression rather than restricting it.

Business Day

At a consumer education session hosted by WeBuyCars on Oct 15, acting National Consumer Commissioner (NCC) Hardin Ratshisusu, Darren Smith of Motor Industry Ombudsman of South Africa (MIOSA), consumer journalist Wendy Knowler and WeBuyCars CEO Faan van der Walt set out what every buyer should know.

WeBuyCars hosted the session as part of its consumer education programme, which includes short explainer videos on buying a used car.

“To consumers out there, you should know that the Consumer Protection Act protects you,” said Ratshisusu. “You should know your rights.”

‘Sold as is’ does not cancel your rights

Every car a dealer sells carries an implied six-month warranty under sections 55 and 56 of the Consumer Protection Act. It applies whatever the contract says.

“Gone are those days where a dealer would say, ‘This car is being sold as is,’” said Ratshisusu. “The dealer needs to disclose everything to the consumer about that motor vehicle.”

Terms such as “no refund, no return” carry no legal weight, he said, and should be reported to the NCC.

You choose the remedy

If a defect appears within six months, you decide whether the car is repaired, replaced or refunded. The dealer is entitled to inspect the car to establish the cause, so return it to the dealer that sold it.

The protection has limits. A defect the dealer clearly disclosed before the sale is largely excluded. A change of mind is not a reason to cancel. And the warranty is not a service plan: if you ignore a warning light or skip a service and the engine fails, that is on you.

Van der Walt argues that the law should draw a clearer line between a defect and normal wear and tear, particularly for older cars, and that buyers are best protected by full information before the sale.

“A transparent market is itself a powerful form of consumer protection,” he said.

Ask the right questions

Van der Walt said honest dealers should apply a simple test: “Is there anything I know about this vehicle, or could find out, that could potentially sway the decision of the consumer?”

Buyers should ask the same questions from the other side:

• Has the car been in an accident, or ever been owned by an insurer?
• Does the mileage match the service history?
• Is there a service book and a spare key?
• Is there a full inspection report, not only a roadworthy certificate? Ask for a copy.
• Is the manufacturer warranty or service plan still valid? Check with the manufacturer, because a missed service or modification can void it.

Get every promise in writing

MIOSA’s case management department head Darren Smith said the buyer’s best protection was documentation. If a clean accident history or a spare key matters to you, write it into the purchase agreement as a condition of sale.

Adverts get taken down and phone conversations leave no trace, so without a record the dispute becomes your word against the dealer’s.

Do your own finance and insurance homework

Knowler, whose inbox is dominated by motoring complaints, warned buyers not to leave finance, insurance, tracking and add-ons entirely to the dealership’s finance office.

Get your own quotes, and read the insurance terms before you sign. She described a first-time buyer whose cheap policy excluded cover once he drove more than 1,000km in a month, which left him without cover after a crash.

Be wary, too, of aftermarket warranties sold as a replacement for the six-month implied warranty under the Consumer Protection Act. They can be useful, but they come with exclusions and limits, so choose one on your own terms.

Budget for the car you can keep

Van der Walt said the biggest mistake buyers made was an impulsive purchase.

“Someone has a budget of R80,000 or R100,000. Why do they buy the BMW 5 Series? Because it will elevate their status. But a month later, they’re in trouble,” he said.

A cheaper, economical car that is easy to insure and maintain is often the better buy.

His advice is to research running costs before you commit, including services, tyres and insurance. The WeBuyCars’ Inspectify report details the condition of each car and will in future list upcoming costs. If you are unsure about a car, walk away.

If a car fails, act quickly

If a defect appears, report it to the dealer immediately and keep a record of every exchange. Knowler cautioned that deductions for use could grow while repairs dragged on, so where possible, avoid putting more kilometres on a faulty car.

The dealer is entitled to investigate whether a fault was caused by misuse, so be honest about how the car has been driven and maintained.

Where to complain

Start with the dealer. If that fails, take the complaint to MIOSA, a free service. Unresolved matters can go to the NCC and on to the National Consumer Tribunal.

Ratshisusu said consumers also carried responsibility for how they used the products they bought. But his message to dealers was simple.

“Just do the right thing. Consumers in South Africa are protected in terms of the Consumer Protection Act.”

This article was sponsored by WeBuyCars.

Rubio spoke to reporters by phone a day after opposition leader Maria Corina Machado returned to Venezuela for the first time since the US captured the country’s then-president Nicolas Maduro in January and took him to New York for trial.

The US believes that talks currently under way between the interim government in Caracas and opposition politicians are expected to see a new supreme judicial tribunal in place by the end of this year and a new electoral council shortly thereafter, a senior US state department official said earlier.

“I think we’re making real progress in that regard,” said Rubio, who has acted as US President Donald Trump’s point person on Venezuela. “But if anybody tries to derail that process, they’re doing a great harm to Venezuela.”

Maduro’s government had set up the country’s electoral infrastructure to rig elections, so that must be quickly changed, Rubio added.

But Rubio stopped short of giving a target date for elections. Machado has said elections should be held by mid-2027, though Trump has previously said he did not believe Venezuela was ready for a nationwide vote.

Machado’s return to Venezuela after several failed attempts risks straining her ties with Trump’s administration.

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Machado, who was prevented from challenging Maduro for the presidency in 2024, had been out of the country for 10 months and spent the previous year in hiding following the disputed election.

Washington has said Machado has every right to be in Venezuela, but has praised acting president Delcy Rodriguez and supports a negotiation process between the Rodriguez government and opposition groups that do not include Machado’s Vente Venezuela movement.

Rubio said the only time he had “discouraged” Machado from going back to Venezuela was in the immediate aftermath of devastating earthquakes in the summer, because the country was grappling with a humanitarian crisis.

But Rubio said that weeks ago the US told Venezuela’s interim authorities that Machado “belongs in her country” and “should be allowed to return unperturbed,” and the government had agreed.

Asked about Machado’s criticism of an oil deal that Trump had struck with the interim rulers, Rubio insisted that the agreement was a good one for both countries but that she had a right to express her opinion on the matter.

Trump has repeatedly expressed support for Rodriguez, a former deputy to Maduro, and hailed deals on oil production and other business ventures by US companies in the South American country.

But some critics have accused Trump of a neo-colonialist approach to Venezuela aimed at exploiting its natural resources.

A faction of the opposition and the interim government held a round of talks this month, with the aim of remaking the top court and electoral council, among other goals, ahead of eventual elections. The talks have not included Machado’s political movement.

Reuters

Story audio is generated using AI

The high court in Durban has authorised a curator bonis to sell five luxury residential properties in Sandown, Johannesburg, tied to high-profile businesswoman Shauwn Mkhize and her family.

The court on Monday also ordered that the full proceeds of the sale of the five properties be held by the curator bonis in an interest-bearing trust account.

The court also gave the SA Revenue Service (Sars) a month from the date of the order to institute an action declaring the properties or their cash proceeds executable toward satisfying the outstanding tax debts of Mkhize and the Zikhulise Group.

Presiding over the urgent application by Sars, judge Jacqueline Henriques ruled that the properties must be realised to staunch a rapid erosion of their value caused by runaway maintenance costs, mounting municipal arrears and heavy security expenses.

The ruling stems from a preservation order originally granted on November 21 2024 under the Tax Administration Act (TAA). Sars launched the enforcement action after uncovering substantial unpaid tax liabilities by Mkhize and the Zikhulise Group.

Sars indicated that as at September 19 2025, Mkhize had a personal income tax debt of R13.3m and she had personal liability for the tax indebtedness of the Zikhulise Group, including interest, in the sum of R112.5m.

In its latest application, Sars sought to convert the five immovable properties to cash to be held by the curator bonis pending an action to be instituted to allow it to execute against the cash so generated for either Mkhize’s or the Zikhulise Group’s indebtedness to Sars.

Henriques said the basis on which Sars sought to do so related to the financial burden of preserving the five properties and their deterioration.

She said Sars indicated that these costs were substantial every month and were eroding the value of the immovable properties.

“Such expenses include and are not limited to bi-annual insurance premiums, unpaid monthly municipal charges, the lack of maintenance to the five immovable properties, the monthly cost of security guards and the curator bonis’s fees, which the respondents are liable for but which costs are paid by Sars in the interim,” Henriques noted in her judgment.

The judge said although the five immovable properties were separate properties with two separate registered owners, they effectively formed a single unit.

“Sars obtained a sworn valuation report in respect of the properties and they have a total municipal value of R22,831,000.

“After the valuation, the collective market value of the five properties was estimated as being R35m and the collective forced sale value as being R24.5m.”

Sars also said further expenses were being incurred in respect of the monthly charges owing to the municipality in respect of various amounts levied on the five properties.

However, the Johannesburg municipality has only issued statements in respect of four of the five properties and the total amount outstanding in respect of the four properties at October 3 2025 was R1.8m.

The curator bonis was also instructed to place security guards at the properties, given Sars’ concern that the properties may be vandalised and/or movable assets removed.

A security company was contracted by the curator bonis to provide such security services and the monthly expenses at the five properties are R188,000 which was being paid for by Sars.

The judge said the factual allegations contained in the Sars’ founding affidavit remained unrefuted by the opposing parties.

She said those opposing the application had not disputed any of the facts detailed in the founding affidavit by Sars.

The judge said they, instead, raised various preliminary legal points and failed to deal with the factual basis of the Sars case.

“They have not seriously and unambiguously addressed the facts alleged by the Sars and, as a consequence, I agree with the submission of the Sars that the factual foundation for its case is left entirely unchallenged.”

Henriques said the grounds of opposition advanced by the respondents were without merit and fell to be dismissed.

“(Sars) is entitled to the orders sought for the sale of the properties for the reasons mentioned in the judgment.”

TimesLIVE

Originally built in 2010 as part of the Fifa World Cup legacy projects, the court has long served as a community sports hub.

Its refurbishment includes a new 24m x 36m artificial turf pitch, with synthetic turf brought in from the Netherlands, and reinforced steel fencing.

Local coach Petrus Malobola said restoring the court would help young people develop their football skills while opening up opportunities beyond the sport.

“As someone from Mamelodi, having this court here means a lot to me,” Malobola said.

“I am a member of the South African Football Association in Tshwane, but I am also a boy from Mamelodi. We train young people, identify talent, and help them access university and other opportunities,” he said.

The refurbished court will host structured after-school football sessions for players from under-11 to under-19 levels, while its location at Mamelodi Campus creates opportunities to connect grassroots sport with higher education.

The project brings together UP, Rhiza Babuyile, the Johan Cruyff Foundation and the Dutch embassy to support youth development through sport and education.

For the local football community, the upgrade also renews a facility associated with the development of sporting talent in Mamelodi.

Bongani Motsapi, first vice-president of the Tshwane Regional Football Association, recalls seeing Banyana Banyana star Hilda Magaia train at the court when she was younger.

For Robbert Popken, director of Rhiza in the Netherlands, such initiatives provide a way to engage young people and encourage positive alternatives to social challenges.

“Our sports projects and collaboration with the Johan Cruyff Foundation are important because they give us access to communities and help young people stay away from gangs and violence,” Popken said.

Dutch ambassador Joanne Doornewaard highlighted the wider community value of accessible sports facilities.

“These places are not just for sport; they are also meeting points for the community,” she said.

The court’s location on Mamelodi Campus also creates an opportunity to connect grassroots sport with higher education, as the university setting can help make further study and alternative career pathways more visible.

Dr Edwin Smith, manager of campus operations and acting director of Mamelodi Campus, said the facility could encourage young people to look beyond sport when considering their futures.

“Not everyone will become a professional footballer, but young people can come to the university, pursue further studies, and build careers in other fields,” Smith said.

The refurbishment gives Mamelodi’s football community a renewed facility to develop sporting skills and nurture talent.

TimesLIVE

In South African homes, the television brings people together for all kinds of occasions.

That makes choosing a new TV about more than what you watch most. It is about finding a screen that can move comfortably between everyone’s favourites. Hisense’s U7S Pro, U7S and E8S MiniLED TVs offer three ways to bring that versatility into your lounge.

Get closer to the match-day atmosphere

The braai is going, friends have claimed their seats and the conversation pauses as play gets underway. On match day, a vivid picture helps make the lounge feel part of the occasion.

Hi-QLED MiniLED technology brings rich colour and detailed pictures to the U7S and E8S, while Hi-View AI processing adjusts colour, contrast and clarity as you watch.

Whether following the build-up or revisiting a decisive moment, viewers can stay involved in the action.

For daytime viewing, the U7S Pro’s Anti-Reflection & Glare-Free technology helps reduce distracting reflections, keeping attention on the screen when sunlight fills the room.

Turn an ordinary evening into movie night

Once the guests leave, the same space can take on a different mood. Dim the lights, settle into the sofa and let the opening scene set the tone.

The U7S offers Dolby Vision IQ and Filmmaker Mode to support a cinematic viewing experience, with a built-in subwoofer adding depth to the soundtrack.

The U7S Pro builds on that experience with Hi-QLED MiniLED Pro and 2.1.2 Multi-Channel Surround, bringing greater scale to film nights at home.

Keep up when the controller comes out

When watching becomes playing, smooth motion matters. The U7S and E8S feature Native 144Hz Game Mode, while the U7S Pro steps up to Native 165Hz Game Mode with compatible hardware and content.

On the E8S, AMD FreeSync Premium helps reduce tearing and stutter, so players can stay focused through fast-moving races and competitive encounters.

It is versatility that suits a shared household: live sport in the afternoon, a film after dinner and a game before bed, all on one screen.

Upgrade your entertainment and get a R500 voucher

There is also an extra reason to make the upgrade. To celebrate Hisense’s 30th anniversary in South Africa, customers who purchase a qualifying U7S Pro, U7S or E8S from a participating retailer during the applicable promotional dates can receive a R500 digital reward voucher.

Keep your proof of purchase and complete the online claim process. Claims must be submitted by 11:59pm on October 31 2026 and successfully verified.

The offer is limited to 3,000 vouchers on a first-come, first-served basis, while the allocation lasts.

From the opening whistle to the final credits, make more of the moments everyone comes home for.

Ready to upgrade your entertainment? Explore the participating TVs and claim your R500 digital reward voucher before the limited allocation runs out.

This article was sponsored by Hisense.

^{Terms and conditions apply.}

The renovation, at the centre of a lawsuit over environmental and historic preservation concerns, is one of the projects Trump is ​pursuing to reshape landmarks in the US capital.

“The court still does not speak for the trees,” US district judge Ana Reyes said in her order filed in the district court for the District of Columbia, adding: “It speaks only for the rule of law.”

Her order barred the government from “removing or damaging additional trees” on the course.

It also ordered the government to provide 10 business days’ of written advance notice before it makes any “irreparable modification” at the park, pending the suit outcome.

Two weeks earlier, Reyes faulted the conduct of justice department lawyers in the lawsuit seeking to halt the Trump administration’s takeover of the historic golf course.

It was “inexcusable” that hundreds of trees were removed from the course during the weekend before, she said.

Last week Trump said his administration would begin renovation work immediately, despite the judge’s order that work could not proceed without prior notice to the court.

In an online post, Trump declared his administration had “an absolute right” to proceed, while blasting the judge as “lunatic” and calling the lawsuit “ridiculous”.

The DC Preservation League sued in February to halt the takeover, on the grounds it would violate ⁠environmental laws and “irreparably destroy a priceless piece of American history”.

Reyes said the government had asked her to disregard Trump’s statements about the renovation plans.

“Rarely, if ever, has the US department of justice urged a federal court not to believe the sitting president,” Reyes said.

“This started as a case about golf, but it has become much more.

“It now forces the court to reconcile assertions by President Donald Trump with the sworn testimony of multiple government employees and the argument of senior justice department attorneys.”

Reuters