As the world marked World Pangolin Day yesterday (20 February), pangolins tragically remain the most trafficked mammal in the world… surpassing elephants and rhinos. They are poached for their scales and meat for use in traditional medicines, even though there is no scientific proof that their body parts have any medicinal value.   According to […]

In commemoration of World Pangolin Day today – 20 February 2021 – Investec has announced plans to fund and support the first dedicated pangolin veterinary ward in Africa in partnership with the Johannesburg Wildlife Veterinary Hospital (JWVH). “Pangolins are currently the world’s most trafficked non-human mammal. In 2019, 97 tonnes of scales were trafficked from […]

Olympic 400m champion and world record holder Wayde van Niekerk is parting ways with beloved Tannie Ans Botha to head off to the United States where he will step up his preparations ahead of defending his title at the Tokyo Olympics later this year. The 28-year-old continued his comeback from a serious knee injury suffered […]

The most heartwarming video to come out of South Africa this week has been the footage of Kathy Wootton being wheeled out of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Kingsbury Hospital in Cape Town… waving gratefully, and being cheered on by healthcare workers, after two months in ICU. Posting the video to Facebook, Kathy said […]

The Swellendam SPCA went above and beyond in a response to a woman in South Africa who called the police because she was frightened of the rain spider in her bedroom. Here is the report from the SPCA, in full, written with the same care, dedication, professionalism and good humour as that used by the […]

There is hope for terminally ill patients as Cancer Immunotherapy living trials are being conducted with South African patients. Watch Carte Blanche on Sunday as the current affairs show meets the inspirational team. INSPIRE    The Living Trials – Cancer Immunotherapy Takes Off  For over 150 years, doctors have tried to stimulate the body’s immune […]

The South African Police Service (SAPS) management says it will urgently execute a turnaround plan in four of the country’s provinces with “worryingly high crime rates”. The four provinces are: Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal, the Free State and the Western Cape provinces. Police Minister Bheki Cele, who released the 2020/21 third quarter crime statistics on Friday, said […]

The latest farm attack and farm murder statistics for South Africa show that the crime continued relentlessly despite the Coronavirus pandemic and ensuing Lockdowns leading to an overall decrease in most other crimes. AfriForum on Wednesday released comprehensive farm attack and murder statistics for 2020, revealing that there were almost 20 more farm murders in […]

Free State Agriculture (FSA) have expressed outrage at the announcement made during the State of the Nation Address Debate, by former Minister of Agriculture Tina Joemat-Pettersson, that MK veterans will receive expropriated farms. “This is nothing more than a repetition of Zimbabwean land policy,” said the FSA, accusing the ANC have hanging out “their Zimbabwe […]

KLM South Africa has announced that with effect from 23 February 2021 the following passengers will be accepted on flights from South Africa to Amsterdam, regardless of their final destination:  Dutch nationals, Schengen State and other EU residents, Dutch Antilles residents, Medical staff, Seafarers and Airline crew. There is no change to the flights that are currently […]

Fatalities in South Africa continue to rise with 230 more people dying from COVID-19 on Thursday, according to the SA Health Department. Of the recent fatalities, 122 occurred in Limpopo, 27 in KwaZulu-Natal, 24 from the Eastern Cape, 21 from Gauteng, 19 from the Western Cape and 10 from Mpumalanga. Only Free State recorded single-digit […]

The South African Police Service (SAPS) this week seized unregistered medicines – suspected to be Ivermectin – worth a market value of R126 million at the OR Tambo International Airport. The unregistered medicines which are believed to be Ivermectin were mainly found to be in tablet form. The discovery of the tablets was made by […]

Barely a month since Cyclone Eloise swept into southern Africa, a (currently) moderate tropical storm, named Guambe, is on its way. Guambe is intensifying and expected to reach Tropical Cyclone status… but is fortunately unlikely to have too much impact on South Africa; although a large part of the Mozambique coast is “highly likely” to […]

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has revealed that the group of “supposed” MK vets, operating under the banner of Tlhapi Zizi (Pty) Ltd, who have been controversially allocated Ivan Cloete’s farm, are ANC-connected individuals and people who already own farms. “This raises very serious questions on the fairness and transparency of the process that was used […]

We’re excited to announce great news for South African rugby fans abroad today. Showmax subscribers in the United Kingdom, Italy, France, Australia, New Zealand and selected markets are now able to stream Chasing the Sun, the fantastic doc about the Springboks! The extraordinary documentary traces the South African national rugby team’s road to victory at […]

Free State Health MEC Montseng Tsiu on Wednesday received the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. The buoyant Tsiu, who is a professional nurse, took the vaccine alongside Dr David Motau, who is the Head of the Department of Health in the Free State. “MEC Tsiu and HOD, Dr Motau, felt the need to take the […]

The Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) has commended the speedy arrest of Dimakatso Ratselane’s husband in connection with the brutal attack on the Lesedi FM presenter. Ratselane was allegedly attacked, stabbed multiple times and left for dead by her husband on 11 February in the Free State. Preliminary investigations showed that Ratselane’s husband was the […]

A German international “trouble shooter”, whose work usually involves James Bond-type situations, has been hailed a hero after saving the lives of three swimmers in less than a year, on the same South African beach. Former police officer Bjorn Birr von Bismarck, 49, has risked his own life on each occasion to rescue the stricken […]

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa says the COVID-19 vaccine is quick and painless. “At first I was a bit terrified of this long needle that was going to be embedded into my arm. But it happened so quickly, so easily. It was just a prick on my flesh and I really did not feel much pain.” […]

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa – Qatar Airways continues to be the leading global carrier connecting South Africa by operating one of the largest and most reliable networks in the region. Having become the largest international carrier during the early stages of the pandemic, the airline has applied its knowledge of global passenger flows and booking trends […]

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, a leading global cruise company which operates the Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises brands, yesterday announced an extension of its current suspension of global cruise voyages as the world continues to battle the coronavirus pandemic. The suspension now includes all voyages on Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania […]

South Africans, who have had to adjust to loadshedding schedules and been urged to use as little electricity as possible, have now been informed that the price of the electricity they do get will be rising by 15%. The North Gauteng High Court has ordered that an amount of R10 billion be added to Eskom’s […]

Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, says the SA government has offered the African Union (AU) the AstraZeneca vaccine doses that South Africa procured from the Serum Institute in India. This comes amid reports that South Africa had asked the Serum Institute to take back the one million doses that arrived earlier this month after a […]

The first delivery of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine has arrived in South Africa. The vaccine, which has been approved by the South African Health Products Authority, arrived at the O.R. Tambo International Airport in Gauteng on Tuesday night. According to the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS), the consignment is being moved to […]

Afriski was hit by its most brutal flood ever, with 60mm of rainfall measured in 30 minutes… which is equivalent to one-tenth of Johannesburg’s annual rainfall in half-an-hour. This is the first time that flooding has occurred at the Lesotho resort since it opened its doors in 2000. The damage to internal roads, infrastructure and […]