South Africa’s Department of Sports, Arts and Culture Minister, Nathi Mthethwa, has finally announced the financial incentives for medal winning Tokyo Games 2020 Paralympic and Olympic athletes and their coaches. The announcement means that Olympic swimming sensation Tatjana Schoenmaker, who broke a world record in the pool on her way to bagging silver and gold […]

Here’s what’s coming up on Carte Blanche this week – you can watch the show on Sunday 29 August in South Africa on DStv Now or stream it overseas in most countries on Showmax International from Tues 31 August if you’re abroad. INVESTIGATE Drivers’ Licence Jam As the grace period to renew drivers’ licences was […]

The winners of the prestigious Rhino Conservation Awards were officially announced this week during an online event to honour the incredible people and organisations across Africa, who play a vital role in protecting our endangered species, and ensure our natural heritage is safeguarded for future generations. Patron of the Awards, Prince Albert II of Monaco, […]

On the third day of staying in the Paralympic village bubble “it” finally dawned on me. “It” wasn’t the sheer visual aspect of the 4 000-plus Paralympians with disabilities all in the same environment of towering 17-storey apartments and surrounded by a 4km perimeter fence… writes GARY LEMKE in Tokyo. Admittedly, that is the initial […]

The South African Weather Service (SAWS) has issued a Yellow Level 2 impact-based Warning for snow, and says it is valid for today (Fri 27 Aug) into tomorrow, for parts of the Western and Northern Cape provinces. “These conditions will spread to the Eastern Cape and KZN high-ground from overnight tonight into tomorrow (Saturday),” said […]

Nando’s has done it again. South Africa’s favourite peri-peri chicken restaurant chain has launched an advert today that reminds locals that in a world of fake news, there’s one thing you can always rely on – a great Nando’s ad that’ll make you laugh! The video commercial features a very pregnant-looking woman who allegedly had […]

A Cape Town-based diamond jeweller – Shimansky – has dazzled the City of Lights, Las Vegas… scooping a first ever win for a South African jewellery brand at a prestigious international awards show. Shimansky was last night awarded the Best in Gold Award at the international Couture Design Show Awards 2021 in Wynn, Las Vegas. This […]

South African expat Jaco van Gass has won Gold for Great Britain at the Tokyo Paralympics in Japan today. The former soldier won the C3 3000m Individual Pursuit… and broke a World Record. After racing to victory in the velodrome, the humble athlete – who grew up in Middelburg in Mpumalanga – deflected the glory […]

South African Airways (SAA) has announced that it expects to resume operations on the Johannesburg – Cape Town route, and other African destinations, on 23 September. The carrier has not taken to the skies since early last year, partly due to the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent hard lockdown, as well as the […]

Like many others he lost his home during lockdown and lived rough… By James Stent. Walter Nyamugama used to live in a tent. Now, he lives in a shared house, spacious and with a beautiful view of the Muizenberg promenade. “Sometimes I’m sitting here and I can’t believe it,” he says, seated in a bright, […]

Princess Charlene of Monaco has finally been reunited with her husband and children as she recovers from surgery related to a sinus infection and bone graft in South Africa, where she has been stuck since May this year. Taking to Instagram a couple of hours ago, the former South African Olympic swimmer (Nee Charlene Wittstock), […]

The SA Weather Service (SAWS) has advised South Africans to ignore the Tik Tok video doing the rounds at the moment, warning of major snowfall in South Africa… but it seems not everyone got the memo. People in Johannesburg and Pretoria have been getting excited about the ‘imminent’ snowfall. The video claims that all provinces […]

Social media was abuzz in South Africa on Tuesday evening with sightings – including video and photographs – of what many thought was a meteor. The bright light flying through the air was seen above Pretoria, as well as other parts of the country, including Limpopo. In fact a former politician (David Coltart) in neighbouring […]

Tomorrow – Wed August 25 – legendary South African endurance swimmer Lewis Pugh will attempt the toughest swim of his career, 10km across Greenland’s Ilulissat Icefjord. The UN Patron of Oceans, who is on a mission to fully protect a third of the world’s oceans by 2030, says there is no better place in the […]

Wheelchair tennis star Kgothatso Montjane (KG) and world record holding track athlete Charl du Toit have represented Team South Africa at the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Paralympics tonight in Japan, as the country’s flag bearers. It’s a privilege they’ve embraced with excitement and pride. Charl said, in an interview before the event, that being […]

If you’ve ever needed an excuse to have a holiday, here’s the best one – your country needs you right now to go on safari, to spread the love and support all those who work in the South African tourism industry. And there’s never been a better time – with the lack of international visitors […]

The ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent tightening of regulations placed on travel and quarantine by various state and national governments due to the latest outbreaks of COVID-19 in Australia and New Zealand has forced a drastic change in the Rugby Champs match schedule, which will now see the remaining four rounds […]

Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo plans to rejuvenate the historical Brixton Cemetery through greening restoration, green fencing and the planting of 2 000 indigenous trees to mark Arbor Day on 1 September 2021. The cemetery has suffered on-going acts of vandalism, theft of palisade fencing, illegal dumping and the presence of “displaced persons”, the City […]

South African comedian Trevor Noah and free language app Duolingo have partnered to bring Zulu and Xhosa to the world in early 2022. The exciting announcement was made on Friday, 20 Aug, at Duolingo’s annual conference. What is Duolingo? During the past decade Duolingo (which also has a website and a premium version if you […]

In another victory for cross-border conservation, a series of successful wildlife translocations saw 27 Zebra and 62 blue wildebeest safely making the 1 250 km journey from Kruger National Park in South Africa to Zinave National Park in Mozambique. These new arrivals are welcome additions to the more than 2 300 reintroduced animals that are […]

A stunning first half display and two tries of pure magic aided the Springboks to a well-deserved 29-10 win over Argentina in the second of their Castle Lager Rugby Championship matches at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday, and helped them maintaining their strong start in this year’s tournament. (Watch video highlights a little further […]

Up and down the coast of Cape Town, a growing number of people have taken to the extremely cold water every day throughout winter, extolling the healing magic of cold water swimming. For them, it’s been an unexpected reprieve from the ongoing pandemic, claiming the icy-cold waters helped them fight the loneliness of lockdown, boosted […]

Prince Harry has unveiled a million-dollar donation to a Lesotho charity from his lucrative book deal. The decision to donate some of the profits from his memoir was announced on Thursday during the Sentebale Polo Cup in Colorado, USA where he made a surprise appearance. The Sentebale Polo Cup is a charity match named for […]

South Africa’s COVID-19 vaccination programme is expected to increase drastically following Cabinet’s approval for the vaccination of people aged between 18 and 35 years from tomorrow, Friday 20 August 2021. Cabinet said it had received a report from the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) indicating that over nine million vaccines have been administered in South […]

South Africans who have parcels to send to Australia have been advised to take the items to their local SA post office by no later than 7 September 2021. The South African Post Office said that they’ve been informed by Qantas that the Australian airline has scheduled a second repatriation flight to Australia, presenting customers […]