Any day that Kate Hofmeyr leads evidence at the Zondo Commission is a good day. And today was an exceptional day, as she faced off against a former South African Airways board member accused of receiving kickbacks and her less than lucid lawyer. The main players in today’s hearing were an increasingly frustrated Deputy Chief […]

This beautiful piece of writing by Jacqui Ikin evokes all the emotions, scents and sensibility about what it means to be South African, or to visit SA… What It Means to Be South African, … a Poem by Jacqui Ikin I sit here quietly thinking about what it means to me to be South African, a visitor […]

Many of South Africa’s most beautiful and ancient trees and forests are in deadly danger of being destroyed by an invasive beetle. The good news, however, is that research at one of the country’s leading wine farms, renowned for its agricultural and horticultural research since 1700, could help defeat this dreaded pest. The polyphagous shot […]

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has officially decided to dismiss the eight complaints against people who were arrested in Ballito during South Africa’s Lockdown Level 5 in May 2020. The arrests made national headlines when video emerged of a four-year-old child being manhandled by two ‘peace’ officers from the KwaDukuza Local Municipality in Ballito. The […]

Deputy Minister in the Presidency, Thembi Siweya, and BrandSA leadership today welcomed the newly crowned Miss South Africa, Shudufhadzo Musida, as BrandSA Ambassador. BrandSA says this role will make her part of a collective of ambassadors, who raise the South African flag as they articulate the country identity to build a positive reputation and global […]

Three men have been arrested for the brutal fatal stabbing of a young Durban businessman on Saturday morning, and more than R85,000 was found on one of the suspects. The police said in a statement on Monday that Tongaat officers and a private security company had worked tirelessly to trace the suspects, who at 5.45 […]

When Naledi Thahanyane (4) from Johannesburg was 6 months old she was put in the care of Juno Aurora Haven, a home for abused and neglected children in Sandton. Fragile at first, the charismatic young lady would soon go on to reach her milestones in leaps and bounds. “When we met little Naledi, she was […]

South Africa now has 726 823 COVID-19 cases after 1 371 patients were confirmed to have contracted the virus on Sunday. Meanwhile, 135 people succumbed to the disease which brings the death toll to 19 411. Of the latest fatalities, 107 are from Gauteng, 22 from the Eastern Cape, four from the Western Cape and two the […]

South African diplomats abroad, though many of them are good at doing their job, are constantly seeing their efforts undermined by colleagues who are alleged criminals and cadres making exorbitant demands who never think about doing the job they were put there to do, as repeated and urgent queries by South Africans in different countries […]

Below is the acceptance speech, delivered in Durban, by newly-elected Federal Leader of the Democratic Alliance, John Steenhuisen. (Video at the bottom.) Fellow South Africans, I cannot think of a more fitting place from which to speak with you today than this beautiful City of eThekwini. Twenty-one years ago, I made my way up the […]

As predicted John Steenhuisen has been elected new Leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA), the official opposition party in South Africa. The Leadership Elections took place at the DA’s elective Federal Congress 2020 whereby voting for candidates was undertaken using the online OpaVote platform (which, according to the DA, worked extremely well and was compliant […]

The unprecedented virtual Democratic Alliance congress to plot its path forward and choose its new party and federal leaders began yesterday across South Africa, with more than 2000 delegates participating, and has been commended from various quarters for its professionalism. “A big kudos to the @Our_DA social media, comms, technical & support teams for pulling […]

Nowhere does storms quite like Gauteng, and nobody captures them quite like Christo Smith! Check out this incredible picture that Christo produced on Saturday night, 31 October 2020, as bolts of lightning lit up the South African sky. As Christo says, it was “quite a storm”! He was photographing an event in Krugersdorp when he […]

The City of Cape Town says Disaster Management staff and volunteers are assisting residents to evacuate in Bridle, Molteno and Glencoe Roads, Oranjezicht as fire continues to rage in strong winds on Table Mountain, South Africa, tonight. The fire, above Deer Park Drive – #DeerParkFire – was first spotted late on Saturday afternoon, with witnesses […]

This year’s full moon shining bright on Halloween really is a once-in-a-blue-moon blue moon! And Western Cape photographer Nigel Riley managed to perfectly time his capture of the rare treat, photographing the moon as it passed the iconic Kalk Bay lighthouse. Tonight’s full moon is called a ‘blue moon’ because it is the second full […]

The South African National Parks (SANParks) has confirmed that there is currently a fire blazing behind Deer Park on Cape Town’s iconic Table Mountain in South Africa. SANParks said in a post on Facebook that Table Mountain National Park (TMNP) has responded to the #DeerParkFire. SANParks TMNP said on Saturday evening that “strong winds” caused […]

Looking for something to watch this Halloween? From thrillers to horrors and all genres in between, this horror quiz will help you choose the best scary movies to watch this ShOcktober, available on DStv Catch-Up. Here is a full list of movies you can expect: Haunt (2019) An American slasher film where a group of friends encounter an extreme […]

As the world holds its breath, Carte Blanche viewers will find out on Sunday how a Trump second term or Biden presidency could affect South Africa. You can watch the show on Sunday 1 November in South Africa on DStv Now or stream it overseas in most countries from Tues 3 November if you’re abroad. […]

A rich cross-section of academics, businesspeople and people connected to the travel industry have been chosen by the minister of tourism to help her draw up a new policy framework to guide the industry into the future. The tourism policy framework for South Africa was last updated in 1996! Some of the better-known names on […]

The Malawian pastor Shepherd Bushiri and his wife, who were arrested last week in connection with allegations of fraud totalling R102 million, will spend a second weekend in jail pending a bail hearing next week. The National Prosecuting Authority said this in a short statement today. Also locked up are their co-accused. Earlier this week […]

After eight months of uncertainty created by the African National Congress’s “unlawful” battle to take control of Tshwane, the city is back under the control of the Democratic Alliance, who today elected as mayor Randall Williams. Three days ago the Supreme Court ruled that the DA could retake control of Tshwane and remove the “unlawful” […]

Former Steinhoff CEO Markus Jooste has been fined R161 million plus interest by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority for insider trading in 2017. In a statement issued on Friday, the authority said the breaches were in relation to provisions that prohibit an insider from disclosing inside information and/or encouraging or discouraging another person to deal […]

Here’s a video we all need to see right now… The Flame, a special song celebrating the human spirit. One of South Africa’s favourite cricketers, former Protea’s captain AB de Villiers, and one of the country’s favourite singers, Karen Zoid, have teamed up again (remember De Villiers and Zoi sang together on her show in […]

Over the last year, the Western Cape Government has committed itself to ensuring that all of the citizens of this province, no matter where they live, would have access to appropriate Covid-19 treatment, should they require it. It was important to me, from the outset, that every person has access to life-saving healthcare… writes Western […]

The author of ‘Brutal School Ties’, a heartbreaking account of sexual assault that occurred at Parktown Boys High School, has stepped up to put a stop to shocking body-shaming comments from social media bullies after the Miss South Africa event on Saturday evening. The poisonous jibes were aimed at former Miss South Africa 2019 Sasha-Lee […]