A 15-year-old boy has been arrested for allegedly possessing a vehicle stolen from a garage in KwaLindile, near Mthatha, with the teenager transferred to a youth centre ahead of his expected appearance before a children's court.

Fresh off securing a historic fourth Grand Prix crown, Glenrose Xaba will drop down to the 5km distance at Sunday’s Boxer Super Run in Durban, using the high-speed coastal outing to sharpen her leg speed before launching her late-season half-marathon campaign.

South African music stars are making their Grammy ambitions clear. Tyla, Lira and TxC are among the artists hoping to turn global recognition into nominations next year. With the 69th Annual Grammy Awards race heating up, South Africa’s vibrant music scene is stepping into the spotlight. It is showcasing its diverse sounds across pop, R&B, dance and African music categories. However, being submitted for consideration does not guarantee a nomination. The entries form part of the Recording Academy’s first-round voting process, with the final nominees still to be announced. Pop sensation Tyla is making an ambitious push. Her album *A*Pop* and several tracks are reportedly submitted across more than 10 categories. Her song “Chanel” is among the key entries. Submissions reportedly include Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Pop Solo Performance and Best Music Video. The singer’s other entries span different musical styles. “That Girl” is being considered for Best Pop Solo Performance. Meanwhile, “She Did It Again”, her collaboration with Zara Larsson, is entered for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. Her track “Kiss” is in the running for Best Dance Pop Recording. In addition, “Right Now” has been submitted for Best R&B Solo Performance and Best R&B Song. She is also representing South African collaborations in the African music category. “I Don’t Care”, featuring Babalwa M, and “Memories”, featuring Lojay, are reportedly entered for Best African Music Performance. The submissions follow the singer’s growing international profile and previous Grammy success. This is strengthening her presence in conversations about African music’s global reach. Lira takes her sound to the international stage Lira. Picture: Gallo Images / City Press / Lucky Nxumalo South African singer Lira is also in the Grammy conversation with “Do Me”, her collaboration with Chase Bell. The song has reportedly been submitted for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, giving the award-winning vocalist another international opportunity. Known for blending soul, jazz and contemporary pop influences, Lira has built a career around a distinctive sound and powerful performances. Her reported submission puts her alongside a new generation of South African artists. These artists are pursuing recognition from the Recording Academy. TxC and dance music make their move Amapiano duo TxC, made up of Tarryn and Clair, are also reportedly targeting Grammy recognition with “Nakupenda”. The track has been entered for Best African Music Performance and Song of the Year. This places the duo’s internationally popular dance sound in the broader Grammy conversation. South Africa’s electronic music scene is also represented through reported submissions involving DBN Gogo, Da Capo and Ntwana_R. Their remixes of Black Coffee and Monique Bingham’s “Deep in the Bottom (of Africa)” are part of the dance music campaign. When will the Grammy nominations be announced? The key clarification is that Grammy submissions happen before the nominations are announced. The official Recording Academy calendar confirms the following timeline. The race for the 69th Annual Grammy Awards is moving into its first-round voting stage. This stage runs from 12 to 22 October 2026. The Recording Academy is scheduled to announce the official nominees on 16 November 2026. Final-round voting will then take place from 10 December 2026 to 7 January 2027. This comes ahead of the Grammy ceremony on 7 February 2027 in Los Angeles. For Tyla, Lira, TxC and the other South African artists reportedly submitted for consideration, the next major milestone is the November announcement. Until then, their entries should be described as submissions or campaigns for consideration, not confirmed nominations. The 2027 ceremony will take place on 7 February, when the winners will finally be revealed.

Political parties have reacted with mixed views to a Constitutional Court judgment allowing the ANC to include more names on its list of councillor candidates submitted to the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC). In a surprise move, the apex court on Thursday ruled in favour of the ANC and instructed the IEC to include 181 councillor candidates excluded from the ANC lists in all electoral processes. This decision comes after the ANC claimed that there were “technical glitches” with the IEC’s online system on the day the party submitted its final list of councillor candidates. The IEC has denied the claims. The ANC’s biggest partner in the government of national unity (GNU), the DA, said it is concerned about the implications of this ruling. “The judgment raises serious concerns about the precedent it sets for complying with the IEC’s deadlines and requirements, as the courts have held that strict mechanical compliance applies to deadlines in every matter up to now,” said DA Federal Councilchairperson, Ashor Sarupen. Is it a win for the ANC? He said the ANC has now succeeded in undoing its own failure to submit candidate lists in six municipalities. “However, this will not change their electoral fortunes. The ANC is in terminal decline, and across South Africa its support is at record lows,” said Sarupen. He said the DA remains the only party to contest every ward in every municipality. “We look forward to the election on the 4th of November, where we will emerge as the largest party in many more municipalities than ever before. The DA is fighting to stop the chaos and start service delivery in towns and cities destroyed at the hands of the ANC,” he said. All parties should be treated ‘fairly and consistently’ The leader of the United Democratic Movement (UDM), Bantu Holomisa, said in a social media video that his party welcomes the ConCourt’s judgment. “The ball is now in the IEC’s court to give effect to the judgment and ensure that all political parties falling within its scope are treated fairly and consistently,” he said. He said the IEC should call a party liaison committee meeting at which all parties that are “affected” can discuss the implementation of the court ruling and other concerns relating to the submission of councillor candidates. “This engagement must not be limited to the immediate issue before the court but must also consider other challenges experienced by political parties using the IEC’s online nomination system,” he said. Holomisa said one problem with the IEC’s online system is that it does not provide clear, immediate confirmation once all names have been submitted. “In certain instances, parties only become aware of problems or changes at a later stage through email notifications. This brings uncertainty and places political parties at risk of discovering administrative or system-related problems only after the critical deadline,” he said. Holomisa said his party’s national office bearers are meeting in Johannesburg on Thursday to deliberate on its next course of action in this matter. Despite criticising the ANC for failing to get its affairs in order, the leader of Afrika Mayibuye, Floyd Shivambu, said his party welcomes the ConCourt ruling. “We never ever should sacrifice principle on the altar of political convenience and opportunism. The IEC should administratively comply and include all the affected political formations and candidates to avoid unnecessary litigation. Let’s contest freely and fairly,” he said. Mbalula declares victory before collapsing Meanwhile, ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula said the court judgment vindicated him. “When this movement believed that a right had been taken from our people, we walked up this hill with papers in our hands; that is what the democratic architecture of this country was built for, it was built by Nelson Mandela, it was built by Thabo Mbeki, it is carried today by Cyril Ramaphosa,” he said. The ConCourt has not yet made public the reasons for its decision, but Mbalula said the ANC’s case rested on the fundamental right to vote, not a technical glitch in the IEC’s system. “The right to vote is not a privilege handed down by an institution, it is not a setting in a computer programme, and it is not a button on the screen. It is a fundamental right, and it belongs to the people,” he said. Lifeline for the ANC and a historic judgment Meanwhile, in an interview with Newzroom Afrika, IEC chairperson Mosotho Moepya said the commission will now include the 181 ANC candidates as instructed by the ConCourt. “There are no hard feelings; there is certainty about what needs to be done,” said Moepya. He said he wanted to congratulate Mbalula on winning the court battle. But he collapsed before he could. Political analyst Sanet Solomon told The Citizen that the Constitutional Court ruling has drastically changed the South African political landscape, as many political parties’ hopes relied on the ANC’s inability to compete in the upcoming local government elections. “The inclusion of these candidates now intensifies the competition for the municipalities concerned. For many councillors, this verdict is a lifeline as it allows them to compete for the wards in which they serve. “Given that we are less than a month away from the elections, will this be enough time to reach their respective communities? Only time can tell,” she said. Solomon said the ANC has been given another chance to reorganise itself and reaffirm its commitment towards serving communities. “Maybe this could be the sign that it needs to finally embark on the road to renewal,” she said.

The Eastern Cape can expect a mix of warm conditions, cloudy skies and possible rain this weekend, with temperatures varying across the province. Eastern Cape weekend at a glance CitySaturday 17Sunday 18Gqeberha20°C Light rain possible16°C Rain showersEast London22°C Light rain possible19°C Rain showersMthatha34°C Very warm, slight rain possible19°C Rain showersKomani34°C Possible thundershowers19°C Rain showers Saturday’s weather On Saturday, Gqeberha and East London could experience light rain, with temperatures reaching 20°C and 22°C respectively. Inland areas will be much warmer. Mthatha and Komani could reach 34°C. There is a possibility of thundershowers in Komani. What to expect on Sunday Sunday will bring cooler conditions and a greater chance of rain across the province. Gqeberha could reach 16°C, while East London, Mthatha and Komani are expected to reach 19°C. Residents planning outdoor activities should check the latest South African Weather Service (SAWS) forecast before heading out, as conditions may change over the weekend.

The rail recovery at the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) is picking up speed. A few years ago, South Africa’s commuter trains had almost ground to a halt. Now, passenger numbers have increased tenfold. And the rail agency is adding new buses to its long-distance network too. Minister of Transport Barbara Creecy is visiting PRASA Pretoria Station on Thursday, 15 October. During the visit, she will inspect PRASA’s rail rebuilding work and launch a new long-distance bus fleet. WHAT IS PRASA RECOVERING FROM? PRASA’s commuter rail services collapsed during the Covid-19 pandemic. At the same time, the network was hit hard by vandalism and theft. In 2023, then-PRASA chief executive officer Zolani Matthews said the agency faced unprecedented levels of vandalism and sabotage. As a result, passenger numbers fell sharply. By the 2020-2021 financial year, passenger trips had dropped to just 10 million. THE PRASA RAIL RECOVERY IN NUMBERS Since then, PRASA has slowly won passengers back. At the launch of Transport Month on 1 October, Creecy said passenger trips had grown to an audited 101 million by the end of the 2025-2026 financial year. That’s a tenfold increase. “Prasa is working to increase the numbers and frequency of trains on its network as passenger numbers continue to rise following the recovery of most of its priority rail corridors,” she said. HOW PRASA IS REBUILDING RAIL According to the Department of Transport, PRASA’s rebuilding efforts have focused on four areas: Restoring railway infrastructure. Improving safety. Upgrading signalling systems. Making commuter services more reliable. On the Mabopane Corridor, which links Pretoria with Mabopane, north-west of the city, the work includes signalling upgrades, infrastructure improvements and initiatives to increase train frequency and improve operational safety. PRASA’s blue and white trains, known as Isitimela Sabantu, now run on most of South Africa’s rail network. The department says they form part of efforts to provide a more reliable and affordable public transport service. WHAT’S HAPPENING DURING CREECY’S VISIT? The visit forms part of October Transport Month, under the theme “Building a safe, sustainable, reliable and affordable transport system”. During the visit, Creecy will: Visit PRASA’s Centralised Train Control Centre (CTC). Inspect rail rebuilding work on the Mabopane Corridor. Launch a new bus fleet for PRASA’s Long-Distance Passenger Services. “Not only have we witnessed the rebuilding of rail within PRASA, but we have also seen significant progress within their Long-Distance Passenger Services,” Creecy said. TRAINS EVERY FIVE MINUTES? PRASA has big plans for the future. Group CEO Hishaam Emeran said trains could eventually run every five minutes during peak periods. However, that depends on upgrading the rail network’s signalling system. Emeran described it as a multibillion-rand project. PRASA is still appointing service providers, and the rollout could take about two years once contracts are awarded. DO YOU USE PRASA’S TRAINS, AND HAVE YOU NOTICED AN IMPROVEMENT? Let us know in the comments below…

Cybersecurity has moved from a technical matter to a question of national security, writes DCDT's director-general.

Median pay for CEOs of the JSE's 200 largest companies rose to R23.2-million as bonuses jumped 42%.