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Police detained three senior officers on Tuesday over alleged illegal tapping of the phones of the president and others. One was Listyo, who became chief of staff a few weeks earlier. Reports said the taps also targeted journalists, politicians, officials and business people since early 2025.

Presidential spokesperson Prasetyo Hadi said rogue individuals carried out the taps. He said their acts pointed to treason and threatened state interests and the safety of the head of state. Sugiono, secretary-general of the Gerindra party, called the affair insubordination within the government.

Legal affairs minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra said the government had not yet found the motive. Navy spokesperson Tunggul said the troop deployment was meant to protect security and stability. He also linked it to training planned near Jakarta.

Researcher Sana Jaffrey of the Australian National University said the scandal raises questions about how the government handles the matter. She also warned of possible tension between the military and police loyal to Listyo. Amnesty International in Indonesia urged authorities to name the wiretap targets. It warned that unchecked, the scandal might allow a secret police to be used against opponents.Share

Moses, an IEC regional manager, said ordinary voters in party T-shirts were allowed to vote. He said only the group travelling with Omphile Maotwe, the EFF Tshwane mayoral candidate, was stopped from entering a station. The DA and EFF said ordinary residents may wear party colours when they vote. They said only party agents may not wear regalia inside polling stations.

The DA and the EFF also complained that presiding officers restricted journalists who covered their mayoral candidates. The parties named the His Sanctuary Ministry voting station in Montana, Ward 5. They called the treatment of the media an overreach of authority. Maotwe said the IEC must address the matter and that the presiding officers at that station should be removed.

Masego Sheburi, the IEC deputy chief electoral officer for electoral operations, said the problem was resolved. He said the IEC reminded voting stations that the media may conduct interviews without permission from presiding officers. He said journalists need no separate accreditation.Share

The win sends Sundowns into the semifinals. It is their second cup semifinal in a row this season. Coach Miguel Cardoso said his side could have finished the match earlier, but he was pleased with the result.

Cardoso said the team stayed loyal to the plan and the performance was solid. He said the first goal gave his side some stability and put pressure on the opponent. He also called Arrows coach Mandla Ncikazi very clever.

Ncikazi blamed poor decision-making in the final third for the defeat. He said Arrows got chances to shoot but were not as clinical as Sundowns. He said his side will not win games if they do not decide well in that area.Share

Mantashe voted at Freeway Park Primary School in Boksburg, Ekurhuleni. He said he gave the ANC eight votes from his family. He said it was the last time he would vote as an ANC leader, and that his term ends in December 2027.

He said the ANC must give the IEC credibility even if members are unhappy with the results. He said other parties like to discredit the commission. The results are due at the weekend.

Mantashe said polls show the ANC losing more ground, especially in metros. He claimed support in eThekwini could collapse because of the MK Party. He also said the ANC's grip is slipping in Buffalo City and Mangaung, the only metros it runs with an outright majority.

On coalitions, he said the ANC must first try to win as many municipalities as it can on its own. Asked about the government of national unity, he said the party is trying to make it work and that it sometimes does and sometimes does not.Share

Police said the woman, who is 54, circulated the voice note in Ward 22 of the Mnquma Local Municipality. Police said she threatened violence and discouraged residents from voting because of poor service delivery.

Provincial Police Commissioner Vuyisile Ncata said the situation at the Dutywa voting station was under control. He said the station had reopened.

The Electoral Commission and police said they remain on high alert. They said they want voting to stay peaceful and uninterrupted.Share

Other false posts say asylum seekers and undocumented foreign nationals are being registered to vote. A fake poll graphic claimed the ANC had 43% support in Tshwane and said President Cyril Ramaphosa promised to protect ANC members from corruption charges. Africa Check found that claim to be fabricated.

A widely shared video showed a ballot box in Rustenburg. Africa Check investigated it and found the box was sealed and labelled as a home-visit ballot box.

The IEC said ordinary steps, such as video of staff returning and checking special-vote materials, are presented as proof of fraud. It said these unproven fraud claims undermine confidence in the election. The IEC also reported some genuine election-related offences, including arrests. Reports said it received more than 700 disinformation complaints.Share

President Cyril Ramaphosa voted in Johannesburg, and former presidents Thabo Mbeki and Kgalema Motlanthe also cast their ballots. Former president Jacob Zuma voted at Ntolwane Primary School in Nkandla, KwaZulu-Natal. He leads the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP).

Zuma spoke to the media after he voted in Ward 14. He called for political tolerance and said he hoped people would respect each other. He said he was confident the MKP would make significant gains, particularly in KwaZulu-Natal.

Zuma also said people in the country wanted change. He said the voting process was smooth and everything seemed to be in order. KwaZulu-Natal has the highest number of hotspot areas and a history of political violence.Share

Masego Sheburi, the IEC Deputy Chief Electoral Officer, spoke at a media briefing at the Results Operations Centre in Midrand. He said the commission was encouraged by the enthusiasm of voters. He also said the Voter Management Devices worked well and helped staff process and verify voters.

Gauteng had the most votes by 10am, with 895,384. KwaZulu-Natal followed with 623,380 and the Western Cape with 461,264. The Eastern Cape had 431,123 and Limpopo 366,378.

Mpumalanga had 252,859 votes, North West 204,736 and the Free State 195,537. The Northern Cape had 93,030.

The IEC said unused ballot papers and a stamp were stolen at one voting station in Ward 2 in eThekwini, which has 20 voting stations. Sheburi said the staff at that station were relieved of their duty. The South African Police Service opened a case.

Sheburi reminded voters to choose only one candidate or party per ballot. He said extra marks or more than one choice could spoil the ballot. Voters in local municipalities receive three ballot papers and voters in metropolitan municipalities receive two.Share

Ramaphosa spoke on the sidelines after he voted at Hyde Park High School in the local government elections. He said diversifying trade has become the priority. He said South Africa started to diversify when the process of the Liberation Day tariff increase began.

The president called the exclusion from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) a negative for the country. He said Agoa is a unilateral arrangement that the US decides on. He said South Africa prefers a bilateral agreement that both sides negotiate with Washington.

Reports said Agoa exports were worth $1.7bn (R29bn) in 2025 and $4bn in 2024. Agoa exports make up about 1% of South Africa's total global exports.Share

An eyewitness said a voter produced an ID that looked fake, which led to a squabble. The station opened at 8am, and residents said they had been waiting since 5am.

Voter Daniel Motlhanke said he had waited over two hours. He said he and others were not being told anything and were not taken seriously.

Resident Elias Maswanganye asked that people be allowed to wait in a classroom instead of standing outside. He also said the long wait was a tactic to make voters forget who to vote for. A security guard said party members had earlier tried to take pictures and videos of the commotion.Share

Nabu said the call centre fraud probe, made public in September, led to the resignation of former prosecutor general Ruslan Kravchenko. He was not charged. Investigators said his resignation followed an accusation that a subordinate helped run the ring. They said the ring targeted both Ukrainians and foreigners.

Nabu also said it completed its investigation into an alleged money-laundering scheme in the energy sector. The scheme involved a former deputy prime minister and energy minister. It also forced out the former chief of staff of President Volodymyr Zelensky. All of them denied wrongdoing.

In Transparency International's latest Corruption Perceptions Index, Ukraine ranked 104th out of 182 countries.Share

The University of Birmingham developed the tests. They look for signs of several cancers in a blood sample and suggest where in the body the cancer comes from.

Patients aged 45 and over who visit a GP with abdominal symptoms can take part. The practices belong to the National Health Service (NHS) in England.

The trial will measure how well the tests support the judgment of GPs. The results will help decide whether to roll the tests out nationally. Reports described it as a world first, and noted that cancer mortality in Britain is among the highest of OECD countries per person.Share

Democrat James Talarico beat Republican attorney general Ken Paxton in the Texas Senate race. Annie Andrews, a paediatrician, beat Republican senator Darline Graham in South Carolina. Reports said Democrats also won Senate races in Ohio, Kansas and North Carolina, and flipped eight Republican House seats.

Exit polls showed three-quarters of voters were angry or dissatisfied with the direction of the country. Half saw the vote as a chance to rebuke the president. 70% wanted Congress to provide more checks on him. Reports linked the anger to fuel price rises after Trump launched a war against Iran in February.

Trump wrote on social media that he was not on the ballot and would have won in a landslide if he had been. He also told media outlets he would accept the results and work with Democrats. Senator Jon Ossoff said voters had rebuked Trump after his projected win in Georgia.

Before the vote, the Justice Department deployed 1,000 monitors to all 50 states. Democrats criticised the plan as possible voter intimidation. Analysts said winning Congress could bring Democrats pressure to address economic worries.Share

Projects worth R188 million have been approved so far. South African National Parks (SANParks) set aside R100 million for the repairs. National government allocated R218 million, and an insurance settlement added R150 million.

About 90,000 guests visited the park in February 2026. That was 7,000 fewer than in February 2025. The park had 1.87 million visitors in the 12 months through March 2025.Share

Puente resigned six days after the second accident. Sanchez announced the change in a brief televised address on Wednesday. He said Cuerpo had shown great capacity for management and integrity in this legislature.

Opposition People's Party (PP) leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo said on X that Sanchez should do the same and resign. He wrote this in reply to a post in which Sanchez praised Puente.

Independent political analyst Eduardo Bayon said the resignation took away the main target of the PP. He said the debate would now move from who should go to what should be done. Bayon said the government must act with concrete railway security and investment measures, and that trust in high-speed rail will stay a campaign topic ahead of the election on 29 November.Share

Voters in northern Durban said they lack water and electricity and face roads damaged by potholes. Hlengiwe Ndimande, 50, from Congo in Inanda, arrived at her voting station at 5:40am. She said the process was smooth and that Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) officials did a great job.

Ndimande said she had planned not to vote. She changed her mind when she realised that many people stay away because they are angry about poor services. Zandile Nyuswa, 58, voted at Hazelmeer near Verulam. She said not voting was not an option, because nothing changes if she stays home.

Nomusa Nhlengethwa, 81, from Ntuzuma, has voted in every election since 1994. She said she is satisfied with the progress on services in her area.

Young voters in other areas gave similar reasons. Nicole Mageza, 25, a first-time voter from Kempton Park, said she wants to be part of a group that makes a difference. Tumelo Chiloane said the municipality must improve services and create jobs, because the townships have none. Nikiwe Ndawonde, a first-time voter from Kimberley, said things are bad in Galeshewe and she wants democratic change.Share

Cape Town's population grew by almost 80% to nearly 5 million since the turn of the millennium. Average property prices have risen by about 190% since 2010. Lightstone data shows a home worth more than R6 million takes an average of 49 days to sell in the city, against 67 days nationally.

Foreign buyers drive the top of the market. About 75% of properties bought by individuals for more than R20 million in the first half of 2026 went to people who are not South African. The share is 35% when companies, trusts and South African individuals are included.

Broker Lance Cohen said some houses now sell at prices that are uncomfortably high for him. Ross Levin of Seeff Property Group said annual unit sales on the Atlantic Seaboard and in the City Bowl will fall for the first time in five years, while the super-luxury segment performs at levels not seen before.

Savills forecasts prime residential capital value growth of 4% to 5.9% in Cape Town in the second half of the year. City officials want to apply commercial tariffs to properties used mainly for short-term rentals. About 27,500 housing units are listed on Airbnb in the city.Share

Voter Sizwe Ndlovu cast his vote early despite the rain. He said it was hard for people to vote in the weather. He said some voters live far from polling stations and have no money or transport, and that transport is hard to find in the harsh weather.

A post on social media said police in the Eastern Cape arrested two suspects for allegedly trying to steal ballot papers in Ngcobo. The police have not confirmed this in the information given here.Share

Section 21 of the Medicines Act lets patients get unregistered medicines, including cannabis-based medicines. Stone works at Cullinan & Associates and represents people who used this route to reach medical cannabis. He said hundreds, if not thousands, of applications were submitted.

Stone said a blanket refusal raises serious legal questions. He said the regulator must still consider each application, think about it and make a rational decision. In his view, patients and their doctors may have grounds to challenge rejections in court.

Stone also said Section 21 has been largely abused and has become an easy route to cannabis. He spoke in an interview with a CapeTalk presenter. The regulator has not commented in the facts available.Share

Ramaphosa said South Africa's suspension from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) from January is a negative. The announcement of the suspension came on Monday. He said the country was sad to be removed, but trade relations with the US continue.

He said the focus should now be on negotiating a bilateral trade agreement with the US.

Reports of US President Donald Trump's statements say he has targeted South Africa largely over what he calls the persecution of white people. South Africa says this claim is a false narrative spread by fringe groups.Share

IEC deputy chief electoral officer Masego Sheburi said the station was used for ballot validation in ward 2 of eThekwini. He spoke at a media briefing on Wednesday. A case has been opened with the South African Police Service (SAPS).

Sheburi also gave figures for KwaZulu-Natal. The province has 5,028 voting stations and 6,022,350 registered voters. The IEC said opening was delayed at 50 stations in Ndwedwe because of logistical problems, and at 3 stations in Umzumbe because roads were inaccessible.

By the close of special voting on Tuesday, 234,297 of 362,878 approved special voters in the province had cast ballots. The IEC put turnout at 65%. Of these votes, 110,767 were cast through home visits and 123,530 at voting stations.Share

Ramaphosa said the Democrats had taken control of the Senate and the House, and that the people of America had spoken. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Americans voted against policies that impoverish people, and against hatred, sexism and climate denial.

Bernd Lange, head of the European parliament's international trade committee, called the result a crushing blow to US President Donald Trump and his policies. Ines Schwerdtner, joint leader of Germany's Left Party, called it a defeat for the global right. Iran's parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer said Americans had said no to war.

Some leaders expected a hard period for the US government. Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis said the rest of Trump's term would be about impeachment, vetoes and paralysis. Belgian defence minister Theo Francken said governing the US would be almost impossible in the coming years.

Alice Weidel, co-leader of Germany's far-right AFD, said Trump had broken a promise to avoid an interventionist foreign policy. French National Rally president Jordan Bardella said US intervention regarding Iran would carry heavy consequences for the US and European economies. One report said the result could affect global trade, security and energy prices.Share

The party said Zuma acknowledged the movement's work on undocumented foreigners. He also raised concern about how immigration laws are enforced. The party said March and March recognised its contribution to the issue.

The party said unemployment, border security, pressure on public services and the protection of local economic opportunities need firm and responsible action from the government. Spokesperson Sifiso Mahlangu said the mutual recognition shows the value of dialogue between political groups and community movements.

The Durban high court has ordered March and March to suspend demonstrations until November 6. The South African Police Service filed an urgent application for the order. Future protests must take place between 9am and 3-4pm.Share

IEC Deputy Chief Electoral Officer Masego Shiburi said a case was opened with the South African Police Service (SAPS). He said the affected staff were relieved of their duties. Reports said the items were taken from Myameni Secondary School, near Botha's Hill, on the night before election day.

KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Electoral Officer Ntombifuthi Masinga said the IEC issued a new stamp for election day. She said the stolen stamp was valid only for that day, and staff must check the stamp code when counting starts. She said anyone who tried to bring the stolen ballots back would use the wrong date.

Masinga also said parties may not escort IEC officials who move ballot papers to storage. Only SAPS officers may do so. Shiburi said only candidates and party agents may not wear party regalia inside voting stations.

The IEC said severe weather was imminent in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands in the afternoon. It urged voters to cast their ballots early. SAPS lists 165 high-risk voting stations in the province, 124 of them in eThekwini.Share

The IEC said the alleged attempts to enter its warehouses happened in Richmond, Umkhambathini and Pietermaritzburg in KwaZulu-Natal. IEC provincial electoral officer Ntombifuthi Masinga said police intervened and the crowd dispersed.

Deputy chief electoral officer Masego Sheburi said people also tried to impersonate IEC officials at a police station in Ngcobo, Eastern Cape. He said they tried to collect election material. He said the IEC is taking legal steps to hold the people and political parties involved to account.

Of the special votes, 917,000 were cast at voting station sites and 421,000 through home visits. Chief electoral officer Sy Mamabolo said the 1.3 million figure was given conservatively. He spoke at the Results Operations Centre in Midrand and said the IEC was ready to open voting stations at 7:00am on voting day.Share

The company is state-owned and is based in Qatar. Its push for new sources follows the conflict in the Middle East, which limits what Qatar can export.

The reports give no figures for the planned purchases.Share

IEC deputy chief electoral officer Masego Sheburi said the longest universal ballot template can hold 80 candidates. He said it works very well where there are more than 76 candidates, because the ballot then follows the template sequence. He said shorter double-column ballots need electoral staff to help braille-literate voters with numbering and sequence, so that votes are not miscast.

Sheburi also spoke about party regalia. He said voters may come to a voting station in any regalia they choose. He said a voter who only marks a ballot and then leaves is allowed to do so.

Sheburi thanked the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure for helping to create a good environment for the elections. He said the Department of Home Affairs opened its offices to citizens who lost their identity documents. He also thanked Eskom for dealing with electricity problems at voting stations.

Sheburi called on all South Africans who had not yet voted to go and cast their ballots.Share

Ramaphosa spoke to the media after he voted. He said he was confident the ANC would come out on top in the local government elections. Over 29 million South Africans registered to vote in the seventh democratic local elections.

He also spoke about the strike in Johannesburg. One report said it ended when the City of Joburg agreed to pay workers R10 billion over two years.

On water supply, Ramaphosa said Rand Water had a problem delivering water to various reservoirs. He said the utility was now pumping more water into them.

Ramaphosa also commented on the US midterm elections. He said the Democrats had taken control of the Senate and the House. He said the result would bring a new era in world relations.Share

Ramaphosa voted with First Lady Tshepo Motsepe. He said the turnout showed democracy in action and reflected the aspirations of the Freedom Charter. He urged registered voters who had not yet voted to go out and vote.

The president said government is determined to rebuild local government. He said newly elected councillors, from all parties, would be more committed to serving communities. He also said new councils would be inaugurated in the coming days, opening a new chapter for local government.

Ramaphosa said it was the first time in years that a local government election drew so many parties and so many people who wanted to represent others.

Other leaders also voted, including former president Thabo Mbeki, Deputy President Paul Mashatile and former president Kgalema Motlanthe. DA mayoral candidate Helen Zille, Action SA leader Herman Mashaba and eThekwini mayor Cyril Xaba voted too. Kingsol Chabalala, the DA mayoral candidate in Emfuleni, said protecting municipal finances would be a priority, with a cash flow assessment in the first 100 days.Share

Ntshavheni said only South Africans with South African identity documents can vote. She said foreign nationals live in the country on permits and visas and are not eligible. She urged people who lost their IDs to get temporary identification documents from Home Affairs offices.

She also urged voters to cast their ballots early and said it would be best if everyone voted by 9pm without an extension of hours. She said special votes on Monday and Tuesday went well, with a few incidents that Natjoints could manage. She told parties to show tolerance.

Voting began at 7am, and stations and Home Affairs offices close at 9pm. More than 29 million registered voters can vote at nearly 24,000 voting stations. Some voters in Joubert Park waited for hours and were then told to vote at other stations.

Deputy government spokesperson William Baloyi warned that it is prohibited for a voter to photograph a marked ballot paper.Share