Here’s the line-up of hot topics that the Carte Blanche team tackle this Sunday 30 June in an extended 90-minute episode – watch here if you’re in SA, and don’t miss out if you’re abroad: the current affairs programme is available to stream from Tues 2 July on Showmax International in many countries: South Africa […]

South Africa’s Bongani Zungu scored with a header from a second-half corner to secure a 1-0 win over Namibia on Friday and SA’s first points in Group D of the Africa Cup of Nations. The 68th minute goal will have brought relief more than anything else to the regional giants against SA’s northern neighbours, whose […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa has responded to a notice issued by the Public Protector regarding an investigation into his alleged violations of the Executive Ethics Code. The investigation relates to a payment of R500 000 from Bosasa CEO Gavin Watson to the President’s election campaign for the ANC presidency. At the end of May 2019 the […]

CHESTER-LE-STREET, England – A swarm of bees forced the players of South Africa and Sri Lanka to dive onto the ground during their Cricket World Cup clash at the Riverside Stadium on Friday — but for many on the pitch there was a sense of deja vu. Bees halting international cricket matches is not common, […]

Europe’s record-breaking heat wave – which has seen temperatures soar to over 45 degrees in some parts – is putting South Africans in the shade, literally. A large reservoir of hot air from the Sahara has engulfed Europe, with France registering its hottest day ever on record today, the first time the country has raised […]

JOHANNESBURG – Last year, gin consumption in South Africa grew by an astonishing 50 percent, to half a pint for every man, woman and child. No wonder that distilleries are mushrooming, trying to give a colonial tipple a distinctive flavour of the fynbos. If the British made use of the freely available local juniper berries […]

One of the scariest elephant charges in Africa ever is going viral on social media at the moment. Watch below. The video was uploaded by Kuiseb Delta Adventures, which offers quad bike and 4×4 tours in Namibia… but it’s not sure who actually filmed the video or where. What is certain is that is was […]

Google on Friday announced a new subsea cable dubbed “Equiano” that will connect Africa with Europe – starting with South Africa and Portugal, as it boosts its cloud computing infrastructure. Equiano, fully funded by Alphabet Inc’s Google, is the company’s third private international cable. The search engine giant, which has invested $47 billion in improving […]

Throughout the world, people who follow politics are fixating on leaders. South Africa follows the trend and so President Cyril Ramaphosa has become an obsession. Ramaphosa, of course, replaced Jacob Zuma, who was associated with patronage politics and “state capture”, handing over public power to (wealthy) private people. Ramaphosa’s presidency was greeted with brief enthusiasm […]

LONDON – Britain’s Prince Harry and his wife Meghan confirmed today they will head to southern Africa later this year for their first official overseas tour as a family since the birth of son Archie. The couple will visit South Africa, Angola and Malawi and also undertake a working visit to Botswana at the request […]

Increased foreign investment in South Africa will be high on the agenda when President Cyril Ramaphosa joins other international leaders for the annual G20 summit in Osaka, Japan, tomorrow and on Saturday. It is the G20’s twentieth anniversary. In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Presidency said South Africa would try secure financial and other […]

Twenty-six police officers in South Africa have been killed since the beginning of 2019, and the government has pledged to take action to find the guilty parties and bring them to justice. Nine people have already been given life sentences for these crimes. Addressing a post-Cabinet media briefing in Pretoria on Thursday, Minister in the […]

Multi-coloured balloons, knitting wool and the sound of children chattering filled the Manenberg Library, Cape Town, on Wednesday morning. The suburb has been plagued by gang violence and deadly shootings. In the midst of this the public library has been a safe haven for children living nearby. The library hosts programmes and fun activities to […]

Daniel Mminele will retire as deputy governor of the South African Reserve Bank at the end of the month after 10 years in the job, the Reserve Bank said on Thursday, making him the third member of its policy committee to quit the regulator recently. Mminele’s retirement follows the departure of fellow deputy governor Francois […]

The delivery of life saving blood has been taken to new heights by the South African National Blood Service (SANBS) with the launch a new drone blood delivery service. Launched in May, the Tron Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) drone, features a wing design suited for maximum efficiency and allows for long travel time with minimal […]

The Matrics at St Johns DSG in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, have sent out a Special Invitation to President Ramaphosa and the First Lady, Dr Motsepe that is sure to give you goosebumps. The prefects’ theme for this year is ‘Rewrite the Stars’, inspiring the younger girls to show determination, have courage and pursue one’s dreams. […]

Sjoe. This is the South Africa we love. On Monday night a South African driver, Michelle Vorster, ran out of petrol on Witkoppen Road in Joburg, Gauteng (“because I’m an idiot like that”). Nobody stopped. It was getting darker. And then like a knight in shining armour, a truck driver wearing an AA uniform appeared […]

South Africa’s The Test Kitchen has once again been named as one of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, making it the fifth time the Cape Town restaurant has made the Top 50. The restaurant, which came in 44th place, was also once again awarded The Best Restaurant in Africa title. According to TheWorlds50Best.com, “this creative […]

As part of their autumn royal tour, Prince Harry and wife Meghan Markle will travel to sunny South Africa (which will be enjoying its spring then), it was confirmed today by SA’s British High Commissioner, Nigel Casey. Casey told a press conference today that the new parents will be “coming back to visit us in […]

Just under 10.2 million people are employed in the country’s non-agricultural sector, up 76,000 from the same period last year, according to the most recent quarterly report put out by Stats South Africa. While 130,000 full-time jobs were added, 54,000 part-time jobs were lost. The non-agricultural sector excludes agriculture, forestry, hunting, fishing, the informal sector […]

GENEVA – Two South African sisters who were imprisoned in Saudi Arabia, initially without charge, described their ordeal on Tuesday in an effort to give a voice to the voiceless as they said they had brought a complaint to the United Nations. Yumna Desai, a former English teacher at the University of Ha’il in northern […]

South Africans are exploring their own gorgeous country like never before! According to South African Tourism (SA Tourism), domestic holiday trips rose by 59.7 % in the first quarter of this year (January to April 2019). Thanks to an SA Tourism marketing campaign enticing South Africans to travel their country, the period this year showed […]

Protests continue to rock parts of South Africa with one fatality reported last night in the Western Cape, and a road dug up in the North West province. ANC member Andiswa Ndevu tragically died in a motor accident on Tuesday night, trying to escape violent protestors. Ndevu, a single parent and member of the ANC […]

Wine is a massively confusing and intimidating subject for many who drink it even on a fairly regular basis. Can you imagine what it’s like for the millions of South Africans whose culture doesn’t include wine – or didn’t, for decades – and for whom the very concept of fermented grape juice is unheard of? […]

SABRIC, the South African Banking Risk Information Centre, on behalf of the banking industry has released its annual crime stats for 2018. “We are concerned about some of the increases, which clearly reflect that criminals will take every opportunity to get their hands on bank customers’ money,” says SABRIC CEO, Kalyani Pillay. Combined gross card […]