A year ago, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, we predicted that school closures in South Africa would result in learning losses. A loss of contact learning time would lead to lower educational outcomes, and the losses would be higher in no-fee schools (serving children from low income families) than in fee-paying schools. Now […]

South Africa has reported 9 160 new COVID-19 cases, said the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD). There were 36 858 COVID-19 tests conducted on Monday. This translated to a 24.9% positivity rate, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 1 832 479. Of the latest infections, the majority were found in Gauteng (6 […]

South Africa’s internationally renowned opera singer Pretty Yende has described a horrific account of her experience at the hands of police officials at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris yesterday, Monday 21 June 2021. Yende (36) is in France to perform in La Sonnambula opera at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées. It was just five years […]

As Covid-19 cases rise rapidly, Gauteng Health MEC Nomathemba Mokgethi claims that hospitals are “still able to cope with the pressure at this stage”… but it’s an open secret in the province, amongst concerned friends and family, that some patients are being turned away. Others are sitting for two days in a chair, waiting for […]

An investigative team has revealed that sadly, the ‘diamonds’ that fortune seekers thought they had found in a village near Ladysmith, South Africa, were nothing more than quartz crystals. The team was deployed to investigate and identify the stones in KwaHlathi village following a ‘diamond rush’ last week which saw over 1,000 people from around […]

With Lockdown restrictions eased since last year, the rhino poaching war has certainly heated up in South Africa. The last seven days have been hectic – a suspected rhino poaching kingpin gunned down just before appearing in court, three suspected poachers arrested in separate incidents (with tourists helping report them), and at least 21 poaching […]

The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) announced Friday afternoon (18 June 2021) that South Africa’s long jumper Luvo Manyonga has been banned for four years. The AIU said in a tweet: “The Disciplinary Tribunal has banned South African long jumper Luvo Manyonga for four years from 23 December 2020 for whereabouts failures, his second violation of […]

Despite video interviews, sworn statements and even the BBC reporting on the record-breaking birth of ten babies in South Africa to a mom from Tembisa township, it turns out it was all a hoax. The mother – Gosiame Sithole – apparently was not even pregnant, according to several reports in SA. Pretoria News, owned by […]

Kenneth Kaunda, the former president of Zambia, who has died in hospital in the capital, Lusaka, at the age of 97, was the last of the giants of 20th century African nationalism… writes Gavin Evans, Birkbeck, University of London. He was also one of the few to depart with his reputation still intact. But perhaps […]

A keeper was mauled to death yesterday by a rogue Siberian tiger at a predator park near Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth) in South Africa, after the electric fence to its enclosure was turned off for maintenance. The tiger then went on to kill another tiger. Jasper, a male Siberian tiger, scaled the 12-foot high fence […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa, on the advice of the National Coronavirus Command Council, has tonight announced a move to Lockdown Level 3 as South Africa is suffering under a third wave of the coronavirus pandemic. See all new regulations below. What does Level 3 Lockdown mean? The new curfew is 10pm – 4 am Non-essential places […]

The dogs he walked would anticipate his arrival and recognise him when he arrived at the gate… writes Kimon de Greef. One dog would “do backflips,” her owner remembers. Others barked and raced around, wagging their tails. The name on his refugee permit was Kevin Ilunga Nkongolo. Many residents of Milnerton knew him as Kevin. […]

South Africa recorded 5 552 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, representing an 18.5% positivity rate. According to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), Gauteng continues to drive the third wave with 3 720 new infections reported, accounting for 67%. The province is followed by the Western Cape after 446 people were confirmed to have contracted […]

Two South African Police Service (SAPS) dogs were tragically killed whilst fighting crime in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), South Africa, yesterday. A third was helicoptered to the vet in critical condition (watch below). Three suspects were also fatally wounded during the shoot-out with police. IPSS Medical Rescue said on Tuesday morning: “We mourn the loss of two […]

South Africa detected 7 657 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, representing a 17.2% positivity rate. According to the latest data from the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), the majority of the new infections were logged in Gauteng after 4 891 people were confirmed to have contracted the virus. Meanwhile, the Western Cape recorded the second-highest […]

Tributes are being paid today at the special provincial funeral of one of South Africa’s icons – Shaleen Surtie-Richards who sadly died at the age of 66 on 7 June 2021. You can watch the service, being held at Durbanville in Cape Town, below. Flags across the Western Cape province have been lowered to half-mast […]

The PRO14 Rainbow Cup SA match between the Lions and Stormers, scheduled for Cape Town Stadium on Saturday, has been cancelled in line with COVID-19 protocols to limit the risk of further infection in the rugby community. The decision was taken as part of prescribed precautions advised by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) […]

South Africa on Thursday logged 9 149 new COVID-19 cases, which represents a 15.7% positivity testing rate. According to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), figures from the past seven days show that South Africa is now experiencing the third wave. “South Africa technically entered the third wave today as the national seven-day moving […]

South Africa detected 8 881 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, the highest daily spike since 23 January, when the country recorded 12 271 infections. According to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), the majority of new infections are from Gauteng, which accounts for 58%, followed by the Western Cape with 9%. The latest data show that […]

More than a hundred people marched from St George’s Cathedral to Parliament in Cape Town on Wednesday. They are demanding that former Western Cape Head of Detectives, Major-General Jeremy Vearey be reinstated. More than 100 people marched to Parliament on Wednesday demanding that former Western Cape Head of Detectives, Major-General Jeremy Vearey be reinstated. The […]

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 […]

JOHANNESBURG (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Armed groups in Mozambique are increasingly kidnapping children as a warfare tactic, putting victims at risk of sexual violence, early marriage and being used as fighters in the country’s worsening conflict, aid groups said on Wednesday… writes Kim Harrisberg. At least 51 children have been abducted over the last year in […]

The dam levels within the Integrated Vaal River System (IVRS), with the exception of four dams, have fallen this week while one remains unchanged for the second consecutive week. The system consists of 14 dams, which overlap Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Free State and the Northern Cape provinces. “Continuing to drop weekly, the IVRS has decreased further […]

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 […]

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has placed Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize on special leave, replacing him with SA’s Tourism Minister. Dr Mkhize had requested special leave in order to attend to allegations and investigations concerning contracts between the Department of Health and a service provider, Digital Vibes. The corruption scandal involves a R150-million contract […]