President Jacob Zuma says the Strategic Presidential Team will unify the MK Party's leadership, improve organisational effectiveness and drive implementation of the party's programmes, policies and electoral strategy.

Six foreign nationals tragically lost their lives in a devastating fire at a Tsomo store, prompting an inquest by the South African Police Service to uncover the cause of the incident.

Breaststroke specialist Lara van Niekerk stole the show on Tuesday night during a memorable evening for the national swimming team, as the SA squad earned five medals on day six of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. Van Niekerk retained the women’s 50m breaststroke title she won in Birmingham four years ago, claiming gold in 30.43 seconds. She finished 0.11 ahead of Australia’s Sienna Toohey, who took second place in 30.54, while South Africa’s Rebecca Meder was eighth in 31.81. In other finals in the pool, Aimee Canny grabbed silver in 2:09.37 in the women’s 200m individual medley. Behind Canny, her compatriot Meder took seventh position in 2:11.23. Later in the session, Canny went on to join Pieter Coetzé, Michael Houlie and Erin Gallagher in securing another silver in the mixed medley 4x100m relay, setting a new African record of 3:42.61. Both Canny and Coetzé earned their fourth podium places at the multi-sport Games. Nathan Hendricks snatched a silver medal in 24.84 in the S13 men’s 50m freestyle, adding to the gold he won in the 100m freestyle in his disability class last week, while Danika Vyncke also claimed silver in the S13 women’s 50m freestyle, setting an African record of 28.41. And Olivia Nel, the only other South African competing in a final in the pool on Tuesday, finished fifth in the 50m backstroke final in 27.95 In semifinal races, five SA swimmers – Calvyn Justus (men’s 50m butterfly), Coetzé and Ruard van Renen (both in the men’s 100m backstroke), and Caitlin de Lange and Jessica Thompson (women’s 50m freestyle) – kept their medal hopes alive by booking their spots in finals to be held on Wednesday evening. Other sports Meanwhile, on the track, Gift Leotlela was edged into fourth place in the men’s 100m final, held in wet conditions. Leotlela set a season’s best of 9.91 seconds, missing out on a medal by 0.01, while countryman Cheswill Johnson settled for eighth place in 10.13. Earlier in the evening session, Bradley Nkoana had missed out on a place in the short sprint final after being disqualified for a false start in his semifinal. In weightlifting, Laryne Jefferies took eighth position in the women’s 69kg division, lifting a total of 196kg, while William Swart did not register a result in the men’s 88kg contest. On the netball court, the Proteas remained unbeaten in Pool A, beating Northern Ireland 78-30 to pick up their third win of the tournament. After six days of competition at the Games, the South African team were in seventh place in the overall standings with 16 medals (four gold, seven silver and five bronze), all achieved in the swimming pool.

We bring you a visual snapshot of the day’s news events, featuring scorched landscapes surrounding Stonehenge as another heatwave grips southern England, the demolition of informal structures in Cape Town’s Ocean View following a High Court eviction order, residents surveying the rubble of a collapsed building after torrential rain in Ahmedabad, India, and other compelling images from around the world. Residents stand near the rubble of a collapsed building following torrential rain in Ahmedabad on July 27, 2026. (Photo by Shammi MEHRA / AFP) Anneke Spies-Burger of Team South Africa competes during the Women’s 58kg Weightlifting on day four of the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games at SEC Armadillo on July 27, 2026 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Mattia Ozbot/Getty Images) Palestinians run for cover as smoke and fire rise during an Israeli strike on the the Al-Muttaqin Mosque in Gaza City on July 28, 2026. Gaza remains gripped by daily violence, with both the Israeli military and Hamas accusing one another of violating the truce in effect since October 10. The war flattened swathes of the territory, displaced most of the population at least once, and left hundreds of thousands of people living in tents and temporary shelters. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP) Police recovered three unlicensed firearms and ammunition near the Jerusalema informal settlement in Roodepoort, 28 July 2026, after a shootout with suspected illegal miners. Two suspects were fatally shot during the exchange. Picture: Nigel Sibanda/The Citizen View of an apartment building damaged by twin earthquakes in Catia La Mar, La Guaira state, Venezuela, on July 27, 2026, one month after an earthquake struck the area. Recovering from the earthquakes in Venezuela will take years, the Red Cross said on July 24, one month on from the June 24 disaster that killed more than 5,000 people. (Photo by Federico PARRA / AFP) Twenty-seven informal structures were dstroyed in Ocean View on July 28, 2026 in Cape Town, South Africa. This comes after the instruction of a High Court order, which had sought the eviction of those who had occupied ERF 5144. (Photo by Gallo Images/Brenton Geach) A woman standing atop an exhibited Soviet T-34-85 tank takes a photo of the city’s skyline on Constitution Square in the eastern city of Kharkiv on July 27, 2026, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Roman PILIPEY / AFP) Several activists from various NGOs protest outside the International Convention Centre in Durban on 28 July 2026, calling for an end to xenophobia and Afrophobia while defending African unity as South Africa hosts leaders and delegates attending the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Summit. The protesters urged government and citizens to confront the growing scourge of xenophobia and Afrophobia across the continent. Members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) gave protesters 10 minutes to disperse before instructing them to leave the area. Picture: Rajesh Jantilal (L-R) Cejhae Greene of Team Antigua and Barbuda, Edward Nketia of Team Australia, Ackeem Blake of Team Jamaica, Jerome Blake of Team Canada, Adekalu Nicholas Fakorede of Team Nigeria and Gift Leotlela of Team South Africa compete in the Men’s 100 Metres Semi-Finals during the Athletics on day five of the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games at Scotstoun Stadium on July 28, 2026 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Mattia Ozbot/Getty Images) This aerial view shows a boat sailing in the shallow water of the Danube River near Novi Sad, Serbia, on July 27, 2026. Scientists say global warming is increasing droughts and causing weather emergencies to become more extreme and more frequent. Prolonged drought and hot weather across Europe have pushed water levels along the Danube river to record seasonal lows, reaching its lowest flow rate in the last 30 years. (Photo by Nenad MIHAJLOVIC / AFP) This aerial image shows the dried scorched grass surrounding Stonehenge near Amesbury, Wiltshire in southern England on July 28, 2026. Temperatures were forecast this week to rise back into the 30s for parts of England, following three heatwaves so far over the summer. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP) The minaret of a mosque is silhouetted by the setting sun in Doha on July 28, 2026. (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR / AFP) Relatives of victims of crimes allegedly committed by the Peruvian state and opponents of Peru’s president-elect Keiko Fujimori, attend a rally outside the Palace of Justice in Lima on July 28, 2026. Fujimori will take office on July 28, 2026, vowing to tackle the wave of crime sweeping the Andean nation. Fujimori won the June 7 presidential runoff by fewer than 50,000 votes, after losing the past three runoffs. (Photo by Anthony Nino de Guzman / AFP) High-wire artists traverse cables suspended above the Hinnom Valley during a dress rehearsal ahead of the opening of the 65th Israel Festival, set along the seam between east and west Jerusalem, on July 27, 2026, in Jerusalem. The performance pays homage to French high-wire artist Philippe Petit’s tightrope walk across the Hinnom Valley during the opening of the 1987 festival. (Photo by ilia YEFIMOVICH / AFP) People pay their respects in front of landmark Brandenburg Gate where flowers, condolence placards and a huge rainbow flag have been arranged on the ground, on July 27, 2026 in Berlin two days after a car ramming attack that killed one person and injured 29 near the Christopher Street Day (CSD) parade. German police announced on July 26, 2026 that they had shot and killed the chief suspect in what officials described as a deadly Islamist attack near the Berlin Pride parade the night prior, the latest ramming assault to hit the country. The attack late on July 25 — the first such incident to target the German capital’s LGBTQ community, killed one woman and wounded 29 others. (Photo by John MACDOUGALL / AFP) French international football player Zinedine Zidane poses for selfies with fans as he leaves after a press conference to present him as the new head coach of France national football team at the French Football Federation headquarters (FFF) in Paris on July 28, 2026. The former France playmaker, who won the 1998 World Cup and the 2000 European Championship as a player, has been appointed head coach of the French national team, succeeding Didier Deschamps, the French Football Federation (FFF) announced. Zidane takes over from his former teammate Deschamps, who had been in charge since 2012; Deschamps’ tenure ended with a fourth-place finish at the 2026 World Cup, following a title win in 2018 and a final appearance in 2022. (Photo by LOU BENOIST / AFP) A firefighter works to extinguish flames in a forest in Claouey, near Lege-Cap-Ferret, southwestern France on July 28, 2026. Over the past six days, the wildfire near Bordeaux has ravaged 42,000 hectares (103,000 acres), forced 220,000 people to flee and destroyed 240 houses. Firefighters said on July 28, 2026 the fire had not expanded overnight as they managed to tackle several flareups. (Photo by Ed JONES / AFP) A model presents a creation by designer Dolly J during the Hyundai India Couture Week in New Delhi on July 27, 2026. (Photo by SAJJAD HUSSAIN / AFP) 1/18 MORE PICTURES: Thousands hit the streets for the 702 Jozi My Jozi Walk The Talk

South Africans are speaking out about the daily struggle to survive on their SASSA Older Persons Grant, with many admitting they’ve resorted to skipping meals, eating mostly bread, and relying on soya mince to make it through the month. The comments flooded in after The South African reported on a pensioner who said her SASSA grant fails to last the month, prompting hundreds of readers to share their own experiences of going hungry while waiting for the next payment. ‘Lots Of Bread in My Tummy’ One commenter, Sarah Van Greunen, painted a stark picture of her daily diet, saying she survives mostly on bread and joked darkly that people would find evidence of it if she died. Her comment was met with sympathy from other users, including Margaret Le Roux, who reassured her that she wasn’t alone in the struggle. Another reader described the added pressure of caring for a family member while relying on an insufficient pension, explaining that supporting her mother is especially difficult because she also cares for her 14-year-old son, who has special needs and requires round-the-clock attention. Soya Mince, Eggs, and ‘No Name’ Soup: SASSA pensioners name the food they eat For many pensioners, stretching a grant means getting creative in the kitchen. Daniel Lourens said he has become skilled at designing meals that stretch further, listing soya mince, eggs, pasta, and no-name brand soup used as a sauce among his go-to staples. Other users pointed to community support structures as a possible lifeline. Deborah Frame suggested pensioners struggling to feed themselves reach out to Meals on Wheels for assistance. A Growing Public Outcry The flood of comments highlights growing frustration among grant recipients who say the Older Persons Grant, while a critical lifeline, simply isn’t enough to cover basic nutrition, let alone additional costs like caring for dependents with special needs. As the cost of living continues to rise, pensioners and their families are calling for grant increases that reflect real-world expenses, rather than figures that leave many surviving on bread alone. Win R2 000 in the South African SASSA grant survey If you receive a SASSA grant and want to share your story, we want to hear from you. Take part in our survey and stand a chance to win R2 000. Your responses help us tell the stories that matter.

Amid the heated backlash over a proposal to cap SASSA’s Children’s Grant at one child per family, one comment stood out for taking a completely different approach, shifting the conversation from cash payments to something more practical. Commenter Michelle Müller agreed that grants should be limited to one pregnancy, but proposed something most of the debate had missed entirely: instead of ongoing cash support, every baby born in South Africa should receive a care box at birth, containing nappies, a blanket, bath essentials and toiletries. A model already used elsewhere Müller pointed out that this isn’t a new idea; she noted that several other countries already provide newborn care packages with nappies as standard practice, ensuring every child receives the same essentials at birth, regardless of their parents’ income or eligibility for grants. The suggestion reframes the debate away from “how much” families should receive, and toward “what” a baby actually needs in its first weeks of life, nappies, warmth, and basic hygiene items, rather than a monthly cash transfer that commenters argue is easily misused. SASSA grant debate takes an unexpected turn Unlike much of the surrounding debate, which splits sharply between scrapping grants altogether and imposing a hard cap on children, Müller’s proposal doesn’t ask whether families deserve support. It reframes the question entirely: should support come as cash, or as guaranteed essentials every child needs regardless of circumstance? That distinction matters in a debate where commenters like Nancy Soller argued grants should be scrapped since “having a child is a choice, not a reward system,” while others, like Paige Miceala Brothers, called instead for redirecting funds toward old age pensions and a higher minimum wage. Could it actually work? A universal newborn care box would still require government funding and logistics; questions Müller’s comment doesn’t address. But the idea has resonated in the comments section as a middle path: less about who “deserves” a grant, and more about ensuring no child starts life without the basics. SASSA has not commented on the care box proposal or confirmed any changes to its Children’s Grant policy. For now, it remains one idea among many in a public debate that shows no signs of slowing down. Win R2 000 in the South African SASSA grant survey If you receive a SASSA grant and want to share your story, we want to hear from you. Take part in our survey and stand a chance to win R2 000. Your responses help us tell the stories that matter.

MultiChoice Group's delisting took DStv's subscriber numbers with it, and new owner Canal+ has not put them back.

South African staff are among those affected, but the crypto exchange will not say how many.