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An atrocity foretold: How the RSF siege of El Fasher turned into genocidal slaughter

An atrocity foretold: How the RSF siege of El Fasher turned into genocidal slaughter

IN one video, dozens of bodies lie strewn on the floor of a building as militiamen move through, checking that no one is still alive. A man in a white jalabiya – seemingly the only survivor – is shot dead. “Finished,” a fighter says in Arabic as they walk out. In another video, fighters stand in a trench, guns raised, shouting cries of victory. All around them lie corpses in the sand, as vehicles burn in the distance – presumably vehicles that those people had tried to use to escape. In a third video, a different group of fighters force…
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Where did the first people come from? The case for a coastal migration from southern Africa

Where did the first people come from? The case for a coastal migration from southern Africa

THE origins and migrations of modern humans around the world are a hot topic of debate. Genetic analyses have pointed to Africa as the continent from which our ancestors dispersed in the Late Pleistocene epoch, which began about 126,000 years ago. Various dispersal routes have been suggested. As a group of scientists who have been studying human evolution, we propose in a recently published review paper that the coast of southern Africa was likely where Homo sapiens began this worldwide journey. We suggest that some people started leaving this area about 70,000 years ago, took a route along the east…
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The Gusheshe returns: BMW’s love letter to South Africa’s ultimate driving legend

The Gusheshe returns: BMW’s love letter to South Africa’s ultimate driving legend

IN the townships of South Africa, there was no greater symbol of having "made it" than the unmistakable silhouette of a BMW 325iS sliding around a corner, rear wheels spinning, engine howling. We called it the "Gusheshe" – a name that captured the sound of rubber meeting tarmac, the visceral roar of aspiration made of metal. This wasn't just a car. It was a statement. A philosophy. A dream wrapped in German engineering and South African swagger. Now, decades after it first captured the nation's imagination, BMW Group South Africa is bringing that magic back with the BMW 325iS Homage…
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What black markets in asylum seeker hotels tell us about refugee realities

What black markets in asylum seeker hotels tell us about refugee realities

A BBC investigation into hotels housing asylum seekers in the UK revealed “evidence of black market work.” This might evoke imagery of illicit dealings that will only fuel right-wingers’ racist and xenophobic demonstrations. But in reality, this shows people simply eking out a living – often as low-paid labourers such as food delivery drivers, whose work we considered essential, and even clapped for, during the COVID-19 pandemic. If anything, it is evidence of a deeply broken system where asylum seekers are compelled to work in secret just to get by – but also of people’s desire to make themselves useful…
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Cannabis boom in South Africa and Zimbabwe is good for wealthy investors, bad for small farmers

Cannabis boom in South Africa and Zimbabwe is good for wealthy investors, bad for small farmers

CANNABIS is booming as an ingredient in everything from supplementary oils, inflammation-reducing skin creams, lip balms, to health drinks and gummy sweets that promise to reduce anxiety and pain and promote relaxation. The global legal cannabis market is today worth about US$69.78 billion, and this will skyrocket to US$216.76 billion by 2033. But is this boom benefiting indigenous cannabis farmers in southern Africa? They’d been growing the plant for hundreds of years before colonial authorities criminalised it in the early 1900s. Rural people continued to grow it illicitly after that, relying on its medicinal properties. For many rural households in…
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When the Black Knight meets the ultimate driving machine: A Fairway-to-Freeway love story

When the Black Knight meets the ultimate driving machine: A Fairway-to-Freeway love story

IN a collision of chrome and championship glory that could only happen in South Africa, BMW has just served up automotive alchemy that makes a hole-in-one look pedestrian. Ladies and gentlemen, meet the Gary Player Signature BMW 7 Series - where Germanic engineering precision tangos with the swagger of our most decorated son of the fairways. This isn't just another executive barge with a fancy badge. This is BMW Individual Manufaktur flexing its considerable muscles, proving that when you give the world's most meticulous carmaker carte blanche to honour a man who turned black into power dressing before Johnny Cash…
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Turkey’s charm offensive in Senegal: migration scholar unpacks the relationship

Turkey’s charm offensive in Senegal: migration scholar unpacks the relationship

TURKEY has been trying to establish a stronghold in Africa, using the “Opening up to Africa” policy it adopted in 1998. Its Africa Action Plan, based on humanitarian aid, politics and economic cooperation, has turned toward West Africa. As a scholar of migration studies, I’ve analysed the forms of agencies, social networks and transnational e-commerce between Dakar and Istanbul. I also look at the people involved, including migrants, networks of traders and “gratis passengers” – people who use their baggage allowance to transport small packages between Istanbul and Dakar. My study highlights active transnational trade and a circular, yet strategic,…
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Rural women farmers in South Africa: how global promises aren’t translating into support on the ground

Rural women farmers in South Africa: how global promises aren’t translating into support on the ground

IT is well documented that women small-scale farmers are hard done by in an environment where they farm without security of tenure, which inhibits their ability to raise finance with which to grow their businesses. Recent research adds another dimension to the challenges facing women small-scale farmers. Rural entrepreneurship researchers Sive Zintle Mbangiswano and Zamagebe Siphokazi Vuthela, with independent researcher and their mentor, Dr Elona Ndlovu, have found that even well-intentioned farming projects can leave women behind if they aren’t structured specifically to accommodate women In their study of a citrus fruit project - a public-private partnership in the Eastern…
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GAC Motor partners with Real Madrid Foundation to transform young lives through football in South Africa

GAC Motor partners with Real Madrid Foundation to transform young lives through football in South Africa

IN a groundbreaking partnership that transcends traditional corporate sponsorship, Chinese automotive manufacturer GAC Motor South Africa has joined forces with the legendary Real Madrid Foundation to invest in the nation's youth, embodying their "Go and Change" philosophy through tangible action. At the heart of this collaboration is nine-year-old Tyler Swarts, a soft-spoken football prodigy from Cape Town whose journey exemplifies how sport can become a vehicle for social transformation. Tyler has been selected for comprehensive sponsorship through GAC Motor, receiving housing, education, nutrition, and access to the prestigious Real Madrid Foundation Educational Football Programme - a holistic support package designed…
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Jetour to launch T-Series SUVs as brand hits 800-unit monthly sales milestone

Jetour to launch T-Series SUVs as brand hits 800-unit monthly sales milestone

CHINESE automaker Jetour will officially unveil its T1 and T2 SUV models at a launch event on 24 October, capitalizing on momentum that saw the brand crack South Africa's top 12 passenger vehicle sales rankings just one year after local market entry. The company recorded over 800 unit sales in September 2025, securing 12th position nationally and marking consistent month-on-month growth since its South African debut. The upcoming T-Series launch represents Jetour's expansion beyond its current lineup as it targets the country's expanding SUV segment. "With the launch of our T-Series, we're bringing a new level of rugged sophistication and…
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