November 06, 2024.

For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Lynne Davies.

Making headlines:

Donald Trump elected US president in comeback

South Africa is working on unique digital identity, instant visa

And, South Africa closes main border with Mozambique as post-election protests escalate

Donald Trump elected US president in comeback

Donald Trump was elected president, capping a remarkable comeback four years after he was voted out of the White House and ushering in a new American leadership likely to test democratic institutions at home and relations abroad.

Trump, recaptured the White House by securing more than the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the presidency, following a campaign of dark rhetoric that deepened the polarization in the country.

The former president's victory in the swing state of Wisconsin pushed him over the threshold.

Addressing supporters ahead of his win, he said Americans had given the Republican party an unprecedented and powerful mandate.

Trump’s political career had appeared to be over after his false claims of election fraud led a mob of supporters to storm the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, in a failed bid to overturn his 2020 defeat.

But he swept away challengers inside his Republican Party and then beat Democratic candidate Kamala Harris by capitalising on voter concerns about high prices and what Trump claimed, without evidence, was a rise in crime due to illegal immigration.

South Africa is working on unique digital identity, instant visa

South Africa plans to create unique identities for its citizens and issue instant visas as it digitizes its economy.

The South African Revenue Service, the central bank and the Department of Home Affairs are working toward a unique digital identity, the tax authority’s boss Edward Kieswetter said.

The revenue authority is also working with home affairs to issue instant visas using existing technology that allows it to issue tax assessments in under five seconds, according to Kieswetter.

The Department of Home Affairs is “amending its five-year strategic plan and annual performance plan to embed digital transformation and inter-agency collaboration” into its work, its spokesperson Duwayne Esau said.

South Africa closes main border with Mozambique as post-election protests escalate

South Africa has temporarily closed its main border crossing with Mozambique over safety concerns, its border authority said, as protests against last month's disputed election in Mozambique continued to escalate.

At least 18 people have been killed in the protests, according to human rights groups, as opposition supporters demonstrate against what they say is a fraudulent election win by Frelimo, the party that has ruled Mozambique since 1975.

Security forces have responded with tear gas and live ammunition while the government has restricted internet access and threatened to deploy the army.

South Africa has closed the Lebombo port of entry in its Mpumalanga province after receiving reports of vehicles being torched on the Mozambican side.

The latest protests in Mozambique are part of a week of demonstrations called by presidential candidate Venancio Mondlane, who came second in official results for the October 9 election but claims to have won.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

Don’t forget to follow us on the X platform, at the handle @PolityZA