In its fourth annual report, in which it encourages South Africans to speak up against corruption, Corruption Watch has identified the most flagrant hotspots in South Africa as schools as well as traffic and licensing departments. In the report released this week, titled “Amp up the Volume” – the agency said that over the past four years […]

The parents of the teenager who was murdered in Tokai Forest in Cape Town yesterday, 7 March 2016, have launched an appeal for help to track down their daughter’s killer. In an emotional interview with EWN, Florian and Shireen Blöchliger say they are personally offering a reward in the region of R50,000 for information leading to […]

This evening mourners in Cape Town gathered at Tokai Forest to hold a vigil for Constantia Waldorf schoolgirl, Franziska Blöchliger, the 16-year-old who was brutally murdered in Tokai Lower Forest yesterday afternoon, Monday 7 March 2016. Edward Robbins, who was at the vigil, reported there were “several thousand people walking in total silence”. Watch video: Cars were parked […]

More than 3 million people visited their voting stations over the past weekend to register for the first time, to re-register and to update their registration details, the Electoral Commission of South Africa said in a statement on Tuesday. The IEC said it believed “the results show without doubt that South Africans remain highly committed to […]

Muhammadu Buhari’s inauguration as Nigeria’s president presents new opportunities for reinvigorating relations between Nigeria and South Africa, the continent’s biggest economies. Since the 1990s, the collective leadership of Nigeria and South Africa has been vital in providing the foundations for African renewal, the creation of institutions on the continent and the mobilisation of African voices […]

CAPE TOWN – A young teenager was attacked and killed in Tokai forest on Monday afternoon, according to the local crime watch. A spokesman for crime watch in the nearby neighbourhood of Kirstenhof said on a news report on Tuesday that the 15-year-old girl had gone out with her mother and some other people but had separated from them. Her […]

It’s been quite a week for campers in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park. On Tuesday morning I received a call that a man had been bitten by a hyaena, while he was asleep in his tent at Cape Vidal. Luckily it wasn’t life-threatening but nevertheless a hyaena with a penchant for biting people isn’t really what […]

PRETORIA – The New Development Bank of the five-nation BRICS grouping is officially open for business and has started hiring staff, according to the National Treasury. The bank is in the process of establishing its Africa Regional Centre in Johannesburg, as announced by Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan in his 2016 Budget Speech, and the Treasury […]

A ranger in Kruger National Park was wounded in a shootout with three suspected poachers on Sunday in which one of the men was fatally wounded, according to park authorities. Field Ranger Killers Ubisi was shot and wounded in the arm during a firefight in the central Houtboschrand section of the park, according to a statement […]

A strike at Johannesburg Zoo in South Africa has led to a unique opportunity for locals to volunteer and get up close and personal with some of the over 2,000 animals, while the allegedly illegal strike continues. The zoo workers went on strike on Friday, causing the zoo to shut down, because of apparent issues with salaries […]

After public outrage, world headlines, a petition and relentless support from her barrister, 92-year-old Myrtle Cothill is now allowed to remain in the UK with her daughter. Her barrister, Jan Doerfel, posted the following message to the petition page on Change.org today: “Right in time for [UK] Mother’s Day, we have been told by the Home Office that the original […]

The Gupta family, who have recently come under severe attack by politicians and the media for reportedly receiving preferential treatment and financial breaks in South Africa because of their close relationship with President Jacob Zuma, have denied a report they are leaving South Africa for Dubai. In an emailed statement to Fin24, a representative for Oakbay Investments, the […]

The Electoral Commission (IEC) has called on all eligible voters to come out in their numbers this weekend – 5-6 March – to register and to update their details ahead of the upcoming 2016 Municipal Elections during this weekend’s voter registration drive. This is one of the most anticipated local elections since 1994 as the African National […]

There will be an estimated 35,000 people riding the 109-km Cape Town Cycle Tour on Sunday, the biggest timed road race in the world, and it will include everyone from fund-raisers, moms and dads and kids, people in costumes, tandem riders, conservationists and even nudists. Well, the nudists won’t be ridding in the Cape Town Cycle Tour […]

The South African Constitutional Court has ruled that Oscar Pistorius is denied leave to appeal against his conviction for murdering Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day 2013. The verdict was upgraded from culpable homicide to murder on 3 December 2015, when the Supreme Court of Appeal ruled that Judge Thokozile Masipa and her lower court had not correctly […]

The coffee chain Starbucks is to open its first two stores in South Africa in April, one in Rosebank, Johannesburg, and the other in the massive Mall of Africa between Johannesburg and Pretoria, according to news reports on Thursday. The stores will be Starbucks’ first in sub-Saharan Africa. The chain will reportedly adapt its menu […]

MAPUTO – Debris from a plane found on a beach in Mozambique could come from the lost Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 that went down in 2014 while on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with the loss of 239 people. The one-metre-long piece of debris with the words “No Step” written on it was found in […]

The African National Congress chief whip in Parliament, Stone Sizani, who has been one of the loudest supporters of President Jacob Zuma in the house, has resigned from his seat and will be posted to Germany as South African ambassador, according to news reports on Wednesday. The ANC said in a statement that Sizani would […]

Mohau Pheko, South Africa’s ambassador to Japan, has said she regrets claiming she had a degree that she didn’t actually have, which came from a dubious university in America that closed after it was found to be selling degrees online. Pheko made the apology last week during an interview with the SABC, although she said that […]

Barclays Bank confirmed on Tuesday that it is leaving Africa – after a long history on the continent – but that it will be a long goodbye. The bank said it will not pack up immediately, but will sell down its 62 percent stake in Barclays Africa over two to three years. Investors seemed satisfied, with profits […]

In a series of tweets on Absa’s official Twitter page today, it reiterated Barclays Africa’s commitment to Africa, and that it continues to be “optimistic about our growth prospects, and to operate in the normal course of business.” In a media release on Absa’s website – following reports in the Financial Times that Barclays plans to announce […]

More than 1.4 million people have sent online emails lobbying the African National Congress members of parliament to support the no-confidence debate against President Jacob Zuma scheduled to be heard on Tuesday. The Democratic Alliance in December asked for the no-confidence debate and it was confirmed in January. It will take place at 2 p.m. South African time on Tuesday. […]

Race relations in South Africa are good, and the “acrimonious” debate that has raged in social media recently is not a reflection of what most South Africans feel, according to the Institute for Race Relations. In a statement on Monday accompanying a newly released study, IRR Policy Fellow Sara Gon said, “The results should fill all […]

A study by the non-profit Good Governance Africa has found that nine out of the 10 top municipalities in South Africa – out of a total of 234 – are in the Western Cape. Nine of the 10 worst are in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. The results of the survey could inform the decision of […]

Barclays PLC Chief Executive Jes Staley has decided to shut the bank’s operations in Africa, the Financial Times said on Friday, citing sources familiar with the matter. The bank’s board took the decision last week at a review led by Staley and plans to announce the exit on Tuesday, the FT said. The board has […]