Eskom says it will implement stage 2 load shedding from 10pm to 5am for two nights, the power utility announced on Wednesday 6 January. According to Eskom, the blackout will take place tonight and Thursday evening. “The load shedding is necessary to recover and preserve the emergency generation reserves that have been utilised to support […]

There is no confirmation yet on whether President Cyril Ramaphosa will be addressing the nation tonight. However the NCCC is meeting today and, as Police Minister General Bheki Cele said this morning, that usually leads to an address. The Presidency confirmed on Wednesday: “The National Coronavirus Command Council is meeting today, Wednesday, 6 January 2021, […]

South Africa recorded its second-highest daily death count since the pandemic after 513 people succumbed to COVID-19 on Tuesday. The country’s largest spike in a single day was last reported in July, when 572 patients died, due to COVID-19 complications. According to the Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, of the latest fatalities, 202 were reported […]

Police Minister Bheki Cele has accused some foreign tourists to South Africa of ‘undermining’ the local state by continuing to visit beaches in SA; and has announced that the army will be helping police today to enforce the beach ban. He’s also onto those restaurants that are serving alcohol in teapots! All beaches in SA […]

South Africa’s COVID-19 death toll has topped 30 000 after 434 people sadly succumbed to the respiratory disease in the last 24 hours. According to Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, this brings the cumulative number of COVID-19 related deaths to 30 011 since the outbreak. Of the latest fatalities, 133 were recorded in the Eastern Cape, […]

A critically endangered African White-Backed vulture was tragically found poisoned, with the possibility of more vulture carcasses removed from the site in Zululand over the festive season. This comes exactly one year after an incident in the same area which later resulted in the rescue and rehabilitation of four African White-Backed vultures and one Lappet-Faced […]

An anonymous post, which appears to have originated in  England, is going viral worldwide, including in South Africa… because its words hit the Covid nail on the head. England has been plunged into a super-strict Lockdown with suggestions that schools will not open until after the February half-term holiday. South Africa itself has an amended […]

Durban Mayor Mxolisi Kaunda is currently isolating at home and remains in good health after testing positive for COVID-19. According to a statement from his office, Kaunda has since urged eThekwini residents to continue to be vigilant and avoid moving around unnecessarily, or organising super-spreader events. Keep funerals below 50 and go home straight afterwards […]

I heard someone say recently: “this variant is really catchy”. My family can bear testimony to this. We have just had a markedly quiet Christmas and new year, all of us holed up with positive Covid-19 results. This came as an unwelcome surprise – no doubt as it has to the more than one million […]

UK celebrity Gregg Wallace, best known for presenting MasterChef and being a food expert, says there’s nothing quite like a South African braai. In a new series for ITV – ‘South Africa with Gregg Wallace” – it’s clear that Gregg fell in love with the country: its foods, its people, the wildlife, the culture, the […]

Tributes have poured in for NATU President Allen Thompson who has sadly passed away, after reportedly being infected with Covid-19. Thompson was elected President of the National Teacher’s Union in 2018. Elijah Mhlanga, Communications Director at the Department of Basic Education, tweeted: “I am terribly shocked and saddened at the news of the passing of […]

The South African Government has issued the following Amended School Calendar / Agenda for 2021, for all learners. Updated 9 February 2021: You can download the latest agenda here. 

A suspected drug kingpin has been fatally shot in KwaZulu-Natal, according to local reports. The man – named as Yaganthan Pillay, and nicknamed Teddy Mafia – is reported to have been shot twice at his home in Durban suburb, Shallcross. He was taken to a Chatsworth hospital where it is believed he passed on shortly […]

There will be no ‘family meeting’ tonight in South Africa. The Presidency has confirmed that there is no truth to the rumour that President Cyril Ramaphosa was to address the nation tonight, Monday 4 January 2021. Rumours had been flying on social media that President Ramaphosa was due to announce even stricter restrictions, and that […]

Three suspects are expected to appear before the Kempton Park Magistrate’s Court after they were caught smuggling 73.5 kg of gold at OR Tambo International Airport (ORTIA) in their hand luggage. The gold bars were detected by a security scanner which identified irregular images. A multi-disciplinary team was alerted by the security officials, and the […]

The price of petrol in South Africa is set to increase by between 40 and 43 cents a litre this week. In a statement on Monday, the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) said the price of 93 (ULP and LRP) will go up by 43 cents, while that of 95 (ULP and LRP) […]

Captain Jaco Mol, South African National Parks (SANParks) Chief Pilot, on Sunday night posted a message to the SANParks Kruger National Park group on Facebook, addressing rumours about the SANParks helicopter accident on Saturday morning. The accident, which damaged the Airbus AS350B-3+ (Squirrel) helicopter, occurred during take-off from Cape Town International Airport. SANParks said the […]

South Africa’s Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize announced that as of today, “the total number of confirmed #COVID19 cases is 1 100 748; the total number of deaths is 29 577 and the total number of recoveries is 903 679.” Today’s stats show a 32% positivity rate. There were a further 402 deaths overnight, with […]

Health Minister Zweli Mkhize on Sunday 3 January 2021 presented South Africa’s COVID-19 Vaccine Strategy. This follows several calls for an urgent rollout of vaccines, including a petition from health workers that has been signed by over 6,000 supporters. Dr Mkhize explained: We have always said that the second wave is going to come and […]

Millions of South Africans are mourning the deaths of two prominent sports people – Athletic South Africa former President, Leonard Chuene and former Kaizer Chiefs captain, Ryder Mofokeng. Chuene died on Friday, 1 January 2021 while Mofokeng passed away on Saturday, 2 January 2021. “What a sombre way to welcome 2021; two respected sports people […]

Eskom and the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation are working to extend the life of the ageing Koeberg nuclear plant for another 20 years. How safe will this be for Cape Town? In tonight’s episode of currents affairs show Carte Blanche, presenter Claire Mawisa seeks answers. Africa’s only nuclear power station, situated just outside Cape […]

Police in Limpopo, Polokwane, are hunting suspects who attacked South African Police Service (SAPS) members yesterday, Saturday 2 January. The suspects threw stones injuring SAPS members and damaging their vehicles, and helped arrested suspects escape. Limpopo’s Acting Provincial Commissioner of Police, Major General Jan Scheepers, has strongly condemned the incident and ordered that the suspects […]

“We call on the Department of Health to act urgently, transparently and decisively now to obtain vaccines and to implement vaccination, so as to reduce death and illness, and bring the pandemic under control.” So reads a letter started by Professor Heather Zar, a leading public sector paediatrician at Cape Town’s Red Cross Childrens Hospital […]

The South African variant of Covid-19, which has already been identified in Australia and the UK, has now been found in isolated patients in France, South Korea, Switzerland and Japan. The new mutation – known as 501.V2 variant – which genomics scientists first identified in Nelson Mandela Bay, was announced by SA Health Minister Dr […]

The missing woman in Parys, Rita Hawkins, was found this morning by a passer-by. The South African Police Service (SAPS) had yesterday issued a call for assistance in locating the 53-year-old who had last been seen running barefoot towards the Vaal River. SAPS said she was found this morning near the Vaalriver in Parys at […]