South Africa’s National State of Disaster has been extended until 15 May 2021. Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma – Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) Minister – has gazetted the extension after consultations and Cabinet approval. The extension takes into account the need to continue augmenting the existing legislation and contingency arrangements to mitigate against the impact […]

The Kruger National Park (KNP) has made history by appointing its first ever female Head Ranger, Cathy Dreyer… who is affectionately known as the ‘Rhino Whisperer’. Dreyer has an exemplary record in conservation management – particularly with rhino (which is crucial for the Kruger), as well as in law enforcement, people and strategic management competencies. […]

It’s lights out for South Africans tonight. Eskom says that due to a shortage of generation capacity, Stage 2 loadshedding is being implemented overnight in the country. The power cuts began at 21h00 and are due to finish at 05h00 on Wednesday morning. “The return to service of three generation units has been delayed, while […]

Yesterday South Africans proudly celebrated My Octopus Teacher’s huge BAFTA (British Academy Film Awards) win. It was a well-deserved victory for the Netflix documentary that features film maker Craig Foster befriending a little octopus. Today the BBC has broadcast a news doc focusing on the unsung hero in the film – the incredible kelp forest […]

South Africa’s Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, has announced the temporary and voluntary pause of the COVID-19 Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccine rollout in SA following reports of rare blood clots abroad. According to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases, Dr Mkhize has made the announcement following a recommendation from the FDA in the USA, […]

Following the murders of two men, believed to be brothers, near Mkhondo (Piet Retief), the devastated family has called for a thorough investigation. AfriForum has also called on the public to remain calm and refrain from spreading their own assumptions about the four murder suspects. AfriForum urged people to wait for a thorough investigation since […]

A young South African schoolgirl, Lufuno Mavhunga, who was filmed being bullied at school yesterday, reportedly died by suicide afterwards. UPDATE: Mwilbi Secondary School female student arrested. The hashtag #JusticeForLufuno is currently South Africa’s top trending topic as people around the country weigh in on the bullying incident, which took place at Mbilwi High School […]

Award-winning South African – and international – musician DJ Black Coffee has broken his silence on allegations of Gender Based Violence (GBV) made by his estranged wife, actress Enhle Mbali Mlotshwa. Mlotshwa has filed a protection order against Black Coffee, in the Randburg Magistrate’s Court, and has accused the DJ of allegedly assaulting her at […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa says the continent needs to build a vibrant and innovative African medical supplies manufacturing capability that meets the health needs of the Africa’s people. Addressing a conference on Africa’s Vaccine Manufacturing on Monday, the President said throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Africa has demonstrated that it has substantial capabilities, resources and skills to […]

The precious heritage site and its rich history are being poorly served… By Daniel Steyn. The official symbolism of the Robben Island Museum, adopted early in its existence, is “the triumph of the human spirit over adversity”. But after 24 years in existence, the museum is substandard. GroundUp took a socially-distanced, reduced capacity tour in […]

Three years ago South Africa introduced Africa’s first major tax on sugar-sweetened beverages based on grams of sugar. The tax now stands at about 11% of the price per litre… by Karen Hofman, University of the Witwatersrand. We assessed the impact in recently published research. We found that the health promotion levy coincided with large […]

Hot 91.9FM announced today that Sam Cowen, presenter on “Joburg’s Hottest Breakfast Show” will be leaving the station on Friday 30 April. Sam announced on air and posted on Facebook this morning: “For the past few months I’ve been living the best of both worlds, being on the breakfast show of the city’s hottest station […]

The Democratic Alliance (DA) says demands the immediate retraction of the racist statement issued by the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) on its twitter handle @DPE_ZA. “We also call for the immediate suspension of the DPE Director General, Mr Kgathatso Tlhakudi, in whose name the statement was issued,” said Ghaleb Cachalia MP – DA Shadow […]

Hollywood filmmakers and movie stars have joined forces with Humane Society International (HSI) to produce a powerful short film, #SaveRalph, to end cosmetic testing on animals around the world, including South Africa. Although banned in 40 countries, the practice of testing on animals is still legal in most of the world, and is even making […]

South African diver Karen van den Oever recently broke the world record for women’s deep cave diving, diving down to 236.04 metres at Bushmansgat Cave in the Northern Cape. The previous record – set by Joburg-based Verna van Schaik in 2004 – was 221 metres. According to Deeper Blue, the dive, on 26 March 2021, […]

A total of 23 013 COVID-19 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours, with 931 new cases, representing a 4% positivity rate, the Health Department said on Sunday. Meanwhile, a further 66 people died due to Coronavirus on Sunday, bringing the death toll to 53 322 to date. According to Health Minister, Dr Zweli […]

South Africa’s  beloved My Octopus Teacher won one of the most coveted prizes at the BAFTA Film Awards 2021 in London on Sunday… scooping the Best Documentary prize at the British Academy Film Awards. Watch below as the Seachange team excitedly – and tearfully – accept the honour. Co-Director Pippa Ehrlich said the team had […]

South African rapper AKA’s fiancée Anele (Nellie) Tembe tragically passed away in the early hours of Sunday 11 April 2021, following a fatal incident. No details have yet been given about the incident. UPDATE 10 February 2023: AKA has been shot dead outside a nightclub in Durban. AKA (whose full name is Kiernan Jarryd Forbes) […]

On the same weekend that “Moffie” was nominated for an outstanding debut at the British Academy Film Awards, it was released at select theatres in America and on streaming platforms like Apple, with a powerful new trailer. Watch the new Moffie trailer below: Viewers in SA and outside of the US and Canada can watch […]

A KwaZulu-Natal farmer, who was left disabled by a farm attack 20 years ago, was killed in a second brutal farm attack in South Africa on Friday evening. His mother tragically found him strangled in his bedroom on Saturday morning. The man – 46-year-old Neil McKay – has been described as a “gentle and friendly […]

Popular South African general practitioner and well known radio host Dr Sindi van Zyl, has sadly passed away after battling Covid-19 for much of this year. Earlier this month, Dr Sindi’s husband Dr Marinus van Zyl, issued a plea for donations to help cover her hospital costs after she’d been on ventilator support for over […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa has, on behalf of the Government and people of South Africa, expressed his deep condolences to Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, on the passing of His Royal Highness Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. As the husband of Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip was the longest-serving consort in the […]

A romantic honeymoon in Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park in the Kalahari, South Africa, nearly turned into a heart-stopping disaster when the newly wed couple’s gorgeous 1970s VW Beetle wouldn’t start. And there just happened to be two lions only a couple of metres away from them. The kind Samaritan who ingeniously managed to help them, shared […]

SADC Heads of State have reiterated commitment to contribute towards the efforts of bringing about lasting peace and security, as well as reconciliation and development in the Republic of Mozambique. This comes amid a spate of attacks in the country’s Cabo Delgado Province in the last two weeks. The leaders condemned the violence during this […]

A new report reveals that water pollution across Cape Town’s rivers, vleis and estuaries has been getting steadily worse for 40 years, except for a few years. A new report shows that Cape Town’s rivers, vleis and estuaries have been getting worse for 40 years, with the exception of a few years. In the rivers, […]