Pretoria Awaits as Sundowns and AS FAR Renew Rivalry for R100 Million Prize

South African side Mamelodi Sundowns and Morocco’s AS FAR will renew their growing continental rivalry on Sunday when they clash in the first leg of the CAF Champions League final at Loftus Stadium in Pretoria.

Both clubs are chasing a second African title and arrive in the final carrying the expectations of two football-mad nations desperate for continental glory.

Sundowns are aiming to return to the summit of African football for the first time since 2016, while AS FAR areREAD MORE

BEIJING, May 17 (Xinhua) — From world-class machining workshops to high-tech robotics labs and cornfields in central China, young Chinese are building, creating and adapting with both their hands and the help of new technologies.

What emerges from this spirit and hard work is a generation that is not retreating, but redefining success on its own terms.

In September, Shanghai in east China will host the 48th WorldSkills Competition, often called the “Olympics of vocational skills.” More than 1,500 competitorsREAD MORE

Algerian side USM Alger were crowned the 2025/26 CAF Confederation Cup champions for the second time in their history after defeating Zamalek 8-7 on penalties in a dramatic final at Cairo International Stadium on Saturday night.

The Egyptian giants won the second leg 1-0 through Oday Al-Dabbagh’s early penalty, levelling the tie at 1-1 on aggregate after USM Alger’s identical victory in Algiers a week earlier. But after a tense battle failed to produce another goal, the Algerian team heldREAD MORE

BEIJING, May 17 (Xinhua) — Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Khaled El-Enany, director-general of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), in Beijing on Tuesday.

Xi emphasised that UNESCO has made important contributions to greater understanding and trust among peoples and exchanges and mutual learning among civilisations, and played a proactive role in reforming and improving global governance on education, science and culture.

China actively supports the work of UNESCO, and the two sides have done manyREAD MORE

CAIRO, May 15 (Xinhua) — The Global South Media and Think Tank Forum Chinese-Arab Partnership Conference opened on Tuesday at the headquarters of the League of Arab States in the Egyptian capital of Cairo.

The two-day event, under the theme “Pooling Wisdom, Embarking on a New Journey: Jointly Building a China-Arab Community with a Shared Future,” gathers about 250 representatives from around 110 media outlets, think tanks, government institutions, enterprises from China and Arab countries, as well as from internationalREAD MORE

The case against South African Police Service (SAPS) Crime Intelligence head Dumisani Khumalo and six co-accused has been postponed once again, with the Pretoria Magistrates’ Court setting 03 September 2026 as the next court date pending the outcome of representations submitted to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).

On Friday, the NPA’s Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC) confirmed that Khumalo and five of the accused lodged formal representations with the office of the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) during theREAD MORE

A fourth suspect linked to the high-profile extortion case involving Mpumalanga taxi boss Joe ‘Ferrari’ Sibanyoni has handed himself over to police, deepening an investigation that has placed one of the province’s most influential transport figures under intense scrutiny.

The 51-year-old suspect surrendered to police at the Kwaggafontein Police Station on Friday morning after days of being sought by investigators. Police confirmed that he was processed and was expected to appear before the Kwaggafontein Magistrate’s Court later on Friday alongsideREAD MORE

Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos will announce the squad heading to the FIFA World Cup on Wednesday, 27 May.

Broos will name the team at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, Tshwane.

The preliminary squads of up to 55 players were due on 11 May, and the final 26-man lists must be submitted by June 1.

The tournament opens on 11 June with Mexico vs South Africa at the Estadio Azteca.

Broos is expected to stick to the tried andREAD MORE

BEIJING, May 15 (Xinhua) — In recent years, China-U.S. relations have experienced twists and turns. Some observers fear that China and the United States may repeat the historical pattern of major-power rivalry known as the “Thucydides Trap.”

Yet, Chinese President Xi Jinping has rejected this notion: “There is no such thing as a ‘Thucydides Trap’ in the world. But repeated strategic miscalculations between major countries could create one for themselves.”

Avoiding such miscalculations, therefore, has become a critical task forREAD MORE

The Final act of the CAF Confederation Cup 2025/26 will unfold at the Cairo International Stadium on Saturday night when Egyptian giants Zamalek SC and Algeria’s USM Alger meet in the Final of the Competition at 21h00 local time (18h00 GMT).

At stake is both the trophy, introduced last year, and a new record prize money of USD 4 Million (R66 Million) – the biggest prize money in the history of the CAF Confederation Cup.

USM Alger travel to CairoREAD MORE