South Africa recorded 2 597 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, pushing the total number of laboratory-confirmed infections to 3 559 230 since the outbreak. The majority of new cases today are from Western Cape after 721 people tested positive, followed by 602 in Gauteng, 547 in KwaZulu-Natal, 167 in the Eastern Cape, 129 in the […]

A new study has shown that the Omicron wave in the Western Cape was much less deadly than previous waves, owing to vaccination, high rates of past infection in the community, and reduced risk of severe disease and death owing to the variant itself. Over 5,000 adult Covid patients were surveyed during one month of the fourth […]

Australia, Reuters – Tennis superstar Novak Djokovic flew out of Australia on Sunday (January 16) after a court upheld the government’s decision to cancel his visa, capping days of drama over the country’s COVID-19 entry rules and his unvaccinated status. The unanimous ruling by a three-judge Federal Court bench dealt a final blow to Djokovic’s […]

Following a furore over the prices for Robben Island Museum’s (RIM’s) newest tour package, the museum issued a statement on Sunday saying “the walking tour is not designed to exclude South Africans, but rather offers an alternative way to experience the rich historic tapestry that maps the journey of South Africa’s liberation struggle.” The new […]

You can watch Carte Blanche on Sunday 16 January in South Africa on DStv Now or stream it overseas in most countries from 18 January if you’re abroad. Here’s what’s coming up this week on Carte Blanche: MEDICAL A Genetic Mystery   When a geneticist from Cape Town headed to Namaqualand to figure out why so many people were […]

Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma has Gazetted the extension of the National State of Disaster on COVID-19 until 15 February 2022. In a statement, the Ministry on Friday said the extension took into account the need to continue augmenting the existing legislation and contingency arrangements undertaken by organs of state […]

Over the past few weeks, several beaches across Durban’s coastline have been intermittently closed and reopened because of serious raw sewage spills into the ocean and rivers. Several beaches in Durban have been closed because of serious sewage spills into the ocean and rivers. Environmental activists have criticised eThekwini Municipality of failing to maintain its […]

The most recent passenger arrival figures from Cape Town International Airport (CTIA) are the clearest sign yet that the metro’s trade and travel-related industries – and the economy at large – are set for re-growth in 2022. According to the airport’s data, Cape Town welcomed 869 119 air passengers between October and December last year, […]

Young South African rider Bradley Cox has followed in his legendary father Alfie Cox’s footsteps with a fabulous podium finish at the Dakar Rally, coming second in his class and thanking all the South Africans who got behind him to make this dream come true. Congratulatory messages have poured in for the legend-in-the-making for his […]

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) – Keegan Petersen scored a superb 82 as South Africa completed a seven-wicket victory in the third test and a 2-1 series win over world number one India on a tough Newlands pitch having chased down their challenging target of 212 on Friday. It is just the fourth time in 133 years […]

The Gauteng province has officially exited the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic with the rest of South Africa’s provinces already having reached their peak and on a steady decline. Health Minister Dr Joe Phaahla announced the good news during the department’s first COVID-19 briefing of the year. “Of note is that the decline in […]

The DA has called for President Cyril Ramaphosa to dismiss Patricia de Lille immediately. The DA asserts that the Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure’s “poor attempt at covering up her complicity in the burning down of Parliament, by strenuously trying to stop the release of the independent audit report by BDO and insisting that […]

MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Australia has cancelled tennis legend Novak Djokovic’s visa for a second time. The government said on Friday that Djokovic, who has not been vaccinated against Covid-19, may pose a health risk. Immigration Minister Alex Hawke used discretionary powers to again cancel the 34-year-old’s visa, after a court quashed an earlier revocation over […]

South African tennis star Lloyd Harris, seeded 30th, has been drawn to meet Australian wildcard Aleksandar Vukic in the opening round. Harris, the world No 32, has never faced the 160th-ranked Vukic on the ATP Tour but will be wary of the Australian who made a name for himself earlier this week when he beat […]

A South African pulmonologist, Anita Graham, said on Thursday (January 13) that she was still seeing serious COVID-19 disease in people who are unvaccinated or have co-morbidities during the current infection wave being driven by the Omicron variant. “We are still seeing very serious infections and admissions in patients who are unvaccinated and also in […]

In a first for the African continent, three maritime-focussed nano-satellites from South Africa are expected to be launched into orbit on Thursday afternoon by SA expat Elon Musk’s Space-X in the USA. The three nanosatellites – the first to be entirely developed on the African continent – will be launched from Cape Canaveral at about […]

South Africa has recorded 6 762 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24-hour reporting cycle, bringing the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases to 3 540 891. According to the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD), this increase represents a 15.5% positivity rate. A further 181 COVID-19 related deaths have been reported, bringing total fatalities to 92 830 to date. “The […]

A wildfire in South Africa’s Kleinmond, a coastal town in the Overberg region of the Western Cape Province, has been contained after wreaking havoc for days, destroying property and causing widespread damage to vegetation and plantations with nearly 4,000 hectares burnt. Overstrand Municipality’s mayor Dr Annelie Rabie announced Thursday morning, Day 6: “The fire remains […]

Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu said on Wednesday evening: “I have noted the comments made by the Acting Chief Justice Zondo and they will be engaged with at an appropriate time in an appropriate platform.” Judge Raymond Zondo held a press briefing on Wednesday afternoon to respond to a scathing opinion piece by Sisulu, attacking the […]

The African hero rat (HeroRAT) Magawa, who made the world a safer place by sniffing out over 100 landmines during his career in Cambodia, before retiring last year, sadly passed away over the weekend, at the age of eight. In September 2020 the tiny, huge hero made international headlines when he became the first rat […]

The Department of Health has called on all South Africans who experience any adverse events following immunisation to immediately report to their nearest health facility or vaccination site. The call follows a viral video in which a male patient, suffering from what appears to be throat cancer, instead claiming it’s a result of a Covid-19 […]

Tourism Minister, Lindiwe Sisulu, has welcomed the lifting of travel bans to Southern Africa by the European Union (EU), but said the damage has already been done and it comes after peak tourism season. On Monday, EU states agreed to lift the travel bans, which were imposed following the onset of the COIVD-19 Omicron variant. […]

Parliament fire suspect, Zandile Mafe, has been referred to a mental institution for 30 days for mental observation, according to a ruling by the Cape Town Magistrates Court. Mafe, who has been accused of setting fire to South Africa’s 138-year-old Parliament building earlier this month, was today (Tues 11 Jan) also charged with terrorism. National […]

Durban paddlers Quinton Rutherford and Brett Hadiaris set a new Guinness world record for the longest distance paddled in a double surfski in a 24-hour period when they completed a brutal 219 km paddle from St Lucia to Durban on Monday. Rutherford, who recently set the equivalent Guinness world record for a single ski, and […]

Proteas fast bowler Kagiso Rabada will celebrate a special landmark today when he wins his 50th Test cap for South Africa. Aged 26, the paceman continues to marvel and break all sorts of records during his journey as a Test cricketer. Rabada already has 226 wickets to his name after last year becoming the fastest […]