News Bulletin of 10 February 2026, 6pm

International singers gathered at Unisa’s ZK Matthews Great Hall for the 7th Unisa International Voice Competition.
The event featured top classical and jazz performers from around the world, judged by an international panel of music professionals.
Acting Director of the Unisa Music Directorate, Professor Thomas Pooley, says finalists showed outstanding skill and artistry.
Soprano Molly Dzangare won the classical category, while Maria del Mar Vilaseca took top honours in jazz, reinforcing the competition’s growing global reputation.

Volunteers from Friends of Groenkloof and Klapperkop, ASEZ-WAO, and Nature Conservation joined forces at Groenkloof Nature Reserve to clear invasive pompom weed.
Armed with gloves and determination, they spent the morning removing flowering heads, helping protect indigenous plants and local biodiversity.
The clean-up took place on February 8. Angelique Geeringh of Friends of Groenkloof and Klapperkop said the pink flowers may look pretty, but the plant reduces grazing value and spreads rapidly if left unchecked.
By removing the plants before they seed, volunteers give grasslands a better chance to recover and support follow-up conservation efforts.

The Road to Literacy campaign is back for its fifth year, calling on communities to nominate schools for 2026. Last year, over 430 Gauteng schools, including 120 in Johannesburg, received mobile reading trolleys with books in all 11 official languages.
This year, Oxford University Press Southern Africa and AVBOB aim to deliver 2 000 trolleys, around one million books, to under-resourced schools nationwide by March. Organisers say even one trolley can transform a classroom.
Nominations are open to the public, prioritising schools that need the most support.