JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – The secretary general of South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC), who has been suspended by the party over corruption charges, told the SABC on Friday “I am not going anywhere” and said he was being treated unfairly. The ANC suspended Ace Magashule this week in line with tougher rules for members […]

(Reuters) – Kenya began its first national wildlife census on Friday, aiming to aid conservation and identify threats to its vast but threatened wildlife populations. The census will run until July, with rangers, researchers and community members counting animals on land and from helicopters. It will focus on counting rare species such as the pangolin, […]

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – A pair of boxing gloves worn by Nelson Mandela at the height of the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa lie under a thick layer of dust in a darkened room, the silence broken only by the thud of moths nose-diving onto the glass display case. The gloves were once one of the […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa says a proposal by South Africa at the World Trade Organisation to waiver specific Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) obligations related to the manufacturing of COVID-19 vaccines is now supported by over 100 countries. Responding to oral questions in the National Assembly on Thursday, the President said: “We want to […]

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng says it welcomes the swift response by SAPS and the arrest of the assailant who allegedly assaulted DA Gauteng Provincial Leader, Solly Msimanga earlier today. In a video on social media (watch below), Msimanga can be seen bleeding from the mouth and head, while being accused by the assailant […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa has welcomed the support of United States President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris for a temporary and targeted waiver of intellectual property protections that apply to COVID-19 vaccines. The United States government on Wednesday said that the COVID-19 pandemic is a global health crisis that calls for extraordinary measures. The United […]

We South Africans may be super proud of the ‘Faf speedo’, which Faf de Klerk made famous during the Rugby World Cup, but it turns out not everyone in the world understands it! A young South African, proudly posing in his Faf speedo in a park in Croatia, was fined on Sunday for “public indecency”! Whilst […]

Many South Africans with blood diseases and cancers are dying because they cannot find bone marrow donors. Finding a suitable bone marrow donor is extremely difficult. Hereditary matters in finding a match and donors are usually found within the patient’s population group. But only 30% of donors are people of colour. The South African Bone […]

(Reuters) – It is a scene that exudes sadness: a child perhaps 2-1/2 or 3 years old buried in a shallow grave under the sheltered overhang of a cave, head resting on a pillow and the upper part of the body carefully wrapped in a shroud. Scientists said on Wednesday they have found the oldest-known […]

After the ANC served its Secretary General, Ace Magashule, with a suspension letter; he retaliated by suspending Cyril Ramaphosa as the ANC’s President! Magashule was sent the suspension letter as part of the ANC’s ‘step aside’ rule that members charged with corruption or other serious crimes have to vacate their posts within 30 days or […]

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s governing African National Congress (ANC) has served its Secretary General, Ace Magashule, with a suspension letter, Eyewitness News reported on Wednesday. Magashule faces corruption charges. The party said on Tuesday that one of its committees had reaffirmed that all members charged with corruption or other serious crimes must vacate their […]

Filmmaker Anthony George Kirkwood captured this stunning footage yesterday – Tuesday 4 May 2021 – of Shark Cage Diving in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. For local or international tourists, the good news is that Shark Cage Diving KZN is situated just south of Durban, near Aliwal Shoal… only an hour’s drive from King Shaka International Airport. […]

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South African private sector activity expanded at its strongest rate in nine years in April, as buoyant customer demand pushed new orders higher and business confidence and employment rose, a survey showed on Wednesday. “April PMI (Purchasing Managers’ Index) data signified a sharp acceleration in the economic recovery from COVID-19 across South […]

South Africa’s Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize has reiterated that the variant currently wreaking havoc in India has not been identified in South Africa… although specialists are awaiting the results of some samples. He said that South Africa’s teams remain on high alert to survey, detect and contain the spread of COVID-19 in general, with […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa will use his reply to questions in the National Assembly, to provide an update on progress with the country’s COVID-19 vaccination programme. The President will outline details of the country’s vaccination programme following the resumption of the vaccination of health workers, in the same week as the first batch of Pfizer vaccines […]

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – A top committee of South Africa’s governing African National Congress (ANC) has reaffirmed that all members charged with corruption or other serious crimes must vacate their posts within 30 days or face suspension, the party said on Tuesday. The ANC added in a statement that the National Working Committee (NWC) had instructed […]

South African National Parks (SANParks) has signed a ‘momentous’ Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Makahane-Marithenga family – who are believed to be the direct descendants of the royal inhabitants of Thulamela – one of the great ancient Kingdoms of Southern Africa. The agreement was signed last month. Speaking at the sidelines of the signing […]

The hero driver under attack in South Africa, who emerged cool, calm and collected, after his vehicle was attacked with a hail of bullets, is becoming a worldwide hit, with the video footage showing his heroism going viral globally and his name splashed across the pages of international media from the New York Post to […]

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) – South Africa has allocated an extra R4-billion ($276-million) to buy COVID-19 vaccines and extend a special distress grant to thousands of people hit by the pandemic, in a Special Appropriation Bill tabled by Finance Minister Tito Mboweni on Tuesday. The bill, expected to be debated with the National Treasury in a […]

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s rand weakened early on Tuesday, as the dollar rebounded from a fall in the previous session triggered by weaker-than-expected U.S. economic data. At 0630 GMT, the rand traded at 14.4525 against the dollar, 0.35% weaker than its previous close. The dollar drifted higher, pausing a monthlong decline as investors consider […]

Bill Gates and Melinda Gates have announced their intention to divorce. In a joint statement, the multi-billionaire couple who had been married for 27 years, said they will keep working together on their philanthropic work. Bill, who founded Microsoft, and Melinda, which whom he co-founded the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, said in their statement […]

There have been many unpleasant milestones since the Covid-19 pandemic broke out. For South Africa, 3 May is a particularly important one. It is one year since the day in 2020 when, according to the Medical Research Council (MRC), we reached the “point of rapid increase in excess deaths”. Over the past year, approximately 150,000 […]

South Africa’s opposition party, the DA (Democratic Alliance), says it notes the report by News24 that a foundation registered to Deputy President David Mabuza received a “strategic donation” of R30 million from General Electric through Eskom in 2016 when he was still the Mpumalanga premier. “If the ANC is consistent in the application of its own […]

HOEDSPRUIT, South Africa (Reuters) – Rhino poaching is unfortunately on the rise again in South Africa since the government loosened coronavirus restrictions, following a year-long lull due to the pandemic, wildlife parks say. The strict limits on travel, including international travel, imposed in March last year had the happy side effect of keeping poachers at […]

The price of petrol in South Africa is set to come down by nine cents a litre as of Wednesday, the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) has announced. The price of 95 (ULP and LRP) and 93 (ULP and LRP) will come down by 9 cents a litre. This means that a litre […]