It was inevitable. Ever since South Africa adopted America’s Black Friday tradition of bumper sales after Thanksgiving (without also adopting its Thanksgiving Tradition), crazy scenes are witnessed as shoppers flock to centres to fill up on discounted toilet rolls and buy presents for Christmas, along with other purchases. According to Med Smith, who filmed two […]

Here’s this week’s Carte Blanche line-up, available for South Africans in SA on Sunday and for expats from Tuesday through Showmax International… Abalone Poaching Abalone poaching is rampant and it’s driving shellfish to extinction in South Africa. We catch poachers red-handed, brazenly diving in broad daylight with bags of abalone. Carte Blanche asks: why are authorities […]

Christopher Panayiotou has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of his wife Jayde Panayiotou in 2015. The murder of the 29-year-old school teacher gripped the nation and resulted in marches and protests against crime in South Africa. She had last been seen alive outside her house gates in Port Elizabeth in the morning, […]

The Supreme Court of Appeal in South Africa has extended Oscar Pistorius’ murder sentence to 15 years. He will effectively serve 13 years and five months due to time already served. The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) had announced in July 2016 that it would appeal the famous athlete’s six-year sentence for the murder of his […]

The City of Tshwane’s mayoral mansion has been sold for R5.1 million from a reserve price of R4.8 million. From this sale, the Democratic Alliance (DA) claim a total of 52 RDP houses – inclusive of land and services – will be built for those who need it most in the city. The DA-led multiparty […]

A man’s life was saved today – in Knysna Heads Channel in South Africa – by the awesome efforts of a passenger ferry Paddle Cruiser. The man – who is believed to be 26-years-old and a Knysna local – had apparently been spotted floating in the water, unconscious. Luckily for him, he was spotted by […]

With South Africans joining the rest of the world to buy as many bargains as they can on Black Friday tomorrow, one local business is offering a chance instead to make it Give Back Friday. Sweep South, an online platform which connects cleaners with individuals, is transferring the savings they’d usually give to their customers on […]

Two young girls – aged 11 and 14 – were killed in a school transport accident yesterday in Benoni, according to the Democratic Alliance (DA). Twelve other pupils from SPARK Rynfield Primary School, and the driver of the vehicle, have been hospitalised.   Michele Clarke – DA Gauteng Spokesperson for Community Safety – said the DA […]

Former President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe has reportedly been granted immunity from prosecution, and assured hsafety to live out the rest of his life in Zimbabwe, as part of his resignation deal. South Africans, who were outraged at the prospect of him retiring in SA, can breathe a sigh of relief. It is not his […]

South Africa’s priority crime unit Hawks has been commended for its swift action yesterday in arresting six fleeing armed robbers on the East Rand. Watch videos below. According to the Bedfordview News, the arrests took place after a robbery on Wednesday morning at Killoran Place in Bedfordview. A high speed chase ensued (see below), and […]

All around South Africa there is a beautiful, growing trend to grow vegetables for those who are struggling to put food on the table. And it turns out that even policemen are spending their spare time growing free food for those who are starving. The South African Police Services (SAPS) reports that in Estcourt, KwaZulu-Natal, […]

President Jacob Zuma has announced the appointment of the Divisional Commissioner for Protection and Security Services General Khehla John Sitole as the new National Police Commissioner… a man who has worked his way up through the ranks of the South African Police Services (SAPS). Sitole has risen from Student Constable in 1986 to National Commissioner […]

Agri SA has announced it will not be one of the joining the protest march to the Union Buildings in Pretoria on Saturday, because “crime-fighting should be an inclusive process” as it’s a problem which affects all South Africans. Dan Kriek, Agri SA President of Agri SA, said it had consulted its member organisations who […]

Former Eskom Board Chairman Zola Tsotsi’s statement to Parliament concerning the Eskom Inquiry has shocked South Africans around the country. Watch below. Tsotsi’s revelations paint a picture of the Gupta Family being in control with President Jacob Zuma’s approval, and with the collusion of Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown. Tsotsi claims he was threatened by […]

A man who went missing on 16 November 2017 has been found alive near Omdraai farm in Bethlehem, South Africa. He was trapped under a rock in the area for five days. His rescuers initially thought he was dead and say it is a miracle that he is still alive, after having had no food […]

November 2017 will go down in the history of Zimbabwe as the beginning of the end of Robert Mugabe’s 37 year tyranny. A tumultuous week finally culminated in his resignation on November 21st. One cannot understate the widespread jubilation at the demise of Mugabe and his desire to create a dynasty for himself through his […]

South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma has postponed his trip to Harare, Zimbabwe, until further notice. The President was due to travel to the Zimbabwean capital today, Wednesday 22 November 2017. The Southern African Development Community (SADC) Organ Troika that met in Angola on Tuesday had taken a decision that the SADC Chairperson, President Zuma and […]

The Department of Home Affairs says the message, purported to be from the department, announcing that the lifespan of the green barcoded ID book comes to an end on 31 March 2018 is NOT true. Various versions of the message – urging people to share the news – have appeared on social media and are […]

Renowned anti-drug advocate Anthony Hall has kept his promise to do all he can to protect the children of South Africa from deadly drugs… and to do his utmost to have a Commission of Enquiry into the “drug world of the Western Cape and eventually the whole of South Africa”. A week ago Hall, RAEL […]

Emfuleni Local Municipality Mayor Simon Mofokeng has handed in his resignation after allegations that he sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl. The Gauteng Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs and Human Settlements on Monday said MEC Paul Mashatile had accepted Mofokeng’s resignation as both the councillor and the mayor at the municipality in Sedibeng region. […]

There were mass celebrations in the streets of Harare today as news came that President Robert Mugabe – who has ruled Zimbabwe for 37 years – has (finally) resigned! The news was confirmed by the speaker of the country’s Parliament, Jacob Mudendahe, as proceedings were about to begin to debate Mugabe’s impeachment. Mudendahe said he […]

Billionaire business entrepreneur Elon Musk has given an incredibly candid interview to Rolling Stone magazine. (The interview took place just after actress Amber Heard broke his heart by breaking up with him.) Well known South African writer, Gus Silber, described the Rolling Stone profile as reading “like a therapy session, with Musk confronting his worst […]

South African chef Chantel Dartnall was named the BEST “Lady Chef in the World” at the awards in Poland last month. And this weekend her restaurant – Restaurant Mosaic in Elandsfontein, Pretoria – was named the second best restaurant in South Africa. (Secretly we wish Mosaic had come first… but that honour went to the […]

Michael Komape was just five when he drowned in a pit toilet filled with faeces at his school near Polokwane in South Africa, on 20 January 2014. Last week, as a court case into his death began, the world celebrated World Toilet Day… and yesterday, it celebrated World Children’s Day. Twenty-year-old UN Messenger of Peace, […]

The “new look” Zanu-PF and War Veterans of Zimbabwe are proceeding with impeachment preparations of President Robert Mugabe today, Tuesday 21 November 2017. This according to Zimbabwean journalist Trevor Ncube (who lives in South Africa). Ncube has become one of the trusted sources during the confusing coup non-coup in his homeland. He reported that mediator […]