The drug whoonga has plagued South African communities for at least a decade, yet only gained significant public attention when it appeared more visibly in the inner-city and surrounding suburbs of Durban, the major city in the country’s KwaZulu-Natal province. Also known as nyaope, whoonga is a street concoction of B-grade heroin, rat-poison (strychnine) and […]

If you’re missing SA, here’s a behind-the-scenes weekend at Manyoni Private Game Reserve… packed with exquisite panoramic and aerial views of the reserve in the heart of Zululand, South Africa. Filmmaker Anthony George Kirkwood gives viewers a glimpse of Etienne Gerber’s life as the reserve’s Head of Law Enforcement, running the anti-poaching unit. It’s a […]

South Africa’s low-cost airline kulula.com today announced that it will restart its operations at Lanseria International Airport from 1 April 2021, servicing its Durban and Cape Town routes. Similar to the re-introduction of its other routes, kulula.com will commence with a limited schedule, adding additional frequencies over the next couple of months. Customers are now […]

British Airways (operated by Comair) has announced the reopening of bookings for daily regional flights between Johannesburg, South Africa, and Harare, Zimbabwe, with one-way fares starting from R995, including taxes and surcharges. Bookings for the regional route are open from today and will start operating on 28 March 2021. Desmond O’Connor, Executive Head of Revenue […]

The world needs a laugh right now, and Netflix has selected South Africa’s Loyiso Gola to deliver just that. The sharp-witted comedian is back with his sharp wit and critically acclaimed comedy hour, Unlearning, which will debut globally on 23 March 2021. Gola is the first African to have a solo full hour of stand […]

Born to an underprivileged family, Robert Maposa (43) from Mamelodi East, Pretoria, learned to make the most out of his limited opportunities. Determined to build a better life for his wife, Hitahlula, and their two sons, Wonderful and Timothy, Robert worked as a gardener and did odd jobs to put himself through matric at the […]

South Africa’s vaccination programme is gaining momentum, with over 15 000 healthcare workers having already received their Johnson & Johnson shot in five days. “South Africa is rapidly moving to protect its highly valued healthcare workers through the Sisonke Early Access Programme,” said the Health Department. According to the latest data, there are 15 388 […]

In commemoration of World Pangolin Day today – 20 February 2021 – Investec has announced plans to fund and support the first dedicated pangolin veterinary ward in Africa in partnership with the Johannesburg Wildlife Veterinary Hospital (JWVH). “Pangolins are currently the world’s most trafficked non-human mammal. In 2019, 97 tonnes of scales were trafficked from […]

The most heartwarming video to come out of South Africa this week has been the footage of Kathy Wootton being wheeled out of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Kingsbury Hospital in Cape Town… waving gratefully, and being cheered on by healthcare workers, after two months in ICU. Posting the video to Facebook, Kathy said […]

The Swellendam SPCA went above and beyond in a response to a woman in South Africa who called the police because she was frightened of the rain spider in her bedroom. Here is the report from the SPCA, in full, written with the same care, dedication, professionalism and good humour as that used by the […]

There is hope for terminally ill patients as Cancer Immunotherapy living trials are being conducted with South African patients. Watch Carte Blanche on Sunday as the current affairs show meets the inspirational team. INSPIRE    The Living Trials – Cancer Immunotherapy Takes Off  For over 150 years, doctors have tried to stimulate the body’s immune […]

Proud South African Walter Jackson, who is currently living in the USA, has posted this video from Arizona with tips on how to braai (or barbecue) like a South African! Like any good South African abroad, he’s stuck to his “nou gaan ons braai” attitude… despite the freezing cold snow that’s currently blanketing parts of […]

We’re excited to announce great news for South African rugby fans abroad today. Showmax subscribers in the United Kingdom, Italy, France, Australia, New Zealand and selected markets are now able to stream Chasing the Sun, the fantastic doc about the Springboks! The extraordinary documentary traces the South African national rugby team’s road to victory at […]

Free State Health MEC Montseng Tsiu on Wednesday received the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. The buoyant Tsiu, who is a professional nurse, took the vaccine alongside Dr David Motau, who is the Head of the Department of Health in the Free State. “MEC Tsiu and HOD, Dr Motau, felt the need to take the […]

A German international “trouble shooter”, whose work usually involves James Bond-type situations, has been hailed a hero after saving the lives of three swimmers in less than a year, on the same South African beach. Former police officer Bjorn Birr von Bismarck, 49, has risked his own life on each occasion to rescue the stricken […]

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa – Qatar Airways continues to be the leading global carrier connecting South Africa by operating one of the largest and most reliable networks in the region. Having become the largest international carrier during the early stages of the pandemic, the airline has applied its knowledge of global passenger flows and booking trends […]

Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, says the SA government has offered the African Union (AU) the AstraZeneca vaccine doses that South Africa procured from the Serum Institute in India. This comes amid reports that South Africa had asked the Serum Institute to take back the one million doses that arrived earlier this month after a […]

The first delivery of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine has arrived in South Africa. The vaccine, which has been approved by the South African Health Products Authority, arrived at the O.R. Tambo International Airport in Gauteng on Tuesday night. According to the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS), the consignment is being moved to […]

The Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Nathi Mthethwa, has congratulated South African filmmakers for the short film “Address Unknown” which has been selected to participate in the 2021 Pan African Film Festival (PAFF) taking place in Los Angeles in the United States. This is America’s largest and most prestigious black film festival. It was […]

De Mist station in Uitenhage, which was waist-high in weeds, has been cleaned — but not by the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA). After GroundUp published pictures of the filthy station, members of the political party Freedom Front Plus cleaned it up. Volunteers from political party Freedom Front Plus have cleaned up the […]

Showmax just dropped the trailer for Tali’s Baby Diary, the long-awaited sequel to Tali’s Wedding Diary. Watch the video at the bottom of this page. Tali’s Baby Diary has just released its trailer Sequel to the first ever Showmax Original, which broke viewing records and won multiple SAFTAs Julia Anastasopoulos (SuzelleDIY) is back as Tali: […]

There’s a cute cat video that’s been going viral on Facebook and YouTube in South Africa and around the world, with some misinformation. The video shows two cats – a grey cat and a black cat – walking with their tails entwined through the snow. It’s so heartwarming it’s attracted over 11-million views on TikTok, […]

South Africa’s Constitutional Court has declared the law which governs the communication surveillance activities of the country’s intelligence community unconstitutional. The case was based on evidence that the state spied on investigative journalist Sam Sole, of amaBhungane Centre for Investigative Journalism, while he was communicating with a source in the National Prosecuting Authority. The judgment […]

Harry (36) and Meghan (39), the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, have announced that they are expecting their second child. Their happy news came on Valentine’s Day, 14 February 2021… exactly 37 years after Princess Diana announced she was pregnant with her second baby, who turned out to be Prince Harry. The news was delivered […]

The South African Government may be depriving some towns of the efficient municipal services they deserve, but despite potholes popping up across the nation, they can’t dent SA citizens’ sense of pride and community. There’s a growing initiative in South Africa for the residents of some towns to rally together and fix their own town. […]