The Eastern Cape Department of Health is grappling with massive unpaid pharmaceutical bills of about R1-billion. While officials deny that their ability to provide medication to patients has collapsed, the suspension of 21 accounts with some of the country’s biggest pharmaceutical companies has led to vital medicine shortages, raising serious concerns about patient safety.
In a wide-ranging interview, Daily Maverick’s Ferial Haffajee sits down with Herman Mashaba, president of ActionSA and mayoral candidate for Johannesburg, to probe his plans for a city in crisis. From the deepening water shortages and collapsing infrastructure to his hardline stance on undocumented immigrants, Mashaba lays out an agenda rooted in enforcement and administrative overhaul.
The US has committed a $5.88-billion spending package to the global response to HIV, one year after severe Pepfar funding cuts rocked local and international health programmes. But what does this mean for South Africa?
Budget Review 2026 goes far beyond tax tables. From a new central fund for R88-billion in unclaimed benefits to the redesign of the SRD grant, an illicit trade crackdown, stablecoin rules, influencer tax scrutiny and AI oversight in finance, the policy pipeline is packed for the year ahead.
Kenyan leader William Ruto wants more trade between the East African neighbours. But previous mooted border openings have failed, and fears of Al-Shabab attacks remain.
Bill Gates has admitted making a “huge mistake” in associating with Jeffrey Epstein, telling staff at his charity foundation that he had affairs with two Russian women but denying involvement in the disgraced financier’s crimes.
Wadi Rum’s otherworldly landscape is where Star Wars movies and The Martian were filmed. In late winter, plants emerge in this desert — but some are toxic to camels, so their herders must protect them.
The Africa Cup of Nations proved to be “a big stumbling block” when Manchester United discussed signing Victor Osimhen, according to former coach Benni McCarthy.
Martin O’Neill is of the view VAR is “debilitating” for officials on the pitch as he brands the Scottish FA process for appealing against decisions “worthless”.
Daniel Dubois says his fight against Fabio Wardley will be the biggest of his career so far. The world title fight between two of Britain’s biggest punchers takes place at Manchester’s Co-op Live Arena on 9 May.
The world title fight between Fabio Wardley and Daniel Dubois takes place in Manchester on 9th May. Wardley – with 19 stoppages in 20 wins – will make the first defence of his WBO crown, having claimed the ‘interim’ title against Joseph Parker before being upgraded to full champion when Oleksandr Usyk vacated the belt.
Government looks at options such as increasing loan repayment thresholds amid growing pressure
Ministers are examining ways to ease the burden of student loans after weeks of pressure over a policy pulling more people into repayments, the Guardian understands.
The Treasury and the Department for Education are reviewing different options to offer relief to graduates with Plan 2 student loans,...
Mr. Summers, former president of the school, had stepped back from teaching after documents showed a closer relationship to Jeffrey Epstein than previously known. He will leave at the end of the academic year.
A hacker exploited Anthropic’s AI chatbot to carry out a series of attacks against Mexican government agencies, resulting in the theft of a huge trove of sensitive tax and voter information, according to cybersecurity researchers. From a report: The unknown Claude user wrote Spanish-language prompts for the chatbot to act as an elite hacker, finding vulnerabilities in government networks,...
Samsung has officially taken the wraps off its latest flagship smartphones, the Galaxy S26 series, confirming a major leap forward in on-device artificial intelligence. Described as the company’s “third-generation AI phones,” the lineup – comprising the Galaxy S26, S26+, and S26 Ultra – is engineered to simplify everyday tasks by working proactively in the background. […]
In an era of overt sexism in the sciences, she made two major discoveries, including identifying a neuropeptide later linked to chronic pain syndromes and migraines.
Federal health officials have pared back the number of shots recommended for children. The states, led by Democrats, say the changes were not based on science.