Newsnote

South Africa’s four largest political parties came out strongly during the final voter registration weekend, with campaigns particularly intense in Gauteng, where the crucial metros of Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni and Tshwane have been governed through unstable coalitions since 2016.

FIFA has abandoned plans to open the commercial rights of the FIFA World Cup to private investors after football confederations and national associations united in opposition, forcing the governing body into a dramatic policy reversal. FIFA president Gianni Infantino confirmed on Saturday that the proposal had been withdrawn, acknowledging that it had created divisions within the global football community. “Our purpose has always been – and will always be – to unite and improve,” Infantino said.

The South African government has given its strongest assurance yet that ongoing differences with Ghana over migration issues will not affect its support for, or participation in, the campaign demanding reparations for colonialism and the transatlantic slave trade. Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama is championing the campaign, which has the backing and full participation of Caribbean nations.

Authorities in Morocco have begun returning thousands of migrants to their home regions after a surge of attempted crossings into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta triggered clashes and a major security operation. People who were sent back from Ceuta gathered in the northern Moroccan town of Fnideq before being transported by bus to cities including Tangier, Tetouan and Casablanca. Some travellers were also directed toward railway connections to continue their journeys home.

The Madlanga Commission of Inquiry has indicated that security measures may be put in place for IDAC prosecutor Drushanta Ramsamy following her explosive testimony, which raised questions about the circumstances surrounding the prosecution of senior Crime Intelligence officials. Commission spokesperson Jeremy Michaels said Ramsamy’s security would be assessed through a formal risk and threat analysis, with appropriate protection provided if required.

The trial-within-a-trial in the case of alleged criminal kingpin Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala and four co-accused was adjourned in the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg on Friday after the defence failed to produce a South African Police Service (SAPS) National Instruction it had relied on during the cross-examination of a State witness.

ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba appears to have abandoned — or simply forgotten — the party’s ideological stance as he continues to recruit political figures from across the ideological spectrum. The party has increasingly become a destination for politicians who have either been poached from other parties or recruited soon after leaving them, with many quickly finding themselves in leadership positions under the self-proclaimed “green umbrella”.

Uncertainty remains in the Spanish territory of Ceuta, even as some of the estimated 50,000 Moroccan men who crossed into the enclave voluntarily return home. The men, most of whom appeared to be of military age, reportedly spent the day looting before beginning their return to Morocco. Many complained of hunger and said they had been unable to find food in the towns they entered.

Accused number three in the Senzo Meyiwa murder trial, Mthobisi Mncube, has accused lead investigating officer Brigadier Bongani Gininda of allegedly pressuring investigators and witnesses to alter their statements in an effort to implicate him and his co-accused.

Franco Baresi’s legacy at AC Milan goes far beyond the trophies he won or the iconic number six shirt that was eventually retired in his honour. The former Italy captain, who has died at the age of 66, spent his entire 20-year professional career with Milan, remaining loyal to the club through some of its darkest days before helping transform it into one of Europe’s dominant forces. Baresi joined Milan as a teenager and stayed even when the club was relegated to Serie B twice in the early 1980s.