Ongoing

  1. ElectionsHot
  2. US mid-termsHeating up
  3. AICooling
Newsbrief
JoburgJHB29°69%
CTCT21°90%
PretoriaPTA33°75%
DurbanDBN30°20°

BMA and SARS meet Lesotho officials on border operations

Published

The Border Management Authority and the South African Revenue Service are attending a Lesotho and South Africa steering committee meeting in Ladybrand, Free State, on Thursday. The agenda includes the joint action plan, smart-border projects and One-Stop Border Post arrangements.

BMA Commissioner Michael Masiapato leads the authority's team. Beyers Theron leads the SARS team. He is Director of Customs Border Operations, Ports of Entry and Customs Compliance at SARS.

The One-Stop Border Post talks cover Maseru and Ficksburg. The agenda also includes border infrastructure and the Border Operating Model.

In a joint statement, the two agencies said the meeting would "provide South Africa and Lesotho with an opportunity to advance bilateral discussions on shared border-management priorities".

Key facts

Who
Michael Masiapato (Commissioner of the Border Management Authority, leading the BMA's participation); Beyers Theron (Director of Customs Border Operations, Ports of Entry and Customs Compliance…); Border Management Authority (South African border management agency participating in the meeting); South African Revenue Service (South African revenue agency participating in the meeting)
What
The BMA and SARS are taking part in the Lesotho–South Africa STEERCO meeting on border management, with agenda items including the joint action plan, smart-border initiatives, One-Stop Border Post arrangements at Maseru and Ficksburg, border infrastructure and the Border Operating Model.
When
22 October 2026
Where
Ladybrand, Free State, Lesotho
Status
Reported

Elections Hot

What you need to know

Voting in the 2026 Local Government Elections is under way at 23,696 stations, and the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) reported a smooth start on 4 November. Stations opened at 7am and close at 9pm, and by 10am preliminary figures showed 3,523,691 voters had cast ballots.

There were problems: unused ballot papers were stolen from Mnyameni Secondary School near Durban, police opened a case, and the IEC relieved the station staff of duty. Some voters in Tshwane said they were turned away for wearing party shirts, but the IEC denied this and said only mayoral candidates' entourages were barred.

ANC chairperson Gwede Mantashe told members not to query the results or discredit the IEC, while the IEC said false online claims show routine procedures as fraud.

  1. BOSA's Solomons flags one-ballot problem at Cape Town voting stations
  2. Mashatile urges new councillors to put voters first
  3. IEC dismisses MK Party worry about dead people on voters' roll

See every update

US mid-terms Heating up

What you need to know

Democrats won back both the US House and Senate in the midterm elections held on 3 November, according to media projections. Exit polls showed voters were angry about high prices and the direction of the country, and rebuked President Donald Trump.

Before the vote, US forces struck targets on Qeshm Island in Iran, while Republicans struggled to defend the war against Iran on the campaign trail. Iranian officials said US voters rejected the war, and Tehran stayed on high alert for possible new US strikes.

Markets reacted, with the dollar hitting a one-month low and the rand firming to around R16.55, as analysts pointed to fears of gridlock in Washington.

  1. Iran welcomes Democratic wins in US midterm elections
  2. Democrats win US Congress in midterm vote, projections show
  3. Ramaphosa wants US trade deal after AGOA suspension

See every update

AI Cooling

What you need to know

Nvidia has told its cloud computing clients to sell at least 51% of their services to non-Chinese companies, according to five people with knowledge of the matter. Anthropic said it has committed to spend close to $900bn on AI infrastructure, and that its computing costs are rising faster than its revenues.

Elsewhere, reports from unnamed sources say OpenAI's latest funding round is falling short of expectations, and a judge let the NAACP pollution case against xAI proceed. In South Africa, the VAST AI investment scheme went offline on 30 October after withdrawals marked approved did not arrive, according to a news investigation.

  1. Accenture faces accusations over AI report with false citations
  2. CrowdStrike to buy two AI security startups
  3. Google lets schools turn off AI tools but limits Search

See every update