News Bulletin of 25 June 2025, 8am

Sandton Theatre on the Square hosted the official opening of Athol Fugard’s Master Harold… And The Boys. The event drew a packed audience of theatre enthusiasts, performers, and critics, all attending the first performance of the newly staged production directed by Wa rona See ane.The play, originally written in 1982, is set in apartheid-era South Africa in 1950 and is based on Fugard’s own experiences growing up in Port Elizabeth. It examines the effects of racism through the relationship between a white teenage boy and two Black men employed by his family. Athol Fugard was regarded as one of South Africa’s most influential playwrights, wrote numerous works highlighting the personal and political struggles of life under apartheid.

Oxford University Press South Africa has rolled out a mobile library trolley initiative to help boost literacy across the country. The service is provided to foundation phase schools and educational NGOs, as part of a wider initiative to improve literacy and encourage the quality of education. Oxford University Press believes this can be achieved through Mother Tongue-Based Bilingual Education.The organisation's Charles Sibiya had this to say: SOUND

Every year, almost 100 million tonnes of apples are produced globally. These fruits have long had a reputation for helping us stay healthy.The popular phrase "an apple a day keeps the doctor away" originates from a Welsh proverb written in 1866: "Eat an apple on going to bed and you'll keep the doctor from earning his bread."But is there any truth to this saying? And are apples especially healthy compared with other fruit? Some researchers say apples have the "second highest level of antioxidant power among all fruits". Apples contain polyphenol phloridzin, which is much less common in other fruits. Like pectin, phloridzin appears to lessen the amount of sugar we absorb into our blood from food.