JOHANNESBURG – South African business confidence fell to its lowest level in 34 years in August, as a sharp drop in export volumes and a weaker currency aggravated already tough economic conditions, a survey showed on Wednesday. The South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s monthly business confidence index (BCI) fell to 89.1 in August […]

Tanzania has seized ivory tusks equivalent to killing at least 117 elephants, its tourism minister said, part of its drive to stamp out organised criminal networks involved in years of industrial-scale poaching. The elephant population in Tanzania, famed for its wildlife reserves, shrank from 110,000 in 2009 to barely 43,000 in 2014, according to a 2015 census, […]

ABUJA – At least 640 Nigerians have signed up to take free flights home from South Africa after xenophobic attacks on foreigners, a spokeswoman for Nigeria’s president said on Tuesday. Private Nigerian airline Air Peace plans to operate two flights with Boeing 777 aircraft, the first leaving Lagos late on Tuesday to return on Wednesday […]

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa’s Denel named a new chief financial officer (CFO) on Monday – Carmen Le Grange – as the struggling state-owned defence firm seeks to improve corporate governance and return to profitability. A cornerstone of the country’s once-mighty defence industry, Denel recorded a 1.76 billion rand ($119 million) loss – its first in […]

JOHANNESBURG – This morning the Springboks, who are in Japan preparing for the Rugby World Cup (RWC), woke up to the devastating news that World Cup winner Chester Williams died after a suspected heart attack on Friday. “This was horrible news to wake up to,” coach Rassie Erasmus said in a statement. “There was a […]

GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo – Looking grey and gaunt, but relieved it’s over – South African mine worker Philippe Bota, who was kidnapped by militia in eastern Congo in late July. was released on Thursday. According to the official Twitter account of the province, Maniema, where he was taken, Bota had been captured for […]

Double Olympic champion Caster Semenya could trade her running shoes for soccer boots as early as next year after the 28-year-old signed for South African women’s club JVW FC. The South African athlete will not be able to defend her 800 metres title at the world championships later this month after the Swiss Federal Tribunal […]

LONDON – Britain’s Prince Harry will make a poignant visit to Angola this month to visit the landmine clearance project that featured in some of the most famous photographs of his late mother Princess Diana. The pictures of Diana wearing protective gear as she walked among red skull-and-crossbone signs in 1997 won vital publicity for […]

VENICE, Italy – South African director Oliver Hermanus hopes his new film about young soldiers during apartheid will help open up a conversation about what he calls “toxic masculinity” and LGBT rights. Set in 1981, Hermanus’ drama, provocatively called “Moffie” a derogatory slang term for being gay, shows a group of white teenage boys called […]

KIRINDY FOREST, Madagascar – As a shocked world watches fires ravage the Amazon, slash-and-burn farmers are wreaking proportionally worse destruction half a world away in Madagascar, driving humanity’s smallest relative – the Madame Berthe’s mouse lemur – to extinction. Frustrated conservationists hope Friday’s arrival of the environmentally-conscious Pope Francis will spotlight the island that lost […]

Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe was feted as an African liberation hero and champion of racial reconciliation when he first came to power in a nation divided by nearly a century of white colonial rule. Nearly four decades later, many at home and abroad denounced him as a power-obsessed autocrat willing to unleash death squads, rig elections […]

CAPE TOWN – South African President Cyril Ramaphosa told officials and business leaders on Wednesday that he was committed to quelling attacks on foreigners that have threatened to cast a cloud over an economic forum aimed at boosting intra-African trade. Police have arrested almost 300 people and confirmed at least five deaths after riots in […]

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s rand rose to a four-week high on Wednesday backed by a better-than-expected jump in second-quarter growth and improved risk sentiment globally, brushing off concerns over anti-immigrant protests. Stocks gained led by Naspers. At 1545 GMT the rand was 1.91% firmer at 14.8025 per dollar, its firmest level since Aug. 6, […]

CAPE TOWN – South African business leaders on Wednesday urged President Cyril Ramaphosa to push through reforms faster to lift the economy and curb investment outflows, as executives and policymakers gathered for a continental economic summit. Frustration is building in South Africa. Ramaphosa has promised sweeping reforms, but growth remains below 1% a year and […]

JOHANNESBURG – The Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) has called off the country’s friendly soccer international against South Africa in Lusaka on Saturday after riots in Johannesburg and the capital Pretoria left at least five people dead. South African police arrested more than 80 people and confirmed the five deaths as violence intensified on Tuesday, […]

South African chef Mario Barnard said he was “grossed out” and did not entirely enjoy eating grilled scorpions and crunchy insects mixed with garlic and spices on a trip to Thailand four years ago. But the experience inspired Barnard to start experimenting with insect-based meals and in July he opened a pop-up restaurant in Cape […]

PRETORIA – South African GDP grew more than expected in the second quarter thanks to a recovery in mining and manufacturing, official data showed on Tuesday, in a boost to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s efforts to revive a troubled economy. Growth in the three months to June was 3.1%, after a revised contraction of 3.1% in […]

The retail price of petrol in South Africa will rise by 0.7% from Sept. 4, while the price of wholesale diesel will increase by 1.8 percent, the energy department said on Monday. The price of petrol will rise by 11 cents to 16.03 rand ($1.05) per litre in the commercial hub of Gauteng province, while diesel will also […]

World record holder Wayde van Niekerk said he would not defend his 400-metres title at this month’s World Championships in Doha as he has yet to recover from a knee injury. The Olympic champion suffered the injury while playing a charity touch rugby game in October 2017 and has not raced internationally since. The 27-year-old […]

JOHANNESBURG – The South African Football Association (SAFA) have named little known Molefi Ntseki as their new Bafana Bafana head coach after his appointment was unanimously confirmed by the organisation’s national executive committee on Saturday. Ntseki, 50, led South Africa to the Under-17 World Cup in Chile in 2015 and worked as assistant to former […]

MIAMI – Hurricane Dorian spun across the Atlantic ocean toward Florida on Saturday, after growing into an even stronger Category 4 storm as residents and tourists alike hunkered down in one of America’s biggest vacation destinations (and home to many South African expats). Dorian – which is scheduled to make US landfall on Monday – […]

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa’s rand firmed against the U.S. dollar in late trade on Friday, as hopes for a rapprochement on trade between Beijing and Washington calmed investors’ nerves. The currency had suffered through much of August, sliding nearly 6% on fears of a downgrade to junk by Moody’s, and concerns about the trade dispute […]

JOHANNESBURG – South African state arms firm Denel said on Friday it had received a R1.8 billion ($118.13 million) bailout and that government would consider its request for a further R1-billion cash injection in budget planning for 2020/21. Denel, which has been struggling to emerge from a financial crisis, added in a statement it would […]

GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo – The death toll from Democratic Republic of Congo’s year-long Ebola outbreak has climbed above 2,000, government data showed on Friday, as responders battle to overcome community mistrust and widespread security problems. The death in neighbouring Uganda of a 9-year-old girl – who had tested positive for the virus after […]

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa lock Eben Etzebeth has denied any wrongdoing after an alleged racial assault at a bar last weekend as he met with the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) following a complaint by a member of the public. Local media reports say a man was allegedly racially and physically abused in the […]