Ongoing

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

Groot Marico festival marks 100 years since Bosman arrived

Published

Community members gathered at the Herman Charles Bosman Living Museum in Groot Marico, North West, for the annual Bosman Cultural Weekend Festival. It featured storytelling, dance and other performances.

A researcher from North West University, Farzanah Loonate, spoke about Bosman's unfinished novel Willemsdorp. She is doing research on the author. Loonate said the book criticises the racial laws of its time, namely the Immorality Act and the Group Areas Act.

Loonate said writing about characters whose lives these laws affected was a brave move. In her words: "In Willemsdorp, his critique is quite explicit of racial laws that were passed in South Africa during that time".

One resident said it was lovely to see local theatre, culture and talent still developed and celebrated. Another resident said that involving children in cultural activities helps keep them off the streets and away from drugs and alcohol.

Key facts

Who
Farzanah Loonate (researcher from North West University conducting research on Bosman); Herman Charles Bosman (author whose 100 years since arriving at Groot Marico is marked by the festival)
What
Groot Marico community members gathered at the Herman Charles Bosman Living Museum for the annual Bosman Cultural Weekend Festival, featuring storytelling, dance and other performances. A North West University researcher discussed Bosman's critique of racial laws in his unfinished novel Willemsdorp.
When
24 October 2026
Where
Groot Marico, North West
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