Ugandans cast their ballots in the presidential elections on Thursday amid reports of ‘widespread repression and intimidation’ in the east African country.

Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen held a media briefing outlining plans to eradicate foot and mouth disease in SA, including proposing it be declared a national state of disaster. However, the dairy and beef industry is sceptical that this will have the intended impact.

Severe flooding in the Kruger National Park has prompted the evacuation of over 600 guests and staff from four rest camps as heavy rainfall continues to batter Limpopo and Mpumalanga.

Different kinds of criminality, and even accusations that a drug cartel has infiltrated law enforcement, have ravaged South Africa in 2025. This means that honest police officers have had a rough year, from rooting out dodgy aspects of private security, to investigating countless killings. This has set the scene for 2026. Daily Maverick’s Caryn Dolley explains.

America’s next ambassador to South Africa should arrive soon. While some South Africans argue his past views make him the wrong man at the wrong time for this important job, embracing his arrival but challenging his misunderstandings of South African realities can contribute to healing a damaged bilateral relationship.

The Nelson Mandela Bay municipality’s claims of a ‘fully functional pound’ have been called into question, as it currently operates with limited resources, and officials resort to chasing stray animals into bushes.

Deon van Zyl’s account is a window into the fragile balancing act of South Africa’s small pelagic fishing sector – a sector buffeted by climate, politics and patchy surveys. For the people of Mossel Bay, though, the stakes are clear: when the factory doors close early, the whole town feels it.

Three years ago, Daily Maverick visited Lavender Hill High School in Cape Town, which had a matric pass rate just under 70%, to explore the stories of success and adversity behind the statistics. Returning in 2026, we found the pass rate had risen to 89% for the class of 2025 – a 20% jump.

Sewage spill response times in Nelson Mandela Bay are expected to worsen after a key drain-cleaning contract expired, nearly two years after the metro began the process to replace it.

The United States has finalised a sale of Venezuelan oil – the first since Washington took control of the sector following the toppling of president Nicolas Maduro, a US official told AFP on Thursday.

A rare all-African final in the 2025 Afcon will see Morocco’s Walid Regragui and Senegalese tactician Pape Thiaw tussle for the overall prize. Whoever wins, African coaches will rule.

Maersk will resume sailings via the Red Sea and Suez Canal for one of its services this month, the shipping group said on Thursday, marking a key step towards ending two years of global trade disruption due to attacks on ships by Yemeni Houthi rebels.

After half a century of production, British American Tobacco (BAT) will stop making cigarettes in South Africa by the end of this year, blaming policy failures and the illicit market for making legal manufacturing economically impossible.

Mishandled tariff plans. Dodgy calculations. The persistent pain of post-paid billing. This is the seemingly endless epic drama starring City Power and the energy regulator.

Seasoned broadcast journalist Graeme Raubenheimer brings you The Lead, News24’s definitive podcast for in-depth reporting. This is The Lead, and this is the South African story.

Antiseptic cream is gently smoothed over a burnt patch on the back of a grass snake. A tortoise in a charred shell is given another day in case it revives. Alongside is an orphaned baby genet that can fit into one’s palm.All these animals were rescued from wildfires that have ravaged the Western Cape.