Southern Africa Correspondent at The Guardian. Brit abroad.https://bsky.app/profile/rachelmsavage.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/rachelmsavage.bsky.social/post/3mwt4tu7tn22kThe east German town of Heidenau, run by an AFD-CDU coalition, has stopped the laying of new Stolpersteine (stumbling stones), which memorialise Holocaust victims. AFD co-founded Alexander Gauland said the Nazi period was a “speck of bird shit in over 1,000 years of successful German history”. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/01/the-german-town-where-the-right-has-banned-new-stumbling-stones-for-nazi-victims01 Oct 2026 15:02 +0000at://did:plc:mkjbwnailcdtapkvreu6qbj2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwt4tu7tn22khttps://bsky.app/profile/rachelmsavage.bsky.social/post/3mwqk3tti2s2mRamaphosa admitted authorities had not done enough to deal with violence against women, but urged men to take more responsibility for it https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/30/south-africa-gender-based-violence-women-killings30 Sep 2026 14:21 +0000at://did:plc:mkjbwnailcdtapkvreu6qbj2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwqk3tti2s2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/rachelmsavage.bsky.social/post/3mwptjkj6322vFor a morning pick-me-up, can I recommend this delight of a piece by Wicked stars and creators, including Idina Menzel and Stephen Schwartz, on their favourite songs from the musical? https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2026/sep/30/wicked-stars-favourite-songs-idina-menzel-stephen-schwartz-broadway30 Sep 2026 07:37 +0000at://did:plc:mkjbwnailcdtapkvreu6qbj2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwptjkj6322vhttps://bsky.app/profile/rachelmsavage.bsky.social/post/3mwivq73mpk2uTwo wickets in the last two balls of England's innings of 355. Cold comfort for Sri Lanka, I imagine27 Sep 2026 13:28 +0000at://did:plc:mkjbwnailcdtapkvreu6qbj2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwivq73mpk2uhttps://bsky.app/profile/rachelmsavage.bsky.social/post/3mwinu52jl22kWaking up to news of two mass shootings with at least 27 people killed - just another day in South Africa https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/27/mass-shootings-south-africa-johannesburg-cape-town27 Sep 2026 11:07 +0000at://did:plc:mkjbwnailcdtapkvreu6qbj2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwinu52jl22khttps://bsky.app/profile/rachelmsavage.bsky.social/post/3mwdw4pm4ic26中秋節快樂， Happy Mid Autumn Festival to all those who celebrate! I hope you're all eating lots of delicious mooncakes https://static.klipy.com/ii/c3a19a0b747a76e98651f2b9a3cca5ff/db/f8/BYnLqHgt.gif?hh=498&ww=498&mp4=7DYRaypLCceUtMqLC&webm=Ga4CALnSfPLK0R25 Sep 2026 13:52 +0000at://did:plc:mkjbwnailcdtapkvreu6qbj2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwdw4pm4ic26https://bsky.app/profile/rachelmsavage.bsky.social/post/3mwdfm4lou22lThis is a really beautifully done interview by Jason Okundaye with Michael Kiwanuka, the first after he had a devastating stroke in July last year. Kiwanuka is still in a rehabilitation centre and, but the piece, while sad, also manages to convey the hope and healing power of music https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/sep/25/michael-kiwanuka-life-after-devastating-stroke25 Sep 2026 08:56 +0000at://did:plc:mkjbwnailcdtapkvreu6qbj2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwdfm4lou22lhttps://bsky.app/profile/rachelmsavage.bsky.social/post/3mwdcvfqlik2gGreat piece by Nick Dall about the mass sardine die-off around 1,600 miles of South Africa and Namibia's coastlines. It's yet another flashpoint in the battle between conservationists trying to save the endangered African penguin and the sardine fishing industry https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/sep/24/mass-sardine-die-off-pits-survival-of-south-africas-penguins-against-fishers-livelihoods25 Sep 2026 08:07 +0000at://did:plc:mkjbwnailcdtapkvreu6qbj2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwdcvfqlik2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/rachelmsavage.bsky.social/post/3mwdalrdfoc2hLa Réunion is a tropical island, but its airport doesn't use air conditioning - only natural ventilation. Always nice to do a positive story once in a while. And to give myself yet more places that I want to visit https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/sep/25/didnt-need-air-conditioning-airport-cooled-natural-ventilation-reunion25 Sep 2026 07:26 +0000at://did:plc:mkjbwnailcdtapkvreu6qbj2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwdalrdfoc2hhttps://bsky.app/profile/rachelmsavage.bsky.social/post/3mwaqcehbyc2nUsually Madlanga Commission avoidees are "too ill" to attend, but this is a new one. Taxi boss Oupa Bafana Sindane said he can't attend hearings this week, because he's on a "sacred ancestral initiation journey" to become a sangoma, "in a period of sacred spiritial seclusion". https://www.news24.com/southafrica/news/taxi-boss-sindanes-lawyers-say-his-sacred-sangoma-journey-prevented-madlanga-appearance-20260923-119224 Sep 2026 07:29 +0000at://did:plc:mkjbwnailcdtapkvreu6qbj2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwaqcehbyc2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/rachelmsavage.bsky.social/post/3mw6hcz7tr22cShadrack Sibiya, one of South Africa's top police officers, has been arrested and charged with raping an 18-year-old woman and grooming a 16-year-old girl. Sibiya was already suspended as deputy national police commissioner over allegations he interfered in political killings investigations https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/23/south-africa-top-police-officer-shadrack-sibiya-charged-rape-grooming23 Sep 2026 09:43 +0000at://did:plc:mkjbwnailcdtapkvreu6qbj2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mw6hcz7tr22chttps://bsky.app/profile/rachelmsavage.bsky.social/post/3mvzuarjqqs27Heartrending investigation by Louisa into Trump's deportation of migrants to third countries they have no ties to [contains quote post or other embedded content]21 Sep 2026 13:51 +0000at://did:plc:mkjbwnailcdtapkvreu6qbj2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvzuarjqqs27https://bsky.app/profile/rachelmsavage.bsky.social/post/3mvz6eq5zq22iAn Afrikaner family reportedly decided to go back to South Africa for healthcare, 15 days after arriving in the US as refugees. They were then reportedly denied boarding when they tried to return to the US six days later, as they didn't have the "necessary travel documents". But this is odd... https://www.news24.com/southafrica/news/afrikaner-refugee-family-who-came-back-to-sa-for-healthcare-cant-return-to-us-20260919-098421 Sep 2026 07:20 +0000at://did:plc:mkjbwnailcdtapkvreu6qbj2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvz6eq5zq22ihttps://bsky.app/profile/rachelmsavage.bsky.social/post/3mvsrrf7vwc2wThe nursery next door seems to be having a parent's party and they just played Don't Stop Believin' and me being a millennial has got me feeling some kind of way.18 Sep 2026 18:18 +0000at://did:plc:mkjbwnailcdtapkvreu6qbj2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvsrrf7vwc2whttps://bsky.app/profile/rachelmsavage.bsky.social/post/3mvpsqbbqjs2vRIP to Bonnie Greer - a real one. [contains quote post or other embedded content]17 Sep 2026 13:58 +0000at://did:plc:mkjbwnailcdtapkvreu6qbj2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvpsqbbqjs2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/rachelmsavage.bsky.social/post/3mvn3phgjjk2bThe ANC uploaded the information of 181 local government election candidates to the electoral commission's website, but didn't press the submit button. They argued that uploading means submitting, but the electoral court rejected their case. The party is planning to appeal https://www.news24.com/politics/electoral-court-dismisses-ancs-appeal-against-iec-20260916-055816 Sep 2026 12:00 +0000at://did:plc:mkjbwnailcdtapkvreu6qbj2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvn3phgjjk2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/rachelmsavage.bsky.social/post/3mvn2j5qd6c2vElizabeth “Tsontso” Moselakgomo did not return from a run on 9 September. The body of the 38-year-old, who leaves behind an 8-year-old daugther, was found on Saturday. At least seven women have been found dead in two months in Ekurhuleni. South African women are furious and afraid https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/16/discovery-women-bodies-anger-femicide-south-africa16 Sep 2026 11:39 +0000at://did:plc:mkjbwnailcdtapkvreu6qbj2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvn2j5qd6c2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/rachelmsavage.bsky.social/post/3mvmjqxx3y22bThe US has announced visa restrictions for South Africans who "enact or enable policies that promote race-based discrimination, incite violence, or enable land confiscation without compensation in South Africa". The announcement did name specific people (I would guess it will include Malema)16 Sep 2026 06:39 +0000at://did:plc:mkjbwnailcdtapkvreu6qbj2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvmjqxx3y22bhttps://bsky.app/profile/rachelmsavage.bsky.social/post/3mvkzytj72k2uFascinating piece on how the surge of solar means grids and big utility companies are creaking, as wealthy customers stop paying utility bills. https://www.ft.com/content/8b704ae0-1fa2-4303-925f-170fa5d935b3?sharetype=blocked&syn-25a6b1a6=115 Sep 2026 16:24 +0000at://did:plc:mkjbwnailcdtapkvreu6qbj2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvkzytj72k2uhttps://bsky.app/profile/rachelmsavage.bsky.social/post/3mvkmggvcq22nFor some white South Africans who thought they victims of racism, Trump's refugee program seemed like an answer to their prayers. But, in the past few months, dozens of applicants have been rejected, with many left dismayed and confused as to why they would be left to face a “white genocide” https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/15/white-south-africans-denied-refugee-status-us15 Sep 2026 12:21 +0000at://did:plc:mkjbwnailcdtapkvreu6qbj2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvkmggvcq22nhttps://bsky.app/profile/rachelmsavage.bsky.social/post/3mvke3ouwqs2zKenya will host the 2029 World Athletics Championships. Great to see that one of the centres of the sport will finally get to host a major championship15 Sep 2026 09:52 +0000at://did:plc:mkjbwnailcdtapkvreu6qbj2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvke3ouwqs2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/rachelmsavage.bsky.social/post/3mvib5diqs224You can buy a spoonful of sugar, a single nappy or a few millilitres of cooking oil at social enterprise Gcwalisa's six shops in Joburg's Alexandra township. An innovative way to help the community afford the basics and a damning indictment of the state of South Africa. Story by Julie Bourdin https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2026/sep/14/south-africa-weigh-and-pay-shops-food-poverty14 Sep 2026 13:54 +0000at://did:plc:mkjbwnailcdtapkvreu6qbj2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvib5diqs224https://bsky.app/profile/rachelmsavage.bsky.social/post/3mvhyx76svs2qSouth African police have just confirmed that the family of Elizabeth “Tsontso” Moselakgomo have identified her dead body. She went missing on Wednesday while out for a run and leaves behind an 8-year-old daughter. Today, another woman's body was found near Kempton Park, the fifth in two months.14 Sep 2026 11:28 +0000at://did:plc:mkjbwnailcdtapkvreu6qbj2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvhyx76svs2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/rachelmsavage.bsky.social/post/3mvhlsyd34c25Toyota Hiluxes remain the workhorse of desert-based rebel groups [contains quote post or other embedded content]14 Sep 2026 07:33 +0000at://did:plc:mkjbwnailcdtapkvreu6qbj2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvhlsyd34c25