South Africa

The chief of staff of the Department of Social Development, appointed - underqualified - at the age of 22, resigned without facing disciplinary hearing

Barrydale has earned the title of South Africa’s Best Small Town to live in, followed by White River and Jeffrey's Bay, according to the 2025 Daily Maverick survey: readers nominated their favourite small towns across the country

As beaches in Durban closed yesterday, one of the busiest beach days of the festive season, it took the police two hours to actually remove people from the surf; swimming after 6pm is prohibited by municipal laws as lifeguard shifts end

Authorities must do more to tackle “xenophobic” protests that have been blocking access to hospitals to undocumented foreigners; members of group Operation Dudula have for months refused access to non-South Africans at clinics in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal

Farmers are relieve by the lifting of US sanctions on many agricultural products, including macadamia nuts, of which South Africa is the world's top producer; wine and grapes are still hit by the measures

The University of Fort Hare council has urged higher education and training minister Buti Manamela not to proceed with appointing an independent assessor, saying the university is already taking steps to stabilise itself and address recent unrest

South Africa will receive R2bn (€99 million) over six months from the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention to sustain existing HIV and Aids programs

National data governance is entering a news chapter as President Ramaphosa officially put South Africa’s Statistics Amendment Act into effect; the law will reshape how SA collects and manages national statistics and data and set census every 10 years

South African National Defence Force SANDF has reportedly begun the repatriation of troops and equipment deployed in Lubumbashi, DRC, after the capture of Goma, amid growing tension with the Union concerning unpaid allowances for troops in DRC

An NGO has taken South African government to court over a backlog of hundreds of thousands of late birth registration, with people waiting years for a response from Home Affairs; no birth certificate means restricted access to healthcare and education

Ex owner of the world's largest rhino conservation farm John Hume was arrested with five more people on charges of smuggling their horns following an international police operation that began in 2017; horns trading, not export, is legal in SA

The family of late music producer and entrepreneur DJ Sumbody has come out against recent media reports claiming he was killed in a crossfire related to drug dealings; in a joint statement, Sefoka family and Be A Sumbody Foundation condemned the claims

In his letter on the occasion of Mandela Day celebrations, editor of South Africa news outlet DM168 says the people should honour the memory of Mandela by fighting the corruption in the heart of the country's democracy