NAIROBI – Girls in western Kenya returning to school after the Christmas break are undergoing compulsory tests for female genital mutilation in a move to crackdown against the illegal and harmful practice, a senior government official said on Friday. They are also being tested to see if they are pregnant. George Natembeya, commissioner for Narok […]

On Christmas Eve a 13-year-old aspiring ballerina, Kiara Mun-Gavin, was involved in an awful car crash in Durban, South Africa. She had been on her way to church with her mother when her entire life changed in an instant. Her devastated parents – well known Durban North pastors Jaci and Richard Mun-Gavin – were told […]

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Three former Credit Suisse Group AG bankers were arrested in London on Thursday on U.S. charges that they took part in a fraud scheme involving $2 billion in loans to state-owned companies in Mozambique, a spokesman for U.S. prosecutors said. Andrew Pearse, 49; Surjan Singh, 44; and Detelina Subeva, 37 were […]

One of South Africa’s great liberal stalwarts, Rupert Lorimer, has passed away. Lorimer was elected as a Member of Parliament for the Progressive Party in 1974 and joined Helen Suzman in Parliament in the fight against the brutal apartheid regime. Democratic Alliance National Spokesperson Refiloe Nt’sekhe said the DA is saddened by Lorimer’s passing, and […]

Devotion, that’s the recipe to become a top matriculant according to one of the 2018 top performing learners, Rowan Crafford. The blind student from Prinshof School was among the cream of the crop invited to a ministerial breakfast hosted by Basic Education (DBE) Minister Angie Motshekga and Vodacom as a sponsor on Thursday morning. The […]

The Department of Home Affairs has announced that several of its offices across the country will operate from 7am to 7pm shift from 2 to 11 January 2019 to ensure clients are not turned away from offices during this busy period. Home Affairs normal shifts are from 8am to 3.30pm during the week. In a […]

South African comedian Trevor Noah revealed to his Daily Show audience this week just what he did at an American airport, when he realised that the souvenir he’d brought from home was not going to be okay to take through Customs. When asked by a member of the audience – during his Between the Scenes […]

It seems New Year’s Day brought out the best in South Africans as yet another story of brave heroes diving into the ocean to rescue strangers in distress is going viral. Capetonian Ricardo Rossouw published a post yesterday saying that on 1 Jan he “witnessed the true meaning of humanity… the true spirit of Ubuntu” […]

One person – a 59-year-old woman – has died and two have been seriously injured in what has been described as a “traumatic night full of uncertainty” as the #BettysBayFire raged in the Overstrand last night. Another person – believed to be an 18-month-old baby – also suffered minor injuries. The fire began on New […]

The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has confirmed the resignation of Deputy Governor Francois Groepe. Groepe tendered his resignation during December to pursue “outside opportunities”, the central bank said on Wednesday. His resignation is effective from 31 January. “The SARB wishes to thank Deputy Governor Groepe for his 14 years of service, seven served as […]

Presidency Director-General Dr Cassius Lubisi has received a memorandum from #FeesMustFall activists demanding blanket amnesty for activists who have been convicted of crimes arising from the #FeesMustFall protest in 2017. Activists arrived at the Union Buildings in Pretoria on Wednesday, 2 January following a march from KwaZulu-Natal to Leeukop correctional centre in Gauteng, where activist […]

Following the stamp of approval by the council for quality assurance in education and training, Umalusi, the class of 2018 will find out how they fared in the National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations later today. Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga will announce the overall NSC results this evening, while individual results will be released on […]

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa’s rand weakened more than one percent on Wednesday as weak Chinese manufacturing data offset hopes that a trade war between China and the United States was ending. Stocks saw their largest single-day drop since August, as risk aversion globally weighed on the local market. At 1502 GMT, the rand was 0.71 […]

Due to increased demand, South African Airways (SAA) has expanded its non-stop service between Ghana and the US. In a statement on Wednesday, the national carrier announced that it will increase its frequency on nonstop flights between the Ghanaian capital Accra’s Kotoka International Airport and Washington D.C’s Dulles International Airport to five days a week. […]

Somewhere near Cape Point in South Africa are four brave heroes who yesterday rescued four people in distress – they had been swept out to sea by rip currents in Buffels Bay in the Western Cape. But nobody knows who the Good Samaritans are. The NSRI Station 10 Simons Town and Cape Medical Response (CMR) […]

The wife of a South African man charged in Mozambique on terror-related activities has scoffed at the charges, and says her husband – Andre Mayer Hanekom – is being framed by influential people who want to get their hands on his beach property. South Africa’s International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) Minister Lindiwe Sisulu has called […]

A post about a South African traffic cop named Simon who helped a cyclist on top of Suikerbossie has gone viral, being shared by thousands of South Africans who were so happy to have a feel-good story with which to end 2018. The traffic cop’s good deed was posted by Selwyn Shandel, owner of Venturescape […]

A couple in the Free State is fighting for their lives following a brutal attack on their farm in Smithfield, South Africa, on 31 December, said the Democratic Alliance (DA)… who have reiterated their call for specialised rural safety units. Dennis and Jeanetta du Plessis – aged 70 and 65 – are both in Intensive […]

JOHANNESBURG – Mozambique’s former finance minister, Manuel Chang, has been arrested in South Africa at the request of the United States, a police spokesman said on Monday. Chang, who was in charge of Mozambique’s finances when it guaranteed $2 billion in secret borrowing by state-owned firms in 2013 and 2014, was arrested on Saturday in […]

The South African government has encouraged the Khoisan community – six of whom have been staging a peaceful protest at the Union Buildings in Pretoria – to participate in shaping legislation as Parliament considers the Traditional and Khoisan Leadership Bill. The Presidency said Sunday that it recently engaged with a few members of the Khoisan […]

South Africa has sent its condolences to the people of United Arab Emirates (UAE) following a helicopter crash that claimed the lives of four people in the North-Eastern region of the country, including a South African paramedic. “The government and people of South Africa wish to extend its sincere condolences to the Government and people of the UAE […]

A devastating wild fire has torn through the historic town of Wupperthal (also spelt Wuppertal) in the Cederberg – tragically destroying most of the small tourist town which is nestled outside Clanwilliam, in the Cape West Coast District. The SABC News Western Cape said Friday evening that it is estimated about 30 houses have burnt down, […]

A couple of months ago, as I flew along the Overberg coast I could not fail to notice a fair amount of what I suspect to be poaching activity… writes marine conservation photographer Jean Tresfon. I counted six inflatable boats, all carrying multiple divers, spare cylinders and sackfuls of what looks suspiciously like abalone. Also […]

While politicians play with South Africans’ lives, desperate for next year’s vote and jostling for popularity in the coveted Cape Town region; and a few opportunistic racists from white and black camps try to hijack the Clifton Fourth Beach controversy to prove their opposing points… normal South Africans have been, well, getting on with it… […]

The Cape of Good Hope SPCA has issued a statement in response to the slaughtering of a sheep on Clifton’s 4th Beach in Cape Town. The slaughter took place during an #OccupyClifton protest on Friday, which was organised by activists after a private security company apparently instructed beachgoers to leave Clifton Fourth Beach on Christmas […]