The amount of rain in Cape Town over the past few weeks is dramatically captured by the graph below published by the municipality, which shows the volume of the city’s major dams every week since 2018. Note what has happened in the last three weeks as represented by the dotted navy blue line. While rain […]

The board of the National Lotteries Commission (NLC) has approved a reparation process that will lead to apologies and, in some cases, financial reparation, to former staff who were punished or driven out of their jobs for blowing the whistle on corruption. New commissioner of the National Lotteries Commission (NLC), Jodi Scholtz, says the Lottery […]

Somali shopkeepers in Philippi, Cape Town, closed their shops for almost 12 hours on Saturday. They say a new criminal syndicate turned up demanding that they pay a “protection fee” if they wished to continue trading. On Saturday Somali spaza shop owners in Philippi were forced to close up for the day by a new […]

Professor Debra Roberts, the Durban-based climate researcher who is running for the position of chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), says that you no longer need to beat the climate drum; the impact of climate change is already here. Roberts will become the first woman from Africa to chair the IPCC, if […]

Most people know that the risk factors for heart disease are high blood pressure, smoking, raised cholesterol and being overweight. However, many people who have a heart attack do not have any of these traditional risk factors. Research has suggested that conditions such as gout, psoriasis, inflammatory bowel disease and rheumatoid arthritis are also risk […]

The citizens of Hammanskraal, a small town north of South Africa’s capital, Tshwane, have been dealing with the deaths of 23 residents from cholera since 23 May 2023. Tests to find the source are continuing. The initial assumption by residents and authorities was that poor quality water led to the outbreak. In one week in […]

Learners living in Vygieskraal informal settlement in Belgravia, Cape Town, missed examinations on Wednesday because of widespread flooding this week. School clothes and books were sopping wet, some no longer usable. The widespread flooding has affected informal settlements including Philippi, Strand, Gugulethu, Mfuleni, Masiphumelele, and Khayelitsha. According to Gift of the Givers, the number of people in […]

Citrusdal residents have been isolated in their town since Wednesday evening after heavy flooding cut off access to the Cederberg town. Some residents are stranded outside with no way to return to their homes. The main access road off the N7 highway, the R393, collapsed on Wednesday evening during heavy downpours. The rapid flowing Olifants […]

The Department of Transport has announced that the driving licence card production machine is back in full production. This follows the department’s announcement to the public in May 2023 that the machine was taken out of production for three weeks in order to replace a broken part identified during routine maintenance. Department spokesperson, Collen Msibi, […]

The City of Cape Town’s libraries and recreational facilities are offering hundreds of programmes this winter school holiday to keep young ones busy and warm. ‘The winter school holiday doesn’t lend itself to many outdoor ventures, but that doesn’t mean children have to be inactive or bored. We have hundreds of programmes planned for the […]

The parents of a 21-year-old Bloemfontein man who was buried by the state without their consent are demanding their son’s body be exhumed immediately. DNA tests were taken from a decomposed body believed to belong to a missing Bloemfontein man. After three years, the test results have not been obtained. In the meantime, the state […]

At least 48 boys from Qina in Centane, Eastern Cape have been chosen for a sports development programme recently launched by the Uyinene Mrwetyana Foundation (UMF). The main aim is to foster responsible and compassionate young men as a strategy to combat gender-based violence and femicide. Uyinene Mrwetyana was murdered inside a post office in Claremont, […]

Vacant lots that were used as dumping sites are being turned into safe gardens thanks to a non-profit organisation based in Salt River, Cape Town. A tour guide teamed up with a local horticulturist to form a non-profit organisation and create safe green spaces in the historic suburb. The economic crisis wrought by Covid lockdowns […]

The Namibia Stop 8 Housing Project in Inanda, eThekwini, started in 2019, but to date only one RDP house has been completed. The Namibia Stop 8 Housing Project in eThekwini started in 2019 but to date only one RDP house has been completed. Hundreds of families relocated for the project have been living in cramped […]

Deputy President Paul Mashatile has urged investors to continue investing in the country as more needs to be done to change the fortunes of the economy and create enough jobs to absorb new labour market entrants. “More than ever before, the Government and the business sector must work together to fund and invest in projects […]

Deputy President Paul Mashatile will on Friday, 16 June 2023, lead the National Youth Day commemoration in Mangaung, Free State. Youth Day will focus on “accelerating youth economic emancipation for a sustainable future”. It will also feature an “opportunities expo” with real-time education, funding and mentorship opportunities that young people can access. “The commemoration is […]

The Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG) is expected to host a jobs fair in an effort to address unemployment in the province. The jobs fair will be launched this Friday, 16 June 2023, in centres across the province. Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi said the initiative will not only address joblessness but also strengthen the provincial government’s capacity. […]

Dirk Brouwer (61), a resident of Strathavon, Johannesburg, has embarked on a deeply moving crowdfunding campaign on BackaBuddy to raise funds for his first grandson, Levi, who was born on January 23, 2023, with a rare Congenital Heart Defect known as singular ventricle complex. Levi’s unique heart condition, affecting only 0.005% of newborns, means he […]

South Africans who automatically lost their citizenship when they took citizenship of another country have been aided by the Supreme Court of Appeal. Since 1995, South Africans who gained citizenship of another country lost their South African citizenship automatically. A case brought by the Democratic Alliance challenging this has been successful in the Supreme Court […]

Families living in informal settlements situated in low-lying areas have had to abandon their homes because of flooding after heavy rains in Cape Town on Tuesday night. Many families with children say they don’t know where they will spend the coming nights. The cold front over the Western Cape is expected to last until Friday, […]

A report released by the South African government paints a grim picture of the country’s water resources and water infrastructure as well as the overall quality of its drinking water. The Blue Drop Watch Report – an interim report because it only assessed a sample of the facilities across the country – focused on the […]

Ten climate activists, dressed in suits and ties, managed to disrupt Standard Bank’s Annual General Meeting on Monday morning. The group were among about 200 people who gathered outside the head office in Rosebank Johannesburg, demanding that Standard Bank stop investing in fossil fuels. Ten climate activists disrupted Standard Bank’s Annual General Meeting on Monday […]

Presidential spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, has batted away suggestions that South Africa may be hit with international sanctions due to its non-aligned stance regarding the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Magwenya was addressing the media at the Union Buildings on Monday. Government has repeatedly described its stance as one supporting the emergence of peace between the two countries through […]

Investigative journalist outfit AmaBhungane has applied to court to urgently reconsider the “gagging order” curbing its reporting on the Moti Group based on “leaked” documents. AmaBhungane has applied to court to urgently reconsider a “gagging order” curbing its reporting on the Moti Group. It says the order, which was granted “in secret”, is a serious […]

More than a year after reserving judgment in an urgent application, Judge Colleen Collis has finally handed down her ruling. It confirms pharmaceutical giant Bayer’s patent rights. More than a year after pharmaceutical giant Bayer brought an “urgent application” to court, judgment has now been handed down. Pharmaceutical giant Bayer had previously obtained an interdict to stop […]