#south-africa

#south-africa

On Thursday morning, a chartered plane carrying 153 Palestinians from war-torn Gaza many without the required travel documents landed at an airport near Johannesburg, leaving South African officials blindsided. After nearly 12 hours of scrambling, the group was allowed to disembark into the care of a local charity organisation. More details have emerged about the scheme run by Al-Majd Europe, through which activists argue Israel is advancing its ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from Gaza.

The friend, a sex worker herself, told Connie: "That's not a boyfriend, that's sex work. He only comes to have sex with you, bring you food, and pay the rent." Connie tells DW she had tried working in retail, hospitality, and in a call center, but it was never enough to cover her bills. She believed working as a sex worker full-time would mean that she was no longer dependent on her boyfriend; it promised greater financial security and autonomy.

"I would gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today." That was the catchphrase of J. Wellington Wimpy from the old "Popeye" cartoons - a man obsessed with hamburgers but lacking the money to buy them until next Tuesday. Founded as Wimpy Grills in 1934, the Wimpy chain started in Indiana and rose to fame in Chicago, the city it's still associated with today even though no locations remain there.

The South African populist, nationalist and anti-immigration group "Operation Dudula" is once more making headlines, having recently launched a campaign targeting migrant children. By arguing that there are not enough school placements for South African children, the overtly xenophobic group has called for the exclusion of migrant children from public schools. Operation Dudula is known for its head-turning publicity stunts. Members of the group have, for instance,blocked access to public hospitals for foreignersin the country, saying they should not use facilities funded by taxpayers' money.

Ssshhhhhhhhh! The talking is over, for now at least, and England's World Cup is about to begin. The bad news is they start with a tough game against South Africa. The good news is they start with a tough game against South Africa. Victory today would give England instant momentum and legitimise the cautious confidence of their pre-tournament chatter. An excellent win over Australia in their last warm-up has increased that confidence.

Tomorrow is a big domestic data day for South African markets, with the CPI and retail sales data to be released. The slew of data could set the tone for Thursday's SARB interest rate decision and the Q4 risk tone. Investors come in knowing the July CPI printed 3.5% YoY, a 10-month high. While it remains within the 3-6% band, it stayed above the stated ambition to target around 3% over time rather than just the midpoint of the 3-6% range.

France enjoyed a one-sided 57-10 victory over South Africa at Franklin's Gardens to take top spot in Women's Rugby World Cup Pool D, scoring nine tries with two each for Emilie Boulard and Joanna Grisez. They will take on Ireland at Sandy Park in Exeter next Sunday in the last eight. The scrum-half Pauline Bourdon Sansus earned a second straight player of the match award for orchestrating France's highest score over the Springbok Women in front of a sellout crowd of 15,000.

It has been a South African summer at Lord's. After the World Test Championship triumph in June came a second to savour at the home of cricket: a tight five-run win under lights that sealed their first one-day international series victory on English soil for 27 years. For England it was another reminder of how far they have fallen since lifting the World Cup on this ground six years ago, this their fifth ODI series defeat from their last six.

Nearly 1,000 undocumented migrants working illegally at the Sheba Gold Mine in South Africa were arrested as part of Operation Vala Umgodi targeting illegal mining and immigration violations.