Teaching is a difficult profession, especially in some of South Africa’s poorest schools. But for many educators, it’s a rewarding calling. Now, despite the odds, a headmaster working in a remote village in Limpopo has won the Global Principals’ Award. This week, Carte Blanche meets the man who has been recognised for his excellence – […]

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has sent his condolences on the passing of Professor Hlengiwe Buhle Mkhize, the Deputy Minister in The Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities. Mkhize passed away today at the age of 69. The cause of death has not been disclosed. The President extended his condolences to the family, […]

Just after 8 p.m. EST on Sept. 15, 2021, the next batch of space tourists lifted off aboard a SpaceX rocket. Organized and funded by entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, the Inspiration4 mission touts itself as “the first all-civilian mission to orbit” and represents a new type of space tourism. The four crew members are not the […]

Entertainment streaming service Netflix has announced a commitment of $400 000 USD (approx. R5.5 million) in the form of a grant and creation of scholarships to extend the support for Black representation in the Film & TV industry in South Africa. The Netflix Black Creatives Empowerment Fund will be implemented in a two-pronged approach: $100,000 […]

The DA has reported a suspicious hijacking, of sensitive National Lotteries Commission (NLC) information, outside their Cape Town office. The incident took place on Monday at 13:00. “A courier service arrived at the DA Federal Head Office in Cape Town to deliver a USB drive with sensitive information that we had requested from the National […]

Free State artist Vuyisile Adoons may not yet be well known, but his paintings are adorning the walls of homes around South Africa and the world, and photos of them are adding soul and depth to our social media timelines. He’s currently making a living from the “dusty small town of Rouxville” but with his […]

According to the 2021 Travel + Leisure World’s Best Awards, Cape Town remains such a wildly popular destination with international travellers that it was voted the number one city in the Middle East and Africa. Travel + Leisure is one of the biggest travel magazines in the world with a reach of more than 35 […]

“We did not have water for nine days in July. Now it’s happened for the second time within a month,” said Tilly Meyer from the Glenzicht Retirement Village in Oakdene, Johannesburg. Rand Water has been forced to reduce supply to Johannesburg, causing water outages in parts of Johannesburg. Ageing infrastructure is making the situation worse. […]

For a few short weeks every spring, a miraculous eruption of daisies in the arid Namaqualand in the Northern Cape draws and delights tourists. But once the flowers wilt and visitors leave, a severe drought, that is now extending into its tenth year, is evident again. It has destroyed millions of hectares of land and […]

Air France has confirmed that flights to Maputo, Mozambique will commence from 2 December 2021. Originally planned for the end of October 2021, changes in the economic and sanitary context have led to this decision. The flight t Wilson Tauro, Country Manager Southern Africa Air France-KLM, said Air France remains strongly committed to Africa as […]

While both the DA and Afriforum have been outraged by the decision announced on Sunday to grant medical parole to Jacob Zuma, the response from President Cyril Ramaphosa has been to the contrary. The DA said today it will be taking legal steps to have the decision reviewed as it believes it was “unlawful”, while […]

Watch the goosebump-generating video below as South Africans warmly congratulated their Paralympic team upon their return from Japan to Johannesburg yesterday, giving them a heroes’ welcome. Sports Minister Nathi Mthethwa said: “Today we welcomed the #TeamSA Paralympians at OR Tambo International Airport & expressed our gratitude to them for flying the South African flag high. […]

The callous murder of Werner Buchner (55) on his dairy farm in the Eastern Cape (EC), South Africa, is the third in the last three weeks in the Sarah Baartman District. The latest farm attack took place on Sunday evening (5 Sep) in the Nanaga area, outside Kinkelbos. The previous two were in the Hankey […]

The Northern Cape Department of Education has raised concern about the amount of learning losses as new COVID-19 cases continue to increase in the province’s schools. At least 1 272 cases of the virus have been reported since 23 August to date with several schools closed and learning delayed in the province. In a statement, […]

KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala has called for a thorough investigation into the horrific crash that claimed 12 lives on the R612 between Highflats and Ixopo. The accident involving three trucks, a bakkie and a mini-bus taxi, happened last Thursday when a minibus taxi collided with a tipper-truck. The majority of the victims were women, who […]

The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) has announced that it will be a third party in the appeal matter between 800m runner Caster Semenya and the Swiss Federal Supreme Court which will be heard at the European Court of Human Rights. Semenya is seeking to overturn a ruling by the Swiss Federal Supreme Court […]

More than ever, in this age of Covid-19 and the wearing of face masks, the eyes have become the window to the soul. And standing there in the mixed zone inside the Tokyo Olympic Stadium, at 9:30pm last Saturday night, was Johan Snyders. The compulsory mask hid most of his face. But not the eyes. […]

In what has been hailed as a landmark case, the Western Cape High Court has ruled in favour of a rape survivor, saying the man she outed as her rapist on social media five years ago had no legal right to silence her. In 2016 June Dolley-Major wrote a Facebook post in which she claimed […]

Tissue donation is an essential component in the work that surgeons and healthcare professionals do to improve the quality of life of their patients. Human tissue – including bone, skin, heart valves and corneas – is used in a number of surgical applications. It can save patients with severe burns, repair torn ligaments and tendons, […]

Rodwell Nkomazana’s face was mauled by a hyena near his home, while he was sleeping at a church gathering in Harare, Zimbabwe, in May. The future looked grim, but thanks to the kindness of strangers – from donors and supporters to medical experts in South Africa who’ve worked pro bono – the little boy, who […]

Three rhino poachers were yesterday sentenced to 105 years in prison by the Skukuza Regional Court, for rhino poaching and related offences. The South African National Parks (SANParks) today, 3 September, welcomed the sentencing. The three poachers were arrested in 2017 after killing three rhinos in Marula (southern) section of the Kruger National Park. SANParks […]

Climate activists have mobilised their resistance to the financing of fossil fuels in South Africa by handing over a formal petition to the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), ABSA and Investec. The hand-over by 350Africa.org took place yesterday, 2 September. The petition, signed by over 1000 people, calls on these financial institutions to publicly […]

Nature’s most important ‘clean-up crew’ – vultures – are on the brink of localised extinction in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), South Africa. After recent vulture nest surveys across the province, conservation organisations Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife and Wildlife ACT said they can confirm the localised extinction of breeding White-Headed Vultures; and have found an alarming reduction in nesting […]

South African National Parks (SANParks) today announced an exciting new venture – a brand new national park in the mountains of the Eastern Cape Grasslands that has potential for adventure and cultural tourism all year round. SANParks said in a statement that the new high-altitude national park is being established just south of the Lesotho […]

The South African government says it is not able to accommodate citizens of Afghanistan seeking refuge in the country. The Middle Eastern country has been facing violence and instability, culminating in a mass exodus of Afghan citizens looking for safer regions to live in, with the United Nations Refugee Agency estimating that at least half […]