Health Minister, Dr Joe Phaahla, has told the National Council of Provinces that current scientific reports suggest that vaccination still offers protection against the new COVID-19 variant C.1.2 identified in South Africa. The variant – which has been detected in all provinces in low frequency – is reported to be more transmissible, resistant to neutralisation […]

Sheryl James ensured Team SA’s medals tally kept ticking over when she powered her way to a bronze at a wet Olympic Stadium on Tuesday night, to add final gloss to a day in which Pieter du Preez won the country’s third gold medal of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. James, who had narrowly missed out […]

The Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) has recognised the “incandescent talent” of South African actress Thuso Mbedu with the coveted TV Breakout Star Award at the annual HCA Awards. Thuso was awarded for her outstanding performance in Amazon Prime’s ‘The Underground Railroad’ (watch trailer below). It’s a performance so award-worthy that billionaire US talk show host […]

Despite the impact of the pandemic, and economic hardship, the majority of South Africans are more optimistic about the future than most folk around the world, according to a recent global survey. The Expo 2020 Dubai survey – conducted with YouGov – tracked global sentiment and hope in a world irrevocably changed by COVID-19. More […]

The Gauteng Health Department has estimated that it will cost about R1.1 billion to fix the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Hospital (CMJH) after the fire on 16 April this year, and is requesting the Solidarity Fund to assist. This information was disclosed at the Gauteng Legislature Health Committee meeting last week. No date has yet been […]

Pieter du Preez has overcome so much in his life that he wasn’t going to be thrown off track for Tokyo Paralympic gold by another competitor swerving in front of him, almost resulting in a race-ruining, or worse, accident… writes GARY LEMKE in Tokyo. As Du Preez thundered down the main straight at the Fuji […]

Uncle blames City’s track record on sanitation in Khayelitsha… By Tariro Washinyira. Two-year-old Imthande Swartbooi drowned after falling into an uncovered manhole in Greenpoint, Khayelitsha, on Sunday. He was found at midday by his mother, Busisiwe Swaartbooi, after she went searching for him. Nkosikhona Swaartbooi, the child’s uncle, who is an activist in the Social […]

Simone and Jarryd Aricksamy’s wedding day started with a miserable morning as rain fell in KZN and temperatures plummeted. But, like others in KwaZulu-Natal, they were soon surprised by a welcome and very rare downpour of SNOW… transforming their afternoon wedding into a white, winter wonderland fairytale. Professional photographer Stuart Dods captured the exquisite photos […]

Greg Minnaar conquered the track in Val di Sole, Italy, on Sunday to win the UCI downhill (DH) title and be crowned world champion for the fourth time! Watch the exciting video of his race below (as the commentators mention his strength and call his win “lekker”). Heavy rain on Saturday evening had made the […]

A new Covid-19 variant C.1.2, has been identified in South Africa. This SARS-CoV-2 variant of interest (VOI) is of concern as it is associated with increased transmissibility, neutralisation resistance and disease severity, according to recently published research. It was identified in SA in May, and is now in another 10 countries. According to the US […]

Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga says the amended 2021 school calendar will be retained as is. The Council of Education Ministers (CEM) met on Friday to discuss the options. Motshekga reported that: “Three options emerged from the consultations, and these were presented to the CEM for consideration. In the end, CEM agreed that the amended 2021 […]

Louzanne Coetzee produced the performance of her career to win a 1500m Paralympic silver medal, in a race where she left everything out there on the Olympic Stadium track. The 28-year-old was competing in her sixth major championship event since 2013 and was understandably emotional after winning silver in a career-best 4min 40.96sec in the […]

Louzanne Coetzee, with her guide Erasmus Badenhorst, progressed to Monday’s final of the women’s 1500m (T11) at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics on Sunday. She took 3.43 seconds off her previous best set at the 2017 World Championships. Coetzee had been DQ’d in the 1500m at Rio 2016 but stamped herself as a medal favourite here […]

South African NPO Ladles of Love has officially broken the world record for the longest line of food cans. The 6,7km line of cans in Cape Town not only breaks the record… but will also go a long way to feeding hungry people! The line consisted of over 90,000 cans from the heart, and in […]

It’s been in existence since the 1500s but the Kaaps language, synonymous with Cape Town in South Africa, has never had a dictionary until now. The Trilingual Dictionary of Kaaps has been launched by a collective of academic and community stakeholders – the Centre for Multilingualism and Diversities Research at the University of the Western […]

Watch South African double-amputee Ntando Mahlangu‘s amazing world record-breaking final leap at the Tokyo Paralympics. Ntando jumped an incredible 7.17m to win GOLD for South Africa in the men’s T63 long jump… and break his own world record. Stream the Tokyo Paralympics on Showmax Pro. Subscribe before 31 August and get an extra month free!  WATCH […]

South African athlete Anrune Weyers has scooped GOLD at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics in Japan, putting SA on the medal board… and causing us to shed a few tears of joy for her, as she tearfully dropped to her knees in gratitude after crossing the finishing line. Weyers sped to victory in the women’s T47 […]

South African Athlete Ntando Mahlangu broke the world record with a final leap of 7.17m to win Gold in the men’s T63 long jump, a matter of minutes after Anrune Weyers had sped to the women’s T47 400m gold in 56.05sec. This put Team SA on the medals table at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, with […]

South Africa is expecting to receive at least 2.2 million more Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine doses today, donated by the USA. Health Minister Dr Joe Phaahla announced the news yesterday, saying the doses are being donated via the COVAX facility – an international group lobbying for the equal access to and procurement of vaccines. Phaahla said […]

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, […]

Health Minister Dr Joe Phaahla has again urged all South Africans over the age of 18 to get vaccinated against COVID-19… as the country is expected to enter a fourth wave of the virus in November. In an update to the nation on the vaccination rollout, Dr Phaahla said: “We have opened [vaccinations] for everybody above […]

Police have arrested seven suspects in connection with the recent shocking murder of senior Gauteng Department of Health finance official, Babita Deokaran, who was a key whistle-blower in the Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) scandal. The swift breakthrough in the case – thanks to information received by the investigating team – was confirmed by National Police […]

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 […]