The City of Cape Town has been selected from 630 applications, from 99 countries, as one of 50 Champion Cities to Advance in the Global Innovation Competition. The Comp is aimed at identifying the Most Transformative Urban Solutions during the Covid-19 Pandemic.  Cape Town was named as one of the 50 finalists in the 2021 Global […]

Botswana has announced the discovery of a diamond which they say is the third largest in the world. The whopping 1,098.3 carat diamond, was found on 1 June 2021. Holding the precious stone, President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi commended Debswana Diamond Company’s discovery, their largest to date. The largest diamond ever was discovered in South Africa […]

South Africa’s Deputy President David Mabuza says negotiations with the manufacturers of Sputnik V and Sinovac COVID-19 vaccines are at an advanced stage. The Deputy President said this when he responded to oral questions in the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) on Tuesday. “Further interventions being implemented to save lives are ongoing. Negotiations with vaccine […]

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa is addressing the nation Tuesday evening, 15 June 2021, with an update on SA’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The address comes after a meeting of the National Coronavirus Command Council, the President’s Coordinating Council and Cabinet. EFF Leader Julius Malema has tweeted a prediction that Ramaphosa will be introducing […]

The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) has decided not to release the long-awaited Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccines for use in South Africa. However, SAHPRA said about 300 000 doses from batches that have been cleared by the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) meet the requirements and will subsequently be released and […]

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has called on the leaders, gathered at the G7 Summit in the UK, to provide substantial support to the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator, and to support a temporary TRIPS (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) Waiver of Covid-19 vaccines. Ramaphosa said: “If the world is to emerge from this grave […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa has posted what look like fabulous holiday snaps from a faraway island location… but which are actually photos from British seaside county, Cornwall, where he is bumping shoulders – and elbows – with leaders from some of the wealthier nations in the world, who are gathered this weekend to get down to […]

Ingonyama land leases stripped people living on ancestral land of their customary rights… By Tania Broughton In a ruling that affects five million people in KwaZulu-Natal, the Pietermaritzburg High Court has ruled the Ingonyama Trust’s land leases unlawful. The Zulu King’s trust has been ordered to refund millions it collected on the leases. The court […]

The ANC Parliamentary Caucus says it welcomes some of the major reforms for South Africa announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa and Ministers in the last few days. Yesterday, Thursday 10 June 2021, President Ramaphosa announced strategic steps to reform South Africa’s electricity sector towards the achievement of a stable and secure supply of energy. “We […]

South African Airways will continue to fly thanks to a consortium which will purchase a 51% stake in the airline, which suffered great losses during the Jacob Zuma presidency years when his close ally Dudu Myeni was chairperson. The consortium – named as Takatso Consortium – will pay R3-billion, Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan announced […]

South African born and raised chef and businesswoman, Prue Leith (81) is set to be made a dame in the Queen’s Birthday Honours. The ‘Great British Bake Off’ star was made an OBE in 1989 and a CBE in 2010, and will now receive a damehood ahead of Queen Elizabeth II’s birthday this month, according […]

Eskom is currently implementing stage 3 load shedding, as there have been further breakdowns at Kusile, Matla and Tutuka power stations. The Stage 3 Loadshedding is due to continue until 10pm after which it will revert to Stage 2, said Eskom. The power utility noted a slight improvement in generation performance on Wednesday but said […]

DUBAI (Reuters) – The United Arab Emirates has ratified a 2018 extradition treaty with South Africa, its embassy in Pretoria said on Wednesday, a move that President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government hopes will lead to the return of the Gupta brothers to face corruption charges. South Africa signed the treaty with the UAE in late 2018, […]

Eskom has apologised to South Africans yet again as it plunged the country into Stage 4 blackouts this afternoon, expected to last until 22h00 tonight… after which it will revert to Stage 2 as had been previously communicated earlier in the day. The power utility blamed the increased loadshedding on high winter demand, together with […]

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, most processes in South Africa were significantly slowed down, with some Home Affairs services even being suspended throughout higher levels of the national lockdown. Although South Africans were relieved when the country moved to relaxed levels of lockdown, the difficulties in obtaining documents such as police clearance certificates […]

South Africa’s multi award-winning Restaurant Mosaic has found a fabulous new home far from its Pretoria roots… in France! Chef Chantel Dartnall announced on Facebook yesterday: “This is where our story will continue and our new chapter will start.” Chantel, who won the Best Female Chef in the World title in 2017, announced the closure […]

Eskom says it regrets to announce the implementation of Stage 1 load shedding between 5pm and 10pm on Monday evening… and cautioned that more power cuts are likely in the near future. According to the State-owned entity, tonight’s load shedding was due to the loss of two generation units at Kusile, and one each at […]

It’s been three and a half years since the epic crash of retailing giant Steinhoff – the biggest corporate scandal in South Africa’s history… which wiped more than R200 billion off the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. The company has admitted unlawful conduct, yet there have been no charges and no prosecutions. Currently, Steinhoff faces about 90 […]

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) – For the Khoi and San – South Africa’s first inhabitants – a verdant patch of land in Cape Town embodies victory and tragedy… writes Wendell Roelf. The two communities drove back cattle-raiding Portuguese soldiers there in 1510. But, a century and a half later, it was where Dutch settlers launched a […]

Passengers on the inaugural United Airlines flight from New York to OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, received a warm welcome on Friday 4 June 2021. The flight left Newark International Airport on Thursday, where the Consul General of South Africa in New York, Dr Motumisi Tawana, spoke at the launch. In South Africa, Tourism […]

Eskom Group Chief Executive (GCE) André de Ruyter has been cleared of allegations of racism by an independent inquiry. The inquiry, led by Advocate Ishmael Semenya, was established by the Eskom Board to probe a series of allegations made by Eskom’s former Chief Procurement Officer (CPO), Solly Tshitangano, against De Ruyter. The allegations included the […]

Immigrant spaza shop owners in Diepsloot say they have been struggling to recover tens (if not hundreds) of thousands of rands confiscated by police during Operation Okae Molao two months ago. In March under Operation Okae Molao immigrant-owned spaza shops in Diepsloot were targeted by police. Police say they confiscated R63,000 in cash and it […]

It’s been a while, but President Cyril Ramaphosa held a ‘family meeting’ in South Africa this evening (Sunday, 30 May 2021), addressing the nation on his concerns in containing the Covid-19 Pandemic, and announcing a move to Adjusted Alert Level 2 with effect from tomorrow (Monday 31 May). What does Level 2 Lockdown in South […]

A Special Tribunal has ordered that R18-million worth of assets belonging to former Transnet executive Herbert Msagala, be forfeited to the State. The assets include 35 luxury vehicles and five properties which include two farms and houses in gated estates. The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) said in a statement that it welcomed the Special Tribunal’s […]

Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan says the acquisition of a strategic partner for South African Airways (SAA) could be concluded in the next four to six weeks. “As you know, SAA is now out of business rescue as of the 30th of April. There is an interim board in place and an interim top management. […]