By Angel No Lie | KPD Online | 27 September 2026 

South African police are investigating the death of another woman in Tembisa, east of Johannesburg, after her body was discovered at Mooifontein Cemetery on Saturday, bringing the number of women whose bodies have been found in the Ekurhuleni municipality over the past two months to 10.

The latest discovery has intensified concern about a series of killings across the municipality. Authorities are examining whether some of the cases are connected, but police have not established that a single killer is responsible.

Forensic Teams Investigate Latest Woman’s Death Near Johannesburg

Body discovered in Tembisa

The unidentified woman was found in the Vusimusi section of Tembisa South, near Mooifontein Cemetery, on the morning of September 26.

Gauteng police spokesperson Brenda Muridili initially confirmed only the discovery of the body, saying crime-scene management teams and other specialists had been deployed to investigate. The woman’s identity and the circumstances surrounding her death had not immediately been established.

Gauteng Provincial Commissioner Lt Gen Tommy Mthombeni later said investigators were examining evidence from the scene. Reports citing police said evidence could indicate that the woman had been assaulted with stones, but a post-mortem examination is required to establish the official cause of death.

Tembisa Cemetery Becomes Latest Scene in Women’s Deaths Investigation

Ten deaths in Ekurhuleni

The latest case follows nine other deaths investigated by police in the Ekurhuleni area since July.

The cases have occurred in places including Kempton Park, Olifantsfontein, Kwa-Thema and Dawn Park. Several victims were young women, and some cases involved bodies being found partly or completely undressed. Police have said investigators are comparing evidence to determine whether there are connections.

There is an important distinction between the figures being reported: the latest Tembisa discovery makes 10 female bodies found in Ekurhuleni, while reports say the wider Gauteng provincial total is 11, because a separate woman’s body was discovered in Soweto earlier in September.

Police Expand Investigation After Tenth Body Is Found

Police cannot yet confirm a serial killer

The concentration of cases has generated fears that a serial killer could be operating in the area.

Police, however, have urged caution.

Investigators are examining similarities between the cases but have not publicly established that all of the deaths were committed by the same person or group. Police have also identified different circumstances in some of the cases.

That distinction is significant because the discovery of multiple bodies in the same region does not, by itself, establish a serial-killing pattern.

Arrests already made in earlier case

There have nevertheless been developments in individual investigations.

Police previously arrested three people — a man and two women — in connection with the death of Jabulile Ntimba, whose body was found in Dawn Park on September 17. Police said at the time that the case could have stemmed from a relationship dispute or possible love triangle, while stressing that investigations were continuing.

The people arrested in that case have not been publicly linked by police to the other deaths.

Specialist investigation expanded

Authorities have assembled a multidisciplinary investigative operation involving detectives, forensic specialists, Crime Intelligence officers and members of the SAPS Investigative Psychology Section.

Police have also increased operational deployments in affected areas as investigators work through the individual cases and examine possible connections.

A R400,000 reward has reportedly been offered for information that could help investigators identify and arrest those responsible for the killings.

A wider gender-based violence crisis

The deaths have renewed attention on South Africa’s longstanding problem of violence against women.

The latest killings have prompted public concern, community responses and renewed calls for stronger protection and policing. The cases are unfolding against a broader national debate over gender-based violence and the effectiveness of measures designed to protect women.

President Cyril Ramaphosa commented on the latest discovery, expressing concern about the continuing killing of women in South Africa.

What investigators still need to establish

Several crucial questions remain unanswered:

• Who was the woman found in Tembisa?
• What caused her death?
• Where and when did the killing occur?
• Was her body taken to the cemetery after her death?
• Are there forensic links between her case and the other Ekurhuleni deaths?
• Were the earlier killings carried out by the same person or by different perpetrators?

The answers will depend on post-mortem results, forensic evidence, witness accounts and the comparison of evidence from the separate investigations.

Independent assessment

The discovery of the 10th woman’s body is a significant development in the Ekurhuleni investigation, but it should not yet be described as proof of a serial killer. Police are still determining which cases, if any, are connected.

The clearest established fact is that 10 women’s bodies have been found in Ekurhuleni since July, while investigators are now using expanded specialist resources to determine the circumstances surrounding each death.

On monetary developments, reserve money grew strongly by 29.7 percent, year-on-year, in August 2026, compared with 4.5 percent in August 2025.

The expansion was underpinned by growth in net domestic assets, mainly reflecting the impact of the policy change on reserve requirements.

However, net foreign assets declined, which helped moderate the overall growth in reserve money.

Broad money supply grew by 20.4 percent, year-on-year, in August 2026, up from 16.6 percent in August 2025.
Interest rates on Government’s short-term instruments moderated further in August 2026.

The 91-day Treasury bill rate declined to 5.4 percent from 10.3 percent a year earlier.

The average lending rate for the banking sector also declined to 15.9 percent from 24.2 percent over the same comparative period.

The low-interest rate environment, ease in credit stance by banks, and a pick-up in credit demand contributed to higher credit growth in the banking
sector.

Private sector credit growth rebounded to 35.5 percent in August 2026 from 13.3 percent in August 2025.

In real terms, private sector growth was 29.0 percent, relative to 1.7 percent over the same comparative period.

By Angel No Lie | KPD Online | 26 September 2026

The Democratic Republic of Congo is facing a growing shortage of trained health workers as an Ebola outbreak continues to spread across the country, creating pressure on treatment centres that are being expanded to cope with rising infections.

The World Health Organization says the outbreak, caused by Bundibugyo virus, remains uncontrolled despite improvements in some areas. The shortage of personnel is becoming one of the major obstacles to operating newly established treatment facilities.

Frontline Health Workers Battle Ebola Outbreak in DR Congo

Treatment centres are expanding faster than staffing

WHO says the response has expanded considerably since the outbreak was declared in May.

By 1 September, 59 care facilities had been identified across affected provinces, with a combined capacity of 1,346 beds. More than 4,000 additional health professionals had also been deployed to reinforce existing teams.

But the expansion has not eliminated the staffing gap.

WHO Ebola Incident Manager Catherine Smallwood said that although treatment beds are being added, facilities do not always have enough personnel and operational partners to run them.

WHO representative in Congo Anne Ancia said an Ebola treatment centre can require about 300 health professionals, including nurses, doctors, anaesthetists and hygiene specialists.

“The human resources gap is one of the biggest gaps,” Smallwood said, according to the Associated Press report.

DR Congo Expands Ebola Treatment Capacity as Cases Rise

Outbreak has reached seven provinces

The latest WHO situation report, covering data through 23 September, says the outbreak had reached 63 health zones across seven provinces.

The affected provinces are Ituri, North Kivu, Haut-Uélé, Bas-Uélé, Tshopo, South Kivu and Sud Ubangi. Two of the newest affected areas are Bulu in Sud Ubangi and Dungu in Haut-Uélé, near the South Sudan border.

As of 23 September, WHO reported:

Measure	Confirmed total
Confirmed cases	7,890
Confirmed deaths	3,799
Case-fatality ratio	48.1%
Recovered patients	1,966
Affected health zones	63
Affected provinces	7

WHO cautions that national figures conceal significant differences between provinces. Ituri, the outbreak’s epicentre, has seen transmission decline from its mid-August peak, while North Kivu experienced a substantial rise in cases during September.

Health Workers Face Mounting Pressure as Ebola Spreads

North Kivu puts additional pressure on the response

The shortage is particularly concerning in North Kivu, where the number of cases increased sharply over recent weeks.

According to the Associated Press report, cases there rose 73% over three weeks, even as some other provinces recorded declines. WHO said transmission patterns remain highly uneven and that the outbreak is still not under control.

The situation is complicated by insecurity, displacement and population movements, which can make it harder for response teams to reach communities, identify cases and monitor people who have been exposed.

Contact tracing remains a major challenge

The staffing problem is occurring alongside difficulties in tracking people who may have been exposed.

Africa CDC Director-General Jean Kaseya told Reuters that health authorities had identified only about 30,000 people potentially exposed through contact tracing, compared with an estimated more than 400,000 people who could require follow-up.

WHO’s latest figures show that 26,980 of 32,342 identified contacts were successfully monitored during the 24 hours preceding 23 September — an 83.4% monitoring rate.

These figures illustrate the scale of the operational challenge: even where health teams are reaching large numbers of contacts, the overall population requiring surveillance is expanding as the outbreak reaches new areas.

Health workers have also faced payment problems

The response has been further affected by difficulties surrounding health-worker pay.

Frontline workers in Ituri previously went on strike over unpaid wages. According to the Associated Press, officials said they were checking payroll lists after concerns that names of people not involved in the Ebola response had been included. Some workers reportedly received outstanding payments only partially or had not received them.

For a response that requires large numbers of specialised personnel to work continuously in high-risk environments, reliable staffing and payment are therefore central operational issues.

Children face particularly serious risks

WHO has also highlighted the severity of the disease among young children.

Children under five have recorded a case-fatality rate of more than 60%, compared with roughly 40% among adults, according to WHO’s regional emergency director Marie Roseline Belizaire.

Identifying Ebola in very young children can also be difficult because they cannot always describe their symptoms clearly, while the early symptoms can resemble other common illnesses.

International assistance continues

The scale of the outbreak has prompted additional international support.

The United States announced an additional $267 million for efforts to fight Ebola in central Africa, while WHO and other partners continue supporting surveillance, treatment, infection prevention and community-based response operations.

WHO’s latest risk assessment places the risk in the DRC at very high, the risk to countries sharing land borders with the DRC at high, and the risk to the wider African region and globally at low. WHO is not currently recommending restrictions on travel or trade with affected countries.

What the latest figures mean

The latest data do not show a uniformly worsening situation everywhere. Some provinces, particularly Ituri, have recorded declines in transmission. At the same time, new geographic spread, rising transmission in parts of North Kivu and shortages of personnel mean the overall outbreak remains difficult to control.

The central challenge is therefore not simply the number of treatment beds. Facilities need enough trained staff, funding, protective equipment and access to affected communities to make those beds operational.

With the outbreak now spanning seven provinces, maintaining and expanding that workforce is becoming a critical part of efforts to reduce transmission and deaths.

By Angel No Lie | KPD Online | 26 September 2026 

Hundreds of thousands of people filled central Paris on Saturday as Pope Leo XIV celebrated a large open-air Mass at Place de la Concorde, bringing one of the biggest public gatherings of his four-day visit to France.

The Vatican estimated that about 700,000 people attended the event, exceeding the roughly 600,000 people who had registered in advance. The crowds stretched along the Champs-Élysées as the pope travelled in his popemobile toward the Mass site.

700,000 Gather in Paris as Pope Leo XIV Celebrates Open-Air Mass

A sea of people across central Paris

The gathering extended across several major landmarks and avenues, including the Champs-Élysées, Place de la Concorde, Place de l’Étoile and Avenue de la Grande Armée.

Pope Leo travelled about two kilometres through the French capital in his popemobile, waving to crowds who carried flags and religious symbols and cheered as he passed.

The official Paris tourism authority had originally planned for around 500,000 people to attend the Mass, while registration eventually reached 600,000. The Vatican’s later estimate put the actual turnout at approximately 700,000.

Pope Leo XIV Waves to Massive Paris Crowd from Popemobile

Message focused on faith and hope

During his homily, Pope Leo spoke about what he described as the deep human search for meaning and fulfillment.

According to Vatican News, he presented Jesus Christ as the source of the “living water” that satisfies the spiritual thirst of humanity. He also urged those attending not to keep their faith to themselves, but to allow it to influence how they engage with other people.

Reuters reported that the pope encouraged Catholics to seek happiness through faith rather than material possessions.

Paris Turns Into a Sea of Worshippers for Pope Leo XIV

A major moment during the pope’s France visit

The Paris Mass formed the centrepiece of Leo’s visit to the French capital.

His programme had included a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, a visit to UNESCO, celebrations at Notre-Dame de Paris and a prayer vigil with young people at the Stade de France.

The Paris visit is also significant because it is the first papal visit to the French capital since 2008.

On Friday evening, Leo became the first pope to enter Notre-Dame Cathedral since the 2019 fire that severely damaged the historic building.

Paris transformed for the event

The enormous gathering required extensive security and transportation measures.

Large sections of central Paris were closed to traffic, while several Metro and RER stations around the Champs-Élysées, Concorde and surrounding areas were temporarily closed. The restrictions were put in place to manage the crowds and security arrangements surrounding the papal visit.

The gathering also created a striking visual scene, with crowds extending along the grand Parisian avenues and the Arc de Triomphe providing a backdrop to the pope’s journey.

The significance for the Catholic Church in France

The size of the crowd comes against a complicated religious backdrop.

France remains constitutionally secular and has experienced a long-term decline in regular church attendance. At the same time, the papal visit has attracted substantial public interest, with hundreds of thousands registering for the Paris Mass.

Reuters described the turnout as evidence of the continued ability of the Catholic Church to attract large public gatherings despite decades of secularisation and declining churchgoing.

The size of the crowd alone, however, does not establish how representative the gathering is of religious practice across France. Attendance at a major papal event is different from regular participation in religious services.

The visit also carries difficult questions

Leo’s visit is taking place while the French Catholic Church continues to face scrutiny over its handling of historic sexual-abuse cases.

A 2021 independent investigation estimated that around 330,000 minors had been sexually abused by clergy or other church personnel in France between 1950 and 2020. During his France trip, Leo is scheduled to meet survivors of clerical abuse in Lourdes.

The Paris crowds therefore form only one part of a broader visit involving worship, diplomacy, social issues and the Church’s relationship with French society.

What comes next

After leaving Paris, Pope Leo is travelling to Lourdes, where he is scheduled to pray at the Grotto of Massabielle and celebrate Mass on Sunday.

The final stage of his France journey will take him to Metz on Monday, where he is scheduled to celebrate Mass at Saint-Étienne Cathedral before returning to Rome.

Independent perspective

The Paris Mass produced an exceptionally large public gathering, with the Vatican estimating approximately 700,000 attendees. It demonstrates the ability of a papal visit to attract large crowds even in a country where religious practice has declined over several decades.

At the same time, attendance figures should be viewed separately from broader measures of Catholic participation and belief. The visit is unfolding alongside continuing debates about secularisation, the Church’s response to abuse and its role in contemporary French society.

Sources: Reuters, Vatican News, Paris tourist authorities and Associated Press reporting.

By Angel No Lie | KPD Online | 26 September 2026 

A cyberattack claimed by the hacking group ShinyHunters has reportedly exposed highly sensitive personal and medical information belonging to FBI personnel, including documents containing blood and urine test results.

The FBI has confirmed that it is investigating a claimed compromise involving FBIJobs.gov, but the bureau has not established publicly whether its own systems or a third-party provider was the initial point of intrusion.

FBI Launches Investigation Into Reported Cyber Intrusion

Medical records among the alleged stolen data

The latest development emerged after ShinyHunters provided samples of data to journalists.

BBC News reported that one of the samples contained a blood and urine test document from a medical examination conducted as part of an FBI fitness-for-work process. Reuters subsequently reviewed several files and reported that the material included medical and psychiatric evaluation information.

The records reportedly include information such as:

• Medical test results
• Doctors’ notes
• Allergies and medication information
• Electrocardiogram results
• Previous medical or psychological evaluations
• Names and other identifying information

Reuters said it was able to partially authenticate some of the documents through checks involving publicly available information and other records. However, the news agency stressed that it could not establish whether the small sample it reviewed represented the wider dataset claimed by the hackers.

Sensitive Medical Records Caught in FBI Cyber Breach

FBI says investigation is underway

The FBI said on September 23 that it was aware of a cybercriminal group’s claim that FBIJobs.gov had been compromised and that FBI employee personally identifiable information may have been affected.

The bureau said the point of the breach remained undetermined, including whether a third-party provider or an FBI enterprise system was involved. It said it was working with companies supporting the jobs portal to investigate and mitigate potential risks.

This distinction is important because the available evidence does not yet establish that hackers penetrated the FBI’s core investigative systems.

FBI Launches Investigation Into Reported Cyber Intrusion

Who is behind the claims?

The group calling itself ShinyHunters claimed responsibility for the intrusion.

The group initially said it had obtained information on a very large number of current and former FBI employees and people who had applied for jobs with the bureau. Reuters previously reported that samples contained names, addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, Social Security numbers and information about assignments.

The hackers have made much larger claims about the total volume of data they possess, but those claims have not been independently verified.

Reuters reported that ShinyHunters claimed to possess between two and three terabytes of information. The FBI has not confirmed that figure.

Suggested image title:

“ShinyHunters Claims Access to FBI Personnel Data”

Why medical information creates additional risks

Medical records are particularly sensitive because, unlike a password, they generally cannot simply be replaced after exposure.

Cybersecurity specialists cited in reporting on the incident have warned that information combining someone’s identity, employment and medical history could potentially be used for phishing, impersonation, coercion or blackmail.

The reported exposure of personnel assignments creates an additional security concern. Reuters previously found information identifying some FBI employees working in areas involving China, Russia, cyber operations, drug investigations and other sensitive activities.

However, the ultimate operational consequences remain uncertain while investigators determine what information was genuinely obtained and how it was accessed.

Suggested image title:

“Medical and Personnel Data Raise Security Concerns”

Some documents have been partially authenticated

Reuters reported that it was able to partially authenticate several of the medical files supplied by ShinyHunters.

Among the documents reviewed was a fitness-for-duty examination containing medical information. Another document contained an electrocardiogram result, while another included information concerning a person’s earlier psychological evaluation.

Reuters also cautioned that partial authentication does not establish the authenticity or completeness of the entire alleged dataset.

That qualification is particularly significant because the FBI has previously warned that ShinyHunters has, in some circumstances, exaggerated the extent of its access in attempts to pressure victims.

The hackers’ unusual demand

The incident also differs from a conventional ransomware attack.

ShinyHunters initially said it wanted the FBI to withdraw an advisory the bureau had published in May about the group. Rather than immediately demanding a conventional monetary ransom, the hackers tied their demands to the FBI’s public characterization of their activities.

The group later removed its initial statement concerning the demand and declined to explain what it would do if the FBI did not comply.

What remains unknown

Several important questions remain unresolved:

The FBI says its investigation is ongoing.

A potentially serious personnel-security issue

The combination of personal information, employment details and medical records makes the reported breach particularly sensitive.

But it is important to distinguish verified evidence from the hackers’ broader claims. Reuters has independently authenticated parts of the material supplied to journalists, while the full size, origin and contents of the alleged data trove remain uncertain.

For now, the FBI’s official position is that investigators are determining the source and scope of the compromise and working with third-party providers connected to FBIJobs.gov.

Independent assessment

The reported exposure of medical information adds a new dimension to an already significant FBI cybersecurity investigation. The available evidence indicates that some highly sensitive personnel records have been obtained by the hackers and partially authenticated by journalists, but the full scope of the incident remains unconfirmed.

The central issue now is determining how the attackers obtained the information, exactly which systems and people were affected, and whether the larger dataset claimed by ShinyHunters actually exists in the form described.

Until that investigation is complete, claims about the total number of affected FBI personnel or the full contents of the stolen data should be treated cautiously.

Primary sources: FBI statement; Reuters reporting; BBC reporting as cited by Reuters.