South African rugby legend Joost van der Westhuizen – or somebody administering his Twitter account – Friday denied reports that he was in critical condition in hospital, as had been widely reported in South African media and around the world. [UPDATE 6 Feb: Joost van der Westhuizen has sadly passed away at the age of 45.] “Thank […]

Capetonians have been invited to watch this haunting video showing just how badly dried up Theewaterskloof Dam is, to help them understand “these dam water restrictions” in the Western Cape, South Africa. The video footage was uploaded by Mille Foto, and shows the dam on Tuesday this week, 17 January 2017. Mille Foto says: “The reason why […]

At about midday on 18 January 2017, an American couple in their sixties, who are visiting South Africa on holiday, were hijacked between Port Elizabeth and Uitenhage. They stopped next to the road to take photographs when they were overpowered by two unknown males and forced to drive to a bushy area near Motherwell Township. […]

This year (a lot like last year) is going to go down as one of the hottest in Mzansi’s history… For a start, the build-up to a certain party’s elective conference will ensure that South Africans witness even more grilling debates. And then there will be an endless discussion about whoever is next picked to […]

Advocate Thuli Madonsela has announced she is “supremely honoured and excited to partner with Pan Macmillan SA to publish my memoirs. Hope the insights shared will contribute meaningfully…” In a press release Friday, Pan Macmillan South Africa said it is “delighted to announce today that it will publish a memoir by Former Public Protector of South Africa, […]

A photo of a “caged woman” in the back of a bakkie has sparked an important conversation in South Africa… about kindness and racism, dignity and duty. It’s a photo that one wouldn’t see in most countries in the world. And it’s a photo that most nationalities would never equate with kindness. It’s a photo that for many […]

The SAPS (South African Police Servicers) in the Western Cape of South Africa has noted with concern allegations on various social media platforms suggesting that certain individuals are responsible for the fires that have been raging in the Paarl and surrounding areas. The reports allege that persons in branded clothing / paraphernalia were seen starting […]

The DA (Democratic Alliance) has written to the Limpopo Police Commissioner, Lieutenant General Nneke Ledwaba, seeking an urgent meeting to get an update on farms attacks and crime in the rural areas as well the provincial challenges in executing the national rural safety plan. This comes after another farm attack in Tzaneen where Mr and […]

South African Police Service’s special crime division, the Hawks, has announced it will seek advice from the National Prosecuting Authority (NPS) on whether to continue its inquiry into the alleged involvement of South Africa’s Minister of State Security, David Mahlobo, in rhino poaching. Mahlobo was implicated in an Al Jazeera documentary, The Poacher’s Pipeline, broadcast in November 2016, which […]

PRETORIA – Over 5.5 million people (5,504,022 to be exact) travelled across South Africa’s borders between 9 December 2016 and 14 January 2017, says Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba. This marks an increase of 200,467 movements, or 3.78 percent, at the ports of entry nationally when compared to the 5,303,555 recorded during the same period […]

Table Mountain Cableway today welcomed its 26 millionth visitor to the mountain, with the latest million visitors having taken a record-breaking 11 months to reach! On a busy morning at the Lower Station Ticket Office, Elbie Mattheus from Craddock, Eastern Cape stood unsuspecting as the numbers ticked closer to the million mark. Surprised by fanfare […]

Why are there so many fires in the Western Cape? This is the question so many South Africans are asking at the moment, with rumours and accusations swiftly doing the rounds on social media and around dinner tables from Cape Town to Stellenbosch. Many locals feel that the fires were never this bad, this persistent, this long-lasting. […]

The Stilbaai Fire (Still Bay) in the Western Cape, South Africa, has been declared a local disaster after three farm houses have been destroyed, and multiple farm houses evacuated since Tuesday evening. According to a Working on Fire facebook update this afternoon, the Incident Commander says that yesterday evening all efforts were put in to […]

Working on Fire (WoF) uploaded this dramatic video footage of the current Stilbaai (Still Bay) Fire this evening… which shows just how long and huge the dark plume of smoke is.  In a facebook update at 21h00, WoF said it is still an “active fire line burning out of control” and that “ground crew committed to #SavingLivesAnd […]

A year ago (March 2015 to be exact) an Australian media outlet shared a video they called “The Most Beautiful City on Earth”. It was a 4K Drone Video of Cape Town, filmed by Luke Maximo Bell. Luke said: “It is up to debate, but I believe that Cape Town is the most beautiful city […]

South Africans are the proud holders of the third most powerful passport in Africa… which gives them visa-free access to 90 countries around the globe, according to the 2017 global ranking report by Passport Index. Only the Seychelles with 125 visa-free countries, and Mauritius with 118 were positioned higher. Meanwhile citizens of Somalia have the worst passport […]

PRETORIA – The South African Police Service (SAPS) and AfriForum signed a historic cooperative agreement on Monday, which – according to a statement from SAPS has “established an integrated approach to building safety and strengthening community participation in the fight against crime”. This agreement is the culmination of engagements between the two organisations over the past […]

After an extremely tough night fighting the #DeerParkFire on the mountain slopes of Table Mountain in Cape Town, firefighting volunteers from Volunteer Wildfire Services (VWS) have been successfully stood down… and can now head out to their day jobs. But in Paarl, flames which began yesterday, are blazing and at least one building structure has […]

Floyd Nkuna has done it again. While South Africans were waiting for a Nando’s ad to poke fun at Ford Kuga, Nkuna created a Nando’s parody ad, as he’s done before. And as before, many are mistaking it for the real thing, tweeting that “Nando’s has done it again!” and “Nando’s never disappoints”. UPDATE FROM […]

Firefighters are battling a large fire on Table Mountain tonight and a voluntary evacuation of residents in Vredehoek has begun. According to witnesses, the fire is being fanned by gale force winds. This is the latest in a spate of wildfires that have ravaged the Western Cape in the last couple of weeks. Update: Earlier ER24 […]

The South African Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) has confirmed that a zero quota for the hunting of leopard (Panthera pardus) has been extended to 2017. The department said the decision is based on the review of available scientific information on the status and recovery of leopard populations in South Africa. The Scientific Authority made the […]

The fires in the Western Cape continued to burn today. Whilst many have finally been put out, new ones have started. Working on Fire (WoF) reported this afternoon that a fire in Stilbaai (Still Bay), which broke out yesterday afternoon, is still ongoing… and Volunteer Wildfire Services (VWS) reported at 15h00 that its crew have […]

The war on rhino poaching this year has got off to a good start with South African National Parks (SANParks) confirming the arrests today – 16 January 2017 – of 11 suspects in anti-poaching operations inside and outside the Kruger National Park (KNP) on Friday the 13 January 2017. The arrests were carried out by […]

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has responded to the Palestine Embassy’s statement that it was not informed of DA leader Mmusi Maimane’s trip to Israel and Palestine. National spokesperson Phumzile Van Damme tweeted: “Er! SAns don’t require a visa to travel to the region, of course the Embassy wasn’t contacted. We communicated directly with the Pres […]

Amazing South African Joey Evans (41) has achieved his ultimate dream and conquered the impossible by reaching the Dakar podium in Buenos Aires, Argentina. And along the way he has won so many fans around the world, and inspired each and every one… not to mention how proud he has made South Africans everywhere. Racing at […]