Capetonians have been invited to watch this haunting video showing just how badly dried up Theewaterskloof Dam is, to help them understand “these dam water restrictions” in the Western Cape, South Africa. The video footage was uploaded by Mille Foto, and shows the dam on Tuesday this week, 17 January 2017. Mille Foto says: “The reason why […]

At about midday on 18 January 2017, an American couple in their sixties, who are visiting South Africa on holiday, were hijacked between Port Elizabeth and Uitenhage. They stopped next to the road to take photographs when they were overpowered by two unknown males and forced to drive to a bushy area near Motherwell Township. […]

A photo of a “caged woman” in the back of a bakkie has sparked an important conversation in South Africa… about kindness and racism, dignity and duty. It’s a photo that one wouldn’t see in most countries in the world. And it’s a photo that most nationalities would never equate with kindness. It’s a photo that for many […]

The SAPS (South African Police Servicers) in the Western Cape of South Africa has noted with concern allegations on various social media platforms suggesting that certain individuals are responsible for the fires that have been raging in the Paarl and surrounding areas. The reports allege that persons in branded clothing / paraphernalia were seen starting […]

South African Police Service’s special crime division, the Hawks, has announced it will seek advice from the National Prosecuting Authority (NPS) on whether to continue its inquiry into the alleged involvement of South Africa’s Minister of State Security, David Mahlobo, in rhino poaching. Mahlobo was implicated in an Al Jazeera documentary, The Poacher’s Pipeline, broadcast in November 2016, which […]

Why are there so many fires in the Western Cape? This is the question so many South Africans are asking at the moment, with rumours and accusations swiftly doing the rounds on social media and around dinner tables from Cape Town to Stellenbosch. Many locals feel that the fires were never this bad, this persistent, this long-lasting. […]

The Stilbaai Fire (Still Bay) in the Western Cape, South Africa, has been declared a local disaster after three farm houses have been destroyed, and multiple farm houses evacuated since Tuesday evening. According to a Working on Fire facebook update this afternoon, the Incident Commander says that yesterday evening all efforts were put in to […]

Working on Fire (WoF) uploaded this dramatic video footage of the current Stilbaai (Still Bay) Fire this evening… which shows just how long and huge the dark plume of smoke is.  In a facebook update at 21h00, WoF said it is still an “active fire line burning out of control” and that “ground crew committed to #SavingLivesAnd […]

After an extremely tough night fighting the #DeerParkFire on the mountain slopes of Table Mountain in Cape Town, firefighting volunteers from Volunteer Wildfire Services (VWS) have been successfully stood down… and can now head out to their day jobs. But in Paarl, flames which began yesterday, are blazing and at least one building structure has […]

Floyd Nkuna has done it again. While South Africans were waiting for a Nando’s ad to poke fun at Ford Kuga, Nkuna created a Nando’s parody ad, as he’s done before. And as before, many are mistaking it for the real thing, tweeting that “Nando’s has done it again!” and “Nando’s never disappoints”. UPDATE FROM […]

Firefighters are battling a large fire on Table Mountain tonight and a voluntary evacuation of residents in Vredehoek has begun. According to witnesses, the fire is being fanned by gale force winds. This is the latest in a spate of wildfires that have ravaged the Western Cape in the last couple of weeks. Update: Earlier ER24 […]

The fires in the Western Cape continued to burn today. Whilst many have finally been put out, new ones have started. Working on Fire (WoF) reported this afternoon that a fire in Stilbaai (Still Bay), which broke out yesterday afternoon, is still ongoing… and Volunteer Wildfire Services (VWS) reported at 15h00 that its crew have […]

The war on rhino poaching this year has got off to a good start with South African National Parks (SANParks) confirming the arrests today – 16 January 2017 – of 11 suspects in anti-poaching operations inside and outside the Kruger National Park (KNP) on Friday the 13 January 2017. The arrests were carried out by […]

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has responded to the Palestine Embassy’s statement that it was not informed of DA leader Mmusi Maimane’s trip to Israel and Palestine. National spokesperson Phumzile Van Damme tweeted: “Er! SAns don’t require a visa to travel to the region, of course the Embassy wasn’t contacted. We communicated directly with the Pres […]

An unsuspecting intruder had no idea what hit him when he climbed over a wall to try and break into a dog owner’s home! The owner’s two bull terriers launched into a relentless attack, forcing the burglar to do a sort of ‘doggie dance’… Burglaries and ‘home invasions’ are a real problem in South Africa, and whilst […]

President Jacob Zuma has expressed “deep sadness” and extended his heartfelt condolences on the passing of legendary South African jazz musician and recipient of the National Order of the Baobab, Thandi Klassen, who passed away in the early hours of this morning, 15 January 2017, in hospital. She would have been 86 this year. Her […]

South African aid organisation Gift of the Givers (GotG) has confirmed that local photo-journalist, Shiraaz Mohamed, was kidnapped in Syria on Tuesday evening. He has not been seen since. According to his family “for months he had been talking of going to Syria”, and had finally secured this trip, facilitated by the esteemed humanitarian organisation, GotG, who are […]

Most tourists don’t think to check behind the toilets before going to the loo on safari… but judging from this video, it’s worth it! A pride of lions were caught on camera blocking the entrance to a tourist’s toilet in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park in the Kalahari desert, South Africa. Corlette Wessels (43), a business developer […]

After shocking figures were released earlier this week on the number of non-roadworthy vehicles being used in South Africa – the City of Joburg tweeted this video, saying: “Always ensure that your vehicle is roadworthy. Don’t be this guy.” According to Transport Minister Dipuo Peters, during this festive season “about 6,805 un-roadworthy vehicles were suspended or […]

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s anti-graft watchdog has reopened an investigation into whether Barclays Africa Group benefited from an apartheid-era bailout, the bank said on Friday. A preliminary report by the country’s Public Protector has found that the apartheid government breached the constitution by supplying Bankorp, which was acquired by Barclays Africa unit, Absa, in […]

With the latest South African “looting video” going viral, some are questioning just how ‘funny’ this growing problem in South Africa is. The person filming the blatant theft by multiple people – from a moving Coca-Cola truck in the Eastern Cape – can be heard laughing in the background, at the audacity of the thieves, throughout the […]

Our recent report on global cheetah decline provides alarming reading. Using the best available information, we estimate that there are only about 7,100 wild cheetah left in the world… writes Sarah Durant, Senior Research Fellow, Zoological Society of London The species is now restricted to less than 10% of its historical distribution, and survives in just […]

Western Cape photographer JUSTIN SULLIVAN captured this footage of the Paarl Fire which burned down 200-year-old Augusta Kleine Bosch in the early hours of Tuesday morning, 10 January 2017. See Justin’s photos of the tragic #PaarlFire here. Watch Paarl Fire, January 2017 Video by Sullivan Photography

A South African jogger in the Eastern Cape captured these photos this morning of a protest in Kenton-on-Sea, located halfway between East London and Port Alfred. Protestors had brought traffic to a halt and were burning tyres and debris on the road. Despite the fires on the main road, he felt safe and said “the protest […]

A 2010 presidential project intended to house shack dwellers in the south of Johannesburg is mired in corruption and wholesale land theft, with hundreds of residents cheated out of houses they paid for… writes CIARAN RYAN. Those who have attempted to get to the bottom of the theft have been threatened and, in one case, […]