There has been an international outcry after a wild lion, named Mopane, was allegedly killed by an American trophy hunter outside of Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe, in disturbing similarities to the killing of ‘Cecil’ which made headlines six years ago. The trophy hunter is allegedly again an American – named as Phillip Smith (not […]

South African golfing legend, Gary Player, has shared a moving tribute to his beloved wife Vivienne (‘Viv’), who died this week from cancer. He said “the unthinkable has happened”. Player may have accumulated a mountain of international golfing championships, but the sports star’s biggest win in life was a lifetime shared with his childhood sweetheart. […]

The number of Nando’s restaurants in the UK which have had to shut their doors has now risen to almost 75, according to the Daily Mail, as the South African-owned fast-food Peri-Peri chicken chain battles to get its hands on… well, chicken! Nando’s explained on Twitter yesterday: The UK supply chain is having a bit […]

At least 1,227 ATMs and 310 bank branches were vandalised or destroyed during the recent unrest in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), South Africa, which occurred between 9 and 17 July. And over R119-million in cash was stolen, it was confirmed by the South African Banking Risk Information Centre (SABRIC) today. SABRIC, which has been assessing […]

According to research conducted by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), the South African economy could face massive losses of more than R181-million every week it’s on the UK’s ‘red list’ for travel. The comprehensive study conducted by WTTC, reveals the staggering consequences the UK ‘red list’ represents to the South African Travel & […]

UK celebrity Michaela Strachan says her dogs were poisoned by crystal meth in Cape Town, South Africa, where she is based… and they are apparently not the first dogs to overdose on Tik. The 55-year-old TV presenter, who has been living in South Africa since 2002, said she had to rush her pet pooches Rio […]

A team from the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) is investigating a luxury coach crash which claimed the lives of at least 28 people, including about three children and a baby boy, at Kei Cuttings in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, yesterday (Monday 16 August). According to the RTMC, the crash occurred when a luxury […]

At least 50 people marched to the Phoenix Police Station under the banners of the African United Activists and Qina Mhlali Movement in Durban at the weekend. A group of 50 people marched to the Phoenix Police Station to demand justice for those killed and attacked during the July unrest. They want a judicial commission […]

Former South African President Jacob Zuma has been “inundated with messages of love, support and concern” since undergoing unspecified surgery in hospital on Saturday. Zuma’s Foundation said all the messages have been “well received and appreciated”. According to the SA Department of Correctional Services (DCS), Zuma will also be having “other procedures scheduled for the coming […]

You may have an illegally-sourced succulent in your home… In an illicit trade rivalling that of rhino horn and perlemoen poaching, massive hauls of succulents are being stripped from delicate ecosystems in South Africa’s outermost corners by rare plant collectors with the help of local guides. This week Carte Blanche investigates the latest trend that […]

The health department’s official Covid death toll for 2020 was 28,500. But this is less than half the actual Covid death toll for last year, Medical Research Council (MRC) and University of Cape Town (UCT) researchers explain in an article published in June. The official data, by and large, only include confirmed Covid deaths in hospitals. The […]

Several anomalies, pointing to a dysfunctional provincial department, have been revealed as many ill residents in Gauteng continue to wait for the full reopening of the Charlotte Maxeke hospital… after the fire that wreaked havoc at the hospital earlier this year. The last Charlotte Maxeke hospital fire audit was back in 2017, and appears to […]

The South African Weather Service (SAWS) has warned of two winter systems that will affect the country into the weekend. The first winter system with snow The intense cold front that made landfall in the Western Cape on Thursday, spreading to the Eastern Cape, will move to KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), Mpumalanga, and the eastern parts of […]

Immigrants whose shacks were gutted by a fire in Briardene informal settlement, north of Durban last month, have started rebuilding their homes thanks to the assistance of non-profit organisation Refugee Social Services. Last week, GroundUp reported that South African victims of the fire were rebuilding, but immigrants, who had been living in the settlement for almost ten […]

The South African Police Service (SAPS) were yesterday seen re-enacting the tragic events of 11 April 2021 when SA rapper AKA’s girlfriend, Anele Thembe, allegedly fell to her death from the tenth floor of the Pepper Club Hotel. A Cape Town resident said the police cordoned off the area yesterday beside the hotel as part […]

Health workers at Groote Schuur have given fascinating insight into how one of the biggest and most famous hospitals in the country adapted to the unprecedented demands of the Covid-19 pandemic… writes James Stent.  Professor Lance Michell and colleagues have published a paper in the Southern African Journal of Critical Care explaining how the intensive […]

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – Cape Town restaurateur Adrian Hochman watched over the years as friends packed up and emigrated, but rationalised that loadshedding (power cuts), the threat of crime and an uncertain future were simply part of doing business in South Africa… writes Promit Mukherjee. That was before a global pandemic took its toll on South […]

ATHENS (Reuters) – As angry Greeks criticize their government’s response to the wildfire devastation, the story of how Stelios Kokkinelis saved his own home is being used as an example of how the authorities let down the people. Stelios had built his three-storey house, in a suburb north of Athens, when he returned home after […]

This is the most sobering report card yet on climate change and Earth’s future. Here’s what you need to know… Compiled by: Pep Canadell, CSIRO; Joelle Gergis, Australian National University; Malte Meinshausen, The University of Melbourne; Mark Hemer, CSIRO, and Michael Grose, CSIRO Earth has warmed 1.09℃ since pre-industrial times and many changes such as […]

Five members of the same family were tragically murdered over the weekend on a farm near Harrismith in the Free State, South Africa. The victims reportedly include a mother (41) and father (47) and their three children. The opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), says the “savage killing of five members of a family” took […]

KwaZulu-Natal photographer and videographer Kierran Allen has captured all sides of the tragic week in South Africa, where parts of KZN and Gauteng descended into chaos… destroying livelihoods and claiming the lives of at least 337 people. Watch the video below, commissioned by VICE World News, with footage filmed by Kierran, as well as his […]

The first day of applications for the COVID-19 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant saw excessive web traffic slowdown the application process, the South Africa Social Security Agency (SASSA) said on Friday. “This is a clear indication of the huge need for food aid among others, from distressed inhabitants of the country, and therefore the […]

A young cyclist was tragically killed in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, by a vehicle on Sunday morning during a ride with fellow cyclists. According to Ballito-based IPSS Medical Rescue, eleven cyclists in all were struck by a vehicle which had allegedly been overtaking several cars on a blind rise when it hit the group of cyclists. […]

The South African High Court has delivered a devastating blow to thousands of South Africans who have inadvertently lost their SA citizenship since the late ‘90s. UPDATE 14 DEC 2021: DA to take Loss of SA citizenship plight to Supreme Court of Appeal How do South Africans lose their citizenship? Without knowing it, many South […]

A well-known male lion in Zimbabwe, named Mopane (or Mopani), is confirmed to have been killed by a hunter. Conservationists had petitioned over the last few years for Mopane to be protected from hunters. There has been an outcry today as Mopane’s pride, the Somadada Pride, are now apparently left unprotected and vulnerable. According to […]