Swiss group IQAir's live ranking gave Delhi a US air quality index reading of 581 at 10:35am local time on Saturday. India ordered schools in and around the city to offer online classes ahead of Diwali.
Read moreShow less
India also encouraged people to work from home. Officials braced for worse smog as people prepare to use firecrackers for Diwali.
India's Central Pollution Control Board gave a lower figure. It put Delhi's air quality index at 363 at 10am, in the very poor category.
IQAir gave Lahore in Pakistan a US air quality index reading of 285.
Politics
MK Party seeks coalition talks while it disputes the vote
The MK Party said in Durban on Saturday that it has set up a coalition negotiating team for hung councils. Its objection to the Electoral Commission over alleged irregularities in the electoral process still stands.
Read moreShow less
With about 98% of votes validated in eThekwini, the party appears set to fall short of an outright majority there. MK Party official Dali Mpofu asked the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) not to declare results on Sunday while the complaint is outstanding.
Mpofu said the IEC should not rush the process. The party also challenged its eThekwini results over alleged counting discrepancies.
The party said the DA has ruled out the MK Party from any coalition arrangements. Mpofu said any coalition agreement will need the express approval of party leader Jacob Zuma.
Crime
Police kill 2 suspected cash-in-transit robbers in Soweto shootout
Gauteng police shot dead two suspects linked to a cash-in-transit robbery in Virginia, Free State, after the suspects opened fire in Soweto on Saturday. Two other suspects fled on foot, and no officers were hurt.
Read moreShow less
Police spokesperson Lieutenant Isaac Mudau said the Gauteng Police Tactical Response Team pursued a vehicle believed to be the getaway car. The suspects were travelling towards Soweto. Mudau said they opened fire when officers tried to stop the vehicle, and the officers shot back.
Police recovered a 9mm pistol and an AK-47 rifle. Neither firearm had a serial number. The robbery in Virginia took place on Friday, according to police.
Mudau said the police investigation continues. The two suspects who ran away remain at large.
Politics
Malema calls EFF election result a setback, not a defeat
EFF leader Julius Malema said the party lost 612,326 votes nationally in the 2026 local government elections. Its support fell from 10.3% in 2021 to 6.2%, and the MK Party took its place as the third-biggest party.
Read moreShow less
Malema spoke at a media briefing in Midrand on Saturday. He said the party would take stock ward by ward, municipality by municipality and province by province. He said the EFF would use this work to prepare for the 2029 national and provincial elections.
One outlet put the EFF vote at 1.8 million, down from 2.4 million in 2021. Malema said the party would face the national picture and offer no excuses. He also said the EFF remains a people's movement.
Malema said the results would place obstacles in the path towards reliable service delivery and dignity for poor people.
Sport
Springbok Women's Sevens 'A' side open Africa Cup in Nairobi
Captain Vianca Boer says the Springbok Women's Sevens 'A' side is ready for the 2026 Rugby Africa Women's Sevens Cup. Six players in the squad are playing international sevens for the first time.
Read moreShow less
The tournament runs on 7 and 8 November. In Pool A, South Africa play Rwanda, Zimbabwe and Zambia on Saturday. Kick-off times in South Africa are 11:28am, 2:12pm and 4:56pm.
Boer said she expects opponents to come at the team with physicality, especially Zimbabwe. She said the team will have answers. She added that the squad will leave no stone unturned to deliver the best results for themselves and for the country.
Boer also described the squad as easy to lead. She said it has plenty of energy and no egos.
PoliticsWorld
US considers $986,500 grant to AfriForum, ProPublica reports
The US State Department is considering a grant to AfriForum from its human rights budget, according to an investigation by a US newsroom. AfriForum says no funding decision has been finalised, and the department has not confirmed the award.
Read moreShow less
The investigation, citing sources, says the proposed grant is 986,500 US dollars. It says the money would pay for work on alleged discrimination and violence against Afrikaners and other minorities. The funding would come through the State Department's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labour.
The investigation also says the money was first meant for Lex Libertas, the organisation founded by Ernst Roets, a former AfriForum executive. That was before an application process was announced.
Democratic lawmakers have raised concerns about how open the process is, according to the investigation.
Politics
DA and ANC weigh coalition options in Eastern Cape metros
The Democratic Alliance's Federal Executive meets to decide its approach to coalition talks in hung metros after the local government election. The party won 44% in Nelson Mandela Bay and 16% in Buffalo City.
Read moreShow less
DA Eastern Cape deputy leader Mlindi Nhanha said on Friday that the Federal Executive is dealing with the results. He said part of its task is to decide how best to approach coalition talks.
The ANC did not win a clear majority in Buffalo City. Reports said the party may now need to work with parties such as the DA and the United Democratic Movement to form a working government.
ANC Eastern Cape leader Oscar Mabuyane said the province is in an era of coalitions. He said parties must work together and improve their tolerance. The ANC has not ruled out coalitions in municipalities where it lacks a clear majority.
Sport
Springboks face Italy in Turin in Nations Championship opener
The Springboks play Italy at the Allianz Stadium in Turin on Saturday, with kick-off at 13h40 SA time. Assistant coach Mzwandile Stick said there is no room for complacency, and captain Siya Kolisi said the first aim is to win.
Read moreShow less
Stick said the start of the Northern Series is very important. He said the match is vital for building momentum before two tough games against France and Ireland. He called Italy a determined side and said the loss of injured players is big, but the team is still of good quality.
Stick also described Italy outside back Ange Capuozzo as one of the best in the world. Italy will be without Juan Ignacio Brex and Tommaso Menoncello, who are injured. Kolisi will earn his 108th Test cap when he leads the team out.
Kolisi said the squad is happy to be back together and is prepared. Asked about a bonus-point win, he said the team first wants the win. The Springboks have 15 points on the southern hemisphere standings, level with New Zealand.
The Nations Championship Finals Weekend runs from Friday 27 to Sunday 29 November.
Politics
ANC loses outright control of Mangaung for the first time
With all votes counted in the Mangaung metro election, the ANC won 33.91% and the DA 33.48%. The ANC took 36 of 101 council seats and the DA 33, so neither party has the 51 seats needed for a majority.
Read moreShow less
The ANC led the DA by 1 924 votes. The EFF came third with 8.6% of the vote, or 38 553 votes. The ANC won 36 of 51 wards. The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) will announce the official final result on Sunday.
The ANC won 50.63% of the vote in 2021 and has lost 17 percent of its share in the metro. The DA grew from 26% to nearly 34%. Reports said 180 ANC candidates were first left off the ballot because of late candidate lists.
Free State ANC chairperson Mxolisi Dukwana said the results show growing frustration among residents. He said the ANC must confront its failures in government.
DA mayoral candidate Werner Pretorius called the party's growth fantastic, but said it is unfortunate that the DA is 0.5% behind. He said the DA has lodged a dispute over Ward 19, which he said could greatly affect the outcome. Free State EFF chairperson Coach Liphoko said the EFF was satisfied with its performance.
Politics
MK Party asks IEC to freeze eThekwini results capture
The MK Party sent the Electoral Commission of South Africa a four-page objection on Friday, alleging system failures and mismatches in the count after the 4 November local elections. It also wants the final announcement of results postponed.
Read moreShow less
The objection, signed by acting secretary-general Lindiwe Makubu, is addressed to IEC commissioner Titi Pitso. The party alleges the results operations centre in eThekwini suffered a system breakdown during live capturing and data transmission. It says this disrupted data streams and altered visible audit trails.
The party also claims electronic figures differ systematically from the Form NP041 results slips that party agents counter-signed. It alleges failures in the verification, reconciliation and sorting of ballots between 2 and 4 November. It says IEC statements that it failed to deploy agents hid these failures.
The party wants a technical lock on disputed entries, a forensic explanation and an independent analyst. It says refusing to consider the objection before the official declaration would harm the electorate. The allegations are not independently verified, and the objection names no districts and attaches no evidence.
IEC spokesperson Kate Bopela said commissioners respond directly to political parties. The IEC is handling more than 800 complaints from parties across the country.
Politics
Church-led observers declare 2026 local elections free and fair
A joint mission of the South African Council of Churches and two other groups, with 619 observers in all nine provinces, found no major issues of concern. The observers said the 54.5% turnout of registered voters is a concern.
Read moreShow less
The mission also includes the National Foundations Dialogue Initiative and the Women's Election Mechanism for Peace. In a preliminary statement, the observers said voting was peaceful and orderly. They praised the Electoral Commission (IEC), which ran the polls.
The observers said queue management and processing times must improve. They also pointed to technical problems with the voter management devices. One account said more than 80 per cent of stations had long queues.
The observers said violence before election day, including intimidation and political killings, was regrettable but did not materially affect the vote. They said high levels of non-participation limit how far results can reflect the will of the people. They also said all parties should accept the outcome with political maturity.
The groups said they will release a full report in due course.
Tech
At least 10 local governments move to drop Flock cameras
Local governments have moved to end their use of Flock's surveillance cameras since summer. Concerns range from privacy to how the data is shared and with whom, as well as how the cameras were bought.
Read moreShow less
Flock makes surveillance cameras. The number of local governments that have moved to drop them is at least 10, and it covers the period since summer.
The concerns include privacy, data sharing and procurement. These concerns come from a single outlet's description of the trend.
TechEconomy
Fox completes $22 billion purchase of Roku
Fox finished its takeover of the streaming company Roku on Friday 6 November. The deal closed a few months after reports said US Department of Justice investigators were looking at it.
Read moreShow less
The price of the deal was $22 billion. Fox was the buyer and Roku was the company it bought.
Reports earlier this year said DOJ investigators were probing the deal. The sale still went through.
TechWorld
Tesla to wind down Cybertruck production in 2027
Tesla will wind down Cybertruck production at its Texas gigafactory around mid-2027, Elon Musk said in a post on X. He said the space will go to making more Cybercabs, after years of weak Cybertruck sales.
Read moreShow less
Data from Kelley Blue Book show Tesla sold 20,237 Cybertrucks in the US last year. That is a fall of 48% from 2024, when it sold 38,965. Around the start of production in 2023, Musk had predicted annual sales of 250,000.
SpaceX, another Musk company, was one of the biggest buyers of the truck in 2025. Its share offer filing shows it bought $131 million of Cybertrucks from Tesla at list price. The US auto safety agency, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, lists 11 recalls since sales began in late 2023.
Musk said the Cybertruck was the best vehicle Tesla has ever made and called the wind-down the end of an era. Wes Morrill, the Cybertruck lead engineer, said the truck was a strong platform for developing technology and lives on through the Cybercab.
Former Aston Martin chief executive Andy Palmer said it makes no sense to keep building a vehicle that misses its targets. Automotive analyst Felipe Munoz said electric pick-up trucks are not popular in the US.
Politics
Zille names ActionSA or ANC as preferred Johannesburg coalition partner
The Democratic Alliance (DA) mayoral candidate for Johannesburg said preliminary results show a two-party coalition is possible. She argued against large coalitions and rejected claims that a DA-led city would withdraw social grants.
Read moreShow less
Helen Zille said a two-party coalition would be easier to manage than a broad coalition of several smaller parties. She said she was once part of a coalition of 7 parties and would not favour one of 10 over a two-party deal. She said the final outcome depends on results and negotiations.
Zille said smaller parties in coalitions often put positions for their associates and access to tenders ahead of service delivery. She said the DA has a stronger reason to improve governance because its record in government affects its votes. She said she is unsure whether ActionSA and the ANC could win a governing majority together, even with smaller parties.
She said the DA joined the Government of National Unity to stop an ANC-led coalition with the EFF and the MK party. On negotiations, she said having options is what gives a party its power.
Zille called the claim that a DA-led administration would withdraw social grants lunatic, hard and cruel. She said the DA wants to attract investment and grow the economy so that more people find work.
Tech
Hundreds of Artex hacking tool servers sit exposed online
Security researchers found that hundreds of servers running Artex, an AI penetration testing tool, were open to the internet. This meant anyone could use the hacking tool without restriction.
Read moreShow less
Artex is a tool that uses artificial intelligence to test the security of computer systems. Security researchers reported the exposure on Friday 6 November.
TechEconomy
OpenAI reportedly raises $11 billion more at $1.25 trillion value
Reports say the AI company has added $11 billion to a funding round that has not yet closed. The round values OpenAI at $1.25 trillion, and reports expect it to close in the coming weeks.
Read moreShow less
The money is part of a larger funding round, according to unnamed reports. OpenAI has not been quoted confirming the amount or the valuation.
The reports say the round is still open. They expect it to close in the coming weeks.
Science
MIT team builds model that predicts molecule traits from little data
Researchers at MIT have built CheMeleon, an open-source machine-learning model that predicts molecule properties when little data exists. Their paper in the Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling says it beats other methods at narrowing down candidate molecules.
Read moreShow less
The team, led by graduate student Akshat Shirish Zalte and Professor William Green, first trained the model on descriptors for about a million molecules. It then adjusts to each new property, such as solubility. Green says several pharmaceutical companies already use it, and nine of the top 20 entries in an OpenADMET contest used it. Those usage claims come from the research group itself.
EconomyWorld
Expert urges businesses to prepare for AGOA loss in January
Supply chain expert Paul Forster says South African firms should review contracts, assess their exposure and diversify supply chains now. He said they should not wait for political talks to end, as the country may lose US trade benefits.
Read moreShow less
Forster said less than one percent of global trade is directly exposed to the loss of benefits under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). He added that certain export sectors face significant risks.
He said trade with other African countries offers opportunities. In his view, poor infrastructure and border delays on the continent remain major obstacles.
Forster said South Africa cannot control every decision made in Washington. He said the country can control how competitive it makes itself. The Trump administration suspended South Africa from AGOA.
Politics
MKP asks IEC to delay eThekwini election results
The uMkhonto weSizwe Party says a system failure at the IEC's eThekwini Results Operation Centre disrupted data and altered audit trails. It wants the Electoral Commission to hold back the final announcement and gazetting of Local Government Elections outcomes.
Read moreShow less
Lindiwe Makhubu, acting Secretary of the MKP, set out the objection in a letter to the Commission. She claimed the failure happened during live results capturing and data transmission. The party also alleges electoral irregularities in the eThekwini Municipality.
The MKP asks for an audit and for the Commission to suspend processing of the affected results. It also wants an independent forensic analysis and the electronic quarantine of the disputed data.
The Electoral Commission expects to finish collating results this weekend. The Commission had not responded to the claims.
Politics
MK Party leads KwaZulu-Natal count but may miss power
With more than 90% of votes counted, the MK Party has won three KwaZulu-Natal municipalities outright and leads in 10 other councils. More than 20 municipalities are expected to be hung, so coalition talks will decide who governs.
Read moreShow less
The ANC in KwaZulu-Natal has won just one municipality outright, compared with 13 in 2021. The party said it will deepen its renewal agenda after another electoral decline in the province. Provincial ANC spokesperson Sifiso Sonjica said the party has done much better than in 2024.
The MK Party said it cannot stop other parties from keeping it out of government in councils where it did not win a majority. MK Party KZN leader Willie Mchunu said the party is determined to avoid a repeat of the 2024 provincial coalition outcome.
Coalition talks are due over the next week. In the 2024 general elections, the ANC took 17% of the vote in the province, a historic low, and the MK Party took 45%.
WorldCrime
US justice department drops California mail-in ballot lawsuit
The Trump administration ended its bid to stop California counting mail-in ballots from more than 20,000 registered voters. Federal officials had alleged the voters were probably not US citizens. The department filed its notice of dismissal on Friday, after Democrats won comfortably in the state.
Read moreShow less
The US justice department filed a notice of voluntary dismissal after Democrats won comfortable margins in California's statewide contests and most of its congressional races in the midterm elections. The department said in the notice that the relief it sought was no longer available now that votes had been tallied.
The department had argued that the contested ballots could not be separated from other votes once officials accepted them. It said this made quick action necessary. On the Monday before the election, the Supreme Court rejected a bid to temporarily block California from counting the ballots on the department's list.
US district judge David Carter appeared sceptical of the lawsuit. He said the request could disenfranchise and confuse legitimate voters. He described it as a major change to election procedures while voting was already under way.
Science
MIT team casts lighter concrete beam in sewn fabric mold
Engineers at MIT cast a 3-metre test concrete beam in a sewn fabric mold. It used about one-third the concrete and half the steel reinforcement of a conventional beam built for the same load.
Read moreShow less
The team, led by Mark Hellrich with senior author Professor Josephine Carstensen, designed the beam with computer optimisation. Their results appear in the peer-reviewed Journal of Building Engineering. The beam's measured response was within about 2 percent of their model's prediction. They say fabric molds suit regions where building is growing and advanced equipment is scarce. The study tested only one beam, so the result comes from a single prototype.
Sport
Eastern Storm beat Dolphins by 8 runs for first Super Eight win
World Sports Betting Eastern Storm beat the Hollywoodbets Dolphins by 8 runs on the DLS method in a YesPlay T20 Super Eight match at Willowmoore Park in Benoni on Friday. Rain and lightning stopped the Dolphins' chase in the 17th over.
Read moreShow less
Eastern Storm made 162 for two. Opener Ronan Herrmann scored 87 off 61 balls. He and fellow opener Kabelo Sekhukhune, who made 33, put on an opening stand of 84.
The Dolphins were 118 for five when play stopped in the 17th over. The DLS target at that stage was 126. Hanu Viljoen top scored for the Dolphins with 46 off 32 balls, and opener Ntando Zuma made 28.
The Storm cannot reach the semifinals. The Dolphins still have a slim mathematical chance of reaching the knockouts. They must win their last game, preferably with a bonus point, and hope other results go their way.
The two teams dropped six catches over both innings.
Politics
Hill-Lewis urges parties to put stable councils first
DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis said emerging results show about 150-160 councils, roughly two-thirds of local municipalities, will need coalition governments. He spoke at the IEC national results centre in Midrand on Friday and asked parties to rise above election divisions.
Read moreShow less
Hill-Lewis said coalition talks must put residents first. Early counts showed the MK Party leading in KwaZulu-Natal and the DA leading in several metros and the Western Cape.
In KwaZulu-Natal, with 30% of votes counted, the MK Party had 33% to 34%. The ANC had 25%, the IFP 22% and the DA 10% to 12%. With 50% of voting districts counted, the DA had 53.4% of the Western Cape provincial vote.
The DA projected about 59% of the vote in the City of Cape Town. Rival parties said the projection was premature.
ANC head of elections Mdumiseni Ntuli said many ANC members would be uncomfortable working with the DA. He cited what he called the arrogance of Helen Zille during the campaign.
Politics
ANC rules out coalition with DA in Western Cape councils
ANC provincial spokesperson Sifiso Mtsweni said the DA is off the table as coalition talks begin in 16 Western Cape municipalities set to return hung councils after the local government elections. The DA says it will not work with the EFF or MK Party.
Read moreShow less
DA deputy federal council chairperson Carl Pophaim said the party would insist on shared values and a commitment to service delivery before it joins any coalition. He said the DA is in 15 of the existing hung councils, with 70% of the votes counted. He also said there are many kingmakers across the province, not just one or two smaller parties.
Mtsweni said the ANC will talk to other parties but will not bring the DA into government through coalition talks. He accused the DA of using racially charged tactics in its campaign. He also said DA advertising warned against coalition chaos.
GOOD secretary-general Brett Herron said the party will approach talks cautiously, with hard lessons from past coalitions. He said GOOD was in both coalitions in Theewaterskloof, which he called a bad example. ActionSA spokesperson Matthew George said the party is open to working with any party.
Politics
IEC reports 91% of local election results complete
The Electoral Commission said results were final in 150 of 213 municipalities as at 5pm on Friday. It also rejected social media claims about Emalahleni wards 4 and 23 and about a municipal official who allegedly voted four times.
Read moreShow less
Completion rates differed by province. The Northern Cape stood at 100%, the Free State at 98%, and the Eastern Cape and Mpumalanga at 95% each. The Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal were at 92%, North West at 87%, Limpopo at 86% and Gauteng at 75%.
The Commission expects 66,073 result slips from 23,696 voting stations. The count of 213 municipalities leaves out the 44 district councils.
Social media posts claimed that results for Emalahleni wards 4 and 23 were withheld because ballots exceeded registered voters. The Commission called this false and said official turnout in both wards was just over 50%. It called the claim that an official voted four times misleading.
The Commission reminded stakeholders that results stay provisional until all objections and verification processes end.
Politics
ANC loses control of three municipalities hit by list blunder
The ANC lost its majority in Mangaung, uMshwathi and Walter Sisulu, all affected by its August candidate list error. The party kept other affected municipalities but with reduced support, and its head of elections called the decline a major concern.
Read moreShow less
In Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality, the ANC won 33.69% of the vote, down from 50.63% in 2021. In uMshwathi Local Municipality, its share fell to 32.61% from 58.86%, and the MK Party won the municipality from the ANC. In Walter Sisulu Local Municipality, the ANC took 47.53% after all votes were counted.
ANC head of elections Mdumiseni Ntuli said support fell almost across the board and the decline could not be viewed in isolation. He said the party did not expect to drop below 50% plus one in Mangaung. He said the ANC would assess the effect of the candidate registration problems.
About 181 ANC candidates were excluded from its list of nominated candidates before the Constitutional Court judgment. Political analyst Mpumelelo Mkhabela said the failure to submit names on time was a symptom of internal problems, and the full story was yet to be told. He said the ANC's national performance was shaped by both internal problems and outside factors.
Politics
ANC stays top in Free State local elections with 244 seats
The Democratic Alliance (DA) came second with 150 seats and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) third with 40 seats, after vote capturing ended in the Free State. It is the second province to finish capturing votes in the 2026 local government elections.
Read moreShow less
The African National Congress (ANC) won 328 council seats across the Free State in the 2021 local government elections. Its 244 seats in 2026 are fewer than that.
Travel
Photo: Bernard DUPONT from FRANCE, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Wilderness: lagoons, forest and long beach on the Garden Route
Wilderness is a small coastal village between the Outeniqua Mountains and the Indian Ocean, with lakes, forest and a long beach. Late spring and summer suit swimming and paddling.
When: November to April is warm and good for the... ·Budget: $$
