South African cricketer AB de Villiers has decided to step down as captain of the Standard Bank Proteas Test team with immediate effect. De Villiers was appointed in January following Hashim Amla’s resignation, and led the team in two Test matches against England before injury forced him to miss the series against New Zealand and Australia […]

South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma narrowly escaped a call from some senior members of the governing party’s national executive committee for him to step down. The first stern action from inside the African National Congress’ (ANC) leadership against Zuma, while quelled by his supporters, is reverberating far and wide. The economic cluster of government is […]

A total of 108,941 supporters flocked through the gates of the Cape Town Stadium this weekend and were treated to a try per minute during a highly successful second instalment of the Cape Town Sevens rugby tournament. The first day saw 53,946 people go through the turnstiles, while 54,995 were in the ground when the […]

CAPE TOWN – “Dit is lekker op die plaas”  is what Solms-Delta Wine Estate co-owner Professor Mark Solms said when Rural Development and Land Reform Minister Gugile Nkwinti launched the Strengthening the Relative Rights of People Working the Land policy (50/50) at the farm on Saturday. As most South Africans know, “Dit is lekker op die plaas” […]

When a 21-year-old University of Pretoria student got knocked off his motorbike last week by a car that cut in front of him, it was a group of unlikely Good Samaritans that rushed to his rescue – minibus taxis and an unknown fellow student on his way to an exam. In a post on Facebook, […]

The atmosphere at Cape Town Stadium is electric as the Blitzboks take on Wales in the first of four Cup quarter-finals on Sunday (kick-off at 12h04).  The hosts and defending champions topped Pool A yesterday with wins over Russia (41-0), the USA (28-10) and Australia (29-7).  The South Africans had a strong day Saturday on attack, […]

The Springbok Sevens team on Saturday opened their Cape Town Sevens title defence with a solid 41-0 win over Russia in pool A. The Blitzboks continued the good form they showed last weekend in Dubai and scored sevens tries against the Russians, who had very little possession in the match as they gave away possession […]

Western Cape firefighters are being celebrated for their innovative thinking on Friday morning, in the midst of a traffic nightmare. Bronwyn Smith, from Stellenbosch, captured the following photo which was uploaded to Facebook by former Cape Town city councillor, Jacques Weber. Jacques wrote: “When champions turn a negative into a positive, and use water from a flooded […]

The General Council of SA Rugby on Friday took a number of “ground-breaking decisions that will have far-reaching effects for rugby in the country in time,” according to SA Rugby President, Mark Alexander. The Council accepted a raft of constitutional changes that were designed to better reflect the needs of the Springbok team by re-shaping elements […]

Below is a sad, honest insight into the world of conservation in South Africa. This letter, written by journalist and conservationist JOHANN BOTHA on his Facebook timeline is about the penguins, but those fighting to save the rhino from extinction say it sums up how they are feeling too… WHY THE PENGUINS MUST DIE – by […]

PRETORIA – As of today, 100% of the workstations at OR Tambo International Airport will be used during peak hours over the festive season, as Home Affairs announces it’s deployed an additional 92 staff members for the airport over this busy period, to keep the flow of travellers moving as smoothly as possible. The additional staff […]

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond, is in South Africa on a two-day visit to showcase the UK’s commitment to forming even stronger global ties with SA… as the UK prepares to leave the EU. The Chancellor said: “As we leave the EU, Britain’s future prosperity depends on maintaining the strongest possible economic links with our European neighbours, […]

(Reuters) – John Glenn, who became one of the 20th century’s greatest explorers as the first American to orbit Earth and later as the world’s oldest astronaut, and also had a long career as a U.S. senator, died in Ohio on Thursday at age 95. Glenn, the last surviving member of the original seven American […]

Former South African president Thabo Mbeki has been appointed as chancellor of Unisa (University of South Africa). The announcement was made Thursday evening.  Mbeki will replace Judge Bernard Ngoepe, who is retiring after 15 years. At a farewell dinner on Tuesday night to honour Ngoepe’s chancellorship, the retired judge was described as calm, steady and authoritative; […]

The two accused men in the ‘Coffin Assault’ case have been denied bail and will remain in police custody over Christmas and New Year. Their next appearance in court will be on 25 January 2017. The two men, Theo Jackson and Willem Oosthuizen, were arrested after a video, taken by one of them, was shared on social media […]

South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma and most of his Cabinet received an ‘F’ rating for their 2016 performance on their Cabinet Report Card. The report was presented by opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Mmusi Maimane in Parliament on Wednesday. Maimane said it is “a comprehensive assessment of President Zuma and his Cabinet, which reflects a wholly unaccountable […]

Breaking with tradition, the Democratic Alliance Chief Whip, John Steenhuisen, praised African National Congress Chief Whip, Mphikwa Jackson Mthembu, in a heartfelt tribute to his “worthy opponent” in Parliament on Wednesday. In Steenhuisen’s final speech in Parliament for 2016, he thanked all those who work behind the scenes and thanked the Chief Whips of other opposition parties […]

PRETORIA – South Africa on Thursday rolled out the red carpet for Zambian President Edgar Lungu who is in the country for a state visit – with President Jacob Zuma welcoming him as a “dear brother” to the seat of government. President Lungu was greeted by a beaming President Zuma, a 21-gun salute and a guard of […]

PRETORIA – Home Affairs said at a meeting today that it is necessary to take fingerprints of all tourists or travellers visiting South Africa; and re-stressed the importance of all children to travel with the right documents. Home Affairs Director General Mkhuseli Apleni said Wednesday that this helps to identify the person, especially when a crime has been […]

Top female referee Aimee Barrett-Theron is living her dream – as the first female to be included on the SA Rugby National men’s panel, she will continue to break new ground when she makes Women’s Test debut later this month. Barrett-Theron was included on SA Rugby’s National B Panel for the first time, the only […]

There’s a new building in town – and it’s impossible to ignore. Shiny, shimmering, sexy and super-cool – South Africans are going crazy over the new Sasol global headquarters in Sandton, Johannesburg. According to Betapoint, Sasol’s strategic real estate advisory and implementation partner, the 67,000 square meter development consolidates Sasol’s previous 11 properties, which were spread […]

SA Rugby Test referee Craig Joubert on Wednesday announced his retirement from 15-a-side refereeing to take up his “dream job”, developing elite young match officials. Joubert, 39, has accepted a new position with World Rugby as a “Referee Talent Development Coach”, to help identify and develop the next crop of top men’s and women’s referees […]

In the small Free State town of Trompsburg, a new R380 million hospital continues to gather dust more than two years since its completion. Meanwhile, other clinics and hospitals in the region remain overstretched and under-resourced, according to health activist groups. Mariette Pittaway, the DA Spokesperson for Health in the Free State, says the new […]

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeals (SCA) on Tuesday overturned a ruling by a lower court granting a terminally ill patient the right to die, the Justice Ministry said, thereby upholding South Africa’s laws forbidding assisted suicide. In a groundbreaking ruling in 2015, South Africa’s High Court had granted a terminally ill […]

Reflecting on the third anniversary of the death of Nelson Mandela, Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa said we need to question whether we have the same calibre of leaders today, and emphasised that there is an urgent need to redistribute wealth. He was speaking at a Nelson Mandela Foundation event. Ramaphosa said: “Despite the progress of the […]