HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco, husband of South African expat Charlene Wittstock, has tested positive for COVID-19 (Coronavirus), the Royal Palace of Monaco confirmed in a statement on Thursday afternoon, 19 March 2020. Prince Albert is the first head of state to announce he has tested positive for the virus which is sweeping the […]

French President Emmanuel Macron announced Monday night that in line with a European Union decision all Schengen borders will be closed from midday tomorrow, Tuesday 17 March 2020, for 30 days. The President urged all French citizens outside of the EU to call their local French Embassy if they wish to return home. Macron said: […]

Italians unanimously burst into song in Siena, finding a way to connect with each other… even during isolation and quarantine. But they weren’t the only ones. All over Italy – from the north down to Naples, there were similar scenes filmed this week, of the Europeans joined in unison – singing ballads, singing the national […]

Fiumicino International Airport in Rome, Italy – known as ‘Leonardo da Vinci’ Airport – is usually one of the busiest airports in Europe with an estimated 43 million passengers passing through the airport in 2018. But today – Wednesday 11 March 2020 – parts of the airport looked like a ghost town. As Italians go […]

Tributes have poured in for one of South Africa’s heroes – mother, wife and Detective Warrant Officer Delene Grobler-Koonin (44), who was killed on Thursday during an exchange with an armed gang of cash-in-transit robbers in Mahikeng, North West. Five suspects have been arrested, while three were killed during the confrontation. The NSPCA (National Council […]

The Minister of Health, Dr Zweli Mkhize and the NCID (National Institute of Communicable Diseases) will hold a media briefing at the epicentre of South Africa’s Coronavirus outbreak – in Hilton, near to Pietermaritzburg in KwaZulu-Natal. This comes following the announcement yesterday of South Africa’s first confirmed case of the COVID-19 virus that is currently […]

Animals have shockingly been left to starve in the Bloemfontein Zoo, and some have already tragically died from hunger, since the Zoo was closed on 17 December 2019 by the Provincial Department of Environmental Affairs (DESTEA). A description from the Bloemfontein SPCA of the conditions in which they found the animals on a recent visit […]

Wolfgat restaurant in Paternoster, on the rugged west coast of South Africa, has been listed as one of the 34 most beautiful restaurants in the world… a fabulous fact to which even the country’s leader can attest. President Cyril Ramaphosa and his family were guests at the restaurant a couple of days before New Year’s […]

According to a BBC documentary, very few fishermen in Jacobs Bay (Jacobsbaai) on the West Coast, South Africa, will be able to survive if the China lockdown continues for much longer. Speaking to fishermen, some of whom have fished these Atlantic Ocean waters for 25 years, they say they’re now struggling to pay rent, power […]

Northern Cape photographer Henriette Folscher Brandvlei captured this sequence of photos of the apocalyptic scene as a massive sand storm swept through the drought-stricken area near Kenhardt, South Africa, a couple of weeks ago (mid-February): Henriette, a farmer’s wife, said the drought is very, very severe right now… as can be evidenced by the above […]

A short film by a South African expat about the empowerment, courage and inspiration that can come from immigrating has been nominated for multiple awards at a film festival in the United States. The film – ‘Helen’s Birthday’ – looks at positive immigration, and tells the true story of South African expat Helen April’s journey […]

As cases of Coronavirus (Covid-19) in Europe steadily climb, some Europeans have been stocking up in preparation for voluntary quarantines or forced lockdowns. The risk of contracting coronavirus within Europe has been raised by the EU today from ‘moderate’ to ‘high’. These photos were taken today at a supermarket in Germany, close to the border […]

Legendary South African Country music singer Lance James has sadly passed away at the age of 81. The star – known as ‘Big Daddy’ – had fallen and broken his hip earlier this year during a hospital visit, and had been in Intensive Care ever since. His PR agent Lydia Winchester confirmed that James passed […]

A baby springbok named Missy is the luckiest Bokkie in South Africa. She has been saved not once, but twice, by a Stilbaai farmer who has the hugest heart. It all began on 23 October 2019… as South Africa’s Springbok team was making headlines in their final campaign to secure the Rugby World Cup in […]

Residents and tourists to Cape Town in South Africa have been enjoying the most exciting day of the Cape Town Pride Calendar today – the Parade and Mardi Gras which marks the final day of the 10-day Cape Town Pride festival. Fabulous floats and live performances created the perfect atmosphere at this year’s parade in […]

A South African expat couple who own the Karoo Farm Shop in Killinick, Wexford, have won the Best Cafe Award in Ireland for their region. The Irish Restaurant Awards are known as the Irish Food Oscars, according to the Restaurant Association of Ireland. An elated Clint and Nessa Engelbrecht posted a photo with the award […]

Two Saturdays ago, while most of us were sleeping, a group of South African Water Warriors headed across the country to deliver food, fodder, water and hope to desperate strangers they’ve never met in the Northern Cape town of Kenhardt, one of many places in South Africa still gripped by drought and despair that’s so […]

Daniel Radcliffe, who stars as Tim Jenkins – a real life ANC activist, who was imprisoned in Africa’s maximum security prison in Pretoria in the 1970’s during the Apartheid years – says he was captured by the script from the start. “As soon as I read the story and found out about the escape, and […]

A father of four, who recently tragically lost his wife when she gave birth to their twins, has been overwhelmed by the support of South Africans nationwide… after he had a chance meeting with a stranger at Cradlestone Mall on the West Rand in Gauteng. The stranger was mother of two (Tanya and Neels) and […]

South Africa’s Culinary Team has won three bronze medals at the IKA Culinary Olympics in Stuttgart, Germany. South Africans are urged to welcome the team back when they arrive at OR Tambo International Airport tomorrow, 22 February 2020. “Bring your SA flags! Your vuvuzelas and your Welcoming spirit tomorrow, 22 January @ 8h45AM at OR […]

Grab a tissue to watch EWN’s Cindy Poluta on her first emotional trip to work, without Alfred, the man she called a friend who she used to give a lift to each morning for the last three years… He was mugged and stabbed in Soweto earlier this month. On Cindy’s first morning drive to work […]

South Africans have responded with shock, condemnation and incredible sadness after the SA Police Service (SAPS) confirmed that the body of eight-year-old missing girl, Tazne van Wyk, has been discovered… in a storm water pipe near Worcester in the Western Cape. The President and politicians came under a barrage of criticism for failing to stem […]

A tourist from Belgium was held up by armed attackers in South Africa on Valentine’s Day, at a private lodge near to Addo Elephant National Park, outside Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape, while his Dutch girlfriend fortunately managed to hide in the bathroom. Despite the trauma, and subsequent panic attacks, he says he still […]

Watch Springbok Captain Siya Kolisi’s moving acceptance speech at the Laureus Awards 20th Anniversary in Berlin, Germany, on Monday evening. Kolisi and his Springbok teammates were accepting the award for Laureus World Team of the Year. Kolisi’s entire speech is inspirational. He stressed the team effort and pointed out the separate challenges that each player […]

South Africa’s Springbok rugby team was named the Laureus World Team of the Year at a ceremony in Berlin, Germany, on Monday evening in front of a gathering of some of the biggest sports names in the world. Laureus tweeted congratulations saying: “#StrongerTogether ? ?. An incredible Rugby World Cup triumph which showed the unique […]