The City’s Human Settlements Directorate is urging residents to be vigilant against housing opportunity scams circulating on social media, particularly WhatsApp, as fraudsters attempt to exploit vulnerable individuals.

A decade after #FeesMustFall shook South African universities, many students remain caught between traditional funding support and the rising cost of tertiary education. The “missing middle” continues to face financial barriers, prompting calls for new approaches to student funding.

While corruption has become a thorny issue in South Africa, an expert says South Africans have been known to vote loyally rather than on an issue basis. This emerged from a seminar held by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) on Tuesday in Pretoria with the theme, “The Disappearing Labour Theory: Understanding Recent Voting Patterns in South Africa’s Elections”. Speaking at the seminar, Dr Ben Roberts from the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) told those present that corruption has been a salient issue in the country. “We historically have not been issue voters; we have been loyalist voters, and I think what we are seeing is what political scientists are calling fluidity in our voting patterns, so people are not consistently voting for the same party over time. A degree of swing voting is starting to come in,” said Roberts. Roberts said these are patterns that the IEC should monitor and digest. “It’s not only vote versus abstain; it’s the patterns in between that are becoming very interesting,” he said. Using stats in the national debate Meanwhile, former statistician-general Pali Lehohla told delegates at the seminar that South Africans must continue having conversations about the kind of country they want to live in. He said these conversations could also take place on digital platforms. According to Lehohla, these conversations should be empowered by available data and information about the present reality of all South Africans. “People must get their longitudinal experiences and based on those longitudinal experiences, they must actually establish their manifestos and you as the media must help them to do that because only in that way we can exercise our politics…without that we will go through the same drama again and again,” he said. Young voters Meanwhile, the IEC said it is taking a different approach to encouraging young people to come out in big numbers to vote; this includes a show that will be aired on SABC, music, roping in influencers and content creators, and reaching out to young people in their respective communities. According to reports, more than 28.6 million South Africans have registered to vote since the last voter registration weekend at the end of June. This is around 60% of the adult population. Political parties have also been encouraged to get South Africans to register to vote. Poor voter turnout has been blamed on hung municipalities in the previous local government elections.

South Africa has selected Romanda Hombir as its official representative for the 75th Anniversary Edition of Miss World, set to take place in Vietnam from 9 August to 5 September 2026. Crowned Miss World South Africa 2026 on Nelson Mandela Day at the Barnyard Theatre in Menlyn, Pretoria, under new license holder and former Miss World Top 7 finalist Bokang Montjane-Tshabalala, Hombir is favoured for her talent, service and multicultural pride. The 27-year-old is originally from KaNyamazane in Mpumalanga province. She is a clinical audiologist, motivational speaker, and model who describes herself as a lifelong learner and academic. She was the second runner-up at Miss World South Africa 2024. Swati-Zulu-German heritage Clinical audiologist, advocate and proud Swati-Zulu-German heritage icon from Mpumalanga, Romanda Hombir. Picture: Miss World Hombir proudly represents a rich multicultural tapestry reflective of South Africa’s “Rainbow Nation”. Her official Miss World profile confirms she is of Swati, Zulu, and German heritage. This blend highlights the diverse ancestries common in Mpumalanga and broader South African communities, where indigenous African roots intersect with European influences through history and family lines. Her surname “Hombir” has prompted some online discussion about its origins amid broader conversations on identity in South Africa (echoing the separate 2024 case of Chidimma Adetshina). However, Hombir was born and raised in South Africa, with confirmed local roots in Mpumalanga. Advocacy and community impact Beyond her title, the pageant queen is a dedicated community health advocate. She founded the Caring Purpose Foundation, a non-profit focused on improving access to healthcare, literacy, and nutrition. Their work involves providing mobile health screenings and skills development for underserved communities and raising awareness of women’s health issues, including endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), and fibroids. Miss World South Africa 2026 Romanda Hombir. Picture: Miss World Her Beauty With a Purpose project builds on years of hands-on work, including health screenings, educational programs, and partnerships with local organisations. Hombir has expressed a long-term ambition to collaborate with the United Nations to advance healthcare, education, and access to nutrition globally. Path to Miss World 2026 Crowned on Mandela Day, Hombir reflected on the moment as a powerful reminder of positive change and service. She now enters intensive preparations to compete at the landmark 75th Miss World Festival in Vietnam, carrying South Africa’s flag with a focus on impact and representation. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Miss World South Africa (@missworld_southafrica)

South African billionaire Koos Bekker has expanded his luxury hospitality portfolio with the opening of an exclusive new private estate in Somerset, England, where guests can expect to pay from £10 500 (around R230 000) per night. The new property, Yarlington Lodge, forms part of The Newt in Somerset, the award-winning country estate owned by Bekker and his wife, Karen Roos. According to Billionaires Africa, the 16-bedroom estate officially welcomed its first guests on 1 June following an extensive restoration project led by Roos in collaboration with architectural firm Richard Parr Associates. Luxury accommodation Located in the village of Yarlington, about 1.6km from The Newt’s main Hadspen House estate, the property spans 12 acres of landscaped gardens and woodland. The estate consists of three separate residences: An eight-bedroom main lodge A four-bedroom Coach House A four-bedroom Cottage in the Wall Together, they can accommodate up to 32 guests. Visitors have exclusive access to a range of luxury amenities, including: Indoor-outdoor swimming pool Tennis court Croquet lawn Cinema room Speakeasy-style bar Glasshouse dining venue Private gardens and walking trails Guests also receive a 12-month membership to The Newt and can request butler service, spa treatments, personal trainers, childcare and meals prepared using produce grown on the estate. Expansion draws mixed reaction The opening comes as Bekker and Roos continue expanding their presence in Somerset. Since purchasing Hadspen House for £12 million in 2013, they have transformed the estate into one of Britain’s leading luxury country retreats. The property has grown from around 800 acres to approximately 3 000 acres and now employs about 600 people. However, the expansion has not been without controversy. Residents of nearby Castle Cary have recently launched a campaign encouraging visitors to boycott businesses owned by Bekker after the couple acquired several local properties, including shops, cafés and the historic George Hotel. Some locals have also linked the estate’s growing influence to rising property prices in the area. Funded through technology wealth Koos Bekker has acknowledged that The Newt has yet to become profitable despite more than a decade of investment estimated at around $334 million. Much of the funding has come from the sale of shares in Naspers and Prosus, the companies through which Bekker built his fortune after backing Chinese technology giant Tencent in 2001. Forbes currently estimates Bekker’s net worth at approximately $3.4 billion, making him the 1 262nd-richest person in the world and the fifth-richest South Africa. A growing international portfolio The Newt is just one of several luxury hospitality ventures owned by Bekker and Roos. Their portfolio also includes the renowned Babylonstoren wine estate in the Cape Winelands, the Blou coastal retreat near Plettenberg Bay, reserved for guests of Babylonstoren or The Newt. In addition, the portfolio includes an estate in Tuscany which is currently being redeveloped ahead of a planned 2027 opening, and a farm near Amsterdam. The Newt sponsored the Chelsea Flower Show from 2022 before stepping back last year. In May it launched its own nine-day horticultural festival, the Great Garden Show, positioning the estate as a rival to the event it previously backed. With the launch of Yarlington Lodge, the 73-year-old South African billionaire continues to expand his international luxury tourism footprint while positioning The Newt as one of Britain’s premier countryside destinations. RELATED | Here’s how much it costs to stay at Koos Bekker’s newest masterpiece BLOU in Keurbooms

The Springboks have enjoyed a dominant start to the 2026 season, but due to their vastly superior position on the World Rugby rankings table compared to their opponents during July, they haven’t been able to improve their positioning. Instead, it’s the All Blacks who have strengthened their rankings tally, and New Zealand are now just 1.68 points behind the N 1-ranked Springboks just a few weeks away from the start of the four-Test Greatest Rugby Rivalry Tour. From New Zealand to third-placed Ireland, there is a sizeable 4.20 rankings gap, with France and England completing the current chasing pack in the top five. World Rugby officially updated the rankings at the start of this week RankCountryPoints1South Africa93.962New Zealand92.283Ireland88.084France87.435England85.686Scotland84.787Argentina83.138Australia81.619Fiji78.0010Japan76.4211 Wales76.3812 Italy76.3013Georgia73.9414USA70.2215Portugal69.3916Chile66.9417Spain66.8318Uruguay65.7519Tonga65.1420Samoa64.73 Springboks on top Rassie Erasmus said he was happy with the progress of the team as the coaching staff also continued to balance building depth with positive results. “I think we’ve got a little bit better in every game of the Nations Championship but as we’ve been rotating it does take cohesion away. “There was a lot of exciting rugby (in the first leg of the new tournament), with nearly all the games opening up. I saw teams often not kicking for touch, yet there were more maul tries scored in one weekend than there were in the whole of the Six Nations. “When teams got into the opposition 22, it seemed inevitable that they would score, especially in the All Blacks-France game, which I thought was a thriller. “I don’t know if they were chasing bonus points or not, but when we go into a Test match, we just want to win it. If you disrespect that, you are probably going to lose it. The win still counts the most for us.”

Higher education minister Buti Manamela has referred governance concerns at the MICT Seta for assessment.

Pre-vetted employers get faster work visas – but the scoring shuts out smaller companies.