South Africa have named a new front row for their Rugby Championship showdown with Argentina in Salta on Saturday as they seek a first title in the competition since 2009. Hooker Bongi Mbonambi, and props Trevor Nyakane and Tendai Mtawarira will pack down at the front of the scrum in place of Malcolm Marx, and Steven Kitshoff […]

CAPE TOWN – South Africa captain Siya Kolisi will return from injury to play for Western Province in their domestic Currie Cup clash against the Mpumalanga Pumas at Newlands on Friday. Flank Kolisi, the Springboks’ first black test captain and an influential figure both on and off the pitch, injured his knee playing Super Rugby […]

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago said on Wednesday he will fight to protect the Reserve Bank’s independence if it is jeopardised by plans to bring it into public ownership. He has been vocal in expressing concerns over plans by the ruling African National Congress to nationalise the SARB, and some party […]

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa’s state power utility Eskom urgently needs a turnaround plan as its capital structure is unsustainable, credit ratings agency Moody’s said on Tuesday in a report which sent the rand to a two-month low. A week ago Eskom reported a mammoth R20.7 billion ($1.39 billion) annual loss, and its outgoing chief executive […]

JOHANNESBURG – Nedbank called for more urgent government action to fix South Africa’s struggling economy on Tuesday after first-half earnings at its main domestic operations flatlined. More of Nedbank’s corporate and retail clients defaulted on their debts or swerved riskier investments due to a tough economic environment as unemployment rose to an 11-year high and […]

CAPE TOWN – South Africa fast bowler Dale Steyn has announced his retirement from test cricket, but will be available for one-day international and Twenty20 cricket, he confirmed on Monday. Steyn, who has battled a recurring shoulder injury that kept him out of the recent World Cup in England, said he has made the decision […]

Tanzanian President John Magufuli has ordered the sprawling Selous Game Reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage site, to be split in two to restrict the access of big game hunters. Covering 50,000 sq km (19,000 sq miles), the Selous reserve is one of the largest protected areas in Africa, and is famed for its elephants, lions, […]

DAR ES SALAAM – A light plane crashed in western Tanzania on Saturday, killing two South Africans who had been involved in last month’s successful attempt to fly a home-built aircraft from Cape Town to Cairo, officials said. The crashed Sling plane, which entered Tanzanian airspace from Uganda en route to Malawi, made a distress […]

South African golfer Ashleigh Buhai has streaked ahead of her rivals at the Women’s British Open in Milton Keynes in the UK, leading by three strokes at the halfway point. For the 30-year-old South African it’s unchartered territory. She’s never led a major before or even finished in the top 25! The pressure’s huge, and […]

AUCKLAND – South Africa leaves for Argentina in two groups this weekend with the Rugby Championship trophy in their sights as coach Rassie Erasmus declared the Springboks’ camp in Auckland a success. The Springboks elected to stay in New Zealand after last weekend’s 16-16 draw with the world champions, but will now head for Buenos […]

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa‘s Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Gwede Mantashe said on Friday the Slate Levy on petrol and diesel would fall to 0 cents per litre. The statement also said the price of petrol would rise by 11 cents per litre, while diesel would decrease by 13.29 cents per litre or 14.29 […]

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa coach Stuart Baxter resigned on Friday, saying he felt the time was right to move on with a new cycle of Africa Cup of Nations and World Cup qualifiers looming. His decision comes just weeks after South Africa reached the quarter-finals of the Cup of Nations in Egypt, bundling out the […]

CAPE TOWN – In a huge blow to South Africa’s double Olympic champion Caster Semenya,  the Swiss Federal Tribunal reversed a ruling that temporarily lifted the IAAF’s testosterone regulations imposed on her. This means the South African athlete will not be able to defend her 800-metres title at the World Championships in September, a spokesperson […]

SINGAPORE – Singapore said this week it had seized 8.8 tonnes of elephant ivory, a record haul by authorities in the city-state, which conservation groups say is a transit point for the illegal wildlife trade. The elephant ivory, estimated to be worth $12.9 million, came from nearly 300 African elephants, and was heading to Vietnam […]

WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND – The Springboks’ replacement scrumhalf Herschel Jantjies scored a try in the final minute of play to help South Africa snatch a 16-16 draw with New Zealand in a tense Rugby Championship clash in Wellington on Saturday. Jantjies pounced on an error by Aaron Smith to silence most of the sold-out crowd, […]

JOHANNESBURG – Ratings agency Fitch downgraded the outlook for South Africa’s sub-investment credit rating on Friday, citing fiscal pressures including increased support for struggling state firms such as the power utility Eskom. South Africa’s public finances are under huge strain as economic growth has proved weaker than expected while a handful of state companies have […]

Duane Vermeulen was nowhere near South Africa’s surprise victory against New Zealand in Wellington last year, sitting in Japan and watching the test on television. On Saturday the 33-year-old number eight will, however, become the 62nd Springboks captain when they face the All Blacks in the Rugby Championship clash that will likely decide the title in this year’s […]

Rating agency Moody’s said the South African government’s proposal to provide additional financial support to struggling state-run power firm Eskom was “credit negative” for the sovereign as it was a further drain on fiscal resources. Eskom, which supplies more than 90% of South Africa‘s power but had to implement power cuts earlier this year, is grappling with high debt […]

JOHANNESBURG – Rassie Erasmus admitted his South Africa side have much to work on following their opening 35-17 Rugby Championship success against Australia at Ellis Park on Saturday. The Springbok coach gambled with an experimental side as he sent 13 players to New Zealand this week ahead of their clash in Wellington on July 27, […]

PRETORIA – The South African central bank cut its main lending rate by 25 basis points to 6.50%, as expected, citing weak economic growth and inflation which has stayed around the midpoint of its target range. The last time the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) cut its repo rate was in March 2018. The SARB […]

DAR ES SALAAM – Elephant and rhino populations in Tanzania have begun to rebound after a government crackdown dismantled organised criminal networks involved in industrial-scale poaching, the country’s presidency said this week. A prominent Chinese businesswoman dubbed the “Ivory Queen” was sentenced to 15 years in prison by a Tanzanian court in February for smuggling […]

Thousands of residents and holiday visitors on Hawaii’s Maui Island, home to several South African expats, were ordered to evacuate two communities on Thursday local time (Friday SA time) as a spreading wildfire sent smoke billowing high into the sky, officials and local media said. The 3,000 acre brush fire in Maui’s central valley was […]

CAPE TOWN – South Africa needs to start planning now for new nuclear power capacity to come online after 2045, Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe said on Thursday, reopening a heated debate about whether the country should build more nuclear reactors. President Cyril Ramaphosa put nuclear expansion on the back burner after taking office in February […]

South Africa coach Stuart Baxter is keeping Nigeria guessing over the approach he will adopt in Bafana Bafana’s Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) quarter-final on Wednesday… after diverting from his usual style in SA’s brilliant 1-0 win over hosts Egypt. Under Baxter, South Africa normally play with a counter-attacking style but the team surprised Egypt on Saturday by diverting from that slightly […]

LONDON – Argentine Guido Pella pulled off a major upset at Wimbledon on Friday, beating fourth seed and 2018 finalist South Africa’s Kevin Anderson in straight sets to reach the last-16 of a Grand Slam for the first time. The 29-year-old, who beat the big-serving SA expat 6-4 6-3 7-6(4), will play Canada’s Milos Raonic […]