This year's festival introduces two exciting new attractions - the inaugural KZN Art Fair and the Just Geekin' Festival - adding fresh dimensions to an already outstanding programme.

A tragic fire in Sea Point has claimed the life of an adult man, as firefighters battled the blaze that tore through an apartment building on High Level Road. Emergency services responded promptly, but resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful.

The national athletics team ended their medal drought on Thursday night, with Masala Makatu claiming a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. While there were some near misses in a few events, visually impaired sprinter Makatu delivered, taking second place in the T12 men’s 100m final in 11.04 seconds (with the benefit of a +2.1m/s tailwind). Behind him, Jaco Smith grabbed fourth spot in 11.24, crossing the line 0.18 outside a place on the podium In other events, national record holder Marione Fourie put up a fight in the women’s 100m hurdles final, completing the race in fourth position in 12.66 (+2.5m/s), just 0.06 shy of a medal. In the men’s shot put final, Aiden Smith also grabbed fourth spot, landing the implement at 20.31m. He fell 68 centimetres short of a place on the podium. And Tayla Kavanagh did well to set a personal best of 14:58.49 in the women’s 5,000m contest, though she settled for eighth position. Heats and semifinals Meanwhile Sinesipho Dambile was the quickest athlete in the men’s 200m semifinals, winning his race in 19.82 (+2.3m/s). In a separate race, Mthi Mthimkulu settled for fourth spot in his half-lap semifinal in 20.39 and he missed out on a place in the medal battle. Dambile was set to line up among the favourites for the gold medal in the final to be held on Friday night (10.25pm). In the early session on Thursday, three other athletes kept their medal hopes alive by progressing beyond the opening round of their events on day four of the track and field competition. Sprinter Zakithi Nene was third in his 400m heat in 45.70, sneaking in as the last of the qualifiers after Jamaican athlete Antonio Watson was disqualified from the race, and he earned a lane in the one-lap medal contest to be held on Saturday. Javelin thrower Douw Smith sent his spear sailing out to 80.64m, achieving the third best distance of the qualifying round and securing a place in Friday night’s final (9.15pm). And middle-distance runner Karabo More ended fifth in her mile (1 609m) heat in 4:37.97, earning a spot in the final to be held on Saturday evening. In other sports, weightlifter Christoffel Rheeders took eighth position in the men’s 110kg+ division, lifting a total of 303kg. The SA netball team were handed a 58-54 defeat against England, finishing third in their pool and missing out on a place in the semifinals.

We bring you a visual snapshot of the day’s news events, featuring soaring temperatures across Germany as a girl cools off in a Frankfurt fountain during an intense heatwave, firefighting aircraft battling a massive wildfire in France’s Gironde region that has forced hundreds of thousands to evacuate, and protesters clashing with South African Police Service (SAPS) officers during an anti-immigration demonstration in Alexandra township, Johannesburg. These are some of the compelling images from around the world. FRANKFURT AM MAIN, GERMANY – JULY 28: A girl cools off at a fountain in the city center on July 28, 2026 in Frankfurt, Germany. Temperatures are forecast to rise across Germany this week, with areas in southern and southwestern Germany to possibly top 40 degrees Celsius. (Photo by Thomas Lohnes/Getty Images) Protesters react as South African Police Service (SAPS) officers threaten to disperse them with rubber bullets during a demonstration calling for the removal of undocumented immigrants in Alexandra township on July 30, 2026. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa called on July 27 for African countries to work together to manage migration, as his government faces mounting pressure over attacks on foreign nationals. Ramaphosa’s appeal to the Pan-African Parliament follows weeks of anti-migrant protests in South Africa, where xenophobic activists and fringe groups have blamed undocumented migrants from elsewhere in Africa for crime, unemployment and strain on public services. (Photo by EMMANUEL CROSET / AFP) A firefighting aircraft releases fire retardant over pine trees to contain a nearby wildfire on July 30, 2026 in Lanton, France. The Gironde wildfire that broke out on July 22 has already forced some 220,000 people to evacuate from the world-class wine region in the southwest of France, with the fire now advancing on the outskirts of Bordeaux, a city with a population of 268,000. Fire services are racing to contain the flames ahead of another heatwave forecast this week. The blaze has scorched an estimated 42,000 hectares so far, nearly double the area that was burned during wildfires that devastated the region in 2022. (Photo by Pierre Crom/Getty Images) Johannesburg mayoral candidate Helen Zille and Ward 106 councillor Chris Santana brief the media about the Democratic Alliance’s challenge to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s National Water Crisis Plan, which the party says contains nothing new, 30 July 2026 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Picture: Nigel Sibanda/The Citizen A group of deer aproaches a car window at the Safari Madrid wildlife park in Aldea del Fresno, west of Madrid, on July 30, 2026. A small number of visitors were once again driving through the park, which reopened yesterday morning after six days of closure during the wildfires in the region. Ostriches and dromedaries hurried towards each passing vehicle in the hope of food, while lions napped in the shade of a tree and alligators basked in the sun. Like the tigers, elephants and rhinoceroses, they had remained calm during the wildfire despite the smoke, sirens and constant movement of fire engines and police vehicles. (Photo by JAVIER SORIANO / AFP) Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis announces the highest ever capital expenditure outcome for the City of Cape Town for the 2025/26 financial year at the Cape Town Civic Centre on July 30, 2026 in Cape Town, South Africa. The briefing also named the top performing directorates in the 2025/26 financial year. (Photo by Gallo Images/ER Lombard) This photograph shows a Pallas’s cat named Timofey at the Moscow Zoo in Moscow, on July 30, 2026. (Photo by Igor IVANKO / AFP) A satirical “Iran War Participation Trophy” is seen in Lower Manhattan in New York City on July 30, 2026. The satirical work is the latest installment by a group of anonymous artists that aim to mock US President Donald Trump. (Photo by Angela WEISS / AFP) This aerial view shows boats laying on the dried Ticino river, northen Italy, on July 30, 2026. The Po Valley in northern Italy is facing a severe water and drought crisis driven by intense summer heatwaves and sparse rainfall. Water levels and river flow have plummeted rapidly, exposing sandbanks and triggering urgent concerns for regional agriculture and ecosystems. (Photo by Stefano RELLANDINI / AFP) A boy rides a scooter past a mural depicting Haitian activists and artists in the Little Haiti neighborhood of Miami, Florida, on July 30, 2026. Tens of thousands of Haitians faced the prospect of leaving the United States or being deported, with the special protected status allowing them to live and work legally in the country set to expire on Aug. 3, 2026. The US Supreme Court said last month the Trump administration could end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians and some 6,000 Syrians without judicial review, although the impact of the decision could apply to migrants from many other backgrounds. (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA / AFP) A derelict shipwreck on the riverbank, surrounded by water and trees, creating a scenic yet abandoned atmosphere. This aerial photograph shows a view of Villefranche-sur-Mer, southeastern France on July 30, 2026. (Photo by Valery HACHE / AFP) People walk on the dried-out waterbed of the river Danube under the Margaret Bridge in downtown Budapest, Hungary, on July 30, 2026. The water level of the Danube in the capital Budapest was measured at 23 centimeters, which is close to the lowest values ever recorded. According to data from the National Directorate of Water Management, the river has dropped significantly along the entire Hungarian section of the Danube. (Photo by Attila KISBENEDEK / AFP) 1/13

How much is Saturday 1 August Lotto and Lotto Plus worth on 29 July 2026? Well, it breaks down like so. Straight Lotto is worth R5.5 million, Lotto Plus 1 sits at R4 million and for Lotto Plus Max 5 you can tag on another R1 million. All tallied up that put’s the total worth of the Saturday game at R10.5 million. That’s a R1.5-million increase over Wednesday’s last game, which suggests someone did win a portion of Lotto Max 5 on Wednesday … Nevertheless, success for Saturday 1 August Lotto and Lotto Plus comes from knowing how recently one of the three lottos has paid out big. A bit like the old days playing slot machines in the casino, the longer it goes on, the more likely a payout will be. However, looking at the above figures, we can see small amounts suggest regular winners recently. This has been one of the criticisms of new game mechanics – that payouts, while more frequent, rarely allow winnings to climb to big numbers anymore. SATURDAY 1 AUGUST LOTTO AND LOTTO PLUS As such, Saturday 1 August Lotto and Lotto Plus has always been the National Lottery’s kind of bread-and-butter game. Cheaper than PowerBall and PowerBall XTRA, easier to win, but less dramatic when it comes to jackpots. Nevertheless, Sizekhaya’s 1 June 2026 takeover reshaped it even further. The core mechanics require players to choose six numbers from a pool of 1 to 52, which is reduced from 1 to 58 previously. As ever, numbers can be chosen manually or auto generated through the popular Quick Pick. Pricing sits lower than PowerBall’s controversial increase. A standard Lotto board costs R5, with Lotto Plus 1 adding R2.50 and Lotto 5 Max adding a further R2.50 on top. Therefore, playing all three together costs R10 per board. What players are still wrapping their head around is the new MultiPlay (MP1) option. It lets players add a seventh number to their existing six in each of the three games. And it gets proportionally more expensive as you go. The total combination if you add MP1 across all boards is R70 – that’s R35 + R17.50 + R17.50. However, your odds are massively improved if you do go down this rabbit hole. HOW TO HANDLE MULTIPLAY Do you prefer to choose your own numbers old school, or use auto-generated Quick Pick? Image: File If you add MP1 to Saturday 1 August Lotto and Lotto Plus across all three games, your total ticket will cost R70.00. Plus, if you’re using your banking app, be sure to lookout for digital banking fee of roughly R2.95 added to the transaction. So, the question remains, is it worth spending the extra money? Jackpot odds have already improved substantially under the new number matrix. The chances of matching all six numbers now sits at 1 in 20 million. That’s twice as likely as the old 1 in 40 million under ITHUBA. However, dabble with the MP1 and all of a sudden, you’re playing with seven numbers instead of six. This means your odds now become just 1 in 2.9 million, which represents a straight sevenfold improvement. And don’t forget that’s across all three games since they share the board. DRAW TIMES AND CLAIMING POWERBALL WINNINGS Remember, if you’re someone like a SASSA beneficiary playing Saturday 1 August Lotto and Lotto Plus, decide on a budget before buying lotto tickets, and don’t chase a bad week by spending more. The National Responsible Gambling Programme runs a toll-free counselling line on 0800 006 008 for anyone who is struggling. Lotto and Lotto Plus draw every Saturday and Saturday at 21:00. Sizekhaya brought back live televised draws using physical draw machines. Ticket sales cut off half an hour before the draw typically at 20:30. All lottery prizes must be claimed within 365 days of the draw date. Anyone who misses that window forfeits their prize and the money is transferred to the National Lottery Distribution Trust for charitable causes. How and where to claim Saturday 1 August Lotto and Lotto Plus winnings depends on the amount won: Small prizes (up to R4 999) get paid out directly at licensed retailers. Mid-tier prizes (R5 000 to R49 999) can be claimed at selected partner banks. Anything above R50 000 requires an in-person visit to a Sizekhaya regional office, with the original ticket and a valid South African ID. Online and banking-app players have prizes up R249 999 are deposited automatically into their accounts. CONTACT SIZEKHAYA FOR HELP Sizekhaya’s head offices now reside in Sandton. Image: File Anyone unsure where to start can call the Sizekhaya helpline on 0861 026 000. Or you can visit one of the eight regional offices nationally: Head Office/Gauteng at 36 Homestead Road, Edenburg, Sandton KwaZulu-Natal at 10 Rydall Vale Crescent, Umhlanga Ridge Western Cape at 1st Floor, The Barracks, 50 Bree Street, Cape Town Eastern Cape at 153 Cape Road, Newton Park, Port Elizabeth Free State & Northern Cape at 3 Barnes Street, Arboretum, Bloemfontein Limpopo at Gateway Park, Polokwane Mpumalanga at 29@Marloth, Nelspruit And one final note, around R257 million in lottery prizes currently sits unclaimed across South Africa from the previous operator. Therefore, checking old ticket numbers against those drawn (up to one year ago) costs you nothing and might just turn up forgotten money. You can do so by clicking past results HERE.

A young boy who collected and sold scrap materials to financially support his family – as captured in videos filmed by philanthropist BI Phakathi – has received over R2 million in GoFundMe donations. The teen – identified as Wernand – touched the hearts of people around the world with his mission to keep his family fed and off the street. BI PHAKATHI TEEN BOY RECEIVES MILLIONS IN GOFUNDME Earlier this month, philanthropist BI Phakathi – who keeps his identity a secret – posted a video of a teenage boy named Wernand who had skipped school to collect and sell scrap materials. As with all his videos, Phakathi generously gifted money to the child to buy food and warm clothes and to help his family. However, a few days later, he posted a follow-up video in which he found Wernand back in a junkyard, collecting cans and scrap metal to sell.  Phakathi, along with fellow philanthropist Logan Mayberry, founder of the Reward the Kind charity, visited the boy’s home, where he discovered his mother and newborn sister living in squalor. Wernand revealed that he had spent years in an orphanage before being homeless and reuniting with his impoverished mother. Mayberry started a GoFundMe campaign to help the family secure safe and clean housing. The campaign, and BI Phakathi’s videos about Wernand has gone viral, raising over $124 000 (over R2 million) from close to 4 000 donors around the world. Mayberry shared: “He [Wernand] felt responsible for helping provide for his family. At just 14 years old, Wernand has become the man of the house…somehow, he continues to fight every day for his family. I truly believe we have a chance to change the trajectory of this family’s future. “The funds raised will help Wernand and his family with housing, school fees, food, and other general resources. This support will provide them with stability, safety, and hope for a brighter future” BROTHERS AND AN EMPTY PETROL TANK In another viral video posted by BI Phakathi, the content creator is seen coming to the rescue of two brothers whose car had run out of petrol. The siblings were spotted sitting in their car at a petrol station, waiting for a cash deposit from their employer to purchase fuel to go home. After learning that Phakathi would fill up their petrol tank for free, the brothers burst into tears. The brothers also received a wad of cash to purchase groceries and to help fund their trade course. View this post on Instagram A post shared by BI Phakathi (@biphakathi)

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