DURBAN – Classes have been suspended at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) until further notice, following unrest on the three campuses. In a statement issued Tuesday, Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Dr Albert van Jaarsveld, said the situation had become “untenable” after gunshots were heard on campus (see video below). Students began protesting against tuition fees on […]

PRETORIA – The Mayor of Tshwane, Solly Msimanga, has continued his impressive Magufuli-esque cost-cutting campaign… announcing today that he has put an immediate stop to all purchases or leasing of luxury cars for politicians and senior officials. Msimanga says: “A Hundai i20 or Toyota Corolla can do the same job for a politican as an […]

South African President Jacob Zuma is facing calls from ANC supporters to step down, following his party’s worst election results since the end of Apartheid in 1994. In this Reuters video, reporter Ivor Bennett says although there is still a lot of support for Zuma in the country, the voices of dissent are growing. Protesters – […]

The trial of alleged rhino kingpin, Dumisani Gwala, which was due to start in KwaZulu-Natal today, has been postponed to 19 September 2016. Wildlife advocate and founder of Saving the Wild, Jamie Joseph, has campaigned tirelessly for the world to take note of this important court case and ensure justice is done in the fight against […]

JOHANNESBURG – Supporters of the #OccupyLuthuliHouse protest, which was to go ahead this morning albeit scaled down, have been urged to stay away as fears mounted this morning that it could lead to bloodshed like Marikana. According to witnesses, the entire precinct of the ANC headquarters, Luthuli House, was on virtual lockdown Monday morning with a huge police presence […]

South Africa’s Chad le Clos and Russia’s Yulia Efimova were honoured Sunday as the best swimmers of the FINA Moscow meet this weekend, with Le Clos now in possession of nine Gold, two Silver and one Bronze in the Swimming World Cup series 2016 at the end of Cluster 1 (Paris, Berlin, Moscow). Le Clos won his third […]

An exhibition by South African artist Portchie has opened to great enthusiasm at La Galleria Pall Mall in London, UK. The opening night, on 1 September 2016, was a huge success with a crowd of over 300 art fans and several fantastic sales. Portchie, who grew up in the Free State, reported on Facebook that “people loved the layout […]

A dog in South Africa has given birth to the first documented identical twin puppies. Apparently, apart from humans and one species of armadillo, identical twins are exceptionally rare. The Irish Wolfhound’s puppies were delivered by vet Kurt de Cramer, who works at Rant en Dal Animal Hospital in Mogale City, Gauteng; and verified as monozygotic (identical) twins by experts […]

After their brilliant performance in Berlin, South Africa’s golden boys Cameron van der Burgh and Chad le Clos have scooped more gold at the Fina World Cup 2016 in Moscow! Van der Burgh raced to victory in the 50m Breastroke to claim his 51st World Cup, with a winning time of 25.88 “Would never have dreamed when […]

JOHANNESBURG – Proudly South Africa has launched a #MeetTheLocals campaign as part of their “buy local” drive… and one of the first companies to be introduced is BMW. In a series of #MeetTheLocals tweets over the past two days Proudly SA has introduced BMW, and applauded the company for: being the first @BMWGroup plant to be established […]

PRETORIA – Public safety is deteriorating in South Africa with the rates of murder and carjacking up, but there are measures that can be taken in the next few years to bring about a sustainable improvement, according to the Institute for Security Studies (ISS). Watch video below. There are now 51 murders occurring every day […]

Springbok Francois Hougaard was rewarded for the ultimate act of sportsmanship and team values, by giving away his Olympic Rugby Sevens bronze medal to an injured team mate, when the dual international star was handed an unexpected surprise on Thursday – his own bronze medal. Hougaard was called up to join Team SA’s Rugby Sevens […]

It was a case of different day but the same result as Rio as Caster Semenya led an Olympic 1-2-3 home in the Diamond League meeting in Zurich, Switzerland on Thursday night. Crowned Olympic 800m champion just 11 days ago, Semenya ran with Swiss precision to clock a winning time of 1min 56.44sec for the […]

Adriaan Strauss will retire from Test rugby at the end of the 2016 season. Strauss, who became the 57th Springbok captain against Ireland in June, said he had been contemplating retirement at the end of the season since late in 2015, and that he had informed Springbok coach Allister Coetzee of his thinking on his […]

There has unfortunately been an explosion on the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where the aerospace company SpaceX – founded by South African entrepreneur Elon Musk – was preparing an unmanned rocket for launch. UPDATE: SpaceX issued a statement Thursday saying: “SpaceX can confirm that in preparation for today’s standard pre-launch static fire […]

If you missed the spectacular partial solar eclipse today, here’s a video of the event as seen from South Africa. The footage was uploaded to YouTube by Jan Kotze. It was recorded by his son, using a smartphone and an amateur telescope, with a sun filter. Watch Video: Solar Eclipse, 1 September 2016, from South Africa […]

South African businesses continue to buy up overseas companies, with the latest being an announcement today that SA’s fast food group Famous Brands has signed a “mouth-watering” agreement to buy Gourmet Burger Kitchen (GBK), a well-known gourmet bourger restaurant chain in the United Kingdom (UK). Famous Brands – which bought Wimpy SA in 2003 – already owns […]

South African cricketer Dale Steyn has stormed back to the number one spot in the ICC (International Cricket Council) Player Rankings for Test Bowlers. In the words of Cricket South Africa (CSA): “HOWZAAAAAT?!” His move to the top spot came after producing a match-winning performance in the Centurion Test that helped South Africa complete a 204-run victory over […]

PRETORIA – In a move that echoes that of Tanzania’s cost-cutting President Magufuli, the new Mayor of Tshwane, Solly Msimanga, has today announced two immediate measures to cut costs for the new administration. In a statement released Wednesday by the Democratic Alliance (DA), it said the Mayor has put a stop to all inaugural parties, and catered […]

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s Steinhoff <SNHG.DE> warned on Wednesday the slump in the pound after Britain’s vote to leave the European Union would hurt its UK business as the furniture conglomerate fell a touch short of estimates with a one-third rise in annual sales. Steinhoff, which is in the middle of buying British discount […]

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has shown Facebook’s commitment  to Africa by making a surprise visit to Nigeria to listen and learn, and take ideas back to California on how Facebook can better support tech development and entrepreneurship across Africa. According to a press release, issued by APO on behalf of Facebook, this is Zuckerberg’s first visit […]

Jamie Joseph, founder of Saving the Wild, has issued an urgent video message to everyone around the world who cares about South Africa’s rhino to please “MAKE A NOISE | SAVE #RHINOS” as the trial of an alleged rhino kingpin is due to begin on Monday. “Dumisani Gwala is out on bail right now,” says Jamie. “And […]

PRETORIA – The #ProteaFire was blazing today in Centurion as South Africa’s national cricket team won the second Test match against New Zealand by 204 runs… and in the process clinched the two-match series by a 1-0 margin. Well known South African columnist and author Max du Preez welcomed the win as the “first good news this […]

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s Treasury and state-owned Eskom clashed on Monday over a probe into coal contracts between the power utility and a company linked to the wealthy Gupta family that is accused of holding undue political sway over President Jacob Zuma. The row further scarred relations in a government rocked by a police […]

STAMFORD, CONNECTICUT – Well-loved Hollywood actor Gene Wilder passed away on Sunday night at his home in Stamford at the age of 83, his family has announced. He had been suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. Wilder starred in comedy masterpieces ‘The Producers’, ‘Blazing Saddles’ and ‘Young Frankenstein’, teamed up with comic legend Richard Pryor in four films, and […]