ActionSA members disrupted Ekurhuleni Mayor Nkosindiphile Xhakaza’s closing remarks at the IOL Town Hall Debate on Monday, shouting and pointing fingers at him as he appealed to voters to give the ANC another chance to lead the metro ahead of the November 4 local government elections.

The ANC’s strategy focuses on reclaiming the inner city, restoring public trust, improving service delivery and strengthening the municipality’s finances.

Rough seas and damaging interior and coastal winds are expected to disrupt beachfront activities and cause problems for high-sided vehicles in parts of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) on Tuesday, 20 October, while certain areas in the Northern Cape, Western Cape and North West face high fire danger conditions. Here is what to expect tomorrow, according to the South African Weather Service. Weather warnings for 20 October 2026 Impact-based warnings The weather service has issued a yellow level 2 warning for damaging wind and waves resulting in localised disruption of beachfront activities, harbours and/or ports along the north coast of KZN, mainly during the morning. A yellow level 2 warning has also been issued for damaging interior winds resulting in localised damages to settlements, problems for high sided vehicles on prone routes and the risk of runaway fires in the extreme northeastern parts of KZN, mainly during the morning. Fire danger warnings Expect extremely high fire danger conditions over the Karoo Hoogland Local Municipality in the Northern Cape, Central Karoo District Municipality in the Western Cape and Moretele Local Municipality in the North West. Weather outlook for Tuesday & Wednesday: 20 – 21 October 2026.Fine & warm to hot conditions are expected, but it will be partly cloudy & cool along the east & south coasts of the RSA, as well as in the adjacent interior, with isolated to scattered showers possible.#saws pic.twitter.com/jLJ9uIVwZx— SA Weather Service (@SAWeatherServic) October 18, 2026 Provincial weather forecast Here’s what to expect in your province on 20 October: Gauteng: It will be a fine day, becoming partly cloudy and warm in the afternoon. The region’s expected UVB sunburn index is “high”. Residents should take the necessary precautions against prolonged sun exposure. Mpumalanga: Expect cloudy skies in the east in the morning with a chance of light rain in places over the Lowveld and Escarpment. Otherwise, it will be partly cloudy and cool to warm with morning fog patches along the Escarpment. Limpopo: It will be cloudy in the east in the morning with fog patches and drizzle in places along the Escarpment; otherwise, it will be partly cloudy and cool to warm but fine in the Western Bushveld, where it will be hot in places. North West: Fine and warm to hot weather awaits. Free State: Expect a fine and cool to warm day. Northern Cape: It will be fine and cool to warm with high-level clouds, becoming partly cloudy in the extreme southwest in the afternoon. Western Cape: A warm day is expected in the north; otherwise, it will be fine and cool with high-level clouds. It will be partly cloudy over the extreme southwestern parts, spreading to the rest of the province by the afternoon, becoming cloudy with isolated showers and rain along the southwest and south coast, including the adjacent interior. Eastern Cape (western half): It will be partly cloudy in the north at first; otherwise, it will be fine and warm with high-level clouds, but cool in places along the coast. Eastern Cape (eastern half): Expect cloudy skies with fog in places in the northeast at first; otherwise, the day will be fine and cool with high-level clouds. KwaZulu-Natal: It will be cloudy with morning fog over the interior; otherwise, a partly cloudy and cool to warm day awaits. Isolated morning showers and rain are expected in the north and along the coast. The region’s expected UVB sunburn index is “high”. Residents should take the necessary precautions against prolonged sun exposure.

It’s long overdue for a really good racehorse to emerge from the Eastern Cape to dominate on the national stage. Dare we hope we have one in the shape of Anotherdanceforme? The four-year-old filly won Sunday’s Algoa Cup (Listed) at Fairview – a race referred to over the years as “the PE July”. Of course, many decent horses have won an event that dates back more than a century, with some of them even going on to win big races in bigger centres – Hill Fifty Four and Dunford, for example. What marked out this weekend’s performance as special – and a potential omen of greater things to come – was that it was Anotherdanceforme’s 13th win from 15 starts and she broke the 2000m Polytrack course record by a whopping 1.45 seconds. (Another interesting statistic: it was trainer Alan Greeff’s first Algoa Cup victory. For a man who has dominated Eastern Cape racing for decades, taking the regional championship 17 times, the gap seemed incredible. Perhaps that, too, augurs well for a special season for the gentleman of Halo Stables.) Greeff and us have seen grand hopes and dreams arise in Nelson Mandela Bay before. And there’s been some success, such as a memorable triumph of the trainer’s juvenile filly Golden Palm in the Grade 1 Douglas Whyte Stakes at Greyville in 2025. In the same year, Greeff campaigned an exceptional colt called My Best Shot in the KwaZulu-Natal winter season after a string of 10 wins back home at Fairview. My Best Shot did well, finishing less than 10 lengths off The Real Prince in a rough race in the Hollywoodbets Durban July. Back on home turf, he was a close second in the very same Algoa Cup, before taking the unsettling trip north for the Betway Summer Cup in Joburg and coming unstuck in another trainwreck of a contest won by 100-1 roughie Mocha Blend. With Mocha Blend being a filly, there might be a smidgeon of surprise that Greeff hasn’t entered high-stepping Anotherdanceforme in this year’s Summer Cup in late-November. Perhaps her ornery temperament means she is unsuited to long-distance travel. At Sunday’s winner circle celebrations, connections had fulsome praise for Halo work rider Xola Jacobs, who gets the hot-headed lass into a racing frame of mind. Eastern Cape is generally looked down on as the “weakest” racing province, mainly stabling horses that can’t quite make it in the bigger cities. Most runners are indeed hand-me-downs; though many of them gain a new lease on competitive life in their new surroundings and become multiple winners and even local legends. Increasingly though, prominent owners like Anotherdanceforme’s Peter Moor are buying expensive, well-bred thoroughbreds directly for brilliant PE trainers such as Greeff and neighbours Dean Smith, Kelly Mitchley, Jacques Strydom, Sharon Kotzen and others. It seems it’s only a matter of time…

Not every SASSA grant recipient met festive season payment news with anger. A number of South Africans used the moment to express gratitude for the support they receive. The comments, posted on The South African’s Facebook page, offer a different side to a conversation dominated by frustration over grant amounts. ‘At least we are receiving something’ Mpho Joyce put it simply. “Half a loaf is better than nothing thank you,” she wrote, adding a smiling and praying emoji. Zandile Macu shared a more personal reason for her thanks, pointing to the role grants play in single-parent households. “I just want to appreciate and thank you, SASSA, for helping us when there is no father at home, at least we are receiving something rather than nothing. “keep it up guys” Keep it up, guys, with good work,” she wrote. Macu’s comment highlights how the Child Support Grant often serves as a lifeline for mothers raising children alone. Faith and perspective from the SASSA recipients Some commenters turned to faith. Christelle Van Biljon wrote in Afrikaans: “SE Liewers dnk Vir GOD wat one help,” which loosely translates to a call to rather thank God for the help received. Olivia Hossell focused on older recipients, writing: “This can help the elderly.” Francina Radebe kept it short with a simple “Thanks.” The December bonus question Not everyone was fully satisfied. Nokuthula Bhanana raised a question many recipients ask every year. “Sassa suppose to give an extra money in December, is that too much?” she wrote. The idea of a December bonus or “13th cheque” for grant recipients circulates widely each year, but SASSA has repeatedly dismissed such claims. Recipients should rely only on official SASSA channels for information about payments and be wary of social media posts promising extra money. Bhanana’s question shows how even grateful recipients feel the pressure of the festive season. The mixed reactions reveal a divided community. While some recipients feel the grants fall far short of what they need, others see them as essential support that keeps their households going, especially in homes with no other income. 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.

Four Tests for the Springboks in November will form part of the conclusion to the Nations Championship tournament, which will see Rassie Erasmus’ team face Italy, France and Ireland as well as one final opponent at the end of November. It will be interesting to see what selection options Erasmus opts for when it comes to these fixtures, while the medical staff will need to weigh up a few concerning injuries. Recently, the Sharks confirmed that Eben Etzebeth had “lower limb injury” and that they were now “awaiting a further medical examination to determine the extent of the injury”. Although there have been no further updates since then, it does seem that Etzebeth could be set for another spell on the sidelines, and could quite possibly be in doubt for the end-of-year tour. The Springboks have also missed the services of RG Snyman and Kwagga Smith throughout this season due to serious knee injuries, and neither player is expected to be fit in time to return as soon as November. Adding to this, it’s also likely that Cheslin Kolbe could be in doubt for the tour after he broke his jaw during Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series. The Springboks are set to regroup at the end of October before heading abroad for their first of four Tests to conclude the Nations Championship. Springboks’ end-of-year fixtures Saturday 7 November: Italy v Boks Venue: Allianz Stadium, Turin Kick off: 16:00 Friday 13 November: France v Boks Venue: Stade de France, Paris Kick off: 22:00 Saturday 21 November: Ireland v Boks Venue: Aviva Stadium, Dublin Kick off: 19:30 27–29 November: Finals Weekend Venue: Twickenham Stadium, London Kick off: TBC How does the finals weekend work? For the Nations Championship, across remaining pool matches in November, teams from the southern and northern hemisphere will continue to compete against each other. Points earned from those matches determine a final one to six ranking for each hemisphere’s table, and the finals weekend pairs each team against their direct equivalent rank from the opposite conference. So, during the finals weekend, teams play a seventh and final match against their exact equivalent seed from the opposite hemisphere (e.g. sixth vs sixth, fifth vs fifth, down to the first vs first Grand Final).

Samro now requires members to disclose AI use in songs but sets no minimum human contribution.

The Cape Town start-up has filed US patent applications for technology aimed at AI voice-clone scams.