The President of South Africa and his wife will travel to the UK next month to be hosted by King Charles III, marking his first state visit as monarch.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Tshepo Motsepe have accepted the invitation to attend Buckingham Palace in November.
Mr Ramaphosa’s visit will take place from November 22 to 24 and be hosted by King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla at Buckingham Palace.
It is understood that the visit was in the early stages of planning before the queen’s death in September.
The king has visited South Africa several times since his first tour of the country, which included Pretoria, Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town, in 1997.
His last trip was in 2011, when along with the Queen Consort, then the Duchess of Cornwall, he attended events including a speech on climate change at the University of Cape Town and a visit to the Black Rhino Range expansion project in Phinda Game Reserve.
They also attended the Nelson Mandela Foundation, where they were received by Graca Machel, the former president’s widow.
King Charles III hosts world leaders at Buckingham Palace reception - in pictures
King Charles was also at Mandela’s funeral in 2013, remarking that the world would be a “poorer place without him” and that he was owed “an enormous debt of gratitude for what he’s managed to achieve with his life”.
The king and the queen consort, then the prince of Wales and duchess of Cornwall, also welcomed President Jacob Zuma at the start of a state visit in the UK in 2010.
Mr Ramaphosa is facing allegations of money laundering that threaten his position at the head of Africa’s most developed economy.
He has denied the accusations, which include illegally holding about $4 million in cash at his game ranch in northern South Africa, and covering up its theft to try to hide the existence of the money.
King Charles III confirmed as king in accession ceremony in London — in pictures
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US tops drug cost charts
The study of 13 essential drugs showed costs in the United States were about 300 per cent higher than the global average, followed by Germany at 126 per cent and 122 per cent in the UAE.
Thailand, Kenya and Malaysia were rated as nations with the lowest costs, about 90 per cent cheaper.
In the case of insulin, diabetic patients in the US paid five and a half times the global average, while in the UAE the costs are about 50 per cent higher than the median price of branded and generic drugs.
Some of the costliest drugs worldwide include Lipitor for high cholesterol.
The study’s price index placed the US at an exorbitant 2,170 per cent higher for Lipitor than the average global price and the UAE at the eighth spot globally with costs 252 per cent higher.
High blood pressure medication Zestril was also more than 2,680 per cent higher in the US and the UAE price was 187 per cent higher than the global price.
Results:
Men's wheelchair 800m T34: 1. Walid Ktila (TUN) 1.44.79; 2. Mohammed Al Hammadi (UAE) 1.45.88; 3. Isaac Towers (GBR) 1.46.46.
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Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
How will Gen Alpha invest?
Mark Chahwan, co-founder and chief executive of robo-advisory firm Sarwa, forecasts that Generation Alpha (born between 2010 and 2024) will start investing in their teenage years and therefore benefit from compound interest.
“Technology and education should be the main drivers to make this happen, whether it’s investing in a few clicks or their schools/parents stepping up their personal finance education skills,” he adds.
Mr Chahwan says younger generations have a higher capacity to take on risk, but for some their appetite can be more cautious because they are investing for the first time. “Schools still do not teach personal finance and stock market investing, so a lot of the learning journey can feel daunting and intimidating,” he says.
He advises millennials to not always start with an aggressive portfolio even if they can afford to take risks. “We always advise to work your way up to your risk capacity, that way you experience volatility and get used to it. Given the higher risk capacity for the younger generations, stocks are a favourite,” says Mr Chahwan.
Highlighting the role technology has played in encouraging millennials and Gen Z to invest, he says: “They were often excluded, but with lower account minimums ... a customer with $1,000 [Dh3,672] in their account has their money working for them just as hard as the portfolio of a high get-worth individual.”
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