The ocean around Cape Town is so polluted that pharmaceutical and industrial chemical compounds are accumulating in the flesh of fish caught off the coast. Scientists from the University of the Western Cape’s chemistry department have found that fish caught by small scale commercial fishers in Kalk Bay are contaminated by antibiotics, pain killers, antiretrovirals, […]

Goosebumps! South Africa’s Ndlovu Youth Choir received a rip, roaring standing ovation after their America’s Got Talent 2019 audition, which – as one of the judges said – is the “biggest talent stage in the world”. Simon Cowell said: “We’ve always been waiting for a choir like this, something we’ve never heard before. And your […]

Contrary to popular belief, more South Africans are returning home than public perception. When SAPeople published a blog recently from an expat who was moving with her young family back to SA after several years in the UK, there was an outcry. How could she do such a thing? But it turns out – according […]

JOHANNESBURG – Jacob Zuma – who was unseated as South African president last year over corruption allegations – will attend the Zondo judicial inquiry into government corruption that took place during his tenure… even though he believes it is prejudiced against him, his lawyer said on Tuesday. Zuma’s African National Congress (ANC) party forced him […]

HARARE – On Monday Zimbabwe ended a decade of dollarisation, making its interim currency the country’s sole legal tender in a step towards relaunching the Zimbabwean dollar. The central bank also hiked its overnight lending rate to 50% from 15% as a part of a set of measures to protect the RTGS dollar introduced in […]

The videos of a soldier called Mabena that have been going viral in South Africa the last few days, have triggered a memory from 1963 in the country’s former president Jacob Zuma. Zuma took to Twitter to share the memory of when he was arrested and interrogated in a police cell in Pretoria. He said: […]

Rand Water has urged residents in Johannesburg not to stock water as a maintenance operation gets underway in the city. The water utility is installing a new valve on the line running from Lethabo to the Vereeniging pumping station. Water supply is expected to be interrupted for 54 hours which started on Monday morning. Rand […]

South Africa will have no sides in the semi-finals of Super Rugby for only the second time in 16 years, but it could unfortunately be just the start of the country’s declining fortunes in the competition as teams are decimated by player departures. There have been mitigating circumstances to the failures in 2019 with the […]

African countries running up debt they won’t be able to pay back – including to China – should not expect to be bailed out by western-sponsored debt relief, the United States’ top Africa diplomat warned. The International Monetary Fund and World Bank began the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative in 1996 to help the […]

Francois van Coke bared his rebel heart for a goosebump performance together with South Africa’s famous Drakensberg Boys Choir on The Voice South Africa. For the boys, it was extra special to meet the man whose songs they sometimes sing! The Voice SA described the incredible performance as “the juxtaposition of (Francois’) gritty and emotional […]

South Africa’s cricket players expressed bitter disappointment and even embarrassment after their elimination from the World Cup was ensured by their loss to Pakistan at Lord’s on Sunday but they said they would learn lessons and return stronger. The Proteas’ chances of progressing in the tournament evaporated after they logged their fifth loss in seven […]

More than half a thousand vultures, almost all of them endangered species, died from feeding on the poisoned carcasses of three poached elephants in central Botswana, it was reported last week, in what was one of the biggest wildlife poisoning incidents of its kind since 2013. Among the 537 vultures found dead at the site […]

On Saturday Lizzy Mathiso woke up to find the crèche she owns and runs in Lwandle in shambles. Two classrooms which cater for 54 children were destroyed. She was one of many people living in Cape Town’s informal settlements to have their shacks destroyed or damaged and to find themselves without electricity after a severe […]

South Africa can take inspiration from Sri Lanka’s upset win over hosts England and string together victories to keep their slim World Cup hopes alive, batsman Aiden Markram said on the eve of Sunday’s clash with Pakistan. Sri Lanka’s 20-run victory over the favourites opened up the battle for the semi-final places, giving themselves as […]

ROME – The world is nowhere near to achieving a global goal to end hunger and malnutrition by 2030 because of a lack of accountability and responsibility by decision-makers, Nelson Mandela’s widow warned on Saturday. Graca Machel told ministers, ambassadors and representatives from 194 nations at the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in […]

As predicted, a cold front swept into Cape Town and the Western Cape, South Africa, on Friday, bringing gale force winds, high seas, heavy rain and even snow over the weekend. https://www.facebook.com/snowreportsa/posts/2095228513937825?__xts__%5B0%5D=68.ARCsoYUG32kTCr45LBeIHD5EZWoMq8k2T7mWH_HF58EcmE1ge7Ph3qjju8DSj1XoILfsYFP7D6NLJH67WyENSJIUstbxgVhhB-6_R0BJZcwp0XwCXhujudQBQLmTE3ndIJKbWC-D7Oj21HfQ-wXlqx4zxlEq_v3ncHqrGoTyUAvGo4CY8iBZGN7sLLNUHwUk37lPyr58BtuGET9BNdGkArf5rXHrN_etHi8tBVSEtjEc5FXEj9f566QXiBfU-zGB4KKQNb68avMS-zacb1UfjsZxnMuKq66dpCgRhaxPjFYw2PY8jnSmQ9u63BYG8fg2Q7Opj1TlvDIcvyYTKzq5HfT5fg&__tn__=-R Some areas suffered power outages and road closures (including Franschhoek Pass where a  rock-fall damaged vehicles and left the road totally blocked). The […]

Here’s the line-up of hot topics that the Carte Blanche team tackle this Sunday 23 June – watch here if you’re in SA and available to stream from Tues 25 June on Showmax International for South Africans abroad in many countries: The War Underground A young couple is found gunned down on the side of […]

JOHANNESBURG – South African pay-television firm MultiChoice Group is planning to lay off more than 2,000 workers in South Africa in a shake-up of its customer care service, the company said on Friday. MultiChoice, which competes with Netflix in online streaming via Showmax, said in a statement it is launching a consultation process to cut […]

A South Africa without lions is unimaginable – an iconic species of the Big Five. But we could face a world without these magnificent African ambassadors… as the breeding of lions for commercial purposes continues to flourish, warns Four Paws, one of the largest welfare organisation in South Africa, fighting for the protection of our […]

An awesome South African doctor – Dr Ryan Coetzee – is bringing smiles to children in hospital in Northern Ireland, and to social media users around the world as a video capturing him singing as he goes about his work has gone viral. UTV Northern Ireland said: “Dr Ryan is the Singing Doctor and the […]

Hollywood star Tom Hanks popped in to visit a very special young South African patient in a London hospital this week. Six-year-old Alexandra Taljard, who is being treated at the Evelina Children’s Hospital for a rare kidney disease, got a wonderful surprise when the ‘Toy Story’ star visited her bedside and not only entertained her, […]

South Africa’s Reserve Bank will probably cut interest rates next month or in September to boost the country’s economy, a Reuters poll found on Friday. A median forecast from 24 economists, polled this week, suggests the economy will grow 0.6% this year, slower than last year’s 0.8% and weaker than the 1.1% predicted in a […]

How did you feel about #Sona, and how is it possibly not the top story? #ZindziMandela’s comments on Twitter made more impact than #Sona2019.  #Zindzi started a heated discussion surrounding land just before the Presidential event and Twitter rose to her defence while others were furious at her commentary (which included insults like calling white […]

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa’s rand weakened against the dollar in early trade on Friday, as markets digested President Cyril Ramaphosa’s state of the nation address (SONA) which some analysts said lacked detail on how he plans to fix the ailing economy. At 0640 GMT, the rand traded at 14.3800 per dollar, 0.2% weaker than its […]

We gather here at the start of the 6th Democratic Parliament, 106 years to the day after the Natives Land Act – one of the most devastating acts of dispossession, pain and humiliation – came into force. We recall the words of Sol Plaatje on that tragic event, when he said: “Awakening on Friday morning, […]