Millions of people will have the opportunity to see a lunar eclipse – an event popularly known in the media as a “blood moon” – on Friday July 27. Visible for most of the world including South Africa – only North America and Greenland are expected to miss out – it’s set to be the […]

This week Carte Blanche investigates what’s really behind the mystery facing officials in Durban with regard to the spate of bomb scares. (This episode is available for South Africans abroad to watch from Tuesday 31 July 2018 if you subscribe to Showmax.) Durban Bombs It’s the biggest mystery currently facing officials in Durban – ten explosive […]

A blood moon will appear in the night sky in South Africa, and around much of the world, on Friday night as the moon moves into the shadow of the earth for the longest lunar eclipse of the 21st Century. The total eclipse will last 1 hour, 42 minutes and 57 seconds, though a partial […]

JOHANNESBURG – Russian President Vladimir Putin raised the issue of a nuclear power deal at a private meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in Johannesburg on Thursday, but his host said Pretoria could not sign such a deal for now, Ramaphosa’s spokeswoman said. “Our economy is stagnant, it is not growing at the rate […]

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa cannot afford large-scale expansion of its nuclear power fleet but would still be open to future nuclear deals with Russia, the ruling party’s Treasurer General said on Thursday shortly before President Vladimir Putin arrived for the BRICS summit. The nuclear project was prioritised by former President Jacob Zuma but new President […]

A video showing a blatant robbery in action in Gauteng, South Africa, is gaining a lot of traction and raising the conversation on how witnesses to a crime should behave. The video was posted by Intelligence Bureau SA on Thursday morning, and shows two men approaching a vehicle on the Grayston Drive Off-Ramp. While the […]

The emergency medical service, ER24 said no injuries have been reported following a massive building fire at a retail park on North Rand Road in Boksburg, South Africa. Footage of a flaming fire at the Retail Park, east of Johannesburg, could be seen in a stream of videos on Twitter. Ekurhuleni metro’s disaster and emergency […]

The motion of no confidence in Cape Town mayor, Patricia De Lille, has been withdrawn. The scheduled motion was due to be brought by the Democratic Alliance (DA) Caucus during today’s council meeting. The Caucus is set to meet on Thursday to discuss the request from the Federal Executive to retract the motion to allow […]

Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene has ordered an independent enquiry into South Africa’s state pension manager – the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) – following allegations of corruption amongst top PIC executives. The National Treasury said Nene met with PIC’s Board of Directors on Wednesday to discuss the allegations and how to deal with governance issues at […]

CAPE TOWN – There’s an ultra-modern new building in Cape Town… which appears to be for Amazon.com. Inc, as the company ups the ante in its regional cloud battle with rival, Microsoft Corp. Amazon will be the sole tenant in the new, eight-story office building that’s nearing completion in South Africa’s Mother City, multiple sources […]

The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has officially announced that radio personality, Robert Marawa will be re-joining the public broadcaster from August 1, 2018. Speculation had been rife over whether Marawa would present the sports show on both Radio 200 and Metro FM. Today, the SABC clarified the matter, saying: “Mr Marawa, who is a […]

MATI, Greece – Greece’s prime minister told of the “unspeakable tragedy” the country faced after at least 74 people were killed by wildfires that swept through a resort, trapping people in cars and on the edge of cliffs as others were forced to jump off to survive. The scale of Monday night’s devastation in Mati […]

The name of the Field Ranger who was killed by poachers in the Kruger National Park last week has been released. South African National Parks (SANParks) said yesterday that it was with “deep sadness” that it learned of the passing of Field Ranger Respect Mathebula on Thursday, 19 July 2018. SANParks Chief Executive Officer Fundisile […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s mission to attract $100-billion in investment got a further boost on Tuesday when Chinese President Xi Jinping (who is visiting SA) promised $14.7 billion of investment! This comes hot on the heels of Saudi Arabia’s $10-billion pledge earlier this month, as well as the UAE’s $10-billion pledge – both made during the South African President’s […]

AMSTERDAM – South African Oscar-winning actress Charlize Theron joined Britain’s Prince Harry and singer Elton John in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, for the 22nd International AIDS Conference. Theron spoke about the need to identify what’s driving HIV infections, while Elton and Harry launched a billion dollar project targeting men in sub-Saharan Africa. The 42-year-old SA expat […]

African National Congress (ANC) Chief Whip in Knysna, Victor Molosi has been shot dead on Monday. Molosi (50) was murdered near his home in Concordia at around 22h00, after reportedly returning from a school governing body meeting. Molosi was the councillor of Ward 8, in the Knysna Municipality and was the ANC’s mayoral candidate. Knysna […]

South African sex work activist Duduzile ‘Dudu’ Dlamini is to be honoured at the  22nd International AIDS Conference in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, with a prize named after the late trailblazer Prudence Mabele, who was the first Black woman to reveal her HIV status in South Africa. Dlamini – a long-time advocate for the rights and […]

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s Prince Harry – who has long had a concern for children living with HIV in southern Africa – and music star Elton John are joining forces to launch a “global coalition” focused on treating HIV infections in men, the singer’s AIDS charity said on Thursday. The Elton John AIDS Foundation did […]

South African Airways (SAA) is pushing ahead and already making progress in implementing its turnaround plan to lead the airline to financial sustainability, the company announced on Monday. In a statement, South Africa’s national carrier said: “Over the past six months, SAA has been on roadshows to meet its major codeshare partners and other potential […]

JOHANNESBURG – The New Development Bank, set up by the BRICS group of emerging economies, has approved loans of $300 million for energy projects in South Africa. South Africa, which will host a BRICS summit later this week in Johannesburg, is trying to diversify its energy mix to reduce its reliance on heavily polluting coal-fired […]

Last night a young woman in Gauteng, South Africa, went into labour. The CEO of the orphanage she used to live at, went to visit her in hospital… and was horrified by what she saw. UK-based Lisa Ashton MBE, who is in South Africa at the moment, told SAPeople: “Lenasia South Clinic was HORRENDOUS.” Lisa, […]

Eskom says it is considering cutting staff and selling assets after reporting a massive $171 million loss which reveals the gravity of its financial position. (In Rands, the company reported a shocking loss of R2.3-billion for 2017/2018 with almost R20-billion irregular expenditure.) The loss by South Africa’s struggling state-run power firm, which is Africa’s largest […]

The South African National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) haa announced that it won’t prosecute former deputy minister of education Mduduzi Manana for allegedly assaulting his domestic worker. “Basically there are no prospects for success‚” said NPA spokesman Phindi Mjonondwane on Monday. Mjonondwane said,”The version of an independent eye witness who was allegedly present at the scene […]

JOHANNESBURG – Diamond producer De Beers said on Monday it was relocating 200 elephants from its private reserve in South Africa to neighbouring Mozambique, part of wider efforts to restore wildlife populations ravaged by conflict there. The Anglo American unit said its 32,000-hectare (80,000-acre) Venetia Limpopo Nature Reserve could support around 60 elephants but now […]

South African Deputy President, David Makhura will lead South Africa to the international AIDS conference in Amsterdam. This is the 22nd Aids conference and the deputy president is the chairperson of South African National Aids council which coordinates SA’s response in HIV/AIDS epidemic. The event is set to start on Monday. The conference theme is: […]