#south-africa

#south-africa

The drills have caused controversy in the country and drawn the ire of the United States. Although South Africa regularly holds drills with Russia and China, the latest maritime training comes amid heightened tensions between the US and many of the group's members, particularly Iran, which until last week was grappling with mass protests at home that turned deadly. Pretoria said the exercise, named Will for Peace 2026, was essential for ensuring maritime safety and international cooperation.

Chinese, Russian and Iranian ships were seen moving into and out of the harbour that serves South Africa's top naval base in Simon's Town, south of Cape Town, where the Indian Ocean meets the Atlantic Ocean. It was not immediately clear if other countries from the BRICS group which also includes Brazil, India and the United Arab Emirates, among others would take part in the drills.

Researchers have found traces of what appears to be plant-derived poison on tiny stone arrowheads from South Africa dated to 60,000 years ago. The finding pushes back the origin of this revolutionary hunting technology by tens of thousands of years. Scientists have long been fascinated by the development of poisoned hunting weapons. For one thing, they would have seriously leveled up our ancestors' foraging game.

Chirwa was in too much pain to speak she was in active labour. But she remembers feeling surprised. Why, Chirwa recalls, is she asking us not to mention that we were trying to have a home birth? This was the first pregnancy for Chirwa and her husband, Chifundo Bingala. Both are originally from Malawi, but moved to Cape Town, South Africa, for work: Chirwa found employment as a cleaner, and Bingala as a tailor.

The host nation Australia will face their traditional rivals New Zealand at the men's Rugby World Cup in 2027 after the draw was made in Sydney on Wednesday. The Wallabies, hosting a second men's tournament, were guaranteed to face a top-ranked nation in Pool A due to a current world ranking of seventh, and the renewal of their fierce rivalry with the All Blacks is perhaps the most appetising possible outcome from the draw.

Police said Nonkululeko Mantula was arrested after a tip off, police said. She is accused of recruiting four men who were arrested with her and making arrangements for them to join the Russian military currently involved in a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Police said the matter has been postponed to December 8 for a formal bail application and that the five accused have been remanded in custody.

On Thursday morning, a chartered plane carrying 153 Palestinians from war-torn Gaza many without the required travel documents landed at an airport near Johannesburg, leaving South African officials blindsided. After nearly 12 hours of scrambling, the group was allowed to disembark into the care of a local charity organisation. More details have emerged about the scheme run by Al-Majd Europe, through which activists argue Israel is advancing its ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from Gaza.

Qatar's defender Assim Madibo, left, drops to the floor to celebrate with Qatar's Spanish coach Julian Lopetegui after the FIFA World Cup 2026 Asian qualifier football match against the UAE [Karim Jaafar/AFP] Qatar's players celebrate at the full-time whistle against UAE as they reached a World Cup final for the first time through the qualification route [Karim Jaafar/AFP] Qatar's players celebrate their achievement with fans at Jassim bin Hamad Stadium in Doha [Karim Jaafar/AFP]

The friend, a sex worker herself, told Connie: "That's not a boyfriend, that's sex work. He only comes to have sex with you, bring you food, and pay the rent." Connie tells DW she had tried working in retail, hospitality, and in a call center, but it was never enough to cover her bills. She believed working as a sex worker full-time would mean that she was no longer dependent on her boyfriend; it promised greater financial security and autonomy.

"I would gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today." That was the catchphrase of J. Wellington Wimpy from the old "Popeye" cartoons - a man obsessed with hamburgers but lacking the money to buy them until next Tuesday. Founded as Wimpy Grills in 1934, the Wimpy chain started in Indiana and rose to fame in Chicago, the city it's still associated with today even though no locations remain there.

The South African populist, nationalist and anti-immigration group "Operation Dudula" is once more making headlines, having recently launched a campaign targeting migrant children. By arguing that there are not enough school placements for South African children, the overtly xenophobic group has called for the exclusion of migrant children from public schools. Operation Dudula is known for its head-turning publicity stunts. Members of the group have, for instance,blocked access to public hospitals for foreignersin the country, saying they should not use facilities funded by taxpayers' money.

Ssshhhhhhhhh! The talking is over, for now at least, and England's World Cup is about to begin. The bad news is they start with a tough game against South Africa. The good news is they start with a tough game against South Africa. Victory today would give England instant momentum and legitimise the cautious confidence of their pre-tournament chatter. An excellent win over Australia in their last warm-up has increased that confidence.

Teboho Mokoena played in the 2-0 win over Lesotho in March despite the 28-year-old midfielder being due to serve a suspension after accumulating two yellow cards. A Fifa disciplinary committee has ruled that South Africa breached competition rules, and has imposed a 3-0 forfeit. The country's football association (Safa) has been fined 10,000 Swiss Francs ($12,500, 9,340), while Mokoena has been issued with a warning.

Tomorrow is a big domestic data day for South African markets, with the CPI and retail sales data to be released. The slew of data could set the tone for Thursday's SARB interest rate decision and the Q4 risk tone. Investors come in knowing the July CPI printed 3.5% YoY, a 10-month high. While it remains within the 3-6% band, it stayed above the stated ambition to target around 3% over time rather than just the midpoint of the 3-6% range.

France enjoyed a one-sided 57-10 victory over South Africa at Franklin's Gardens to take top spot in Women's Rugby World Cup Pool D, scoring nine tries with two each for Emilie Boulard and Joanna Grisez. They will take on Ireland at Sandy Park in Exeter next Sunday in the last eight. The scrum-half Pauline Bourdon Sansus earned a second straight player of the match award for orchestrating France's highest score over the Springbok Women in front of a sellout crowd of 15,000.

It has been a South African summer at Lord's. After the World Test Championship triumph in June came a second to savour at the home of cricket: a tight five-run win under lights that sealed their first one-day international series victory on English soil for 27 years. For England it was another reminder of how far they have fallen since lifting the World Cup on this ground six years ago, this their fifth ODI series defeat from their last six.