Telkom has cut City of Johannesburg landlines over unpaid municipal bills, crippling municipal call centres and forcing officials onto personal phones, raising urgent concerns about emergency and public services.

While tertiary students across South Africa demand an increase in food allowances and an accommodation cap, the upper echelon of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) appears to be operating on a vastly different budget, including eyebrow-raising spending on hotels.

A Western Cape high court order has temporarily restricted the arsenal that may be used to manage Betty’s Bay’s baboons. It’s not a final judgment, but for animal rights group the EMS Foundation it is an important opening towards a more humane, scientific and transparent approach.

As government funding falls short of meeting the needs of thousands of postgraduate students, many are turning to entrepreneurship to survive, balancing businesses with demanding academic workloads just to pay for food, accommodation and tuition.

Fifa boss Gianni Infantino is a man of many ideas. His latest and most controversial yet is the proposal to invite external investors to claim a stake in the global soccer federation, with a company linked to US President Donald Trump leading the process.

In a narrow 14 to 13 vote, Parliament’s impeachment committee on Wednesday decided to appeal against the interdict that effectively stopped public impeachment proceedings against President Cyril Ramaphosa in connection with the Phala Phala theft of forex stashed in sofa cushions. It’s a preview of what lies ahead – if public proceedings should ever happen.

From Kimi Antonelli’s title charge to Lewis Hamilton’s resurgence at Ferrari, here’s a recap of the 2026 Formula One season so far.

As Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana prepares to reveal his new board for the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), it is clear he is now in a position to direct events. His actions at the PIC and in dealing with municipalities show he can make decisions, secure in the knowledge that he has presidential backing.

From contraception to culling, no single tool offers a risk-free fix for elephant management. True conservation requires clear objectives, site-specific evidence, and understanding the root causes of conflict.

In South Africa there are deep-rooted connections between fatherlessness and our electoral behaviour. Like a child waiting at the gate for an absent father, we vote out of loyalty to leaders who never arrive, as we confuse historical gratitude with accountability.

Gillian van Houten was born on 21 April 1954 in Cape Town and died on 25 July 2026 at Noordhoek Manor, in the same city, aged 72, following some years living with frontotemporal dementia. She is survived by her life partner, John Varty, and their three children, Savanna, Sean and Tao.

South Africa’s franchise sector powers 500,000 jobs and generates R1-trillion annually. Now, regulators are stepping in to guarantee fair competition across the broader R5-trillion SME landscape.

For a generation that has mostly known only one governing party since the dawn of democracy in 1994, Zambia and Liberia stand out as powerful examples to young South Africans of how a youth demographic can use its power to hold leaders accountable.

Valterra’s share price zipped over 5% higher on Wednesday as its results generally exceeded analysts’ expectations. Its peers Northam Platinum, Impala Platinum and Sibanye-Stillwater are expected to show stout earnings overall when they report for the period.

One of the biggest risks facing South Africa’s economy over the next year may not come from geopolitics, higher energy prices or trade disruptions, but from the weather. Forecasts have become increasingly confident that a strong El Niño event will develop over the southern hemisphere’s summer. How might its effects ripple through financial markets, and what could this mean for investors?