Gauteng Premier David Makhura has placed the provincial Health Department head, Professor Mkhululi Lukhele, on immediate precautionary suspension for allegedly failing to exercise responsibility in the COVID-19 related procurement. The development comes after the Special Investigating Unit, in a report dated 22 September 2020, made the recommendation. “The Special Investigating Unit found that the Head […]

The South African Weather Service (SAWS) has issued a yellow warning for “severe thunderstorms with possible flooding of susceptible low lying areas” in parts of South Africa later today. SAWS warned there could be disruption to traffic because of reduced visibility and “strong damaging winds” that may cause some damage to informal settlements. The storm […]

The Electoral Commission has rejected the registration of former Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba’s ACTIONSA as a political party, citing the infringement of sections of the Electoral Act. “ACTIONSA was informed in writing yesterday of the failure of its application based on the similarity of its symbol or distinguishing mark to that of another party already […]

The back and forth of the South African Airways Saga continues, as the business rescue practitioners in charge of the airline’s future or demise have suspended all operations with immediate effect until they have a clearer picture of whence (and if) the money is coming to save the beleaguered carrier. “The BRPs have made a […]

Despite the South African economy shedding 2.2 million jobs due to the COVID-19 lockdown, unemployment in the country dropped from 30.1% to 23.3% in the second quarter of 2020, according to Statistics South Africa (Stats SA)… the lowest rate since 2009! However, before we all celebrate, the sharp fall in unemployment – as published in […]

South Africans have been urged to think twice before sharing unconfirmed crime-related information on social media platforms, following a fake kidnapping video that spread fear. The Provincial Commissioner of North West, Lieutenant General Sello Kwena urged members of the community to exercise caution, following a video that went viral on social media platforms, particularly on […]

The World Table Tennis Championships is coming to Durban, South Africa, for the first time ever in 2023, and to the African continent for the first time since Cairo played host in 1939. Durban comfortably beat the rival bid from Dusseldorf at the International Table Tennis Federation’s (ITTF) virtual Annual General Meeting, enjoying a commanding 90 […]

Farms and unused parcels of land sitting empty for years in rural areas will be occupied and instead used for housing and other recreational facilities. Farm workers and dwellers have warned that unused land will be occupied. They were attending a three-day land colloquium webinar hosted by the Women on Farms Project. Issues discussed included […]

GENEVA – Curbing capital flight and illicit financial flows in Africa could generate new funds to respond to the COVID-19 crisis on the continent, says UNCTAD’s Economic Development in Africa Report 2020, which was launched on Monday 28 September. The UN estimates that African countries will need to raise at least $200 billion to cope […]

Researchers at Stellenbosch University have found that South Africa has sufficient log resource options for a sustainable wood residential building market. “Our study showed that with the use of wood resources currently exported as chips, as well as planting trees in areas that have been earmarked for afforestation, it will be possible (in the long […]

There was much excitement this weekend as Theewaterskloof Dam, Cape Town’s main source of drinking water, appeared to be overflowing. But it turns out that was the wind pushing the water over, and not the dam that was actually all the way full just yet. But it is close… as can be seen by these […]

Five suspects, arrested in connection with alleged human trafficking, are expected to appear in the Rustenburg and Kuruman Magistrate Courts today, in South Africa. The five men were arrested on Sunday morning following a Hawks Northern Cape and North West Serious Organised Crime investigation with the assistance of Crime Intelligence, K9, TRT, Crime Scene Investigation […]

South African singer Belinda Davids flew the flag high for SA, making it to the semi-finals of Britain’s Got Talent. On Saturday night she blew the nation away with her rendition of Whitney Houston’s “I Have Nothing” on BGT. BGT said: “Not many people can take a Whitney Houston song and make it sound even […]

Anyone following the Ellen Degeneres story? In short, our Be Kind hero was found to be lacking in leadership skills, and some staff outed her for an unhappy work environment… writes Kim Nicola Stephens (a Cape Town mom of three, and Sport & outdoor communication consultant). Then it escalated to racism, and paedophilia and eating children. I’m […]

Here’s the latest update from Allemansdrift B (in Mpumalanga, South Africa) where over 600 families were facing starvation until the kind intervention of strangers on three continents who have bandied together to bring food, hope and now water to the local residents. It started in South Africa with retired housekeeper Lydia Mashaba (nearly 70) who […]

A second earthquake has been recorded in the Western Cape this morning, Sunday 27 September 2020. It has also transpired that the rattling windows and thunder sound that many Capetonians reported hearing last night were from a smaller earthquake in Cape Town, and not effects from Saturday night’s larger 6.2 magnitude earthquake off the South […]

Residents of Cape Town were Saturday night told to “exercise caution” after an earthquake of 6.2 magnitude was measured off the South African coast. A WhatsApp Advisory message went viral at around 20h10, announcing the earthquake had struck approximately an hour before on Saturday, 26 September 2020. The message said that according to the US […]

“One tap in 26 years.” That was one of the comments on social media after the Alfred Nzo Municipality in the Eastern Cape posted a video on this week showing a ceremony to announce the installation of a single tap for a village. The views (61,000 so far) and comments haven’t stopped running since then. […]

For the first time in its 77-year history a British animal welfare organisation has awarded a gold medal for honorable service to a rat, an African Giant Pouched Rat named Magawa working to detect landmines in Cambodia. UPDATE JANUARY 2022: Landmine detection hero rat Magawa has sadly died.   In 2016, the same medal, also […]

After stunning rains across Cape Town this winter, the largest dam serving the region, Theewaterskloof, started overflowing today, for the first time since 2014 and barely two-and-a-half years after Day Zero loomed. (Update 28/09/20: Theewaterskloof dam has not yet officially overflowed. It turns out it only appeared to do so because of the wind blowing […]

South Africans around the country (and world) answered President Cyril Ramaphosa’s call to take up the Jerusalema dance challenge for Heritage Day on Thursday. Here are just three of the many, many videos posted by wonderful, proud and fun-loving South Africans. For different reasons, these three are amongst the best… WATCH Woodside Sanctuary’s Perfectly Imperfect […]

Princess Charlene of Monaco sparkled in silver at a fundraising gala on Thursday evening, 24 September, besides stars that included Sting, Johnny Depp, Naomi Campbell, Rebel Wilson, Sienna Miller, (American model) Alton Mason, designer Tommy Hilfiger and many more. While the rest of the world is holding most events online, the South African expat’s husband […]

Tatjana Schoenmaker has broken the 12-year-old short-course South African record in the 200m breaststroke. Schoenmaker accomplished the feat at the Regional Short-Course Championships in Pretoria. She finished in 2min 18.20sec to lower the mark set by Suzaan van Biljon in 2008 of of 2:18.73. Schoenmaker’s time would have placed her fifth in the 2019 world […]

A former pro rugby player, Zane Kilian, appeared in a Cape Town court in South Africa today under heavy security charged with the murder on 18 September  of Anti-Gang Unit cop Lieutenant Colonel Charl Kinnear (52). Kilian (spelt Killian by some media outlets), 39, was charged at the Bishop Lavis magistrate’s court with murder, conspiracy […]

After the former minister Mosebenzi Zwane made some startling admissions at the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture today, admitting to not knowing the laws of his department while he was MEC, the Democratic Alliance said the noose of justice was closing in on Free State politicians like himself and former premier Ace Magashule. […]