South Africans abroad are accustomed to passport and visa application delays to visit SA, but there’s a new visa hell for friends and family wanting to visit the UK. This week an anxious South African mother, whose daughter lives in Hanoi (Vietnam), posted the following letter to Cashel Gleeson, Deputy Head of Mission at the […]

The use of ivermectin to treat Covid has been terminated by the South African medicines regulator. The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) announced on Monday that the special dispensation granted for the use of ivermectin has been terminated, after a review of evidence. SAHPRA states that “there is currently no credible evidence to support a […]

The High Court in Gqeberha, South Africa, will today [Monday] hear arguments in an application by environmental groups, local communities and small-scale fishers to review and set aside the decision by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy to award a seismic exploration right to Shell. A bench of three judges in the High Court […]

The iconic Hout Bay harbour – top of the itinerary for many visitors to Cape Town, if only for the best serving of snoek and chips in the country – is being torn apart by copper thieves, tik addicts, vandals, and opportunistic criminals. “I have fond memories of Hout Bay harbour,” says Carte Blanche Executive […]

A multi-disciplinary team at OR Tambo International Airport (ORTIA) have been applauded for their vigilance in detecting, preventing and clamping down on illicit activities – particularly poaching – at the international airport in Johannesburg, South Africa. The SA Police Service (SAPS) General Fannie Masemola commended the team for the arrest of a 41-year-old man, and […]

International star Idris Elba’s latest movie – BEAST – was filmed entirely in South Africa, with locations including the Northern Cape and Limpopo provinces, as well as the City of Cape Town in the Western Cape. Due for release in August, Beast has been touted as a survival thriller, pitting Elba and his family against […]

Have you ever wondered what you can get out of Forex trading and why it has become so popular? Well, give this a read and find out. The purchasing and selling of currency values to make a profit are known as foreign exchange trading or forex trading. Forex trading occurs worldwide as a global market, […]

The Democratic Alliance has called on Minister of Home Affairs, Aaron Motsoaledi, to address the ongoing nightmare of accessing Home Affairs services at South African missions abroad. In a parliamentary budget vote debate on Tuesday, DA Shadow Deputy Minister of Home Affairs, Adrian Roos, labelled the 18 to 24 month turnaround time to process ID […]

Huge blockbuster TOP GUN MAVERICK opens in South African cinemas nationwide on Friday, 27th May 2022. It’s been called the ‘perfect blockbuster’, the action takes you inside the cockpit of fighter planes with enough  power and pizazz to blast away all memories of the pandemic… and cruise back into the unbeatable experience of watching movies […]

At a small event held at Father’s House Church in Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) on Thursday afternoon, two young learners were surprised with some exciting news that could change the course of their future for the better. Norman Msaka (from Swartkops Primary) and Shaun Johansson (from Parsons Hill Primary) were informed, via a live Zoom session, […]

At 14 years old, Amy Martin began to experience weakness and difficulty moving the left side of her body. A neurologist confirmed a devastating diagnosis: Juvenile Pilocytic Astrocytoma – a rare brain tumour affecting children. Amy’s inspiring story from a dreadful diagnosis to a PhD is featured on Carte Blanche tonight – you can watch on […]

One day in 2015, wearing his PT vest and shorts, a young man named Refentse Morake stood on the pavement outside his parents’ home in the suburb of Unitaspark in Vereeniging, the riverside town where a treaty was signed with the British Empire to end the Second Boer War in 1902… writes renowned SA writer Gus […]

International Tea Day (21 May) is a highlight on every tea lover’s calendar – no matter where in the world they find themselves… especially if they love South Africa’s Rooibos! According to the SA Rooibos Council (SARC) more consumers than ever are sampling Rooibos, but interestingly, every nation has its own distinct way of drinking […]

Western Cape resident Mark Meyer is thanking his guardian angels today for keeping him safe during a major multiple-vehicle pile-up on the N1, outside Cape Town, South Africa. Mark was driving on the N1, near the Plattekloof off-ramp, on Friday morning when he said a truck crashed into him from behind, triggering the mass collision […]

Disney+, the streaming service from The Walt Disney Company, launched yesterday in South Africa. Standard pricing at launch was confirmed at R119 per month, or R1190 for an annual subscription, with sign-up information available at DisneyPlus.com. Disney+ offers over 1000 films, more than 1500 series and a slate of 200 exclusive Originals from Disney, Pixar, […]

Strap in, earthlings. The most critically acclaimed South African sci-fi film since District 9, Ryan Kruger’s Fried Barry starts streaming on Showmax on Thursday, 19 May 2022, having already taken the world by storm. Acclaimed local indie horror film Fried Barry is shot in Cape Town and directed by Ryan Kruger 80% critics’ rating on […]

Astronomers have revealed the first image of the black hole at the centre of our galaxy, the Milky Way. The image was produced by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) Collaboration, an international team made up of over 300 scientists on five continents – including Africa. Black holes were predicted by Albert Einstein’s General Theory of […]

A total of 56 769 COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in the last 24 hours in South Africa, including 14 409 Johnson & Johnson vaccines and 42 360 Pfizer vaccines. According to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) report on Tuesday, the vaccines administered in the last 24 hours included 20 063 first doses, […]

Commissioned six years ago and kept under lock and key by the Office of the KZN Premier until now, the hidden report into rhino poaching in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) has been partially released to the Democratic Alliance (DA) following extensive pressure. Last month the DA submitted a Public Access to Information Application (PAIA) for the report, […]

The World Rugby Council has approved a global trial limiting the opportunity for non-playing personnel to enter the field of play during a match. Operational for all competitions and stand-alone matches starting after 1 July 2022, World Rugby said in a statement on Tuesday that the trial aims to ”improve the flow of matches by […]

There have been calls in South Africa – on social media and in the political arena – for swift action over the video of a student urinating over the belongings of another student at Stellenbosch University in the Western Cape. Most are calling for the perpetrator’s expulsion, and a petition on Change.org has already gathered […]

The court record in AfriForum’s case against the R50 million Cuba donation, shows the grand total of the donation to actually be R350 million and not just R50 million. This was revealed after Afriforum’s legal team requested the court record as part of its review application. According to the record, the government has agreed to […]

Boetie first went to the border, and then to Hollywood, says Carte Blanche about tonight’s special guest, actor Arnold Vosloo who starred in ‘Boetie Gaan Border Toe’ in 1984, and has since become a household name not only in South Africa, but worldwide. This month he’s making headlines on Netflix in Silverton Siege, an action […]

A popular radio talk show host in South Africa marketed his crypto investment scheme, promising lucrative returns. Did he know he was offering his investors pie in the sky? Carte Blanche investigates tonight, Sunday 15 May, in SA on DStv Now. If you live abroad, you can stream it overseas in most countries from Tues 17 May […]

Over 200 people marched from Empire Road in Parktown to picket outside the Constitutional Court on Thursday, where a landmark case is being heard that will determine whether blind people in South Africa get better access to versions of published works in, for example, braille. Blind SA, represented by SECTION27 is arguing in support of […]