The University of the Witswatersrand (Wits) in Johannesburg, South Africa, has leaped into the top position of all universities in Africa in the latest Shanghai rankings. According to Wits, the latest Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) – otherwise known as the Shanghai rankings – places Wits amongst the top 1 percent of all universities […]

The Democratic Alliance has condemned “the cold-blooded assassination” of its councillor, Johannes Baaitjies, on Wednesday night.  In a statement on the DA website, it said “Baaitjies was found lying on his face on the main road between Danielskuil and Postmasburg [Wednesday] night. He was shot twice in the head and once in the upper body, and dragged […]

PRETORIA – Newly elected Tshwane mayor, the DA’s Solly Msimanga, declared that today “corruption, cronyism, nepotism and patronage comes to an end” in the capital. He said there will be no more “blue lights” and that Tshwane is to be a city for all the people and not just a small-connected group. Msimanga was sworn in […]

Sunette Viljoen secured South Africa another Silver medal in the Rio Olympics on Thursday, with a throw of 64.92 in the women’s Javelin. We congratulate @Sunette_Viljoen on her #Silver Medal at the #Rio2016 #Olympics 🇿🇦 Dankie! pic.twitter.com/dtHtghjQEY — South African Government (@GovernmentZA) August 19, 2016 It was her first throw that secured the silver. Her third […]

It’s all hail King Henri the Third as Team South Africa triathlete Henri Schoeman raced to third place and South Africa’s second bronze medal of the Olympic Games on Thursday. Schoeman, who just a day ago was running the medical gauntlet in the Athletes’ Village to alleviate fears of a possible respiratory infection before getting […]

CAPE TOWN – A young child has allegedly been killed at a lion sanctuary near Parys, in South Africa, today. Four Paws organisation says “another victim of canned hunting, this time a child”. According to FOUR PAWS, the incident occurred at the Otavi Lion Sanctuary. In a press release Thursday, Four Paws said that Parys Police Department confirmed […]

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – Africa’s biggest Coke bottler, Coca-Cola Beverages Africa, will rethink its spending plans in South Africa if Pretoria’s proposed tax on sugary drinks gets the green light, a spokeswoman said on Thursday. In a bid to fight a growing obesity rate in the continent’s most lucrative market for Coca-Cola and fast-food chains in […]

JOHANNESBURG – Leader of the Democratic Alliance, Mmusi Maimane, made the following remarks during a press conference held in Johannesburg Wednesday afternoon: “The Local Government Elections held on the 03 August 2016 were a watershed moment in South Africa’s democratic era. These elections saw millions of South Africans across the country voting for change. “In years […]

South African athlete Caster Semenya cruised into first place in Heat 2 of the Women’s 800m today in Rio – in a time of 1:59.31, securing her spot in the Olympic semi-finals on Friday (02:15 SA time). South Africans tweeted their joy, saying things like “that was the longest 2 mins of my life  but […]

South Africans have come out in strong support of Caster Semenya as her bid for gold begins today in the Women’s 800m heats at the Olympic Games in Rio, Brazil. She is in Heat 2 which begins at 16:02 (4.02pm) South African time. The semi-finals are on Friday at 02:15 and the final is on […]

#DieStem is trending at the top of Twitter in South Africa after EFF commander in chief Julius Malema revealed Wednesday that one of the EFF’s conditions for #CoalitionTalks included the removal of Die Stem. Other conditions were land appropriation, nationalisation and free education. Further conditions to the ANC included remove eTolls and Jacob Zuma as SA President, […]

PRETORIA – The British High Commission in Pretoria says there is no truth in media reports that the UK has endorsed a visa-free entry for 18 African Commonwealth countries, as claimed in various posts being shared on social media. Several unscrupulous media outlets have published a fake story claiming that all Commonwealth citizens, including those in 18 African […]

The rhino horn is the conservation ‘Horn of the Dilemma’… According to UK museum keeper Paolo Viscardi: “A rumour that Traditional Asian Medicine containing powdered rhino horn could treat and prevent cancer (has resulted in), aside from the poaching of rhinoceros, the black market interest in taxidermy and cultural artefacts made from rhino horn (and) in […]

A man has been trampled to death by an elephant in the Kruger National Park (KNP), South Africa. His lifeless body was discovered by KNP rangers on Saturday 13 August 2016, possibly a day after the tragic incident occurred. The news was announced Monday by SA National Parks (SANParks). According to a media release, KNP rangers discovered the man’s […]

BAUCHI, Nigeria (Reuters) – Nigerian militant group Boko Haram has published a video apparently showing recent footage of dozens of school girls kidnapped two years ago, and saying some of them have been killed in air strikes. Boko Haram seized more than 270 girls from their school in Chibok, northeast Nigeria, in April 2014, part […]

A dream came true Sunday for Wayde van Niekerk – and his country – as he made his Olympic goal true… to win gold in the Men’s 400m in Rio, Brazil. The South African athlete also broke Michael Johnson’s 17-year-old record to record a phenomenal world record of 43.03 sec! Twenty-four-year-old Van Niekerk ran the race in […]

It’s been exactly one month since the tragic and awful truck attack on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, France. And with tensions still running high on the Cote d’Azur, there was a mad stampede tonight in beach resort Juan-les-Pins after people thought they heard gun shots. Rumours were rife on Twitter that a 4×4 […]

South African golfer Jaco van Zyl made Olympic history on Saturday when he hit the second ace of the week… and just the second hole-in-one in the Games history! Van Zyl recorded the history-making moment on the eighth hole during the third round in Rio. Justin Rose from England – who incidentally was born in Johannesburg – […]

Long-jumper Luvo Manyonga is Team South Africa’s man of the moment after winning a memorable Silver medal at the Olympics and inspiring headlines around the world. Manyonga, who battled drug addiction, said: “I’ve risen from my demons…they’ve been trying for years to pull me down, but now I made it, hey.” In South Africa many were outraged by […]

The South African Minister of Sport, Fikile Mbalula, has called on South Africans to support the country’s Olympic athlete Caster Semenya. Semenya (25) has become one of the most talked about athletes at the Olympics this year, with a spate of articles – particularly in American media – questioning the fairness of her inclusion in […]

In his darkest hour Chad le Clos had told the world, ‘don’t judge me when I’m roaring like a lion, judge me when I’ve got my back against the wall’. Never before had the South African been so pinned against the wall as this week. It must have felt like someone had their forearm jammed against […]

There were five different codes being represented by South Africa on Friday. Here is a list of South Africans in competition. Times are Rio local and in brackets SA time. South Africa started the day with four medals. ROWING Women’s Lightweight Double Sculls, Final: Kirsten McCann and Ursula Grobler finished fifth in 7min 11.26sec. In a nutshell: McCann […]

Residents in the east of Pretoria, in South Africa, were shocked this morning to discover a tiger roaming their streets! The tiger had allegedly escaped from The Farm Inn Country Hotel & Wildlife Sanctuary in Silverlakes, just 20 minutes from Central Pretoria. Local business (and aptly named!) BeCool Rainbownation uploaded photos and text to their […]

Members of the extradition unit of Interpol have arrested a wanted United States fugitive, who has been on the run since 2009. Nichole Michelle King (44) had been on the most wanted for sentencing after she was found guilty on three offences relating to fraud and embezzlement of funds from her employer. “In June this […]

South Africa secured its fourth medal Thursday with SA’s Sevens team taking bronze after losing to Great Britain in the semi-finals and beating Japan in the bronze play-off. Their fans were there to cheer them on all the way – fully kitted and as passionate as the guys on the field. All photos below by […]