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 […]

DUBAI (Reuters) – The United Arab Emirates has ratified a 2018 extradition treaty with South Africa, its embassy in Pretoria said on Wednesday, a move that President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government hopes will lead to the return of the Gupta brothers to face corruption charges. South Africa signed the treaty with the UAE in late 2018, […]

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 […]

After casting doubt on Pretoria News’ exclusive story yesterday that a mother from Tembisa township had allegedly given birth to a world-breaking 10 babies, Ekurhuleni’s mayor confirmed they have now located the family. (Update Wednesday 14h30: Gauteng Social Dept have confirmed the Tembisa mom has given birth to babies, and they will visit her tomorrow […]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has eased travel recommendations for more than 110 countries and territories, including South Africa. The CDC’s new ratings include 61 nations that were lowered from its highest “Level 4” rating that discouraged all travel to recommending travel for fully vaccinated individuals, the agency […]

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 […]

Simon’s Town’s penguins are poised to become global superstars, as they feature in a new Netflix original documentary series that is sure to have the world fall in love with the endangered African Penguins. Watch the trailer below. It’s very cool! This is what Netflix has to say about the TV series, which starts in […]

Former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown says he believes at least $30 billion is needed annually for an effective global vaccination plan… and he would like this high on the agenda for next week’s G7 Summit in Cornwall, England, where the UK, US, Germany, France, Italy, Japan and Canada will be meeting. He’s not the only […]

A South African woman who had reportedly broken a world record by giving birth to 10 babies, the world’s first Decuplets, apparently made it up. According to Pretoria News, Gosiame Thamara Sithole (37) gave birth to the children in a Pretoria hospital on 7 June. UPDATE 18 June 2021: It appears this story – which […]

South Africa’s multi award-winning Restaurant Mosaic has found a fabulous new home far from its Pretoria roots… in France! Chef Chantel Dartnall announced on Facebook yesterday: “This is where our story will continue and our new chapter will start.” Chantel, who won the Best Female Chef in the World title in 2017, announced the closure […]

South Africa’s Rooibos has become the first African food to receive the status of a protected designation of origin in the European Commission register. This decision by the EU means that the name ‘Rooibos’ or ‘Red Bush’ can only refer to the dried leaves of 100% pure ‘Rooibos’ derived from Aspalathus linearis that has been […]

South African rugby players Damian de Allende and RG Snyman, who were recently named in the Springbok squad for the Lions tour, were involved in an accident in Munster, Ireland, over the weekend that has left them with “substantial” burns to their legs, hands and faces. According to their Head Coach they are “ok”. Munster […]

Make the circle bigger cause it’s time to JIVA! Today, Netflix dropped the official trailer for the streaming platform’s latest local original series, JIVA!, about a vibrant dancer from Durban, Ntombi (played by Noxolo Dlamini) who does everything in her power to live out her passion. Lead actress Noxolo is naturally very excited for JIVA”s […]

South African student voices have largely remained unheard in formal discussions around COVID-19. A pandemic that should not be put to waste, COVID-19, on some podiums, is seen as laying the groundwork for germination of seeds of change… write Peet van Aardt, University of the Free State and Brian Sibanda, University of the Free State. […]

The Eastern Cape Department of Health says it’s boosting efforts to register people for the Covid-19 vaccine who are homeless and over the age of 60. A few homeless people in Nelson Mandela Bay say health officials have neglected them during the pandemic. The people we spoke to say they either did not have a […]

Tim Noakes has a long history of making misleading and false claims, including promoting the debunked theory that the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine contributes to autism and promoting hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for Covid-19… writes Eduard Grebe. In a recent tweet, he linked to an utterly misleading BizNews article on the recent release of thousands of emails to and from […]

Eskom says it regrets to announce the implementation of Stage 1 load shedding between 5pm and 10pm on Monday evening… and cautioned that more power cuts are likely in the near future. According to the State-owned entity, tonight’s load shedding was due to the loss of two generation units at Kusile, and one each at […]

Three police officers who had been arrested and criminally charged for corruption have lost an arbitration between themselves and the South African Police Services (SAPS) to keep their jobs. “They were arrested by the Road Traffic Management Corporations’ (RTMC) National Traffic Anti-corruption Unit in 2018 and 2019 during undercover operations on the N4 in Mpumalanga […]

South Africa has recorded over 5 000 new COVID-19 cases for five days in a row – with another 5 074 new infections detected on Sunday – bringing the total number of infections to 1 696 564. According to Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, the death toll has now increased to 56 974 after 45 […]

Legendary South African TV, film and theatre actress, Shaleen Surtie Richards, has sadly died at the age of 66. No further details have yet been issued. The South African government tweeted: “We have lost an icon.” Shaleen became a household name with her roles in movies like Fiela se Kind and popular TV series like […]

A team of academics at the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Division of Medical Gastroenterology have performed South Africa’s first successful bowel enteroscopy (endoscopy of the small bowel). The cutting-edge procedure was carried out at Groote Schuur Hospital (GSH), and is set to transform the way clinicians access and examine the previously inaccessible small bowel […]

Despite yesterday winning his match in the third round of the French Open at Roland Garros Stadium in Paris, Swiss tennis legend Roger Federer (39) has withdrawn from the tournament. In a statement posted on his Twitter account, Federer, whose mother is a South African expat, said: “After discussions with my team, I’ve decided I […]

Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan have broken their silence for the first time since welcoming their daughter Lilibet Diana into the world on Friday 4 June, admitting they feel very “blessed”. Royal family ‘delighted’ with birth of baby girl, Lilibet Diana Buckingham Palace has welcomed the news, saying: “Congratulations to The Duke and Duchess of […]

Charismatic – and controversial – Nigerian preacher and pastor, Prophet TB Joshua, has passed away at the age of 57. The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) in South Africa led tributes from the continent and abroad. A post on the evangelist’s Instagram page says: “God has taken His servant Prophet TB Joshua home – as it […]