Sri Lanka restored power after a six-hour nationwide blackout, with officials investigating whether excess solar generation destabilised the grid.

A devastating blaze razed more than 208 shacks at Masinenge Informal Settlement, prompting an urgent response from authorities and renewed warnings about the fire risks posed by hot, dry and windy weather.

The final suspect in a multimillion-rand passport fraud, corruption and human smuggling syndicate was arrested on Friday. The 41-year-old was nabbed by the Hawks in Limpopo. He is facing charges of fraud, corruption, violations of the Immigration Act and racketeering. Passport fraud syndicate The Hawks operation was linked to Project Humulani, which has been running since April 2022. It was formed after intelligence was gathered about a syndicate operating at South Africa’s borders. The syndicate used “photo swapping” to commit the passport fraud. This allegedly involved using the identity details of South African citizens and replacing their photographs with those of foreign nationals. The arrest comes after two Home Affairs officials accused of being involved in the syndicate were granted bail on Tuesday. David Motsamai and Lufu Mulaudzi appeared before the Germiston Magistrate’s Court and are accused of selling South African passports to foreign nationals for up to R100 000. Previous successes of investigation The Hawks said the Project Humulani investigation was done with the assistance of the Department of Home Affairs, the Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU), and the Director of Public Prosecutions. In 2022, it arrested the kingpin, a Pakistani national who was working with corrupt Home Affairs officials to issue fraudulent South African passports. It said the syndicate kingpin was previously convicted and sentenced to 14 years in prison. In addition, three Toyota Fortuner SUVs that were used by the syndicate were seized, while hundreds of fraudulent passports were blocked and cancelled. After the kingpin was arrested, four Home Affairs officials based in Krugersdorp were suspended in June 2022. The syndicate is thought to have operated in Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, Western Cape, Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.

The Proteas will decide on the makeup of their playing XI on Sunday morning, once they have a better idea of the weather conditions in Gqeberha, said captain Temba Bavuma on Saturday. The South Africans go into the second Test against Australia on the back of a big first Test defeat in Durban earlier this week. Rabada return The good news is fast bowler Kagiso Rabada has been cleared to play. He missed the first Test due to a hamstring niggle. “We don’t have a final XI,” said Bavuma on Saturday. “We’re not too sure. We have a clear understanding of what we want, but we’ll first let nature do its thing.“There are considerations … will we go again with two spinners, or the extra batter or extra allrounder? We can go either way, we’ll have a competitive XI.” Regarding the availability of Rabada, the team’s premier fast bowler, Bavuma said: “KG’s available for selection, and that brings a big smile to me. He’d be a big addition on the field, he’s raring to go. “He leads the attack, and the other bowlers feed off him. He also brings confidence to the unit, so it’s always a benefit to have him around.” Improvement needed in all areas Bavuma said the team had had discussions about all the departments of their game following the 214-run whipping they took in the first Test. “Batting-wise we fell short in the first innings in Durban,” said Bavuma. “The second innings was better … but we’d conceded a big lead. “Bowling-wise … we backed three seamers and two spinners and they got the better of us. The wicket didn’t deteriorate as quickly as we wanted. But I can’t falter our bowlers, they put in a great effort. “At the end, the difference was [Matt] Renshaw’s 190 first innings score … we’ve had conversations and just need to be better.” Batting options It’s expected that Marques Ackerman will open the innings with Aiden Markram, while Matthew Breetzke could also come into the side. “Marques likes to fight fire with fire, while Matthew’s a confident player after his ODI scores,” said Bavuma. “He’s also had success against Australia. These two guys certainly boost our batting.” Ryan Rickelton, who will take over the wicket-keeping duties, may yet still open the batting. Bavuma though said there were discussions being had of his moving down the order.Play on Sunday starts at 10, weather permitting.

Eskom will switch off electricity in part of Ga-Rankuwa for 15 hours next week as it carries out maintenance on its distribution network. The power utility said the outage will affect customers in Ga-Rankuwa Zone 20 on Tuesday, 20 October, from 8:00 until 23:00. Eskom published the notice in its October 2026 Gauteng Cluster Connect newsletter, compiled by its Gauteng Communication and Stakeholder Management team. Why Eskom is cutting power in Ga-Rankuwa According to Eskom, the interruption will allow its teams to perform essential maintenance on distribution power lines serving the area. Unlike many planned outages that end in the late afternoon, this shutdown will stretch well into the night. Residents in Zone 20 can expect to spend the entire working day and most of the evening without electricity. Eskom cautioned that the maintenance may not go ahead as planned if circumstances beyond its control arise. Residents should keep an eye on Eskom’s official channels for any changes to the schedule. Tips to get through a long night without electricity With power only expected back at 23:00, households will need to plan for both daytime and evening needs. Residents can charge cell phones, laptops, power banks and rechargeable lamps on Monday night. Torches, candles and matches should be within easy reach before sunset, and anyone using candles or gas should never leave them unattended. Families may want to cook supper early using gas or prepare meals that do not require electricity. Filling flasks with hot water before 8:00 can help with tea, coffee and baby bottles later in the day. Homes that rely on electric gates, alarms or security lights should make sure backup batteries are charged, and residents may want to check in on elderly neighbours who live alone. Eskom advised customers to treat all electrical appliances as live at all times during the outage, since power could return without notice. Switching off sensitive appliances can also protect them from power surges when supply is restored. The utility thanked customers for their cooperation and apologised for the inconvenience.

Kaizer Chiefs have confirmed the dreaded news. South African broadcasters will not televise this afternoon’s CAF Confederation Cup showdown between Amakhosi and Red Arrows FC. Supporters expected to watch the game on SABC. Amakhosi have now explained why the broadcaster cannot air the match. KAIZER CHIEFS CONFIRM SABC BLACKOUT The club said: “This afternoon’s CAF Confederation Cup clash against Red Arrows FC will not be televised in South Africa. Unfortunately, the hosting team has been unable to provide our broadcasters, SABC with the necessary link to air the match in Mzansi. “We will keep Amakhosi faithful updated directly from the venue on X with coverage and key moments as they happen in Ndola, Zambia,” the noted concluded. Meanwhile, SABC 2 is broadcasting Orlando Pirates’ game against African Stars. AMAKHOSI ANNOUNCE STARTING LINE UP In the meantime, the Glamour Boys have named the starting line up for today’s game in Ndola. Starting line up: Renaldo Leaner, Thabiso Monyane, Inacio Miguel, Thabo Moloisane, Bradley Cross, Paseka Mako, Reeve Frosler, Sibongiseni Mthethwa, Mduduzi Shabalala, Mfundo Vilakazi, Luke Baartman Substitutes: Bruce Bvuma, Rushwin Dortley, Kabelo Nkgwesa, Thulani Mabaso, Asanele Velebayi, Faiz Abrahams, Etiosa Ighodaro, Flavio Da Silva, Wandile Duba. The likes of Lebohang Maboe, Siphesihle Ndlovu, Adolf Mtasingwa and Khanyisa Mayo remain out injured. Speakinng before the clash, coach Fernando Da Cruz said: “We know the expectation is very high in this competition as well for Kaizer Chiefs. “We analysed our opponents. We were able to establish that they are a very powerful side that likes to play on the transition. It’s exciting to begin a new competition and all of us are focused on this game before us,” the Frenchman concluded. Kaizer Chiefs will host the second leg on Friday 23 October at the Moses Mabhida Stadium at 18:00. DO YOU SEE AMAKHOSI ADVANCING? Share your thoughts by clicking on the red comments block below.

The Reserve Bank wants all of South Africa's ATMs white-labelled, with free transactions below a threshold, starting with a pilot in January.

Apple's first foldable iPhone carries a steeper local premium than its new HomeView, HomePod mini 2 and Apple TV 4K.