A South African pulmonologist, Anita Graham, said on Thursday (January 13) that she was still seeing serious COVID-19 disease in people who are unvaccinated or have co-morbidities during the current infection wave being driven by the Omicron variant. “We are still seeing very serious infections and admissions in patients who are unvaccinated and also in […]

A wildfire in South Africa’s Kleinmond, a coastal town in the Overberg region of the Western Cape Province, has been contained after wreaking havoc for days, destroying property and causing widespread damage to vegetation and plantations with nearly 4,000 hectares burnt. Overstrand Municipality’s mayor Dr Annelie Rabie announced Thursday morning, Day 6: “The fire remains […]

Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu said on Wednesday evening: “I have noted the comments made by the Acting Chief Justice Zondo and they will be engaged with at an appropriate time in an appropriate platform.” Judge Raymond Zondo held a press briefing on Wednesday afternoon to respond to a scathing opinion piece by Sisulu, attacking the […]

The African hero rat (HeroRAT) Magawa, who made the world a safer place by sniffing out over 100 landmines during his career in Cambodia, before retiring last year, sadly passed away over the weekend, at the age of eight. In September 2020 the tiny, huge hero made international headlines when he became the first rat […]

Western Cape photographer and film-maker Luke Bell has always believed that, while it’s debatable, “Cape Town is the most beautiful city on Earth”; and a few years ago The Australian newspaper agreed and shared Luke’s video internationally. This year Luke has created a new 4K Drone video capturing the Western Cape’s breathtaking beauty and proving […]

The Department of Health has called on all South Africans who experience any adverse events following immunisation to immediately report to their nearest health facility or vaccination site. The call follows a viral video in which a male patient, suffering from what appears to be throat cancer, instead claiming it’s a result of a Covid-19 […]

Tourism Minister, Lindiwe Sisulu, has welcomed the lifting of travel bans to Southern Africa by the European Union (EU), but said the damage has already been done and it comes after peak tourism season. On Monday, EU states agreed to lift the travel bans, which were imposed following the onset of the COIVD-19 Omicron variant. […]

Parliament fire suspect, Zandile Mafe, has been referred to a mental institution for 30 days for mental observation, according to a ruling by the Cape Town Magistrates Court. Mafe, who has been accused of setting fire to South Africa’s 138-year-old Parliament building earlier this month, was today (Tues 11 Jan) also charged with terrorism. National […]

The interim board of South African Airways (SAA) says it will implement all of the recommendations of the State Capture report and subsequently go after those who embezzled any monies from the airline. The first tranche of the report – which was released and handed over to President Cyril Ramaphosa last week – deals extensively […]

Floods around South Africa’s eastern coastal city of East London, in the Eastern Cape, have killed at least 10 people and left hundreds homeless in the OR Tambo district since the weekend. According to the SABC, hundreds of shacks were washed away and hundreds more severely damaged, as rivers burst their banks and roads were […]

Tennis legend Novak Djokovic has been cleared by a judge to play in the Australian Open where he hopes to break a world record. The Federal Court today overturned the Australian Government’s decision to cancel the Serbian sportsman’s visa. Judge Anthony Kelly ordered the immediate release within 30 minutes of Djokovic from immigration detention, finding […]

A 53-year-old Eastern Cape police diver and recipient of bravery awards, Captain Pierre Marx, has tragically drowned during a rescue operation in Nahoon River. Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Nomthetheleli Mene, expressed shock and devastation at the loss of one of the South African Police Service’s (SAPS’) proficient divers; and said his untimely passing has sent […]

The spectators to the 110th anniversary celebrations of the African National Congress (ANC’s), South Africa’s governing party, looked bored. The dancers roped in to entertain its dwindling faithful were lackluster. Indeed, even during the singing of the national anthem, some in the audience could not even be bothered to stand up… writes Hussein Solomon, University […]

In the final days of 2021 the South African government eased its COVID regulations. On December 30th the government scrapped a curfew that had been in place since March 2020. It also initially announced an easing around quarantines and contact tracing but subsequently reversed these plans. Nevertheless, its approach sets a new trend in how […]

Sport, Arts and Culture Minister, Nathi Mthethwa, has commended the New York-based auction house Guernsey’s for agreeing to suspend the auction of the key to former President Nelson Mandela’s prison cell at Robben Island from going under the hammer. According to the department, the key that was scheduled to be auctioned online this month, seven […]

Sidney Poitier, the first black man to win a Best Actor Oscar (for ‘Lilies of the Field’), has sadly died at the age of 94. The news was announced by the Bahamian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday. Tributes have poured in from around the world for the brilliant actor, director and activist, a man […]

The South African Parliament announced in a statement on Friday that this year’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) will now be held at the Cape Town City Hall on 10 February 2022. This comes after a fire that started on Sunday engulfed Parliament and was contained after two days. The Presiding Officers, who met […]

The DA has today revealed “damning” new evidence that the ANC cadre deployment committee reserves certain positions on the boards of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) for “party cronies whose CVs appear to be kept in a database separate from other applicants”. “This evidence, contained in meeting minutes of the ANC cadre deployment committee dating from between […]

South Africa’s cricket captain Dean Elgar produced an  amazing unbeaten innings of 96 runs to lead the Proteas to a seven-wicket victory over India in the second test at the Wanderers in Johannesburg on Thursday, levelling the series to 1-1. This was Elgar’s first outing as Test captain, and the first time SA has beaten […]

No self-respecting theatre critic would dream of reviewing a three-Act play during the interval at the end of the first Act. But that is what one is compelled to do after South Africa’s State Capture Commission released Part 1 of its inquiry report. This is more so because those implicated by its findings will be […]

A mother and her two children managed to escape a frightening attempted hijacking in South Africa on Monday, just after leaving the Kruger National Park to head home to Pretoria. Bullets were fired at them as they fled for their lives, with two unfortunately injuring one of the children. The family has been named by […]

A 36-year-old suspect was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly smashing the windows at the Constitutional Court buildings in Braamfontein, Johannesburg with a hammer. South African Police Service (SAPS) spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Robert Netshiunda said: “It is reported that police fired a warning shot after the suspect continued to break the windows even after being ordered […]

An 11-year-old schoolgirl who was traumatically kidnapped outside her school in Gauteng two months ago, has been safely returned home today (Wed 5 Jan). The grade 5 learner’s mother received a call from the South African Police Service (SAPS) this morning letting her know she could fetch her missing daughter from the police station, the […]

South Africa logged 139 new COVID-19 related deaths on Tuesday, the most recorded in one day since the widespread Omicron variant outbreak. According to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), this means there are now 91 451 official deaths since the start of the pandemic. In addition, the institute said there were 8 078 […]

The first part of the three-part Zondo Commission of Enquiry Report – which was published today – points to systematic corruption during Jacob Zuma’s presidency in South Africa. The State Capture Enquiry was established in 2018 to examine alleged corruption during Zuma’s nine years as President, which began in 2009. It followed former Public Protector […]