The headlines of the leading newspapers on 11 May 2026:
NATIONAL:
# Business Day:
Reports the unemployment rate is expected to rise further this week. There is also a weak performance from the manufacturing sector in March.
# And the Netwerk24 website:
Reports one of the French passengers evacuated from the MV Hondius is now also showing symptoms of the hantavirus. The French prime minister, Sebastién Lecornu, says all five passengers have been placed under strict quarantine immediately.
And secondly, the website writes a second cold front is on the way, and many schools in the Western Cape have been closed.
GAUTENG:
# The Star:
Writes internal divisions have arisen in the ANC with rival factions demanding president Cyril Ramaphosa’s resignation following the Constitutional Court’s ruling.
And secondly, the paper reports a construction worker was rescued on a building site in Durban’s city centre yesterday after being trapped under a wall that collapsed. Four more workers were injured in the incident.
# Sowetan:
Reports on the arrests of major generals Feroz Khan and Ebrahim Kadwa. They are the heads of counter-intelligence and the Gauteng Hawks, respectively. The paper writes they were arrested for trading in precious metals and interfering in a police investigation.
# And The Citizen:
Leads with: “PHALA PHALA: END OF GNU?” The paper writes the issue is the most serious challenge the ANC has faced so far.
WESTERN CAPE:
# Die Burger:
Reports extensively on the inclement weather expected in the Western Cape. The Western Cape MEC for Education, David Maynier, says all public ordinary and special needs schools in Circles 3, 4, 5 and 6 will be closed. Meanwhile, the 11 Karoo schools that were closed last week also remain closed due to damage to the infrastructure.
EASTERN CAPE:
# The Herald in Gqeberha:
Reports although most of the Eastern Cape dams are full, there is still a huge lack of water governance.
And secondly, the paper writes steps can be taken against the Eastern Cape government if it does not make payments to municipalities.
KWAZULU-NATAL:
# The Witness in Pietermaritzburg:
Writes the new DA leader in KwaZulu-Natal, Sithembiso Ngema, has undertaken to grow the party and recruit voters for the elections later this year.
And secondly, the paper also reports on Ramaphosa’s future.
And finally from NAMIBIA:
# Republikein in Windhoek:
Reports the Namibian citizens from the Omusati region who are suspected of stealing a huge amount of foreign currency from Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm in 2020 could now cost him his presidency.