South Africa recorded 21 584 COVID-19 cases on Thursday, according to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD). The Gauteng province accounts for the majority of new cases (59%), followed by the Western Cape (11%) and North West (7%) provinces. Gauteng reported 12 806 cases while the Western Cape reported 2 447. This as South Africa battles […]

A terrible rainstorm in Cape Town, South Africa, this week flooded shacks in Kraaifontein. Five days of continuous rain caused flooding across the region.

Robert Schapiro always wanted to fly, so much so that he had to rise above the challenge of anti-Semitic bullying, mockery and fierce rivalry to realise his dream… but rise he did. In a new book – ‘Secrets from the Cockpit’ – Schapiro reveals everything about international pilots behaving badly, and other flying stories. Schapiro […]

Talk of a so-called “pensions crisis” is prevalent across the globe, with Schroders Global Investor Study (GIS) suggesting that 41% of investors were concerned that they wouldn’t have sufficient savings to fund their retirement in 2020. The situation is even worse in developing economies throughout the world, with as many as 50% of South Africans […]

Following South Africa’s move to Adjusted Level Four with effect from today, Monday, 28 June 2021, the South African National Parks (SANParks) has informed guests of the following key changes to its hospitality and tourism services in its various national parks. “SANParks, in complying with government regulations, has made the requisite amendments… particularly for travellers […]

Bhekizizwe Peterson was one of South Africa’s foremost humanities scholars. Internationally renowned as an award-winning film writer and producer, he was a leading practitioner of community theatre, a literary and cultural critic and a public intellectual. His work straddled the academy and the community, foregrounding the knowledge of ordinary people. In a round table discussion […]

South Africa’s COVID-19 cases continue to rise, with 16 078 new infections reported on Thursday, according to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD). Gauteng remains the epicentre, accounting for the majority of 9 521 new cases (59%), followed by 1 912 in the Western Cape (12%). According to the public health institution, this surge […]

Red Bull surfing athlete, Jordy Smith has been officially confirmed as part of the team that will travel to Tokyo, Japan for the upcoming Summer Olympics, kicking off next month as surfing makes its debut in the Games. Smith has said that this opportunity wasn’t even on the radar for him as he never thought […]

Who doesn’t love something for nothing? A freebie is always a good thing, although some people might be sceptical when it comes to whether something for free is really free? That’s a whole other discussion! If you’re into enjoying online casinos, or you want to try one for the time then getting the best slot […]

The incidents of hunting with dogs is escalating across South Africa, particularly in rural KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). This week, Carte Blanche investigates to find out: is it an innocent traditional pastime fuelled by poverty… or a brutal, self-serving gambler’s game? Hunting with Dogs In a controversial practice that is increasing across the country, participants in so-called […]

Nicci Lombard and her family are hoping for a miracle within the next 24 hours so they can return home to South Africa from Vietnam, or they will face a heavy fine which they can’t afford when their visa runs out on 2 July. Like many SA expats in Asia, their dreams came tumbling down […]

A female tourist tragically fell and died in the Tsitsikamma National Park on Wednesday. The woman, believed to be in her 50s, fell on a trail leading to the suspension bridge in the park, according to the South African National Parks (SANParks). “The Park Rangers and National Sea Rescue Institute successfully retrieved the body of […]

The daily Covid-19 case numbers in Gauteng, South Africa, are exceeding those seen during the previous two waves as the province suffers a ‘tsunami’ of Covid-19 cases in this third wave. The Premier has announced that from next week those between the ages of 50 and 59 will also be able to be vaccinated (the […]

Nine-year-old Romario Valentine is a pint-sized planet warrior and artist from Umhlanga, Durban. He has dedicated the last 4 years of his young life to protecting our planet… and has big planet-saving dreams for his tenth birthday. Fully focused on his passions, namely bird and marine conservation, climate change, and deforestation, Romario has remarkably already […]

A year ago, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, we predicted that school closures in South Africa would result in learning losses. A loss of contact learning time would lead to lower educational outcomes, and the losses would be higher in no-fee schools (serving children from low income families) than in fee-paying schools. Now […]

The COVID-19 crisis has revived discussions on localising vaccine manufacturing to the African region to reduce the dependence on imports. The fact that Africa is lagging so far behind on the COVID-19 vaccination compared with Europe and North America has highlighted the importance of the issue. Most African countries depend on the WHO-sponsored COVAX scheme, […]

South Africa has reported 9 160 new COVID-19 cases, said the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD). There were 36 858 COVID-19 tests conducted on Monday. This translated to a 24.9% positivity rate, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 1 832 479. Of the latest infections, the majority were found in Gauteng (6 […]

With Lockdown restrictions eased since last year, the rhino poaching war has certainly heated up in South Africa. The last seven days have been hectic – a suspected rhino poaching kingpin gunned down just before appearing in court, three suspected poachers arrested in separate incidents (with tourists helping report them), and at least 21 poaching […]

For the first time in history, the entire country of South Africa may soon be lit up. Eskom has never been able to provide power to 100% of the population. And while the state-owned enterprise has battled to keep existing lights on, it has been unable to spend the time and energy needed to resurrect […]

The City of Cape Town has been selected from 630 applications, from 99 countries, as one of 50 Champion Cities to Advance in the Global Innovation Competition. The Comp is aimed at identifying the Most Transformative Urban Solutions during the Covid-19 Pandemic.  Cape Town was named as one of the 50 finalists in the 2021 Global […]

A keeper was mauled to death yesterday by a rogue Siberian tiger at a predator park near Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth) in South Africa, after the electric fence to its enclosure was turned off for maintenance. The tiger then went on to kill another tiger. Jasper, a male Siberian tiger, scaled the 12-foot high fence […]

Aspen says it will release 300 000 Johnson & Johnson (J&J) doses earmarked for teachers soon. In a statement released this week, Aspen said it was “extremely disappointed” to learn that specific batches of the J&J manufactured at its Gqeberha production site have to be destroyed. This is due to the good manufacturing practice risk of […]

South Africa recorded 5 552 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, representing an 18.5% positivity rate. According to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), Gauteng continues to drive the third wave with 3 720 new infections reported, accounting for 67%. The province is followed by the Western Cape after 446 people were confirmed to have contracted […]

Two South African Police Service (SAPS) dogs were tragically killed whilst fighting crime in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), South Africa, yesterday. A third was helicoptered to the vet in critical condition (watch below). Three suspects were also fatally wounded during the shoot-out with police. IPSS Medical Rescue said on Tuesday morning: “We mourn the loss of two […]

South Africa detected 7 657 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, representing a 17.2% positivity rate. According to the latest data from the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), the majority of the new infections were logged in Gauteng after 4 891 people were confirmed to have contracted the virus. Meanwhile, the Western Cape recorded the second-highest […]