Queen Elizabeth II welcomed South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa to Windsor Castle on Tuesday 17 April 2018, where she presented him with letters exchanged between her and former President Nelson Mandela. The letters between the British monarch and Madiba marked South Africa’s re-entry to the Commonwealth in 1994. President Ramaphosa is joined in the UK […]

A total of 510 people lost their lives across South African roads over the 2018 Easter period, Transport Minister Blade Nzimande said on Tuesday. Announcing the 2018 preliminary Easter Road Safety Report at Parliament’s Imbizo media centre, Minister Nzimande said the main contributory factors to road fatalities from 29 March to 9 April were related […]

Nobody’s quite sure who wrote the Rules for Driving in South Africa… but we all know most of them are true!   RULES FOR DRIVING IN SOUTH AFRICA 1. Never indicate – it gives away your next move. A real south African driver never uses indicators. 2. Under no circumstance should you leave a safe […]

Despite living together for nine years, a life partner visa has been refused three times. A Democratic Republic of Congo immigrant and his partner say “diabolical” administration by the Department of Home Affairs is preventing him from legalising his status. For 15 months, Rodriquez Baguma and Sarah Hubbard have been trying to obtain a life […]

Ian Macdonald – who dedicated the last two years of his life to students of Hillwood Primary in Lavender Park, and who was renowned for spreading good news about South Africa – sadly passed way in a head on collision on 20 February 2018, the day after his 44th birthday. The Noordhoek resident and father of three, was actively […]

A frightening fire broke out near the Franschhoek Pass on Sunday evening. Western Cape photographer Justin Sullivan captured the following photos, on assignment for Walking with Fire: A Wildfire Documentary. Justin said: “A number of crews were quick to respond and made exceptional progress with the wind shifts and steep terrain. The Fire was moving from […]

Following recent marches and reports in foreign media about a ‘genocide’ in South Africa targeted at white farmers, the DA Abroad has issued a statement strongly condemning the orchestrated narrative. “There have recently been numerous reports from Australia and Belgium media, as well as various protest action against an alleged “white genocide” taking place in […]

The Joint Constitutional Review Committee, set up to review Section 25 of the Constitution to make it possible for the state to expropriate land without compensation, has called for written public submissions. The committee was instructed by the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces to review section 25 of the Constitution and other […]

A dedicated team has been set up to deal with the bird flu outbreak in the North West, South Africa. The Department of Rural, Environment and Agricultural Development has confirmed that Madibeng and Maquassi Hills have been hit by an outbreak of High Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), commonly known as bird flu. One of the […]

Drakensberg resident Megan Bedingham has penned the following letter to South Africa’s Minister of Tourism, Derek Hanekom… Dear Minister of Tourism, Mr Derek Hanekom Greetings from the Drakensberg! I have been incredibly privileged to grow up in this remote part of South Africa, and since I was a young girl my dream was always to come […]

A brave Eastern Cape woman – who was shot, tied up with wire and raped on her farm in South Africa three weeks ago – says her message to Australia is “we need help”. Nicky (whose surname was not revealed) described the harrowing experience to an Australian radio station, revealing she does not believe the […]

South African actress Charlize Theron says she may need to leave Hollywood because of racism. Charlize, whose two adopted children – Jackson (8) and August (2) are black – told Elle magazine for their May issue: “Racism is much more alive and well than people thought.” The 42-year-old said that “being raised during the apartheid […]

Kenyan wildlife conservationist Daphne Sheldrick, famous for saving orphaned elephants, has sadly passed away at the age of 83, after a long battle with breast cancer. Daphne – who founded the famous David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (DSWT) in 1977, which she named after her late husband – died Thursday evening, 12 April 2018, according to […]

Most Gauteng dams are bursting at the seams, thanks to the incessant rains that fell over large parts of the province recently. According to a weekly report released by the department this week, the average level recorded after the rains stood at 101%, followed by Free State and Mpumalanga with 92.2% and 81.7%, respectively “However, […]

Here’s this week’s Carte Blanche line-up, available for South Africans living abroad from Tuesday – 17 April 2018 – if you subscribe to Showmax International. Human Rabies It’s a brutal disease with fatal consequences. A rabies outbreak has once again reared its head in KwaZulu-Natal. This has led to the death of 4 people including its […]

The Department of Environmental Affairs and stakeholder within the environmental sector are identifying 10 million hectares of suitable land for previously disadvantaged individuals and communities to become owners of sustainable wildlife-based business ventures. The new owners would be supported with infrastructural development (game fence, ecotourism facilities etc), game donation/loaning, skills development and training, access to […]

Police have made a major breakthrough in the fight against the scourge of drugs with the discovery of what appears to be a drug laboratory at a house in Orlando West, Soweto, this morning. National Police Commissioner, General Khehla Sitole, visited the house in Soweto which was being used as a multi-million rand clandestine drug […]

The DA party has denied reports that the party has taken a decision to charge Cape Town Mayor, Patricia De Lille, over her attendance of the EFF’s Memorial Service in honour of Mama Winnie Madikizela-Mandela. “These reports are simply untrue,” said Refiloe Nt’sekhe, DA National Spokesperson, in a media statement Thursday. De Lille’s attendance at the […]

According to EFF leader Julius Malema, women can actually do better than men. In a tribute to Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, Malema said she proved that when she stood alone in the ’80s while the men went ‘under the table’. The Commander-in-Chief of the Economic Freedom Fighters said the first female president of South Africa must come […]

Family, friends, government officials, the diplomatic corps and ordinary South Africans came in their numbers on Wednesday to bid the woman who became known as the face of the South African liberation movement, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, goodbye in song and praise. Memorial in Soweto remembers anti-apartheid activist Winnie Mandela #WinnieMandelaMemorialhttps://t.co/iyRYVjONX8 pic.twitter.com/Koyrpcekyf — BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) […]

The South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) has confirmed the detention of South African citizen, Justin Van Pletzen, in Dubai. In a statement on Wednesday, the department said it has received confirmation from the South African Consulate-General in Dubai that the South African expat – who has been living in the United […]

Western Cape MEC for Education, Debbie Schäfer, has expressed her heartfelt condolences to the family of the Middelpos Primary School teacher who was shot and killed on Wednesday morning in South Africa. The teacher was allegedly shot by a man, believed to be her ex-spouse. The perpetrator is reported to have then turned the gun […]

The civil rights organisation AfriForum today filed criminal charges of corruption, fraud, theft, extortion and forgery against Shaun Abrahams, the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP), and six other senior members of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA). “This follows after AfriForum received an anonymous letter that elaborates on allegations of serious criminal conduct. In this […]

China’s decision to suspend presidential term limits is still reverberating around the world. The announcement, made after a vote by China’s parliament in March, prompted some commentators to draw comparisons with “third termism” in Africa, when leaders flout democratic conventions to stay in power as long as possible. These concerns certainly resonate on a continent where leaders […]

Former South African president Nelson Mandela’s grandson, Mandla Mandela, delivered a heartfelt tribute to ‘Mother of the Nation’, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela at the African National Congress (ANC) memorial ceremony in Khayelitsha on Monday. A rose has been plucked from our garden of heroes. One whom we all called Nobandla‚ Mangutyana‚ Mam Winnie or simply Mummy is […]