It was Merlier's fifth stage victory in his third Tour appearance and also brought him to within 15 points of Dane Mads Pedersen in the sprinters' green jersey competition.

President Cyril Ramaphosa and Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie have led national tributes for Mamelodi Sundowns and Bafana Bafana midfielder Jayden Adams following his tragic passing in Cape Town.

Taylor Swift paid $160,000 (about R2.61 million) for a New York City permit to hold her blockbuster wedding with NFL star Travis Kelce at Madison Square Garden this month, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said on Friday. Mamdani told reporters that the billionaire pop singer covered the bill for this month’s star-studded extravaganza, when asked if Swift would pay back the city for police overtime related to the ceremony. “Taylor Swift has paid already the cost of the permit that was lodged, which was over $160,000 for that event and for the response to that event,” Mamdani said. Taylor Swift’s wedding costs Swift’s wedding, which took place over two days in Manhattan, drew hundreds of celebrities and involved a large deployment of police officers who shut down streets surrounding the huge indoor arena. The total cost of the event is unknown, but Forbes magazine estimated that it exceeded $20 million. The couple also donated $26 million to several charities before tying the knot.

South African singer-songwriter AzureDé has released her new 3-Step single, Light To Land. The track blends elements of 3-Step, Afro House, Afro Tech and R&B. Message of hope for people facing personal challenges AzureDé said the song is about hope and perseverance during difficult times. “Light To Land is about trusting that brighter days are coming, even when you can’t see them yet,” she said. “We all face seasons where life feels uncertain, painful or overwhelming. This song is a reminder to keep believing, keep moving forward, and trust that your light will eventually land exactly where it’s meant to.” AzureDé has previously collaborated with music producer Heavy K on the song Sondela. Speaking during an interview on Metro FM’s Best Morning with DJ Sabby and Kandis Kardash, she said meeting Heavy K was a turning point in her career. “I’ve always respected Heavy K. I think he’s phenomenal. He’s so, so talented, and he’s a great person.” She said she had wanted to work with the producer before they met through her manager. “That is where the journey kind of started, and that’s how we created Sondela.” AzureDé said she hopes listeners connect with the message behind her music. “People often discover artists through a song. But I hope they remember me because of the message behind the music. My purpose has always been bigger than entertainment. I want to create impact, inspire hope, and remind people that their circumstances do not determine their future.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by AzureDé (@azuredeworldwide)

uMngeni Local Municipality mayor Chris Pappas has vowed to continue building on what he describes as a record of honest, transparent and responsible governance after being selected as the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) mayoral candidate for a second term. Pappas, who has led the municipality since the 2021 local government elections, will once again head the party’s campaign in uMngeni, where the DA made history by winning control of the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands municipality for the first time. ‘We showed you change’ Speaking after his nomination, Pappas reflected on the scepticism his administration faced when it took office. “They said the young mayor and deputy mayor would certainly fail. They said our council would collapse and they said our institution was broken,” he said. Despite those doubts, Pappas believes his administration has delivered on its promises. “Some people doubted us and others complained. When we asked you to vote in 2021, we said we wouldn’t speak about change but we would show you change.” He said every decision taken during his first term had been guided by the principles of accountability and good governance. “Everything we did was measured with our priority. We are an honest, transparent and responsible government.” Financial recovery highlighted Among the achievements Pappas highlighted was the municipality’s improved financial position. He said the administration had paid off an R11 million loan while ensuring that payments under the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) were handled fairly and transparently. The DA has frequently pointed to uMngeni as one of its best-performing municipalities, crediting the administration with improving service delivery, restoring financial stability and strengthening governance. Eyeing another five years Pappas will now seek a second term as mayor in the upcoming local government elections, with the DA hoping to retain one of its flagship municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal. His campaign is expected to focus on the municipality’s governance record and financial turnaround, while opponents are likely to scrutinise whether the gains made over the past five years have translated into improved services for residents. The local government elections later this year are expected to be closely contested, with political parties seeking to strengthen their foothold in municipalities across South Africa. 💙 The DA is proud to announce Chris Pappas as our Mayoral Candidate for uMngeni.uMngeni has become a model of good governance with clean audits, stronger infrastructure, expanded services and accountable leadership.Let's keep uMngeni working for all. pic.twitter.com/5bld5VcAhp— Democratic Alliance (@Our_DA) July 11, 2026 FULL SPEECH Friends, neighbours, fellow Democrats, special guests, amakhosi, izinduna, community leaders, and the people of uMngeni. Good morning! Firstly, I want to thank each one of you for being here today. And I want to thank the organisers of this event for the hard work that you have put in. Today is more than the launch of a Mayoral Candidate. Today is a celebration of what we have achieved together and a commitment to do more. Five years ago, the people of uMngeni made a courageous decision:A decision decided by just 42 votes.Forty-two votes changed the direction of this municipality.Forty-two votes proved that every single vote matters. You chose hope over decline.You chose action over excuses.You chose good governance over corruption.And because of that decision, our municipality has become known across South Africa as a beacon of hope.A municipality that works. A municipality that delivers.A municipality that people once again believe in.But this story did not begin in 2021. We stand on foundations laid by those who came before us. People like Greg Krumbock, who spent years building the Democratic Alliance in uMngeni when victory seemed impossible. People like Nhlalayenza Ndlovu, Nu Mlotshwa and many others, who sacrificed their time, energy and lives so that one day this municipality could have a government that truly served its people. There are hundreds of people whose names may never be mentioned from this stage. Activists.Volunteers.Donors.Candidates.Councillors, MPs, MPLs.Residents. People who believed and fought for something better long before it became popular. This victory belongs to every one of them. When we took office in 2021, many said it couldn’t be done.They said a young mayor would fail.They said our Council would collapse.They said the institution was too broken.Some doubted us.Some laughed at us.Some waited for us to fail. But while others talked, we worked.While others complained, we governed.While others made excuses, we delivered.Together, we proved that good government is not an accident.It is a choice. When we asked for your support in 2021, we made you a promise.We said that change would not simply be spoken about. Change would be visible.Change would be tangible. Everything we did would be measured against five priorities.• A transparent and responsive government.• Jobs and a growing local economy.• Waste and protecting our environment.• Building safer communities.• Infrastructure maintenance and investment. Those five priorities have guided every budget, every project and every decision over the past five years.Today, I can proudly say that against every one of those promises, we have delivered visible and tangible change. When we promised a transparent and responsive government:We paid off an R11 million loan.We completed another R6 million worth of projects left unfinished by the previous administration.We set up a WhatsApp Line, tollfree call centre, and established the Khulumanathi Outreach Programmes.We made sure the EPWP and hiring was fair. When we promised jobs and a growing economy:• Youth unemployment fell by seven percent.• uMngeni was recognised as KZN’s number one municipality for access to opportunities and services.• We brought the Ithala Centre back to life, creating more than 140 jobs.• We passed the third highest number of building plans despite our small size.• Together with the taxi association, private business and a DA-led national government Department of Public Works, we transformed the long-abandoned Howick Taxi Rank into a thriving hub. When we promised to focus on waste and the environment:• We re-established the Parks Department.• We expanded refuse collection into rural communities and farming areas that had never before received this basic service.• We expanded recycling and circular economy activities.• We recognised and formalised waste reclamation.• We stared funding conservancies and the uMngeni Biosphere Reserve. When we promised safer communities:• We installed more than 3,000 new streetlights across uMngeni.• We increased the traffic department from 14 to 30 officers and from two vehicles to eight.• We introduced CCTV cameras and a new control room and we funded local CPFs. When we promised infrastructure investment:• We increased the roads maintenance budget from R11 million to R42 million.• We purchased bulldozers, excavators, trucks, TLBs and other equipment.• And we are almost complete with the multimillion Rand Mthinzima Substation. And because of the work we have done, uMngeni was selected by the President as one of only four municipalities in South Africa to pilot a brand-new infrastructure support and development initiative. The very same President Ramaphosa who said that DA-run municipalities are the best run municipalities. That is recognition earned through delivery. Friends,Perhaps the achievement I am proudest of is that over the past five years, our Gini Coefficient has declined by more than ten percent.What does that mean?It means ours has become a more equal municipality.It means more people have opportunities.More people are finding work.More families have hope.That is what progress looks like. I have often been asked what the hardest part of being mayor has been.It wasn’t balancing the budget.It wasn’t rebuilding roads.It wasn’t restoring parks.It wasn’t replacing thousands of streetlights.It wasn’t attracting investment. The hardest part was rebuilding trust.Trust that government could actually work.Trust that promises could be kept.Trust that public money belonged to the public.Trust that politics could once again become about service. Friends,We inherited a municipality that had been neglected for years.The foundations were broken.The finances were broken.The systems were broken.Communities had lost faith. No one can rebuild decades of neglect in just five years.We have never claimed to have fixed everything and never claimed that we could.There are still potholes to patch.Streetlights to replace.Trees to trim.There is still much more work ahead.But today the foundation is strong.And because the foundation is strong we can keep building. One promise we made to ourselves was that we would never govern from behind a desk.We made it our mission to be present. To be in as many communities as possible.Whether in Hilton, Howick, Mpophomeni, Merrivale, Lions River, Nottingham Road, KwaMevana, Karkloof, Shiyabazali, Dargle, Khanya Village, Curry’s Post, Lidgetton, or our many other rural communities We wanted government to be visible. To listen. To solve problems. To build relationships.Because government works better when leaders know the people they serve. Friends,Not every decision we made was easy.Not every decision was popular.Leadership is about making difficult decisions.Decisions about budgets. Decisions about priorities.Decisions about saying no today so that we could build something stronger tomorrow.Leadership is not about doing what is easy. It is about doing what is right. Progress is visible.But progress is also fragile.It takes years to rebuild an institution.It takes only months to undermine and destroy it. Every road repaired.Every park restored.Every improved audit outcome.Every investment attracted.Every gain we have made is worth protecting. Leadership is not something you do during an election campaign.Leadership is what you do when the cameras have gone home.Every election there are many parties asking for your vote.But if you want to protect the progress we have made, your vote must go where it can make the biggest difference. Do not divide the vote that rebuilt this municipality.Give the Democratic Alliance the strength to keep governing. Friends,I am only going to mention the ANC once in this speech.The people of uMngeni have seen what a DA-led municipality can achieve.Now it is time for every community to experience the same difference.For thirty years many of our communities have elected ANC ward councillors.This election gives you the opportunity to change that.Just as the people removed the ANC from governing this municipality five years ago…Now let us remove the ANC from our wards.Let us turn ANC wards into DA wards.Lets us turn ward 1, 4, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 into DA wardsLet us show every community what a DA ward councillor can achieve. Five years ago the DA was not a big party in places like Mpophomeni and many of our rural communities. Today, because we governed for everyone, listened to everyone and worked in every community, the Democratic Alliance is no longer a small party. They told you lies about the DA. They said the DA would take away your grants. The DA would take your RDP houses. That the DA will bring back apartheid. Today we are the biggest political party in uMngeni because we proved them wrong. That happened because people saw a government that works. We proved that they were telling you lies to make you scared. What lies will they tell this time? Politics has changed.Social media spreads fake news faster than facts.Anonymous accounts.Bots.Rumours.Half-truths. People with no stake in our communities trying to tell us what to believe.Ignore the noise. Judge us by your own experience.Judge us by your own community.Judge us by whether your municipality works better today than it did five years ago. That is the only test that matters. Friends, five years ago we asked you to trust us and to give us a chance.Today we do not ask you to trust our promises.We ask you to judge our record. Our work is not finished.There are still roads to rebuild.Communities to uplift.Investment to attract.Jobs to create.Young people whose futures depend on the decisions we make today. Over the next few weeks we will return to every community.Not simply to ask for your vote.But to listen.To reflect honestly on the promises we made.To celebrate our successes.To acknowledge where we could have done better.And to hear what you want us to achieve over the next five years. People often ask me why I would want to do this again.After the long days.The criticism.The pressure.The difficult decisions.Many councillors are asked the same questions.The answer is simple, because we love this municipality. We love its people.We Love uMngeni. We believe in its future.And I have seen what happens when a community believes in itself.Hope returns.Businesses invest.Visitors come back.Communities work together.People begin to expect excellence instead of accepting decline.That is worth fighting for.Every single day. The truth is that if the DA does not win this election, thousands of jobs are on the line. Investors will run away, development will slow, corruption will set in again, and things will start to fall apart. This is not something I say to scare you. It is the reality of where we come from and the reality of other municipalities in KZN. All you have to do is look at Impendle where they cannot pay for the employees, Msunduzi who owe Eskom almost R1 billion or Mpofana where there are no jobs or development. This will be uMngeni if amaqhabane get back into power. Five years ago we asked you for a chance.Together, we proved what is possible.Now I ask you for something more.Protect the progress we have made.Protect the municipality we have rebuilt.Protect the strong foundation we have laid.Give the DA the power to keep making progress.Not for politicians.Not for political parties.But for every family who calls uMngeni home.Because this municipality belongs to you. Together we have shown South Africa what is possible.Now let us show South Africa what another five years of DA government can achieve.Together, let us protect our gains.Together, let us reject division, misinformation and empty promises.Together, let us continue building a municipality that works.Together…Let us keep making progress.

More than 10 000 Zimbabwean children who left South Africa following anti-migrant protests and subsequent displacement are facing an education crisis after their schooling was disrupted midway through the academic year. Many are now struggling to continue their studies after returning to Zimbabwe, where the curriculum differs from South Africa’s CAPS syllabus. The Zimbabwe Exemption Permit (ZEP) Coordinating Committee announced on Friday that it has launched an emergency online education initiative to ensure affected learners, particularly those in examination classes, do not lose the 2026 academic year. Zimbabwean children struggle to transition between SA and Zim curricula According to the committee, many children returned to Zimbabwe either independently or alongside parents through government-assisted evacuation programmes. The worst affected are learners in Grade 7, Ordinary Level and Matric, who now face significant challenges transitioning between South Africa’s Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) and Zimbabwe’s education system. “These children left South Africa mid-year and are now in an educational deadlock,” said ZEP National Coordinator Edward Muchatuta. “If we do not act now, we risk losing an entire cohort, especially the Matric Class of 2026. Our goal is to ensure no child loses their academic future.” To address the crisis, the committee has established an Emergency Cross-Border Education Task Force that will provide online-first and hybrid bridging classes aligned with the South African CAPS curriculum for learners from Grade 1 to Grade 12. The programme aims to help pupils continue preparing for South African examinations despite relocating to Zimbabwe. Teachers urged to volunteer to help Zimbabwean children The task force has appealed to qualified CAPS educators based in either South Africa or Zimbabwe to volunteer as Lead Subject Matter Experts and Online Syllabus Facilitators. Muchatuta said the initiative would initially operate on a humanitarian volunteer basis before transitioning to paid positions once institutional support and funding become available. The first phase of recruitment targets Lead Educators and Heads of Department for Grades 7 and 10 to 12. Applicants must hold a Bachelor of Education degree or a recognised degree with a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE), possess valid or recent registration with the South African Council for Educators (SACE), and have proven experience teaching the CAPS curriculum and managing School-Based Assessment (SBA) portfolios. Educators with experience as markers for the Department of Basic Education (DBE) or the Independent Examinations Board (IEB) Matric examinations will receive priority consideration. The second recruitment tier seeks Online Syllabus Facilitators for Grades 1 to 6 and Grades 8 to 9. Candidates must have a teaching degree or diploma, although SACE registration is not compulsory. The programme covers all CAPS subjects, including Mathematics, Science, Languages, Business Studies and primary school subjects. Selected educators will undergo a four-stage vetting process that includes document verification, SACE and reference checks, a 20-minute online teaching demonstration, and training in distance learning and portfolio alignment. Support for learners Beyond online lessons, the committee said it is working with community partners to provide internet data bundles and digital devices to learners who may struggle to access virtual classes. The initiative comes amid growing concerns that thousands of Zimbabwean children displaced from South Africa could lose months of learning unless alternative education arrangements are put in place. Muchatuta urged qualified teachers to join the programme as the committee races to prevent learners from falling further behind ahead of critical examinations later this year.

The Long March 10B booster was snared by a net at sea, boosting China's reusable rocket ambitions.

The engineering that keeps soldiers alive in landmine blasts should protect commuters, too, writes Dithoto Modungwa.