You may have an illegally-sourced succulent in your home… In an illicit trade rivalling that of rhino horn and perlemoen poaching, massive hauls of succulents are being stripped from delicate ecosystems in South Africa’s outermost corners by rare plant collectors with the help of local guides. This week Carte Blanche investigates the latest trend that […]

Phumelela Mbande has a dream. The young Olympic star from KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), South Africa, who was given an opportunity to play hockey when she was young, now wants to pass it forward and get involved in hockey clinics, teaching hockey in disadvantaged communities. Phumelela recently returned from the Tokyo Olympics, where she represented SA as […]

For anyone outside of the continent of Africa who thinks it never rains or snows down in Africa… take a “Look at all of that SNOW! ❄️❄️❄️“ (as Afriski Mountain Resort in Lesotho, Southern Africa, says). Watch snow videos below. As predicted by the South African Weather Service, two winter systems breezed in making this […]

The snow has arrived in bucketloads in Southern Africa, transforming ski resorts into a winter wonderland that looks more like the Alps than Africa! About 10cm of snow fell at Semonkong Lodge in Lesotho, and the good news is, it’s still falling! Definitely a winter wonderland across Lesotho today. Semonkong Lodge, Place of Smoke, says: […]

It’s hard to believe that Tatjana Schoenmaker nearly gave up after failing to qualify for the Rio Olympics in 2016. But fortunately, she followed her own advice: to refocus and keep going! Celebrating Tatjana Schoenmaker   Tatjana’s gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics’ 200 metre breaststroke was the first individual swimming record to be broken […]

VANRHYNSDORP, South Africa (Reuters) – Come December, when farmers near Cape Town harvest rooibos leaves, they will become the first generation to grow and sell a tea with a unique regional status, a designation awarded to other such products as French champagne or Irish whiskey. (Watch video below.) As many proud South Africans already know,  […]

The health department’s official Covid death toll for 2020 was 28,500. But this is less than half the actual Covid death toll for last year, Medical Research Council (MRC) and University of Cape Town (UCT) researchers explain in an article published in June. The official data, by and large, only include confirmed Covid deaths in hospitals. The […]

Several anomalies, pointing to a dysfunctional provincial department, have been revealed as many ill residents in Gauteng continue to wait for the full reopening of the Charlotte Maxeke hospital… after the fire that wreaked havoc at the hospital earlier this year. The last Charlotte Maxeke hospital fire audit was back in 2017, and appears to […]

The South African Weather Service (SAWS) has warned of two winter systems that will affect the country into the weekend. The first winter system with snow The intense cold front that made landfall in the Western Cape on Thursday, spreading to the Eastern Cape, will move to KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), Mpumalanga, and the eastern parts of […]

Fourteen African Wild Dogs were last week translocated from South Africa to Malawi, in what is a historically significant occasion for the conservation of Southern Africa’s most endangered carnivore… writes Pippa Orpen, Wildlife ACT. With support from non-profit organisation Wildlife ACT and other partners, the translocation was undertaken through a collaboration between the Endangered Wildlife […]

The title of the book I compiled with Colin Bell, ‘The Last Elephants’, was less predictive than a warning — elephants on the continent were in big trouble, with populations plummeting. Two years later it was time to see how they were doing… writes DON PINNOCK, DAILY MAVERICK. The state of elephants in Africa is in […]

Immigrants whose shacks were gutted by a fire in Briardene informal settlement, north of Durban last month, have started rebuilding their homes thanks to the assistance of non-profit organisation Refugee Social Services. Last week, GroundUp reported that South African victims of the fire were rebuilding, but immigrants, who had been living in the settlement for almost ten […]

The South African Police Service (SAPS) were yesterday seen re-enacting the tragic events of 11 April 2021 when SA rapper AKA’s girlfriend, Anele Thembe, allegedly fell to her death from the tenth floor of the Pepper Club Hotel. A Cape Town resident said the police cordoned off the area yesterday beside the hotel as part […]

Last week a couple of videos went viral showing outraged Russian people responding to clips of South Africans discussing how much they love to eat ‘Russians’. Of course the South Africans were referring to a tasty type of sausage found in SA. But the Russian people appeared to not realise this… Today all is revealed […]

Health workers at Groote Schuur have given fascinating insight into how one of the biggest and most famous hospitals in the country adapted to the unprecedented demands of the Covid-19 pandemic… writes James Stent.  Professor Lance Michell and colleagues have published a paper in the Southern African Journal of Critical Care explaining how the intensive […]

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa, testifying at the Zondo corruption inquiry on Wednesday, said he chose to “remain but resist” rather than resign as deputy president when allegations of widespread corruption surfaced under his predecessor Jacob Zuma. Ramaphosa, Zuma’s number two from May 2014 to February 2018, has made the fight against corruption a pillar […]

Joseph Dweba will make his Springbok debut in the opening Castle Lager Rugby Championship match against Argentina at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday, in a new-look team named by Jacques Nienaber on Tuesday. When Dweba was informed in July that he’d been selected for the Springbok team, he said: “For me, as a […]

Following the successful live streaming of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Showmax Pro is bringing the world’s best football to subscribers. Showmax Pro is the only streaming service on the continent to live stream every single match of the English Premier League, La Liga and Serie A and the DStv Premiership, courtesy of SuperSport. The new season of Premier League, now in its 30th […]

In the early hours of Monday morning, Herman Labuschagne – who lives near Oudtshoorn in South Africa’s Klein Karoo – could not fall asleep. He lay in bed reading, and then – at around 00h45 – he went to pick some herbs in the garden (as one does!). “I noticed that there was no sign […]

South African golfer Erik van Rooyen is celebrating one of the best months of his life – becoming a father and winning his first ever PGA Tour title. On Tuesday afternoon Erik – who describes himself on Twitter as a Dream Chaser – tweeted a photo of himself holding his award, and said: “A dream […]

In 2016 my Vicky and I, in what was a somewhat spontaneous decision, moved to London… writes Keith Coats. We had a lovely home in Gillitts, a leafy suburb perched atop of Fields Hill outside Durban in South Africa, a close-knit group of friends as neighbours and a wonderful lifestyle. But the thought of experiencing […]

The Gauteng Education Department says Phase 1 of the 2022 admissions online application period is open from today until 3 September 2021, for learners who are currently in grade 7. Phase 2 of the 2022 admission period will commence on 13 September 2021 and close on 8 October 2021. According to the Gauteng Education Department, […]

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – Cape Town restaurateur Adrian Hochman watched over the years as friends packed up and emigrated, but rationalised that loadshedding (power cuts), the threat of crime and an uncertain future were simply part of doing business in South Africa… writes Promit Mukherjee. That was before a global pandemic took its toll on South […]

ATHENS (Reuters) – As angry Greeks criticize their government’s response to the wildfire devastation, the story of how Stelios Kokkinelis saved his own home is being used as an example of how the authorities let down the people. Stelios had built his three-storey house, in a suburb north of Athens, when he returned home after […]

Former President Jacob Zuma’s corruption trial, which was scheduled to begin tomorrow, is now likely to be delayed again as the former president has been in hospital since Friday. Zuma’s Foundation said on Twitter that the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has sent a joint letter to Hon. Judge Piet Koen, on behalf of all parties, […]