Interim results from clinical trials of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be presented to the FDA on Friday 26 February in an effort to obtain an emergency licence for its distribution. The briefing document for the FDA reports 66% efficacy for all cases and 85% efficacy for severe cases, as well as a favourable […]

AfriForum today announced what it calls “a dramatic turn of events” in the fight for the legal use of ivermectin. AfriForum and Dr George Coetzee are involved in a legal challenge against the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) to allow doctors to prescribe ivermectin that is formulated for human use to treat patients […]

South African Airways (SAA) has suspended all SAA-operated international flights until 30 October 2021. Qantas also announced today that it is pushing back the resumption of its international flights from July to 31 October 2021. SAA said its suspension has been necessitated by many countries battling with fluctuating rates of Covid-19 infection and/or new waves […]

The COVID-19 pandemic, and the race to make vaccines and other useful technologies more accessible to people around the world, has once again highlighted the tension between intellectual property rights and the promotion of public health. There is no doubt that the monopolies offered by exclusive rights such as patents are necessary to incentivise pharmaceutical […]

The South African government says it is working tirelessly to deal with the danger of fake news in the fight against COVID-19 and the vaccination plan. Higher Education, Science and Innovation Minister, Dr Blade Nzimande, believes that while social media is beneficial for communicating, it can be easily hijacked to spread false claims about inoculation. […]

As most South Africans know, the Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Nathi Mthethwa published a number of name changes for towns, cities and airports in the Eastern Cape, in the Government Gazette, on Tuesday. Today the department released an official statement about the name changes. “The transformation of the naming landscape is a critical […]

The Kiffness has done a quick remake of Mariam Makeba’s legendary Click Song to help South Africans who need it learn the new names of some well known towns and cities. This comes after the new names for Port Elizabeth, Uitenhange and other places were announced on Tuesday. The Kiffness, aka David Scott, explained on […]

Reports coming from a Daily Maverick investigation have revealed shocking findings that South Africa’s Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, is implicated in an improperly awarded contract by the Department of Health. The investigation has found that long-time personal associates of the Minister allegedly pocketed Covid-19 funds after being appointed as consultants of a KwaZulu-Natal company. […]

South Africa kick-started its first phase of the vaccination rollout programme using the Johnson & Johnson vaccine a week ago Wednesday. Here the Health Department answers some of the burning questions about who will get it first; why it is a good choice for the country; why pregnant woman cannot get the shot and how […]

Cape Town doctor Dr Aneeka Domingo, who was one of the 23,059 healthcare workers to be vaccinated by Monday evening, says it was an emotional experience that felt like history in the making. She has also shared the symptoms she felt after the vaccination, and how to best prepare yourself. Dr Domingo was vaccinated with […]

Silwerskerm Best Actress winner Lea Vivier (Wonderlus, The Day We Didn’t Meet) is the lead in the new Showmax Original DAM, a small-town psychological thriller from four-time SAFTA winner Alex Yazbek that’s now streaming.  In DAM, Lea stars as Yola Fischer, who returns from Chile to a small town in the Eastern Cape to bury […]

South Africa’s unemployment rate rose to 32.5% in the last three months of 2020, Statistician-General Risenga Maluleke has revealed. The increase presents a 1.7 percentage point increase from the third quarter of 2020. Despite the grim picture painted in the fourth quarter (Q4) Labour Force Survey, released on Tuesday, Stats SA said the Quarter 4 […]

The MTN Foundation has rewarded South Africa’s top 183 matriculants with laptops for their hard work and dedication displayed in the 2020 National Senior Certificate examinations. “As a reward for their efforts and stellar results, MTN Foundation is handing over laptop computers to the top 33 achievers nationally, as well as providing laptops to the […]

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 […]

Everything is falling apart in Kannaland: water supplies, sewage, rubbish collection. Even the Ladismith city hall is in a mess in this Little Karoo municipality marked by strange political alliances and in-fighting. The municipality includes Ladismith, Zoar, Calitzdorp, and Van Wyksdorp. A brief trip by GroundUp to Ladismith and Zoar revealed serious municipal service failures, […]

This morning – Tuesday 23 Feb – at Parliament, the Free State Agricultural Union handed over 85 000 objections to the Democratic Alliance (DA) against the Expropriation Bill. Free State Agriculture launched a #StopExpropriation campaign on November 30, 2020. Today, Francois Wilken, president of Free State Agriculture, presented the organisation’s official submissions. The DA said […]

Hot 91.9FM announced today that Jeremy Mansfield, anchor of HOT 91.9 FM’s breakfast show, “Joburg’s Hottest Breakfast” will be leaving the station on Friday 26th February in order to focus on his health. “Jeremy has been undergoing treatment for the past few months and has decided to take a break,” Hot 91.9 said in a […]

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 […]

Minister of Basic Education, Angie Motshekga, will announce the results of the National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations in Pretoria on Monday. The matric exams concluded on 15 December 2020 after a strenuous academic year. The release of the matric results have been approved by Umalusi, the Quality Council in General and Further Education and Training. […]

There’s a growing trend amongst concerned citizens in South Africa to unite and fix their own towns. Gatvol with poor service from their local municipalities, communities are coming together – residents and local businesses – to clean up their streets and pavements, replant trees, fill up potholes… and even, in the case of Kgetlengrivier, take […]