Starving, infected with various diseases and some eating their own faeces, over 25 horses have had to be put down after being in the ‘care’ of the South African Army Special Infantry Capability Unit at the SANDF’s Potchefstroom base last year. In addition to those 25, a further 22 horses rescued from the base also […]

A Deputy Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs apparently wasn’t happy with the list of cars that Treasury negotiated bulk discounts on. So he asked Treasury for permission to purchase a Volvo XC90D4, at a cost of R1,118,352 to the public purse. The reason for the request was “National Treasury Transversal Contract RT57-2016/2017 does […]

JOHANNESBURG – South African President Cyril Ramaphosa followed up his election pledge to tackle corruption by appointing a veteran lawyer to lead a newly formed anti-corruption unit, his office said on Friday. Ramaphosa has promised to root out corruption, cited by ratings agencies and investors as a major obstacle to economic reforms needed to turn […]

Western Cape Premier Helen Zille has again embroiled herself in a racial twitter storm in the past 24 hours, with her hashtag #BlackPrivilege trending on South Africa’s Twitter feeds all day. According to some, her comments were incredibly racist… but in the view of others her comments were taken out of context and she had […]

Game farmer Johan Pieter Sonnenberg (62), was sentenced this week by a High Court in Virginia, South Africa, for the murders of three men – Michael Grant (20), Jerome Desmond Grant (28) and Riaan Ruiters (23). The deceased were reported missing to the Christiana South African Police Service (SAPS) in the North West back in […]

Farmworkers have been left traumatised following a brutal attack this week on a farmer and his wife near Bonnievale in the Western Cape, South Africa, which left the 55-year-old farmer dead. Tool Wessels and his wife Liezel were tortured at their farm Kapteinsdrif on Monday night by four men who escaped with weapons. One of […]

Grumpy Cat, an internet celebrity for her permanent frown, died “in the arms of her mommy, Tabatha” this week, leaving behind countless online jokes about how we all feel at our worst moments, her family said on Friday. She was 7. Despite care from top professionals, Grumpy died on Tuesday from complications after a recent […]

One of the world’s most iconic monuments – the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France – is celebrating is 130rd anniversary this week with a fabulous laser display. The Eiffel Tower was first opened to the public on 15 May 1889. If you’re living or holiday in Paris, the show is on for the last time […]

I was born in Salt River, South Africa, and then moved to Mitchell’s Plain – I am the youngest of four siblings and the only girl… writes Michelle Thomas, in response to the Stellenbosch University study (which has since been retracted) which claimed from its (limited!) research that coloured women have an increased risk of […]

The joy of conquering the world’s highest mountain has been marred by tragedy for South Africa’s Saray Khumalo, as two members of her Mount Everest climbing team have sadly died on the mountain in the past 24 hours. Saray, an executive at a top financial institution in Johannesburg, made it to the summit – 8,848 […]

A South African citizen has tragically died in a small plane crash in Dubai, along with three Britons. According to a statement from the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, the small plane crashed south of Dubai airport killing the pilot, co-pilot and two passengers. The accident which happened at around 19h30 local time caused the airport, […]

As has been discussed over the years, Formula One definitely wants to return to Africa… but it’s not only South Africa’s Kyalami circuit that’s keen to host the race. Commercial managing director Sean Bratches said on Thursday that Kyalami and the Moroccan city of Marrakesh have expressed interest in fan festivals on their territory. Rwanda […]

With King’s Landing in ruins, and Cersei Lannister no longer a threat, will Daenerys finally have a clear path to the Iron Throne? We’re not so sure… What’s happening in the preview of the finale? Warning: Here be spoilers. If you haven’t watched Game of Thrones Season 8 episode 5 on Showmax yet, now’s the […]

All votes cast by South Africans abroad on 27 April 2019 made it back to the IEC in South Africa on time to be counted towards SA’s national elections! Phew! This will come as good news to those South African expats who travelled hundreds, sometimes thousands, of kilometres to make sure they cast their vote. […]

There’s welcome news for South African expats in Poland and South African retailer SPAR Group Ltd announced on Wednesday that it is in the final stages of talks to buy a controlling stake in Polish retail chain Piotr i Pawel group. Spar is seeking to boost its European operations, said Reuters. “The SPAR group has […]

South Africa has made world history in Turkey, on Tuesday evening with South African entrants from pageants SA scooping the top titles at an awards ceremony in Bodrum. According to Pageants SA’s Carolyn Baldwin Botha, South Africa’s 2019 International winners include: Avonique Van Rooyen  who has been crowned Little Miss World 2019, as well as […]

Pilanesberg National Park has made the heartbreaking announcement that an abandoned rhino calf they rescued has sadly passed away on Tuesday morning. The little rhino became a viral sensation after it was found by a ranger on Sunday, Mother’s Day in South Africa, and survived through the night. Pilanesberg supporters raised money and their hopes […]

PRETORIA – South Africa’s unemployment rate inched up to 27.6% in the first quarter, official data showed on Tuesday, underscoring the scale of the economic challenge faced by President Cyril Ramaphosa after his ANC party won re-election. Ramaphosa is trying to revive the South African economy after a decade of slow growth and rising joblessness. […]

The South African government said on Monday it was “instructing” the country’s athletics governing body to appeal against the Court of Arbitration for Sport decision on female eligibility that directly affects their Olympic champion Caster Semenya. Yet Athletics South Africa (ASA) maintained silence on the matter with sources telling Reuters they were still considering their […]

Boosting South African growth and overhauling bloated power firm Eskom are post-election priorities for the African National Congress, but a reduced majority may force President Cyril Ramaphosa to compromise on those and other economic reforms. Ramaphosa took office in February 2018 with a pledge to revive a sclerotic economy and attract foreign investors. But as […]

HARARA – Zimbabwe has started rolling power cuts lasting up to eight hours that will also hit mines, a schedule from the state power utility showed on Monday, after reduced output at both the largest hydro plant and ageing coal-fired generators. The power cuts will add to mounting public anger against President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government […]

Carte Blanche shares interesting views about why South Africans came out to vote, they also investigate unethical breeding practices of pedigree dogs and more this  Sunday 12 May, in South Africa; and available to stream from Tues 14 May for South Africans abroad in many countries. Save the Turtles A team of young marine biologists […]

This week US (and international) audiences of Trevor Noah’s The Daily Show were treated to more South African news than usual. There was the Caster Semenya decision (watch Trevor’s reaction here) and the SA National Elections. In one video, Trevor exposed Americans to the anti-immigration sentiment in South Africa. Sharing footage from South Africa, Trevor […]

This week on The Daily Show, South African expat and comedian Trevor Noah shared his views on the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s decision to uphold an IAAF rule that would require fellow South African, athlete Caster Semenya to take testosterone suppressants to compete in the women’s division in her best events – the 800-m […]

South African National Parks (SANParks) and conservation partners in the Greater Kruger Region have begun the drastic step of dehorning select rhinos to counter the devastating effects of rhino poaching. SANParks said they are working together with conservation partners to implement an “integrated wildlife management approach”, which includes the dehorning of rhino cows in the […]