A senior state prosecutor who was accidentally shot dead in her own court room was blasted by a police officer who was handing over a gun as an exhibit in a robbery trial, it can be revealed. The South African Police Service (SAPS) is treating the incident as culpable homicide and senior detectives have interviewed […]

A prosecutor has been shot dead after a shotgun being exhibited as evidence dropped onto the floor and blasted her at point blank range at a court in South Africa. The tragedy is making news around the world. Senior advocate Addelaid Ferreira-Watt, 51, screamed in agony when she was knocked off her feet by the […]

JOHANNESBURG – A strike certificate has been issued at South African airline Comair as part of a secondary strike against South African Airways, a spokeswoman for the National Union of Metalworkers South Africa said on Wednesday. Two unions that called a crippling strike at SAA said on Sunday they would pursue a secondary strike to […]

On Monday night Maraisburg train station in Johannesburg, South Africa, was burnt and on Tuesday morning Park Station was vandalised. A disturbing video posted on Facebook shows men pulling down pylons and placing them across Metrorail lines. A Passenger Rail Association of South Africa (PRASA) statement said: “According to security personnel stationed [at Park Station] […]

The South African Police Service (SAPS) in Lephalale (or Ellisras) in Limpopo have arrested three suspects for suspected rhino poaching. The three men were employees of the local game reserve on which they were arrested. SAPS said in a statement that the suspects were aged 29, 30 and 33. They were arrested for ‘illegal hunting’ […]

Two people have been found murdered on Durban beachfront in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa – a woman in her 40s who has reportedly been identified because her handbag was lying nearby, and a younger man. Both were wearing jeans, and had been stabbed multiple times. Their bodies were found by a local man on Monday afternoon […]

The last remains of 157 people killed aboard an Ethiopian Airlines plane in March were interred at the crash site this week, farmers and families told Reuters, but some relatives were upset they had been unable to take part in the ceremony. Nadia Milleron, whose daughter Samya Stumo was killed, said an email was sent […]

Criminals continue to damage the South African tourism industry, with the latest incident involving a gang who followed and pounced on a traveller arriving at OR Tambo International Airport from the UK, as he was about to alight from his taxi at a boutique hotel in Johannesburg. According to well know Social Cohesion Advocate, Yusuf […]

JOHANNESBURG – Corruption under South Africa’s former president Jacob Zuma was enabled by international banks, companies and governments which should now seek to recover the loot they helped to launder, British lawmaker Peter Hain told an inquiry on Monday. HSBC, Standard Chartered and India’s Bank of Baroda as well as their senior directors were “directly […]

Hundreds of residents in Mpolweni outside Pietermaritzburg in South Africa are struggling to put their lives back together in the aftermath of last week’s tornado in KZN. Over 200 homes were destroyed or damaged leaving hundreds of residents roofless in Thokozani, Lindokuhle Village and Mvundlo. Two people lost their lives — a man in Mpolweni […]

JOHANNESBURG – Striking unions threatened to shut down South Africa’s entire aviation industry on Sunday by extending industrial action beyond state-run South African Airways. SAA has cancelled hundreds of flights since the strike began on Friday, saying the stoppage is costing 50 million rand ($3.36 million) per day and jeopardising talks with lenders around much-needed […]

VENICE, ITALY – Reeling from devastating floods this week, Venice suffered another exceptional high tide on Sunday, with the water peaking at 150 cm (4.9 feet), marking the worst week for the city since official tide statistics were produced in 1872. All photos on this page were taken today (17 Nov 2019). The city’s center […]

Carte Blanche investigates the ‘War on Climate Change’ and explores whether going meatless could save our planet. This episode will be broadcast today, Sunday 17 Nov, on DStv Now if you’re in South Africa, and available to stream from Tues 19 Nov on Showmax International in most other countries.  EMPOWERING > ENLIGHTENING Hotting Up in the […]

I am not sure how to tell this in a FB-length post, at least at the level of emotional turbulence with which this happened… writes award-winning South African novelist, playwright and journalist Steven Sidley. On Friday night we have a dinner party [in Johannesburg, South Africa]. A few friends over for chicken and wine. Seven […]

JOHANNESBURG – A union that called a strike at South African Airways said on Sunday it was consulting with workers on a secondary strike across the industry after talks with the state-run carrier ended without a deal. “This secondary strike will have the impact of shutting down the entire aviation sector,” National Union of Metalworkers […]

All dams supplying Butterworth and surrounding areas in the Eastern Cape are dry. Amathole District Municipality (ADM) spokesperson Nonceba Madikizela-Vuso said 33 boreholes have now been drilled in Butterworth. Eight of these are equipped and operational, four are dry, four have water, but it’s not fit for human consumption, and 17 are currently being tested. […]

Six men have been arrested following the horrific carjacking and murder of a woman on her way to work on Friday morning in Johannesburg. The killing of Isabel van Coller has shocked and upset South Africans who were still riding high on the jubilant feeling of hope that the Rugby World Cup win brought to […]

It’s snowing again in South Africa and Lesotho! Snow Report SA has posted photos from KwaZulu-Natal and Lesotho showing snow has fallen, just weeks away from Christmas! https://www.facebook.com/snowreportsa/photos/pcb.2362498063877534/2362495290544478/?type=3&theater As South Africans look forward to the summer holiday season, the weather has been diverse in the country – from heatwaves to floods, tornados (two!)… and now […]

It appears that another tornado has been sighted in KwaZulu-Natal province in South Africa. The region has been experiencing severe thunderstorms with strong winds, hail and heavy downpours; and a tornado was confirmed to have swept through the New Hanover district on Tuesday. Showan Marescia – a resident of Bergville, who is a Protection Officer […]

The Department of Water and Sanitation will today hold an urgent meeting with the Limpopo Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs Department to discuss ways of averting the looming disaster in the region due to dry weather conditions. The current hot temperatures in major parts of the country have plunged Limpopo, the Eastern Cape […]

Four people who were travelling in a taxi are incredibly lucky to be alive after the vehicle was swept off Barnsley Road into the swollen Duzi river in the Camps Drift area of Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, on Wednesday afternoon, said ER24 medical services. “Flash flooding from the heavy rain in the area meant the normally […]

VENICE, Italy – Venice’s mayor declared a state of emergency on Wednesday after “apocalyptic” floods swept through the lagoon city, killing two people and flooding its historic basilica and inundating squares and centuries-old buildings. The state of emergency was declared as the city was hit by the highest tide in more than 50 years. Thoroughfares were […]

KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Sipho Hlomuka has dispatched disaster management teams to New Hanover in the Mshwathi local municipality, just outside of Pietermaritzburg, to attend to people who were affected by yesterday’s massive tornado that ripped through the area (see videos here). The tornado hit the area on Tuesday afternoon, injuring […]

A massive tornado ripped through parts of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), South Africa, on Tuesday with several video posts showing it hit New Hanover outside Pietermaritzburg in the KZN Midlands. SAWX – Weather Forecasts for South Africa has also posted several satellite images. The KZN MEC for Cooperative Governance, Sipho Hlomuka, confirmed the tornado to Jacaranda FM. […]

JOHANNESBURG – South African Airways (SAA) could cut more than 900 jobs as it restructures to stem severe financial losses, the airline said in a statement. SAA said it had started consultations with its more than 5,000 staff and was talking to labour unions. The airline has not made an annual profit since 2011 and […]