In what was an ultimate test of linguistic abilities and sign language understanding, the 2025 National Spelling Bee finals saw Mbulelo Tolom and Ifeoma Osondo crowned as South Africa’s spelling junior and senior champions. Competition CEO, Roger Dickinson, said the contest has brought joy to and improved the literacy of every child who competed.

The team the Bafana Bafana boss has selected to represent South Africa at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations is dynamic, stacked with tried and tested players, and sprinkled with young guns.

The star forward went on the attack against his club because of being benched for three games, leaving his future up in the air.

Mike Burgess, a top Australian intelligence official, said one of the suspected attackers was known to authorities but had not been deemed an immediate threat.

Israeli leaders condemned a shooting in Sydney targeting a Hanukkah celebration that killed 11 people on Sunday, with various government officials suggesting Australia had failed to combat hatred of Jews.

While the country’s murder rate has somewhat steadied, in Cape Town the rate has increased, with Mfuleni recording the most murders in both the Western Cape and South Africa.

Although SAPS’ latest crime statistics for the second quarter of 2025 show an overall decrease in crime across major categories, Johannesburg continues to lead nationally in contact crimes and particularly in kidnapping. Gauteng’s large population and economic prosperity are major drivers of organised crime, while interpersonal conflict – the use of violence to resolve conflicts in social...

Adds detail from police in paragraph 2, witness comment in paragraphs 5-6, Muslim community comment in paragraphs 13-15, background in paragraph 16