Right on the heels of a record heatwave in Gauteng, an area near Johannesburg was hit by a massive hailstorm on Saturday afternoon, leading to the evacuation of a shopping centre after its roof collapsed, according to the Weather Channel. The Key West Shopping center in Krugersdorp was hit by the storm at around 4pm. Pictures of severe damage were circulating soon […]

One of two new chimpanzees acquired by the Pretoria Zoo managed to escape on Saturday and was wandering around the streets of Pretoria before being caught and returned to his new home. The National Zoological Gardens of South Africa said in a statement that the chimp went on “a bit of a walkabout outside the […]

The ANC’s leader in the Western Cape, Marius Fransman, has been accused of sexually abusing a woman he had just hired as his personal assistant and then offered payment for her to keep quiet, according to news reports on Sunday. News of the allegations were reported at the start of the weekend, just as the African National […]

In 1666 the Dutch East India Company began the construction of the Castle of Good Hope. Now, 350 years later, the star-shaped stone fort is becoming as much an image of colonial rule as an edifice promoting inclusion and reconciliation. On 2 January, the Kaapse Klopse parade for the Tweede Nuwe Jaar coincided with the birthday ceremony at the Castle, with […]

In a Mark Zuckerberg-like gesture of incredible kindness and philanthropy, the head of a Johannesburg-based fund manager controlling $35 billion has given his family’s controlling stake in the company to a charitable foundation, according to news reports and a statement by the company. Control of Allan Gray and its Bermunda-based partner Orbis Investment Management has been transferred to the […]

Cape Town has had one of the busiest-ever holiday seasons, according to early figures – and it’s not over yet – the Cape Town tourism authority has said. Two major attractions, Table Mountain Cableway (with 28 percent more visitors than December 2014) and Robben Island (with 43 percent more visitors, almost 47,000 in December), had record-breaking numbers, […]

PRETORIA – South Africa said on Thursday it had come to an agreement with the U.S. at the 11th hour over poultry imports that were threatening to sabotage the country’s preferential access to the U.S. for several agricultural products. “All outstanding issues on AGOA (the African Growth and Opportunity Act) have been agreed upon and finalised and negotiations have […]

The successful U.S. streaming entertainment company Netflix has broadened its global outreach to South Africa, where it launched this week and goes up against local streaming company ShowMax, which began in 2015. South Africa is one of 130 countries that will get Netflix from Wednesday. The latest move means that Netflix is now available in […]

MIDRAND – While the number of grade 12 enrolments in 2015 was the highest in the history of South Africa’s basic education system, almost 800,000, the pass rate dropped more than five percent over the past year, according to the Minister of Education Angie Motshekga. At the same time it was announced that the top achiever […]

The singer Beyoncé wants to make a movie playing Saartjie Baartman, the Khoi woman who was sent to Europe in the 19th century and spent the rest of her short life as an oddity gawked at by Europeans, according to news reports. The Grammy winner who has acted in movies like “Dreamgirls” has apparently requested countless books on […]

While reports over the last few days claim rhino poaching in South Africa is marginally down for 2015, some conservationists warn it’s too early to tell and say the government might not be releasing figures regularly to create the impression that poaching is not a problem. “The Department of Environmental Affairs’ decision to not release stats regularly has had the […]

Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s daughter, Mpho Tutu, has married her partner in a private ceremony which took place in the Netherlands on Wednesday. Reverend Canon Mpho Tutu, who is the fourth daughter of Archbishop Tutu (84), wed her partner Marceline van Furth in Europe where Van Furth is a professor in Pediatric Infectious Diseases at the Vrije University in […]

American singer Natalie Cole has passed away in Los Angeles at the age of 65. According to a statement from her family, she died in hospital on New Year’s Eve “due to complications from ongoing health issues”. The talented musician – who took part in the first Free Nelson Mandela concert – was inspired to […]

The US-based Elephant Action League (EAL) on Wednesday published a report on its undercover investigation in mainland China and Hong Kong in an effort to expose the areas – which include using a South African taxidermist – where illegal ivory opportunistically enters the legal ivory market, and where China’s legal trade system and legal businesses are exploited to launder illegal […]

DURBAN – President Jacob Zuma has received the final report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Strategic Defence Procurement Packages, also known as the Arms Deal Commission, the presidency said in a statement on Wednesday. The commission, chaired by Judge Willie Seriti, was established in September 2011 to investigate allegations of fraud, corruption, impropriety or irregularity in the multibillion-rand arms deal. “The […]

A camera system has been designed to track wildlife and trap poachers in conservation areas and protect some of their most endangered species, according to the Zoological Society London (ZSL) and their co-developers. ZSL and its partners have created Instant Detect, which they say could be a critical tool in the fight against rhino-poaching. The camera […]

PRETORIA – Justice and Correctional Services Minister Michael Masutha has dismissed a petition submitted by lawyers representing the Abathembu King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo, who was sentenced to 15 years in jail in 2009 for various crimes, to reopen his case in Mthatha High Court. The Minister on Tuesday said he was unable to find anything contained in the aforesaid […]

There may be a new player on the entertainment block in 2016, with numerous reports saying that the well-known U.S. streaming company Netflix will enter the South African market as early as January. Streaming provider Netflix, which shows movies and TV series, some of them originally made, said in January 2015 that it was planning to enter South […]

CAPE TOWN – Measures introduced earlier this year to protect the endangered penguins in Simonstown after a spate of killings have been effective so far, according to the city of Cape Town. The city said in a statement on Tuesday that at least 40 penguins were killed in 2015 before it introduced measures to protect them, and […]

Following recent reports of several families a day being turned away from boarding their South Africa-bound planes from Heathrow Airport, the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) has issued a press release refuting the claims. The DHA said it “has noted reports about UK-based travelers to South Africa experiencing serious problems as a result of our immigration regulations. We wish […]

The tiny town of Johannesburg in California doesn’t often make the news, but it did earlier Saturday when a magnitude 3.7 earthquake hit the area, followed by one of 3.8, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The earthquakes were fairly minor, and no damage was reported, although they did feature on several U.S. news reports. Johannesburg, an old mining […]

The South African cabinet has agreed to go ahead with a controversial 9,600 MW nuclear procurement programme, according to a Government Gazette notice released by the Department of Energy on 21 December. The Gazette notice released by Energy Minister Tina Joemat-Peterson, in consultation with the National Energy Regulator of South Africa, said her department would […]

PRETORIA – A North Korean diplomat who used the privileged diplomatic postal bag of his country to illegally smuggle rhino horn out of the country has been expelled from South Africa, according to news reports. The man, Park Chol-jun, apparently left the country on 11 December. According to one report, Park was arrested on 3 May in […]

PRETORIA – South African Airways has been told to go ahead with the deal that had been backed by former finance minister Nhlanhla Nene before he was sacked by President Jacob Zuma, it was announced on Monday night. The transaction will see SAA swap the purchase of 10 A320 aircraft for a lease of five […]

It isn’t often that major news publications write editorials about a government not their own, or take its leader to task. But in the last few days both The Economist in Britain and The New York Times have written severely critical pieces about President Jacob Zuma. While many local publications have criticised Zuma over the events that unfolded […]