Across the world, migratory animals like wildebeest – which rely on movement to find food, water and calving grounds – are under threat. This is mainly because their migration routes are being cut off by fences, settlements, farms, roads and other developments, and the areas where they roam are getting smaller. The animals also face […]

A massive dust storm in Australia turned the town of Mildura from day to night at around 17h00 on Tuesday. Fortunately nobody was injured, as the apocalyptic cloud of dust swept through the town. Victoria has been suffering from very dry conditions which is why there was so much dust for the massive gusts of […]

PARIS – One million animal and plant species are at imminent risk of extinction due to humankind’s relentless pursuit of economic growth, scientists said on Monday in a landmark report on the devastating impact of modern civilization on the natural world. Scientists made an impassioned appeal to governments and businesses worldwide to confront “vested interests” […]

“How can I cast my vote when I’m still sharing stream water with dogs and cows?” asks Zwelihle Zimu. He is one of the residents of Sweetwaters in Ebaleni in Pietermaritzburg who fetch water from a nearby stream. There are no communal taps and the water tanker comes only once a week, says Zimu. “We […]

The South African government has expressed condolences to the families of journalists Ngwako Modjadji and Sefako Nyaka following their deaths at the weekend. Modjadji, who was a senior political reporter for the City Press, died in what is believed to have been a hit and run incident in Soweto on Saturday night. Nyaka was a […]

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa, the world’s eighth largest wine producer, is expected to harvest its smallest amount of wine grapes in 14 years this year, as dry conditions and fluctuating weather hit output, an industry report said on Monday. The report by Vinpro, which represents 2,500 South African wine grape producers, wineries and wine-related businesses […]

The NSPCA has laid criminal charges against Jan Steinman, a lion farmer in North West, for several contraventions of the Animal Protection Act after 108 lions, caracal, tigers and leopards were found in filthy and parasitic conditions. Inspectors of the National Council of SPCAs (NSPCA) found 27 lions with severe mange, two lion cubs unable […]

Thirty-seven passengers managed to escape from a burning aeroplane – using the emergency slides – after it crash-landed in Moscow on Sunday, 5 May. Forty-one people on board the Russian Aeroflot passenger plane sadly were killed, including two children, after the aircraft caught fire as it made a bumpy emergency landing, Russian investigators said. Television […]

South Africa, as the old tourism slogan used to boast, is a world in one country: a land made remarkable by the diversity of its people, its cultures, its landscapes, its fauna and flora… writes Gus Silber. But away from the glossy brochures, the ad campaigns, the YouTube influencer videos, the truth is a little […]

PEMBA, Mozambique – Headmaster Ernesto Parivos, like thousands of people across his province in Mozambique, is watching for any signs that flood waters have eased as food supplies dwindle. Cyclone Kenneth barreled into the province of Cabo Delgado last week, knocking out power at Parivos’ School for Teachers of the Future, damaging 11 college buildings […]

Struggling Vrede farmer Meshack Ncongwane was a life-long supporter of South Africa’s governing African National Congress, but says the party won’t get his vote in parliamentary and provincial elections next week. Local ANC officials offered him what he thought would be a lucrative stake in a dairy farm in 2013. He was one of 80 […]

CAPE TOWN – Olympic 800-metres champion Caster Semenya on Wednesday lost her appeal against rules that mean female athletes with high natural levels of testosterone must take medication to reduce it. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled the regulations were necessary for athletes with differences in sexual development (DSDs) to ensure fair competition. […]

The South African national flag will fly at half-mast at every station in the country from 1 – 7 May 2019, according to instructions from President Cyril Ramaphosa, as a mark of respect and in observance of seven days of national mourning for people who lost their lives due to the floods that have ravaged […]

PEMBA, Mozambique – Rains grounded aid flights in northern Mozambique for a second day on Monday, hampering efforts to reach survivors of Cyclone Kenneth as the death toll there jumped to 38. Rescuers managed to use a brief break in the downpours to send one helicopter packed with aid to the island of Ibo, where […]

Thursday, 2 May, will be a day of mourning in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) for the victims of the floods that devastated Durban and surrounding areas on Easter Monday. The day of mourning was declared today by KZN Premier Willie Mchunu during a media briefing, according to SABC News. eThekwini Mayor Zandile Gumede was also provide updates […]

The Nelson Mandela Foundation and Afriforum are opposing each other in the Johannesburg Equality Court. The Nelson Mandela Foundation is asking the Equality Court in Johannesburg to declare the display of the old South African flag hate speech and harassment under the Equality Act. The case is likely to set the boundaries between constitutionally-protected free […]

South African consumers will have to dig even deeper into their pockets as both grades of petrol are set to increase by 54 cents a litre this week. The Department of Energy on Sunday announced that the price of both grades of petrol, 95 and 93 (ULP and LRP), will increase by 54 cents. This […]

A video revealing the horrific practices within South Africa’s captive-bred lion industry has been posted by UK businessman, philanthropist and former Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party, Lord Ashcroft. The industry – known also as “canned lion hunting” – is fuelled often by unknowing local and foreign tourists. After commissioning a year-long investigation, codenamed Operation […]

Two men have been hailed as heroes on social media for risking their lives to save two women from an alleged motor heist in South Africa. According to Frans Haasbroek, writing in Afrikaans, the two gentlemen (one of whom, Steve, owns the BMW in the picture) responded immediately to protect the women from the heist, […]

Rescuers were racing to help people caught in fast-rising floodwaters in Mozambique’s cyclone-hit city of Pemba on Sunday, as houses collapsed in one neighborhood and heavy rain raised fears of worse to come. Cyclone Kenneth slammed into the northern province of Cabo Delgado on Thursday, flattening entire villages and killing at least five people. It […]

Pope Francis today called for prayers and ‘concrete support’ from the international community for those who had died or suffered serious damage in the recent floods in South Africa. Over 70 people died, and more than 1,000 were displaced this week after huge downpours on Easter Monday, which caused floods and mud slides on South […]

Rescuers were moving in to help people trapped by rapidly rising floodwater in the northern Mozambique city of Pemba on Sunday, home to 200,000 people, a United Nations (U.N.) spokesman said, as Cyclone Kenneth dumped more rain on the region. The storm slammed in to the province of Cabo Delgado on Thursday, killing five people, […]

The United Nations said on Friday it will investigate allegations that survivors of Cylone Idai in Mozambique are being forced to have sex with community leaders for food. The community leaders – believed to be linked to the ruling Frelimo party – demanded money from survivors to have their names included on aid distribution lists, […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa has (finally) ended the tenure in the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) of advocates Nomgcobo Jiba and Lawrence Mrwebi, as recommended by the Mokgoro Enquiry into the fitness of the two officials to hold office. The President took this action on Thursday, 25 April 2019 after studying the findings and recommendations of the […]

Cyclone Kenneth killed at least one person and left a trail of destruction in northern Mozambique, destroying houses, ripping up trees and knocking out power, authorities said on Friday. Officials said thousands have been left homeless, and warn of heavy rains to come. (UPDATE: Cyclone Kenneth brings floods to Mozambique, death toll rises to 5) […]