South Africa faces one of the world's worst rates of violent crime. In 2024, 26,232 murders were recorded around 72 each day for a homicide rate of nearly 42 per 100,000 people. Data derived from early 2025 numbers show a 12.4% drop in murders (5,727 cases) and fewer serious assaults, but these gains haven't changed the big picture: Violence is still widespread, and many South Africans feel unsafe.
"These violations include the repeated use of official Israeli social media platforms to launch insulting attacks against His Excellency President Cyril Ramaphosa," the ministry said. The foreign ministry also accused Seidman of failing to inform South African authorities of "purported visits by senior Israeli officials." DIRCO went on to say that this constituted a "gross abuse of diplomatic privilege" and said it was in violation of the Vienna Convention. Israel's diplomatic mission in South Africa has not yet responded to the latest development.
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]
