Tadej Pogačar joined cycling royalty by winning his fifth Tour de France title, while Mathieu van der Poel took a thrilling victory on the final stage in Paris.

IDAC head Advocate Andrea Johnson has asked to be released from office.

Backstroke star Pieter Coetzé continued his impressive campaign in the pool, returning to the top of the podium on Sunday night, as Team South Africa’s swimmers bagged three more medals during the evening session on day four of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. Coetzé, who earned gold in the 50m backstroke and bronze in the 4x100m freestyle relay over the weekend, secured his third medal of the showpiece. The 22-year-old swimmer dominated the men’s 200m backstroke final, winning by more than two seconds in 1:54.22 and setting a new Games record. In other events in the pool, Aimee Canny was superb in the women’s 100m breaststroke final. Going out hard, Canny was leading at the turn, and though she was caught by local favourite Angharad Evans of Scotland, who won gold in 1:06.07, the South African held on for the silver medal in 1:06.19. Behind Canny, her compatriots Kaylene Corbett (1:07.61) and Rebecca Meder (1:07.68) finished sixth and seventh respectively. And Olivia Nel reached the podium in the women’s 100m backstroke, taking third spot in 1:00.09 to win a tightly contested battle for the bronze medal. Other swimming results Chad le Clos, a two-time former champion in the event, settled for fifth place in the men’s 100m butterfly final in 51.49, while Calvyn Justus was also fifth in the men’s 50m freestyle final in 22.17, and Christian Sadie finished seventh in the men’s S9 100m backstroke final in 1:15.82. Meanwhile, four SA swimmers progressed beyond the semifinals and were set to challenge for medals in Monday night’s finals. They were Erin Gallagher (women’s 100m butterfly), Caitlin de Lange (women’s 100m freestyle), and Michael Houlie and Chris Smith (both in the men’s 50m breaststroke). Houlie was particularly impressive in the semifinals, touching the wall in 26.61 and qualifying quickest for the final, and he was set to line up among the favourites for the Commonwealth title. Gymnastics and weightlifting In artistic gymnastics on Sunday, Naveen Daries (49.100 points) took 10th position in the women’s all-around final and her younger sister Zelmé Daries (48.250) ended 13th. Though weightlifter Zach Snyman turned out in the men’s 65kg final, he did not register a result. Aside from swimmers, other members of the national squad who were set to compete in finals today included gymnast Daniel McLean in the men’s floor exercise, and weightlifters Johanni Taljaard (53kg women), Anneke Spies-Burger (58kg women) and Jon-Antohein Phillips (79kg men). Heading into Monday’s fifth day of competition at the Games, South Africa were lying sixth in the overall standings with nine medals (three gold, two silver and four bronze).

The head of the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (Idac), Andrea Johnson, has requested the National Director of Public Prosecutions, Andy Mothibi, and President Cyril Ramaphosa to release her from office with immediate effect. In a letter leaked online, Johnson cites attacks on her and her official capacity, which she describes as “unprecedented”. “Much of the attacks revolve and arise out of the cases IDAC has conducted against officials of Crime Intelligence,” reads the letter. “I am currently testifying at the Commission and again, the issues there are in the main about the above. “Your Excellency and NDPP, I humbly request you to consider my application for resignation. Whilst my contract requires a three-month notice period, I would request both your consideration of an immediate release from office, thereby waiving the notice period.” Should this be granted, she would have to vacate her office within 24 hours. The NPA has reportedly confirmed receiving the letter. Andrea Johnson at Madlanga commission Johnson has been in the spotlight in the past week, due to her testimony at the Madlanga commission. She testified in response to allegations that Idac unlawfully operates outside of its mandate and that it pursued a criminal case against Crime Intelligence head Dumisani Khumalo and other officials at Crime Intelligence. Khumalo was arrested on 26 June 2025 in connection with the alleged irregular appointment of a former BMW employee to the rank of brigadier. Johnson said the arrest was a result of a criminal complaint filed by National Coloured Congress (NCC) leader Fadiel Adams. However, Khumalo has previously maintained that the corruption case against him was a labour-related dispute rather than criminal conduct. He has since lodged representations with the office of National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) Andy Mothibi, requesting a review of the decision by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to prosecute him. Khumalo’s role in PKTT Johnson further defended her office from suggestions that Khumalo’s arrest was due to his involvement with the PKTT. KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi told parliament’s Ad hoc committee in October last year that Khumalo’s arrest was an attempt to stop a criminal investigation in Gauteng. “The arrest of Khumalo is a project to stop criminal investigations in Gauteng. The letter from the minister to disband PKTT is a project to stop criminal investigations in Gauteng,” said Mkhwanazi at the time. However, Johnson said this was not true, saying that Khumalo was arrested for his conduct in his capacity as Crime Intelligence head. She said that at the time, she was not aware of Khumalo’s role in the PKTT. The Idac head told the commission that Khumalo’s arrest has invited trouble for her and her family. She said in the days leading up to Khumalo’s arrest, she received a death threat on her phone. Since then, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has put several measures in place to protect her and her colleagues. The threat was escalated to the NPA’s risk and security division, which followed up on the message.

A mother’s complaint about the R580 Child Support Grant (CSG) has ignited fierce debate on Facebook, with several commenters calling for the grant to be paid out in food vouchers instead of cash, arguing it would better serve hungry children. The suggestion came from commenter Sarde Sarde, who wrote plainly: “They must give food vouchers for child grant.” The comment resonated widely, tapping into long-standing concerns that cash grants aren’t always spent on children’s basic needs once they land in a parent’s pocket. Vouchers, unlike cash, can typically only be redeemed for specific items such as groceries or baby products, a system some parents and advocacy groups have called for in the past as a way to guarantee grant money reaches the child it’s intended for. ‘R580 is nothing’ – but not everyone agrees on the fix Commenter Ireen Sebolawa Modiba took the debate further, arguing the grant amount itself is the real problem: “R580 is nothing, things are expensive, as a taxpayer I say they deserve R5 to R6000 per month, we can do away with CSG, it serves no purpose but fuel the spirit of pregnancy and be rewarded, I mean family planning is free mahala.” Her comment split opinion, with some agreeing the grant is too low to make a meaningful difference against rising food and living costs, while others pushed back on her framing of the grant as an incentive for pregnancy. Calls for stricter rules on who qualifies Nesha Lutchman argued for tighter eligibility instead: “Child support should have a cut off at only 2 children. If you have children, they should not be left at grandparents then request more grant.” Meanwhile, TK Fesenmeier claimed bluntly that “they have kids ONLY for that grant,” calling it “the biggest mistake government ever made.” The exchange reflects a broader national conversation about whether South Africa’s grant system needs restructuring, through vouchers, caps, or higher payouts, as the cost of raising a child continues to outpace the R580 currently provided. SASSA has not commented on the calls for a voucher-based system. 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.

Several animal welfare shelters have reported a surge in South African refugees surrendering their pets before departing for the US. The troubling report comes amid news that the US State Department has significantly increased the intake of applicants in the current fiscal year.  The resettlement programme is open to racial minorities who believe that they are victims of “racial persecution”. REFUGEES ‘DUMPING’ PETS, SAYS ANIMAL SHELTER While refugees are resettling in their new homes in the US, their pets have been left abandoned, according to reports of several animal shelters. A general manager at the Woodrock Animal Rescue in Pretoria told TimesLive: “I have received at least 20 calls in the past few days – ‘We got our tickets yesterday, and we’re leaving on Tuesday and need to give up our three dogs and six cats.’ That sort of thing. It’s cruel. “I argue with them and tell them, ‘But you applied for this programme; you knew this was going to happen, why did you wait?’ And they tell me things like they didn’t want to upset their children, who are already going through an upheaval” The animal shelter is one of several that spoke to the publication about pets that had been abandoned by South Africans who had been granted refugee status. ‘PLAN AHEAD’ In a video posted on their Facebook account, Woodrock Animal Rescue urged individuals who were relocating, particularly under the refugee programme, to be responsible and considerate of their pets that would be left behind. For many, relocating their animals abroad is a pricey endeavour that can cost thousands of US dollars.  The organisation’s Jacqui Martheze said: “Make sure that the animals who are your family, who have committed their lives to you, come first. “Make sure that you sort them out before you find your new home or book your tickets” The shelter addd: “If you are planning to move overseas, your dogs and cats need to be part of that plan from day one.  “Leaving them behind as an afterthought breaks their hearts and completely overwhelms our facilities. Please, plan ahead for your animals. They depend on you”.

South Africa's mobile operators have won 700MHz of prime spectrum, with Wi-Fi confined to the lower 6GHz band.

The operators want the high court to set aside regulations that will force automatic rollover of unused data bundles.