As South Africans grapple with a cigarette ban, it’s World No-Tobacco Day today – Sunday 31 May – and here are the latest insights on Tobacco and Covid-19 from the World Health Organisation (WHO). As tobacco kills up to half of its users, the WHO has released a global campaign #TobaccoExposed to debunk myths and […]

Jackson Babi, a well-known Prophet, along with a police officer attached to the Very Important Persons Protection Directorate, was amongst seven suspects arrested on Monday in Namibia for poaching and trading in wildlife contraband… writes Niël Terblanché from Informante. Lightning quick investigative work by members of the Protected Resources Division of the Namibian Police saw […]

South African expat Elon Musk’s Space-X company has just made history with the first privately-owned and operated spacecraft launching two astronauts on a journey to the International Space Station. It’s also the first US launch in almost 10 years. And ten million people watched the live streaming! The launch was postponed from Thursday after weather […]

Hiking and self-drives in some of the country’s private and public national parks will be allowed from 1 June, the Minister of Tourism has announced. Hotels and guest houses will also be open, but not for leisure guests. Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane said that as an integral part of the economy, the tourism sector needed to open […]

A 41-year-old woman has been arrested and charged for stock theft of more than 400 cattle, as well as fraud, that has gone on for 10 years, the SA Police have said. The woman was arrested on 27 May in Pietermaritzburg, and is suspected of being the mastermind behind a “ruthless stock theft syndicate” that […]

The ANC Caucus says that “unwarranted racist and misogynistic attacks” on COGTA Minister Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma have continued unabated despite several condemnations by the ANC leadership and progressive sectors of society. This comes after a Western Cape social media user posted a morphed photo depicting Dr Dlamini-Zuma as an ape. The ANC says: “We will […]

There is intense pressure on the South African government to lift the lockdown and open the economy. Sustainably lifting out of the lockdown is critical. But there is no roadmap. The stakes are high and there are no right answers, just ones that juggle uncertain probabilities. Diminishing growth over the past decade has weakened industry […]

Four airports in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban will open from Monday under Level 3 of the lockdown. The latest regulations specify who will not be allowed to travel, but not who will be. Earlier the government said that only business travel will be allowed, but there have been no further details. Regulations published today […]

King Price has proved again that South African ads are some of the best in the world. Watch the below hilarious interaction between a traffic officer and a female motorist. “The current reality of getting lost in translation!” says Gauteng publicist Georg Knoke. “A typical South African scene!” This is the latest video commercial to […]

Thousands of South Africans arrested for minor infringements of lockdown rules, and forced to pay admission of guilt fines (to stay out of jail), have now earned themselves criminal records. According to current affairs show, Carte Blanche, these people were going about lawful essential tasks of buying food, prepaid electricity and fetching their children. They […]

The Democratic Alliance says Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma apparently lied to South Africans when she justified the continued ban on the sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products, and if she did she deserves to be fired. The DA said in a statement today that in court papers responding to a […]

Paul* carries a small satchel on his back. You wouldn’t know that inside is a carton of cigarettes and sachets of whisky. He will sell them to informal miners in Payneville, Springs, and sometimes in Benoni. “Miners buy all the sachets; no questions asked. Sometimes l can go back into town [Springs] to buy stock […]

After several years without permanent CEOs, the much suffering Passenger Railway Association of South Africa today saw the appointment of several strong candidates to fill the CEO positions in the rail and bus divisions. The announcement of Nosipho Damasane, previously chief of the Bombela Operating Company that runs the Gautrain, as head of Prasa’s rail […]

Watch South African comedian Kevin Fraser give a spot-on depiction of life for families under lockdown. The video is actually an ad for a pizza take-away company in SA, but it’s good value and worth watching for classic Kevin Fraser humour. WATCH VIDEO: Families Under Lockdown – by Kevin Fraser https://www.facebook.com/kevinfraserofficial/videos/699151150904484/

I liked this ‘Back to School’ image because what I would really love right now is a road sign telling me exactly what direction to take… says South African GP Dr Rosie Carey (known as Dr Rosie to patients). Instead, my internal compass resembles one of those old city maps of Granada, with crooked narrow […]

The South African National Space Agency (SANSA) has entered into a partnership with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to host a Deep Space Ground Station. The station, which will be based in Matjiesfontein in the Western Cape, will support human spaceflight missions to the Moon, Mars and beyond. It will be integrated into […]

Parisians were Thursday night celebrating as the French Prime Minister announced relaxed regulations for the next phase of de-confinement, which begins on 2 June… just a day after South Africa’s level 3 kicks in, which has not been met with as much joy, but the two countries are at different stages on the curve. South […]

COGTA Minister Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma’s Level 3 regulations for South Africa, released today, have been met with frustration and widespread shock and horror. The keyword in response seemed to be “irrational” with the DA adding that the regulations “lack scientific basis” and AfriForum demanding  the Minister recall them. The DA said it will use all […]

The Democratic Alliance has rejected as a sham the South African National Defence Force’s decision to exonerate the soldiers allegedly involved in the death of an Alexandra resident, Collins Khosa. It was reported yesterday that an internal SANDF probe exonerated the soldiers, although a police investigation is continuing. In papers before the North Gauteng High […]

The government has released regulations about what is and isn’t allowed under Level 3 of lockdown, starting on 1 June, saying that exercise can take place between 6am and 6pm, and liquor can be sold Monday to Thursday 9am to 5pm. The changes were announced today by ministers Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and Ebrahim Patel. What still […]

The whole country will move to level 3 lockdown from 1 June, including areas identified as hotspots, according to Health Minister Zweli Mkhize. Mkhize clarified this after confusion was created when an old slide was presented stating hotspots would remain at level 4 and was also making rounds on social media. However, if these areas […]

As a philanthropist rather than a psychologist I know more about people helping each other than I know about why they do it. What I know at the moment is that we’re seeing much more in the way of actual help for those affected by coronavirus than I’ve seen for any other cause, anywhere in […]

A group of mostly elderly women from KwaMnyandu in Elandskop near Pietermaritzburg have dug up an old spring so their village can have uninterrupted water supply. The women cleared away trees and shrubbery and some of the men in the village helped them dig and connect the pipes to supply water to many homes in […]

A temporary Covid-19 hospital has been built in Cape Town’s Khayelitsha with the generosity of Doctors Without Borders/MSF Southern Africa, to handle the spillover of extra patients from Khayelitsha Hospital that are expected over the coming weeks. In chilling video footage (watch below), filmed by Western Cape amateur film maker Gershwin Christian Williams, the harsh […]

Space-X has announced that it is standing down from today’s launch “due to unfavourable weather in the flight path”. The next launch opportunity is Saturday, May 30 at 3:22 p.m. EDT, or 19:22 UTC, says Space-X. Space-X founder and South African expat Elon Musk’s mission got very close to lift-off, with the crew settled in, […]