Zimbabwean gospel singer Everton Mlalazi will perform alongside Judith Sephuma, Kabelo Mabalane and other artists at the fifth Replenishment Concert in Sandton on October 31, 2026.

The KwaZulu-Natal High Court has found a developer and his company in contempt for allegedly continuing work at an Umhlanga site despite an interdict. A 30-day jail sentence was suspended, while the sheriff was authorised to seize machinery pending a further court hearing.

South African fans hoping to see Jill Scott live next month have been left disappointed after her November concerts were cancelled. The American neo-soul star’s scheduled performances in Pretoria and Cape Town have been called off due to “unforeseen circumstances”, promoter Showtime Management announced on Monday, 19 October. Scott was due to bring her To Whom This May Concern World Tour to South Africa, with two shows planned for fans eager to experience her celebrated catalogue of R&B and soul hits. The first concert was scheduled for 7 November at SunBet Arena, Time Square, in Pretoria, followed by a Cape Town performance at Grand Arena, GrandWest, on 11 November. However, both dates have now been cancelled, leaving ticket holders wondering what happens next. Showtime Management has not publicly provided further details about the circumstances behind the cancellation. Although speculation has circulated online about ticket sales and pricing, these claims have not been confirmed as the reason for the decision. The promoter acknowledged Scott’s special connection with South Africa and indicated that her team was exploring the possibility of bringing her back to the country in the future. However, no replacement dates have been confirmed. How to get your Jill Scott ticket refund The good news for ticket holders is that full refunds are being processed automatically according to the ticketing information provided. Fans do not need to submit a separate refund request. Refunds may take five to 10 business days to reflect in the original payment account. Ticket holders should monitor their email inboxes for confirmation and updates from Ticketmaster South Africa. Fans whose original payment details are no longer valid should look out for communication from Ticketmaster with further instructions. If your refund has not reflected after the stated processing period, contact Ticketmaster South Africa for assistance. Ticketing enquiries can also be directed to support@ticketmaster.co.za. The cancellation is another disappointment for South African concertgoers looking forward to seeing international music stars perform locally. Scott has previously performed in South Africa, including Johannesburg in 2013 and 2024, and Durban in 2017. For fans who had already booked travel or accommodation for the November concerts, the ticket refund may not cover these additional expenses. Check the cancellation and refund policies of your respective travel and accommodation providers. Fans will have to wait for further announcements about a possible return by the Grammy-winning singer.

The Clicks Beauty Playground has never had a problem filling a room. Tickets for this year’s edition, priced at R650, sold out in record time. Fast forward to the end of the two-day event, which saw the event trending thanks to attendee meltdowns across different social media platforms. TikTok, X and Instagram were filled with complaints that the 2026 goodie bags felt underwhelming for the price, especially next to what attendees say they received in previous years. Add long queues, limited samples and a few operational hiccups, and the mood online turned quickly. What the 2026 bags contained Clicks Beauty Playground attendees received two complimentary bags upon exit. Several people noted that the contents included full-size products, among them a La Roche-Posay SPF and a Eucerin body cream, and that the combined retail value comfortably exceeded the R650 ticket. That, in fact, is part of the differing schools of thought; defenders say the maths speaks for itself while critics say maths is not the point. E fang basadi chelete #ClicksBeautyPlayground2026 pic.twitter.com/Me56MorKug— IG:Thipsy99 Mrs10K (@Thipsy991) October 17, 2026 “Not as big as last year” was the most repeated grievance. Even where products were full-size, some attendees said they would rather have received more items than fewer, larger ones, a point raised by beauty insider Foyin Ogunrombi (@foyinog). Another strand of criticism is that a high retail value means little if you do not use the brands inside. One viral post doing the rounds contrasted what was handed over in the two Clicks Beauty Playground exit bags with what the poster says they had to work “ridiculously hard” for at the stalls. Branded banners hang above the exhibition floor at the Clicks Beauty Playground, with the main stage in the background. Picture: Instagram, @clicks_sa A small group of people contributing to the conversation felt the event leaned heavily towards toiletries, hygiene and skincare, even going as far as jokingly calling it “personal care/hygiene playground”. Another sore point was the long lines that limited time at stalls only to receive sample-sized items. Early complaints from eventgoers also flagged carrier bags for freebies running out. How it compares with years The Clicks Beauty Playground ticket price has climbed steadily over the years, going from around R350 in 2024 to R550 in 2025 and R650 this year. The two-day Clicks Beauty Playground featured over 70 brands, masterclasses, live entertainment, and interactive sampling zones. Post-event photos online showcased impressive hauls, but some felt tired from long lines and from unfamiliar brands that didn’t match their needs. Picture: Screenshot Goodie bags from earlier years set high expectations. Unboxings and reviews described them as heavy hauls of toiletries, skincare, haircare and makeup that could last months (even years), with some estimates putting the 2025 bag well above the ticket price. Brands cited in those hauls included Dove, Vaseline, Auntie Jackie, Eucerin, Nivea and Sensodyne. The two-day Clicks Beauty Playground featured over 70 brands, masterclasses, live entertainment, and interactive sampling zones. Post-event photos online showcased impressive hauls, but some felt tired from long lines and from products from unfamiliar brands that didn’t match their needs. Picture: Screenshot People defending those who were disappointed argued that the 2026 critique, then, is less “the bags are worthless” and more “the bags did not match what we had been trained to expect”. In defence of organisers Not everyone is buying the outrage. @Taurean_xi put it bluntly on X, posting: “The economy happened guys”, arguing that the bags were always going to differ from previous years. Others pointed to the full-size products, stall freebies, masterclasses and games, and argued that complaining after buying a ticket, knowing the brands involved, was ungrateful. Similar freebie events, including Takealot’s House of Beauty and A Skincare Affair, have faced comparable comparisons and mixed reactions. Attendees gather around the Revlon stand, one of dozens of brand activations at the Clicks Beauty Playground. Picture: Instagram, @clicks_sa The view from behind the stand Storm Stocker, owner of TBS Marketing Agency, works directly with brands that exhibit at consumer beauty events, and recently shared some insights online ahead of the event following complaints about other events as well as this year’s Clicks Beauty Playground ticket price. She argued that the problem is less the bags than what visitors now expect from them. Stocker did not single out the Clicks Beauty Playground, but spoke about such events in general, citing the other events in this arena as ones she has witnessed first-hand. “People come to these events with incredibly high expectations of free products,” she says, so that “it becomes more about the free product and the bun fight for the free product than it does about the actual brands”. She also noted that she wanted attendees to consider the costs behind the stands they see and interact with at these events, pointing to “costs involved for the venue, for the security, for all the ushers, for every single person that accepts your ticket”. “Nobody is doing that for free. The money has got to come from somewhere.” Smaller brands, she adds, “don’t have budgets to give loads of product away”, so what they do commit goes towards the exit bag. In her experience, “generally most times, actually every time, the goodie bag is worth so much more than your ticket price”. Stocker acknowledged that the pressure lands on the people working the stands, describing having “personally witnessed the abuse, the attacking from consumers who have bought tickets.” She asked people viewing her video to keep in mind that when social media demands better customer service from brands, it is often “the people that are borderline abusing them in the queue” who leave teams overwhelmed. Part of the blame, she argues, sits with social media, particularly the unboxing culture that has raised the bar for what a goodie bag should look like. Stocker’s counter-ask is a reset of expectations: visitors should attend these events to build community and enjoy a fun day out, not fight over free product.

South African photographer Isak Pretorius has done it again. He was exploring a swamp in a narrow canoe when he spotted something remarkable. Not one, but two of Africa’s most elusive birds. That moment has now won him one of the world’s most prestigious wildlife photography awards. Pretorius won the Behaviour: Birds category at the Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2026 competition, run by the Natural History Museum in London. The winners were announced on 13 October. THE WINNING IMAGE Pretorius’s image, Scenes from the Swamp, shows two shoebill storks among wetland vegetation. He was exploring the swamp in a narrow canoe with a guide, and felt exceptionally lucky to see two of the elusive birds at once. In winning entries of wildlife photographer for the year 2026,Isak Pretorius captures two shoebill storks collecting nesting materials in Mabamba swamp,Uganda, highlighting the beauty of rare wildlife.#RongoPhotojournalism2026 pic.twitter.com/Mk8fYaNmQh— Loreen Brenda (@LoreenBrend34a) October 15, 2026 WHY SHOEBILLS ARE SO SPECIAL Shoebills are among Africa’s most sought-after birds for wildlife lovers and photographers. They’re known for their huge, shoe-shaped bills, which they use to catch prey such as catfish and lungfish in the swamps where they live. They’re also hard to find, and face threats including fires, disturbance and the illegal live bird trade, according to research by the University of Cape Town’s FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology. A SECOND WIN FOR ISAK PRETORIUS It’s not Pretorius’s first time on the winners’ list. In 2013, he became the first South African to win the bird behaviour category, with an image of a noddy bird trapped in a spider web. Pretorius is a specialist wildlife photography guide. He says he uses his images to raise awareness about conservation. “In showing people the beauty of wildlife, they will care more about it,” he has said. “That’s our best chance of protecting it.” A STRONG YEAR FOR SOUTHERN AFRICA Southern Africa featured strongly in this year’s awards. The overall winner, Italian photographer Federico Veronesi, won with The Aftermath, a black-and-white image of an elephant carrying a dead calf in Namibia. The Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year title went to Oscar Whitfield, a British photographer living in Zimbabwe, for Labour of Love, an eye-level image of a dung beetle pushing its cargo through the sand. SOUTH AFRICA’S WINNING STREAK It’s another proud moment for South African wildlife photography. Last year, South Africa’s Wim van den Heever was named the overall Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2025, for a ghostly image of a rare brown hyena in a deserted diamond mining town. THE COMPETITION IN NUMBERS This year’s competition attracted 65,403 entries. An international panel judged the images anonymously, looking for originality, technical excellence, ethical practice and creativity. WHICH WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR IMAGE IS YOUR FAVOURITE? Let us know in the comments below…

After Kaizer Chiefs suffered a 1-0 defeat to Red Arrows in Zambia, their struggles away from home in the CAF Confederation Cup appear to be far from over. Amakhosi lost three away matches in the competition last season. Defeats to Egyptian sides Al Masry and Zamalek ultimately contributed to their group-stage exit. Their latest setback means Kaizer Chiefs have now lost four of their last five away matches in the CAF Confederation Cup, raising concerns about their ability to compete consistently on the continental stage. Head coach Fernando Da Cruz admitted that his team lacked aggression in the first half against Red Arrows, which made it difficult for them to compete effectively. “We played a tough first half with no aggression. We were not there inside the duels,” Da Cruz said as per KickOff. Kaizer Chiefs CAF struggles continue The French coach acknowledged that his side improved after the break but conceded that they struggled to create enough scoring opportunities. “In the second half, it was better. We didn’t create a lot of chances, but we made a better second half,” he added. Da Cruz also pointed to the playing surface as one of the challenges his team faced in Zambia, arguing that the pitch made it difficult for Chiefs to implement their preferred style of play. “About the field, it was not a field for our advantage. It was not a very good field for us to develop our model game,” he said. The Amakhosi coach, however, acknowledged that his team needed to adapt to the conditions rather than use them as an excuse for the defeat. “But we must adapt, we must play with the conditions and the players adapted very well to the conditions,” Da Cruz added. Kaizer Chiefs must now overturn the 1-0 deficit in the return leg in South Africa if they are to secure a place in the CAF Confederation Cup group stages. Amakhosi will need to win by at least two clear goals to qualify directly. A one-goal victory would level the aggregate score and send the tie to a penalty shootout if the score remains level after extra time, where applicable. Can Chiefs make it to the next round?

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.