OSLO – Three scientists who worked on cures for river blindness, which greatly affects Africa, and malaria will share the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine. The Nobel Assembly said on Monday the prize would go to William Campbell and Satoshi Ōmura for their discoveries concerning a novel therapy against infections caused by roundworm parasites, and the other half […]

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – Volkswagen’s South African unit said on Monday all its vehicles in Africa’s most advanced economy are compliant with environmental laws, following the emissions testing scandal, which has rocked the global car industry. The South African business said its vehicles comply with the published CO2 values and were technically safe and roadworthy. “There […]

PRETORIA – A parole board in South Africa is to meet on Monday to determine whether Oscar Pistorius should be released early from prison, according to news reports. Pistorius, who was found guilty last year of culpable homicide for the death of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, was due to leave prison in August to serve the […]

JOHANNESBURG – The much praised and often vilified French economist Thomas Piketty delivered the 13th Annual Nelson Mandela lecture at Johannesburg’s Soweto campus on Saturday, spending much of his well-applauded speech on inequality. Pointing out that up to 65 percent of all income earned in South Africa goes to the top 10 percent, he said the […]

JOHANNESBURG – A brouhaha seems to be building up again over a satirical artwork depicting President Jacob Zuma’s penis, and the government has already condemned the work. The cartoon by Anton Kannemeyer shows a giant black penis and scrotum hovering above a group of angry black demonstrators carrying a banner that demands, “Respect for the president’s […]

You never know what you’re going to find up one of the alleys in Kalk Bay, a gem on the False Bay side of Cape Town, and it just makes you want to explore. So says one of the locals interviewed by musician Arno Carstens in a recent video about the artist-town-meets-fishing-village. The video gives you a good […]

GENEVA – Rwandans have been fleeing their country since 1959 and through the horrific events of the 1990s, although that is likely coming to an end, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. The agency said on Friday that after a meeting of ministers from Rwanda, 11 countries hosting the refugees (including South Africa), the African […]

If you missed the Thursday night episode of ‘The Daily Show’, the audience got a lesson in African presidents, thanks to new host Trevor Noah, who was comparing US presidential candidate Donald Trump to Jacob Zuma, Robert Mugabe, Idi Amin and Muammar Gaddafi, among others. With the subheading ‘Orange is the new Black’ – and […]

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa’s public prosecutor Thuli Madonsela has said that she would use information from a US government investigation into Hitachi Ltd over allegations  the company made “improper” payments to an African National Congress-backed company in order to get a contract for the building of two power stations, according to a report on Friday. Hitachi agreed to pay a […]

Just great, so far. Yes, Trevor Noah seems to have taken to hosting the ‘Daily Show’ in the United States almost as if he was to the manor – or should that be the manner? – born. In the weeks leading up to his takeover of the show from Jon Stewart after 16 years, many […]