Steve Lewis (62), a semi-retired professional Engineer from Pretoria, South Africa, has his heart set on building a home for his gardener of over 25 years, Abel Shabangu (53), who is a dear friend of the family. Despite his diligent work ethic, Abel has only managed to build a simple tin shack with access to […]

Even in death, South Africa’s legendary Archbishop Desmond Tutu, revered around the world for his moral conscience, showed the world a better way – opting for an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional cremation. Tutu – who died on Dec. 26 aged 90 – was aquamated, a process part of a growing ‘green burial’ movement centred […]

A petition has been launched calling on all South Africans to oppose Eskom’s application to hike the price of electricity by 20,5% for the 2022/2023 financial year. The petition has been created by the DA, who assert that Eskom’s proposal is “completely out of touch with the lived reality of many South Africans”. DA Leader […]

Gqeberha 65-year-old hopes to inspire others to keep the streets clean… By Joseph Chirume. John Martin is a familiar sight in the streets of Kostern, Gqeberha, moving along in his wheelchair, collecting the rubbish left by others. Martin, 65, lives at his cousin’s house with the son of a friend, Shiloh Felix, 13. The two […]

Yesterday, Netflix and Shondaland dropped the first look at eight new Bridgerton photos teasing what many different characters in the popular show will be up to this season. Bridgerton returns for a second season on March 25, 2022. In keeping with the tradition of the novels, season two tells the romance story of Lord Anthony […]

The new date for the GRAMMY Awards has been announced – 3 April 2022 (postponed from end January). And there’ll be lots to look forward to for South Africans this year… as Trevor Noah will once again be hosting the event and we have two talented musicians up for awards. Flutist (or flautist) Wouter Kellerman […]

Paramedics were today called to a Volkswagen dealership in Durban’s city centre, where a female customer had apparently driven a brand new car right. through the store’s front window! Fortunately the woman, who is believed to be in her ’30s, didn’t suffer any injuries, although her ego may be a little bruised! Emer-G-Med said that […]

The incredible video below shows delighted motorists screeching to a halt on Tuesday (18 Jan) to scoop up bundles of cash after armed robbers blew up an armoured security truck on a motorway in Cape Town, South Africa. One grinning man can be seen stuffing a large wad of cash down the front of his […]

A couple of surfers and some swimmers in South Africa have obliviously had a very close call with a shark! In a video, posted on Twitter yesterday and shared on WhatsApp, the shark can be seen approaching them, and getting incredibly close – swimming directly towards them – before drifting away. The surfers, paddling on […]

South Africa’s two top-ranked tennis players, Lloyd Harris and Kevin Anderson, were unfortunately both beaten in the first round on the opening day of the Australian Open in Melbourne on Monday. The 144th ranked wildcard, Australian Aleksandar Vukic, lost the first set before storming back to overwhelm the No30 seed Harris 4-6 6-3 7-5 7-6 […]

The workers have been on strike since November last year… By Masego Mafata. Striking Clover workers marched through Johannesburg city centre on Tuesday stripping the company’s products from shop shelves and leaving them in shopping trolleys. They are calling for a boycott of Clover products to protest against restructuring and loss of jobs. Clover management […]

The world, for the most part, is organised on dynastic principles. Part of the rationale of capitalism is that wealth, and all that comes with it, cascades down the generations. Our laws sweep aside impediments to that succession. If your parents are rich, you’re highly unlikely to end up poor… by Gavin Evans, Birkbeck, University […]

Well known KwaZulu-Natal safari guide Gavin Udal captured a rare scene last week, at the Hluhluwe Game Reserve in South Africa, of a troop of Vervet Monkeys swimming across a swollen crocodile-infested river! This is not something monkeys would usually do. Gavin – who owns and runs Wendy’s Country Lodge & Zululand Adventures – said: […]

The Department of Water and Sanitation opened two sluice gates at the Vaal Dam on Monday, due to continued rain in the catchments feeding the Vaal-Orange River System and the Integrated Vaal River System, resulting in increased inflows. The department said three gates from the five that had been opened previously had been closed. One […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to join Dr Patrick Soon-Shiong, founder of the multinational conglomerate NantWorks, LLC, in launching the NantSA vaccine manufacturing campus in Brackenfell, Cape Town, on Wednesday. The President and Dr Soon-Shiong will also launch the Coalition to Accelerate Africa’s Access to Advanced Healthcare (The AAAH Coalition). This follows last September’s announcement […]

South Africa’s Basic Education department has been ordered by the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria to publish the matric results on all public platforms, following the request for an urgent review of the decision by AfriForum. AfriForum says it welcomes the court ruling by Judge Anthony Millar today that granted the organisation’s order unchanged. […]

A family in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), South Africa, suffered a terrifying ordeal when an angry elephant attacked their 4×4 Ford and flipped it upside-down with its tusks! Watch video below. The family – a mother and father with their two children aged 8 and 10 – were in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, heading to the beach […]

At least 35 people have had to be rescued during floods which have caused extensive damage in Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal. During the stressful rescue missions, there was a moment of lightness however, when a police hero passed an eight-month old baby to his colleague in a rubber boat… and the baby began to cry. “Jy maak […]

Parents and guardians of unplaced learners stood in a snaking queue outside the Gauteng Department of Education’s office in Marshalltown, Johannesburg on Wednesday. They are hoping to find space in schools for their children. State schools in inland provinces reopened on Wednesday. Inland schools opened on Wednesday but in Johannesburg about 700 students remain unplaced […]

A powerful poem by South African writer and Animal Rights Activist Herman H Le Roux, about the hundreds of thousands of domestic workers in SA, has gone viral for a second year. Read the full poem here: I, Domestic Worker – Author Herman H Le Roux, Artwork by Mary Sibande I get up at four. […]

South Africa recorded 2 597 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, pushing the total number of laboratory-confirmed infections to 3 559 230 since the outbreak. The majority of new cases today are from Western Cape after 721 people tested positive, followed by 602 in Gauteng, 547 in KwaZulu-Natal, 167 in the Eastern Cape, 129 in the […]

A new study has shown that the Omicron wave in the Western Cape was much less deadly than previous waves, owing to vaccination, high rates of past infection in the community, and reduced risk of severe disease and death owing to the variant itself. Over 5,000 adult Covid patients were surveyed during one month of the fourth […]

Australia, Reuters – Tennis superstar Novak Djokovic flew out of Australia on Sunday (January 16) after a court upheld the government’s decision to cancel his visa, capping days of drama over the country’s COVID-19 entry rules and his unvaccinated status. The unanimous ruling by a three-judge Federal Court bench dealt a final blow to Djokovic’s […]

Following a furore over the prices for Robben Island Museum’s (RIM’s) newest tour package, the museum issued a statement on Sunday saying “the walking tour is not designed to exclude South Africans, but rather offers an alternative way to experience the rich historic tapestry that maps the journey of South Africa’s liberation struggle.” The new […]

You can watch Carte Blanche on Sunday 16 January in South Africa on DStv Now or stream it overseas in most countries from 18 January if you’re abroad. Here’s what’s coming up this week on Carte Blanche: MEDICAL A Genetic Mystery   When a geneticist from Cape Town headed to Namaqualand to figure out why so many people were […]