President Cyril Ramaphosa has welcomed the support of United States President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris for a temporary and targeted waiver of intellectual property protections that apply to COVID-19 vaccines. The United States government on Wednesday said that the COVID-19 pandemic is a global health crisis that calls for extraordinary measures. The United […]

We South Africans may be super proud of the ‘Faf speedo’, which Faf de Klerk made famous during the Rugby World Cup, but it turns out not everyone in the world understands it! A young South African, proudly posing in his Faf speedo in a park in Croatia, was fined on Sunday for “public indecency”! Whilst […]

(Reuters) – It is a scene that exudes sadness: a child perhaps 2-1/2 or 3 years old buried in a shallow grave under the sheltered overhang of a cave, head resting on a pillow and the upper part of the body carefully wrapped in a shroud. Scientists said on Wednesday they have found the oldest-known […]

After the ANC served its Secretary General, Ace Magashule, with a suspension letter; he retaliated by suspending Cyril Ramaphosa as the ANC’s President! Magashule was sent the suspension letter as part of the ANC’s ‘step aside’ rule that members charged with corruption or other serious crimes have to vacate their posts within 30 days or […]

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s governing African National Congress (ANC) has served its Secretary General, Ace Magashule, with a suspension letter, Eyewitness News reported on Wednesday. Magashule faces corruption charges. The party said on Tuesday that one of its committees had reaffirmed that all members charged with corruption or other serious crimes must vacate their […]

Filmmaker Anthony George Kirkwood captured this stunning footage yesterday – Tuesday 4 May 2021 – of Shark Cage Diving in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. For local or international tourists, the good news is that Shark Cage Diving KZN is situated just south of Durban, near Aliwal Shoal… only an hour’s drive from King Shaka International Airport. […]

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South African private sector activity expanded at its strongest rate in nine years in April, as buoyant customer demand pushed new orders higher and business confidence and employment rose, a survey showed on Wednesday. “April PMI (Purchasing Managers’ Index) data signified a sharp acceleration in the economic recovery from COVID-19 across South […]

South Africa’s Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize has reiterated that the variant currently wreaking havoc in India has not been identified in South Africa… although specialists are awaiting the results of some samples. He said that South Africa’s teams remain on high alert to survey, detect and contain the spread of COVID-19 in general, with […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa will use his reply to questions in the National Assembly, to provide an update on progress with the country’s COVID-19 vaccination programme. The President will outline details of the country’s vaccination programme following the resumption of the vaccination of health workers, in the same week as the first batch of Pfizer vaccines […]

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – A top committee of South Africa’s governing African National Congress (ANC) has reaffirmed that all members charged with corruption or other serious crimes must vacate their posts within 30 days or face suspension, the party said on Tuesday. The ANC added in a statement that the National Working Committee (NWC) had instructed […]

The hero driver under attack in South Africa, who emerged cool, calm and collected, after his vehicle was attacked with a hail of bullets, is becoming a worldwide hit, with the video footage showing his heroism going viral globally and his name splashed across the pages of international media from the New York Post to […]

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) – South Africa has allocated an extra R4-billion ($276-million) to buy COVID-19 vaccines and extend a special distress grant to thousands of people hit by the pandemic, in a Special Appropriation Bill tabled by Finance Minister Tito Mboweni on Tuesday. The bill, expected to be debated with the National Treasury in a […]

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s rand weakened early on Tuesday, as the dollar rebounded from a fall in the previous session triggered by weaker-than-expected U.S. economic data. At 0630 GMT, the rand traded at 14.4525 against the dollar, 0.35% weaker than its previous close. The dollar drifted higher, pausing a monthlong decline as investors consider […]

Bill Gates and Melinda Gates have announced their intention to divorce. In a joint statement, the multi-billionaire couple who had been married for 27 years, said they will keep working together on their philanthropic work. Bill, who founded Microsoft, and Melinda, which whom he co-founded the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, said in their statement […]

There have been many unpleasant milestones since the Covid-19 pandemic broke out. For South Africa, 3 May is a particularly important one. It is one year since the day in 2020 when, according to the Medical Research Council (MRC), we reached the “point of rapid increase in excess deaths”. Over the past year, approximately 150,000 […]

HOEDSPRUIT, South Africa (Reuters) – Rhino poaching is unfortunately on the rise again in South Africa since the government loosened coronavirus restrictions, following a year-long lull due to the pandemic, wildlife parks say. The strict limits on travel, including international travel, imposed in March last year had the happy side effect of keeping poachers at […]

South Africa’s men’s 4x100m sprinters raced to victory in an incredible nail-biting finish, crossing the line just one-hundredth of a second ahead of Brazil. In fact, watch below, as even the commentators are surprised when SA overtook to win in that last second! It was so close that from where they were sitting the commentators […]

A magnitude 2.5 earthquake was reported at lunch-time on Sunday, near Johannesburg, South Africa. There were over 286 reports of the tremor from people in and around Boksburg. According to Volcano Discovery, the weak magnitude earthquake was recorded at 13h24 SA time. Its depth was 10km. The exact epicenter latitude / longitude was: 26.21°S / […]

(Reuters) – Pfizer Inc will ship 4.5 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine to South Africa by June, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said in a statement on Sunday. The first batch of 325,260 doses is arriving in the country Sunday night, Mkhize said, adding that they will be expecting same number of doses to arrive on […]

It’s great news for wildlife as Minister Barbara Creecy of the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) today announced crucial and long-awaited steps towards changing the status quo of the commercial captive lion breeding industry in South Africa. Speaking at a stakeholder’s feedback meeting in Pretoria, Minister Creecy said that South Africa will […]

A couple from Mpumalanga were hijacked, kidnapped and forced by armed robbers to transfer large sums of money on Friday night, after being stopped by bogus police on their way to visit their daughter near Pretoria East in South Africa. According to Concerned Citizens South Africa, the couple’s terrifying night began when they were signalled […]

The DA says it will write to the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Public Enterprises to request that Minister Pravin Gordhan appear before Parliament to answer for the role of Rheinmetall Denel Munition (RDM) in the humanitarian civil war in Yemen, a war that has left at least 12 million children requiring humanitarian aid. […]

An escort vehicle driver in South Africa is being praised for his skill and cool composure under attack. “Chuck Norris has been officially dethroned”, joked many viewers after watching the car dashboard camera footage on social media, in which the driver and his passenger came under fire from suspects with AK47 rifles. Update: Brave SA […]

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s struggling national airline South African Airways (SAA) on Friday exited business rescue (a form of bankruptcy protection) after roughly 17 months. Its administrators said in a statement that they had filed a notice of “substantial implementation” of a business rescue plan with South Africa’s Companies and Intellectual Property Commission. SAA […]

Following the announcement made by Mango Airlines on Thursday 22 April that the airline is preparing to enter business rescue and pause operations, the Flight Centre Travel Group says it strongly advises all their customers to book alternative carriers for their domestic and Zanzibar flights. News broke late on Thursday evening last week that Mango […]