As the continent marks the 57th Africa Day, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, President Cyril Ramaphosa – as African Union Chair – will lead the continent’s celebrations, which include a special virtual broadcast and the Africa Day Solidarity Concert for the COVID-19 Response Fund. Africa Day is celebrated on 25 May 2020 and marks the establishment of […]

More than 1,000 South African citizens are still stranded in neighbouring countries – from Mozambique to Botswana – and unable to return home to SA. There are at least 60 people stranded in Namibia; 300 in Zimbabwe; 500 in Mozambique; 200 in Eswatini; and 100 in Botswana, according to the DA (Democratic Alliance). “We also […]

Over 60,000 people and counting have enjoyed this beautiful performance by the Stellenbosch University Choir – Die Donker (The Dark). As one YouTube user (Jason Tillett) says: “Afrikaans never sounded more beautiful! Ongelooflik ❤️” (The English translation is at the bottom of the article.) Update, 1 Feb ’21: Over 339,000 have now viewed this video […]

Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, has announced a total number of 22 583 confirmed COVID-19 cases in South Africa. “A total of 583 855 tests have been conducted to date with 19 485 tests done in the past 24 hour testing cycle,” Mkhize said on Sunday. The Western Cape is leading with 14 740 people testing positive for […]

A video of South Africans appearing to be celebrating the lifting of the alcohol ban in Level 3 has gone viral in SA and amongst expats around the world. (Watch below.) The video, posted by Joburg marketer and public speaker Mike Said, shows a crowded bar erupting in cheers as Ramaphosa is seen making the […]

South Africa will ease lockdown restrictions to level 3 from 1 June, President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a speech tonight. The sale of cigarettes is still banned. Under level 3, all business and retail activity is permitted, except where risk levels are high. Alcohol will be sold, but under restrictions and on specific days. Exercise […]

South Africans who have been stranded in India for over seven weeks are finally winging their way home to SA today! With money and medicine having run out for many, it is such welcome news. It’s believed the South Africans are being carried on an SAA plane which had brought Indian citizens – who were […]

The South African Weather Service has advised Cape Town’s Disaster Risk Management Centre that an intense cold front is expected on Sunday night into Monday, resulting in cold weather, gale force winds and significant sea swells between Cape Columbine and Plettenberg Bay.   Heavy downpours are expected in places during the same period, which might […]

Five categories of South Africans who wish to leave the country can once again do so, including for work, study, family reunions, permanent residence or medical attention. Minister of Home Affairs Aaron Motsoaledi today said in a statement that the government had approved “essential travel for South Africans who want to return to countries where […]

Final year students in South Africa, and those graduating in 2020, may return to campus under level 3 lockdown. And struggling students will receive free data for three months, subsidised by the SA government. Briefing the media on measures in response to COVID-19, the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, Dr Blade Nzimande, said […]

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in South Africa has reached the 20 000 mark, as the country’s death toll increased by 28 to 397 on Friday. According to the Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, the total number of confirmed Coronavirus cases in is now 20 125 which increased by 988 new cases in the […]

Dr Anban Pillay, the acting director-general of the Health Department, has requested an investigation into the conduct of Dr Glenda Gray, the president of the Medical Research Council (MRC) in South Africa, claiming that she has “made a number of false allegations against government”. These concerns were described in a letter dated 21 May written […]

This week, Carte Blanche investigates how perpetrators of heinous crimes are considered for parole in South Africa, and how can you know if a paedophile lives in your area, or even right next door? When 12-year-old Michaela Williams was found raped and murdered near her home, her parents couldn’t have imagined that her killer lived […]

US President Donald Trump is donating his salary for this quarter to the US Health Department for COVID-19 research. White House press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, announced the news at a press conference on Friday. McEnany said: “The President, as you are all well aware, donates his salary to various initiatives… across the Federal Government, and […]

A total of 230,000 people have been charged with contravening the lockdown, according to the Minister of Police Bheki Cele, a figure that has been labelled “outrageous” by the Democratic Alliance, especially given that not one person has has gone to jail yet for state capture. “State Capture cost our country ONE TRILLION RAND,” tweeted […]

The distribution and receiving of food by NGOs and other relief agencies cannot be interfered with by the government, at least not for the next month, according to a high court ruling handed down today. The Democratic Alliance challenged Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu and three other ministers over regulations that started being enforced three […]

After an appeal on Twitter, well-known South African filmmaker Dan Mace got 36 people from around the world, many of them South African, to help him put together a lockdown version of “arguably the happiest song in the world,” Bob Marley’s “Don’t Worry Be Happy.” He asked them to make sounds with household items like […]

A woman who was forcefully arrested on Friday morning in a Cape Town suburb, has been released according to the South African Police Service (SAPS)… and the arresting officers have been issued with a stern warning. A video capturing the arrest went viral in South Africa, and was posted on Twitter by Murray Williams who […]

Locked in South Africans (#LISA) this morning (22 May) lodged papers at a Gauteng court requesting urgent court action against the South African government which is not letting all South Africans, who have jobs abroad, return to their overseas homes. Representing approximately 3,500 South Africans currently stuck in SA, the Home Away from Home organisation […]

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Western Cape says it is saddened by the passing of one of its colleagues, Thandi Mpambo-Sibhukwana MP. She was a dedicated Member of Parliament since 2014, who served at the NCOP and then moved to the National Assembly in 2019 to date. She served on the Portfolio Committee on […]

Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, says South Africa is moving forward with confidence, backed by science, with regards to the COVID-19 pandemic. He said government has taken the necessary bold steps needed to prevent the rapid spread of Coronavirus. “The numbers would have been extremely high and quickly overwhelmed the system, had we not taken […]

A Cape Town resident has told an Australian news channel that there are “many people trying to save this beautiful land” of South Africa. (See video at bottom of page.) Giving an eye witness account from SA, Cape Town resident Bianca Lynch – who is married to an Australian – told 9 News how the […]

The South African Medical Association (SAMA) has announced with “great sadness” the sudden passing of Professor Anton Stoltz, Head of the Division of Infectious Diseases in the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Pretoria and Steve Biko Hospital. In a statement, SAMA confirmed that Prof Stoltz’s death is non-Covid related. According to local […]

The South African Reserve Bank has cut the repo rate by 50 basis points, and from 22 May it will be 3.75 percent. SARB Governor Lesetja Kganyago made the announcement on Thursday following a Monetary Policy Committee meeting. The cut is the third since the advent of COVID-19 in the country in March, when the […]

Before you read this article, pause for a moment and look at the nail on your little finger. That’s about the size of a new species of seahorse discovered in the waters of Sodwana Bay, South Africa, which falls within the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, a World Heritage Site, in KwaZulu-Natal province. Hippocampus nalu grows to […]