CAPE TOWN – Olympic 800-metres champion Caster Semenya on Wednesday lost her appeal against rules that mean female athletes with high natural levels of testosterone must take medication to reduce it. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled the regulations were necessary for athletes with differences in sexual development (DSDs) to ensure fair competition. […]

The South African national flag will fly at half-mast at every station in the country from 1 – 7 May 2019, according to instructions from President Cyril Ramaphosa, as a mark of respect and in observance of seven days of national mourning for people who lost their lives due to the floods that have ravaged […]

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) appears headed for victory in next month’s election, as President Cyril Ramaphosa seeks to strike a reforming tone, with three opinion polls showing support ranging between 51 and 61 percent. The three pollsters, which used different methodologies and turnout assumptions for the May 8 parliamentary vote, […]

State-owned South African Airways (SAA) has reached an agreement in principle with lenders to roll over $642 million of debt, its CEO said on Tuesday, giving him room to execute a turnaround aimed at weaning the airline off government bailouts. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has made a point of supporting ailing state firms like […]

Durbanite singer Selkii said she “felt like a goddess” on The Voice in the US on Monday night, where the South African expat performed the Goo Goo Dolls’ “Iris” on the Live Top 24 Performances 2019. “What an amazing experience,” she said on Facebook, adding “I need every vote and every prayer you got! ❤️”. […]

JOHANNESBURG – South Africans voting for a new national parliament on May 8 will have 48 parties to choose from – more than at any election since the end of white minority rule in 1994. Many more political parties are contesting elections for nine provincial legislatures to be held on the same day. The African […]

Proud South Africans turned out in force yesterday for the famous London Marathon in the UK… and were not disappointed by the results, with the top three winning positions being hogged by athletes from the African continent in both the men’s and women’s categories. The race was won by Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge who led from […]

It’s pleasing that the latest World Press Freedom Index released by Reporters without Borders rates the state of press freedom in South Africa as “satisfactory”. Satisfactory is the second best category after “good”. South Africa is on par in the “satisfactory” category with countries like Australia, Canada, Spain, France, Italy, the UK, Austria and Uruguay. […]

Landslides and floods triggered by torrential rain have killed at least 29 people in Indonesia, the disaster agency said on Monday, with thousands taking shelter in evacuation centres amid fears of disease. More than a dozen people were missing after the rain hit the province of Bengkulu, on the southwest side of Sumatra, on Friday […]

PEMBA, Mozambique – Rains grounded aid flights in northern Mozambique for a second day on Monday, hampering efforts to reach survivors of Cyclone Kenneth as the death toll there jumped to 38. Rescuers managed to use a brief break in the downpours to send one helicopter packed with aid to the island of Ibo, where […]

Thursday, 2 May, will be a day of mourning in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) for the victims of the floods that devastated Durban and surrounding areas on Easter Monday. The day of mourning was declared today by KZN Premier Willie Mchunu during a media briefing, according to SABC News. eThekwini Mayor Zandile Gumede was also provide updates […]

The Nelson Mandela Foundation and Afriforum are opposing each other in the Johannesburg Equality Court. The Nelson Mandela Foundation is asking the Equality Court in Johannesburg to declare the display of the old South African flag hate speech and harassment under the Equality Act. The case is likely to set the boundaries between constitutionally-protected free […]

Photos and stories have poured in from SAPeople members around the world who voted overseas in the SA elections on Freedom Day, 27 April 2019. Here we’ve selected just four messages that reveal the heart and passion of South African expats worldwide, still inextricably linked to their beloved homeland… Sonja VanNiekerk DeBeer, Venezuela – “The […]

The United Nations will grant Mozambique and the Comoros Islands $13 million in emergency funds to help provide food and water and repair damage to infrastructure, the organisation said late on Sunday, after the second cyclone in a month slammed into the region. Cyclone Kenneth crashed into the northern province of the southern African nation […]

South African consumers will have to dig even deeper into their pockets as both grades of petrol are set to increase by 54 cents a litre this week. The Department of Energy on Sunday announced that the price of both grades of petrol, 95 and 93 (ULP and LRP), will increase by 54 cents. This […]

Charles Back had an unusual response to a farm attack that almost killed him. Unusual because he refused to let it start a race-based furore. Unusual because of his calm in the wake of such trauma… writes Elana van der Watt. Then again, much of what Back does as an owner of the Fairview powerhouse […]

A video revealing the horrific practices within South Africa’s captive-bred lion industry has been posted by UK businessman, philanthropist and former Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party, Lord Ashcroft. The industry – known also as “canned lion hunting” – is fuelled often by unknowing local and foreign tourists. After commissioning a year-long investigation, codenamed Operation […]

Two men have been hailed as heroes on social media for risking their lives to save two women from an alleged motor heist in South Africa. According to Frans Haasbroek, writing in Afrikaans, the two gentlemen (one of whom, Steve, owns the BMW in the picture) responded immediately to protect the women from the heist, […]

Rescuers were racing to help people caught in fast-rising floodwaters in Mozambique’s cyclone-hit city of Pemba on Sunday, as houses collapsed in one neighborhood and heavy rain raised fears of worse to come. Cyclone Kenneth slammed into the northern province of Cabo Delgado on Thursday, flattening entire villages and killing at least five people. It […]

Pope Francis today called for prayers and ‘concrete support’ from the international community for those who had died or suffered serious damage in the recent floods in South Africa. Over 70 people died, and more than 1,000 were displaced this week after huge downpours on Easter Monday, which caused floods and mud slides on South […]

Here’s what’s coming up on Carte Blanche‎ on (Sunday 28 April 2019)  in South Africa and from Tuesday (30 April) for South Africans living abroad. Stream it here if you’re overseas, or watch on the DStv Now app if you’re in SA (or some other countries on the continent). Break-In Alert – Could Your Car be Next? Every […]

Rescuers were moving in to help people trapped by rapidly rising floodwater in the northern Mozambique city of Pemba on Sunday, home to 200,000 people, a United Nations (U.N.) spokesman said, as Cyclone Kenneth dumped more rain on the region. The storm slammed in to the province of Cabo Delgado on Thursday, killing five people, […]

South African expats around the world showed how deep their passion for South Africa is by braving inclement weather (including Storm Hannah in the UK), enduring long overnight treks and some spending a fortune they can barely afford… to make their way to one of the 121 foreign missions to cast their vote in the […]

The United Nations said on Friday it will investigate allegations that survivors of Cylone Idai in Mozambique are being forced to have sex with community leaders for food. The community leaders – believed to be linked to the ruling Frelimo party – demanded money from survivors to have their names included on aid distribution lists, […]

South Africa’s ailing Stormers have added four Springbok players to their side for the crucial home Super Rugby clash against the Bulls at Newlands on Saturday. The Stormers have won one of their last five matches and sit bottom of the South African Conference, though they are only four points off the first-placed Bulls in […]