South Africa’s Professor Tulio de Oliveira has received huge praise at the World Health Summit in Berlin, Germany. The globally acclaimed bioinformatics scientist has been singled out for his sterling genomic sequencing work that led to the discovery of the Omicron variant of COVID-19. SA’s Health Ministry congratulated Prof de Oliveira who has been “praised […]

Scientific breakthroughs can happen in the strangest ways and places. Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin because of mould growing on a Petri dish left out while he was on holiday. Chinese monks in the 9th century wanted to make a potion for immortality: instead, they discovered gunpowder. By Charles Helm, Nelson Mandela University and Jan Carlo […]

The DA has won its battle to force President Cyril Ramaphosa to withdraw amendments he secretly made to the Ministerial Handbook back in April. While South Africans face loadshedding and water shortages, the amendments planned to force taxpayers to foot the bill for the ministers who helped create the crisis to enjoy free electricity and water. […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa says the “phenomenally successful” official State Visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia this weekend has paved the way for billions of dollars’ worth of investments to flow into South Africa. The visit to the Middle Eastern country was aimed at strengthening bilateral ties and trade relations between the two countries. The […]

South African comedian Trevor Noah appeared on The Tonight Show this week, opening up about his decision to leave The Daily Show, people mistaking him as The Weeknd during Halloween in New York, and his new documentary series The Turning Point, which starts on 23 October and takes a deeper dive into the news behind […]

British-South African endurance swimmer Lewis Pugh – who is currently swimming across the Red Sea (the first person to ever do so!) – has swum into Sharm El-Sheikh with an urgent message for world leaders, who will be gathering at the Egyptian resort in three week’s time for this year’s crucial UN Climate Summit (COP27). […]

The Karoo Desert National Botanical Garden is a spectacular showcase of flora from South Africa’s arid and semi-arid regions. Located in Worcester, the garden is famous for its kokerboom, succulents, aloes and bright coloured vygies (when in season). And with a brand new braille trail, these attractions have become more accessible than ever. A braille […]

Here’s what’s coming up on Carte Blanche this weekend. You can watch the show on Sunday 16 October in South Africa on DStv Now or stream it overseas in most countries from 18 October if you’re abroad. Mammabearsteffs Behind the decks her grey hair is backlit by laser lights. She whoops at the crowd and […]

KZN-based comedian Rory Petzer has come up with some classic tips on questions to ask on a first date if you’re in Durban, South Africa. As he says: “Dating is different in 2022. ?????” In a 50″ video, Rory says the tips are for those in Durban, and in South Africa in general. Gone are […]

Forté Entertainment is currently casting for the second season of HOW I GOT HERE, a documentary TV series where second-generation Americans and Canadians embark on the adventure of a lifetime: travelling with a parent back to their country of origin to explore their culture, immerse themselves in local customs, and reunite with loved ones. And […]

JOHANNESBURG – Comedy Central announced today that Trevor Noah will be hosting his final episode of ‘The Daily Show with Trevor Noah’ on Thursday, December 8th. Leading up to his last day, the Emmy®-winning franchise will celebrate Noah’s seven-year run with a look back at his greatest moments. The award-winning late-night franchise will then return […]

(Reuters) – The world’s richest man, Elon Musk who was born and brought up in South Africa, has scented a new opportunity to capitalise on quirky products, launching a perfume called “Burnt Hair” that  sold 10,000 bottles to earn a million dollars in just a few hours. By the time Musk went to sleep on […]

Fugitive Ruth Lawrence, who has been on the run for eight years for the double murder of two best friends has agreed to return to Ireland to face the music. She has been hiding in South Africa for the past eight years. Dubliner Ruth, 42, was dramatically arrested in South Africa last week after a […]

PARKTOWN – The Serious and Violent Crime (SVC) unit in Gauteng has arrested Johannesburg’s most wanted suspected arsonist. The notorious criminal – known as the ‘Sandton Arsonist’ – is linked to murder, residential burglary and 25 counts of arson committed in Johannesburg northern suburbs in the past two years. The arrest took place at around […]

A video has captured the moment an amazingly obedient – and rather large! – baboon does as requested in a hotel room in South Africa! The incident reportedly took place at Sun City. A woman can be heard politely begging: “Please go…” and then adding incredulously “udl’ushukela” (you eat sugar?)… to which the sugar-loving baboon […]

The police officers that used to search his belongings looking for drugs are now among “the shoe doctor” Eric Poku’s best customers. “The police thought I was selling drugs and using the shoe business as a cover,” said Poku, a cobbler who has been running his shoe-stitching business at Bosman Street in Pretoria Central, Tshwane […]

The UN General Assembly has elected South Africa, along with 13 other states, to the Human Rights Council for a three-year terms which starts on 1 January 2023. The other newly elected states are: Algeria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Chile, Costa Rica, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, Morocco, Romania and Vietnam. Germany and Sudan also won second terms on the […]

South African swimmers Matt Sates and Chad le Clos have their sights set on this year’s FINA World Cup in Berlin, Germany, later this month. The overall prize money is $1.2-million, before even factoring in for bonuses. At just 19-year-old, Matt is last year’s FINA World Cup overall defending champion with 18 medals. Last year […]

Incredible drone footage (watch below) has captured the scene as a pod of dolphins appear to chase a Great White away from Plettenberg Bay, where two fatal shark attacks have taken place this year, the most recent just over a fortnight ago. Thirty-eight year old Cape Town mom and restaurant owner Kimon Bisogno was tragically […]

London Underground did a lekker thing for South African musician Jeremy Loops when he played in London on Thursday. Hammersmith tube station not only posted a message to ticket-holders with directions on how to get to the venue (Eventim Apollo) BUT even customised the message, playing on the name of Jeremy’s latest album ‘Heard You […]

Kite enthusiasts enjoyed a brilliantly windy day today at the 28th Cape Town International Kite Festival, where both good spirits and colourful kites flew sky-high, raising awareness of World Mental Health Day (Monday 10 October) and funds for mental health support. From a large pink airplane to a kite depicting a dementor from the Harry […]

Cradock – Andy Birkett and Bridgitte Hartley were crowned SA K1 River champions after wrapping up victories in the men’s and women’s races at the 40th Fish River Canoe Marathon on Saturday. By Dave Macleod. A week after he won the world marathon title, Birkett showed his class and form as he added another four […]

The Ukrainian woman, Anichka Penev (35), who was kidnapped in Cape Town, South Africa, just over a week ago has been safely found and reunited with her family. A video of her terrifying abduction on 29 September went viral. The incident occurred on Ipswich Street Blackheath, in front of Nioro Plastics, a plastic bottle manufacturing […]

South Africans are expected to wake up to no load shedding on Saturday morning for the first time in at least three weeks following the suspension of load shedding. State power utility Eskom has underwent several weeks of challenges with breakdowns and slow returns to service at multiple power stations causing severe constraints to the […]

Amidst news of load-shedding, corruption and crime, there’s one post that’s providing a flicker of hope and joy for South Africans… reminding everyone that the grass is not necessarily greener on the other side, and that together we are stronger to tackle issues, and should celebrate all the things that make South Africans unique and […]