SAA, you’ve finally done it… writes (former) South African Airways pilot Phil Parsons. Sixteen months after last paying us and 26 years since hiring me, you’ve pulled the plug and retrenched us all. A sad day indeed. My sadness transcends the beautiful machines I’ve had the privilege of flying or the wide world SAA allowed […]

With the recent chaos specifically in the KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng provinces, and the media focus on these areas pertaining to the violent riots and looting, it is easy to get wrapped up in some tunnel vision, focusing exclusively on these events… writes Free State University’s Prof Petrus. The danger of this, of course, is that […]

Groups of residents in some parts of Brakpan have vowed to protect immigrant-owned shops. At a spaza shop in Langaville extension 4 belonging to Sharif Ahmed, originally from Bangladesh, there were long queues throughout the day on Wednesday. It is the only shop in the area left unstripped, thanks to a brave widow and a […]

Civil unrest in KwaZulu-Natal and parts of Gauteng has resulted in some people calling for a state of emergency to be declared under the State of Emergency Act. Here we explain what it is and how it is declared. Under the State of Emergency Act the government invokes temporary emergency powers meant to restore peace and public […]

The Durban warehouse belonging to FoodForward SA was ransacked on Tuesday, prompting the organisation to close all its branches in five cities, leaving some 675,000 people without the food it supplies. More than 125,000 vulnerable people depend on the food sourced from the Durban warehouse, according to FoodForward SA’s fund development manager, Deidre Adams. She said looters […]

A volunteer group that started on Tuesday has already attracted nearly 27,000 members willing to clean up looted shopping malls, donate money, and transport food. “I didn’t expect this small act of kindness to reach so many people. I am proud and overwhelmed,” says RebuildSA Facebook group founder Emelda Masango. Masango, from Soweto, Johannesburg, started […]

SAAI has called for farmers to be ready and “extra vigilant” in the midst of the extensive looting in KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng and elsewhere in South Africa. “They must remain in constant contact with each other and their organised agricultural structures, report incidents and keep their farms, families and workers safe,” SAAI said in a statement. […]

The Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry says as organised businesses they “urgently call upon President Cyril Ramaphosa to declare a State of Emergency in the province of KwaZulu Natal, as this disorderly behaviour continues to spiral out of control”. Violent protests have rocked the province since the imprisonment of former President Jacob Zuma late […]

Chadian abortion drama, Lingui – The Sacred Bonds, directed by Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, has reportedly been acquired by Mubi for distribution in North America, Latin America, the UK and Ireland. Writer-director Mahamat-Saleh Haroun previously won the Cannes’ Jury Prize with A Screaming Man in 2011, and also had Grigris selected for competition in 2013. His most recent […]

Following President Ramaphosa’s announcement that South Africa will remain on an adjusted LEVEL 4 lockdown for at least the next two weeks, Comair has announced it will extend the suspension of scheduled kulula.com and British Airways (operated by Comair) flights until 31 August 2021. Comair initially temporarily suspended its flights from 5 July 2021 due to […]

Looting and protests from the weekend continued in Alexandra, Johannesburg, on Monday. Reports initially linked the protests to calls for the release from prison of former President Jacob Zuma. Spaza shop owner Sayabo Wodimu lost all his stock and some of his equipment. “I don’t know what I did to deserve this. My shop is the […]

A rare blue diamond from South Africa, which was recovered at the Cullinan diamond mine in April, has been sold for a whopping $40,180,180 (over R580-million). At just under 40 carats, this equates to over $1-million per carat. Petra Diamonds said in a statement that it was “pleased” to announce that the 39.34 carat exceptional […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa tonight – Sunday 11 July 2021 – announced that Adjusted Level 4 will be extended for two weeks. Here is the South African President’s full statement: Two weeks ago I announced a set of additional measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus. In deciding to introduce these additional measures, Cabinet followed […]

At least 62 people have been arrested as protests, to demand the release of former President Jacob Zuma from prison, have spread from his home province of KwaZulu-Natal to South Africa’s economic centre, Gauteng. The Johannesburg Metro Police Department has today issued alerts about violent protests in and around the Joburg CBD, as hundreds of […]

The Durban Chamber of Commerce has condemned the ongoing protests and violence in Durban and across the KwaZulu-Natal province, and called for “urgent intervention” as supporters of former President Jacob Zuma attempt to shutdown KZN in a demand for Zuma’s release from prison. Zuma was sentenced to 15-months imprisonment for contempt of court (failing to […]

Director-General of the World Health Organisation, Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, this week reiterated his call for 10 percent of people in all countries to be vaccinated by September and for that figure to rise to 40 percent by the end of the year. This would position the world on the path to vaccinating 70 percent of […]

A fire at one of the biggest public hospitals in Johannesburg, the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital, and the delay in reopening the facility has brought infrastructural issues into sharp focus. The fire broke out in mid-April. Only now is a phased re-opening of the hospital being undertaken… writes Professor Daynia Ballot, University of the […]

The National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) efforts to repatriate corrupt-Gupta family members have received a major shot in the arm after Interpol issued red notices against two implicated brothers, their wives and other associates. The brothers – Atul and Rajesh Gupta– and their respective wives, Chetali and Arti are among those accused of fleecing the Free […]

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) has called on provincial Legislature Speaker, Nontembeko Boyce, to allow a debate on a Matter of Urgent Public Importance in terms of Rule 103. The move follows recent events at former president Jacob Zuma’s Nkandla home following the order that he be incarcerated as a result of contempt […]

The City of Cape Town’s Alderman James Vos has welcomed Belgium’s decision to upgrade its post in Cape Town, saying this “shows their commitment to our city and provides a clear path towards stronger relations with a key European partner”. Alderman Vos was recently joined by the newly-appointed Belgian Consul General Mathias Bogaert at an […]

Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Gwede Mantashe, has announced that the price of both grades of petrol will increase on Wednesday. The price of petrol 93 (ULP and LRP) will increase by 29 cents per litre and the price of 95 (ULP and LRP) will increase by 26 cents per litre, while the price […]

Government’s controversial alcohol bans are strongly associated with a large drop in unnatural deaths. This is a finding by University of Cape Town (UCT) and Medical Research Council (MRC) researchers, in a study published on Friday in the South African Medical Journal. Tom Moultrie and his colleagues compared weekly unnatural deaths (murders, vehicle collisions, suicides and accidents) […]

At the start of the Covid-19 lockdown last year, 27-year-old Lindokuhle Msomi was among millions of people who lost their income due to the imposed restrictions. Lindokuhle Msomi from Durban was able to use the R350 Covid-19 grant he received for nine months to support his family and start a fast food stall. Due to […]

The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has urged taxpayers to carefully consider working from home expenses before submitting claims to the revenue collector. SARS recently published an update on its website in relation to home office expenses. In a statement on Thursday, the revenue collector provided additional clarity for individual taxpayers who may be considering […]

Comair announced Friday that it is temporarily suspending all scheduled kulula.com and British Airways (operated by Comair) flights for three weeks. This follows President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement of a move in South Africa to an adjusted Level 4 lockdown and the prohibition on all non-essential travel in and out of Gauteng. Flights will be suspended […]