A popular British reality TV show – Love Island – is reportedly reconsidering its plans to film in South Africa following safety concerns for the contestants in the wake of reports of violent crime in Cape Town. Reuters reports that the ‘Love Island’ dating show bosses are thinking of abandoning their plans, after the recent […]

Building started on Monday on a new R300-million Afrikaans training college outside Pretoria that will open in early 2021, but it has drawn the ire of the Gauteng MEC for Eduction Panyaza Lesufi. The trade union Solidariteit said in a recent video posted online that plans for a college, Sol-Tech, had been started 12 years […]

If several tweets from producer Legend Manqele are to be believed, there will soon be a reality TV series about Jacob Zuma and Nkandla. “It’s an amazing life we live. Just left the presidential (sic) homestead in Nkandla,” he wrote. As well as two other tweets: “Leaving president (sic) Jacob Zuma’s house after shooting the […]

South Africa’s assistant coach Mzwandile Stick is hoping for a strong performance by the match officials when the Boks take on New Zealand in their Rugby World Cup opener in Yokohama on Saturday. The Boks have previously felt they have not always got the rub of the green from the officials in clashes with the world champions, […]

The Ndlovu Youth Choir’s final performance on America’s Got Talent is tonight, and it promises to be a celebration of Africa! If you’re in the US or you know anyone who is – please ask them to watch and vote for the South African choir that have brought hope and pride to SA during tough […]

The Democratic Alliance has filed a complaint in the Equality Court in Bloemfontein against EFF leader Julius Malema for posting a series of Robert Mugabe quotes on Twitter to celebrate the life of the former Zimbabwe president, including one that said, “The only white man you can trust is a dead white man.” “The DA […]

CAPE TOWN – South African soldiers will patrol gang-ridden Cape Town streets for an extra six months after President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday extended their deployment to the end of March 2020. The army was deployed in July to help quell escalating violence that has killed hundreds this year and that some officials have likened […]

The inaugural ATP Cup has drawn its first nation-based groupings with South Africa drawn to face Serbia and France in Brisbane in January 2020. SA’s Kevin Anderson will be up against world number one Novak Djokovic who will headline Group B for Serbia. The countries’ groupings were drawn during a live video streaming event from […]

In the wake of a pledge by the South African police minister to crack down on crime, in Gauteng especially, intensified police action saw the arrest of 900 people across the province over the weekend and the recovery of 15 illegal firearms. In Cape Town, too, Operation Lockdown, the joint action between police and the […]

South African endurance athlete Cameron Bellamy has just completed the longest channel swim in history – across 150km of open ocean! It took him 57 hours of continuous swimming from Barbados to St Lucia. Conditions were extremely hot but unusually flat. With less than 10 hours to go on Sunday, his support team said on […]

A team of Special Envoys has been dispatched by President Cyril Ramaphosa to several African countries to deliver a message of reassurance in light of the recent attacks on foreign nationals. “The Special Envoys will deliver a message from President Ramaphosa regarding the incidents of violence that recently erupted in some parts of South Africa […]

As if marathons weren’t hard enough already, today in South Africa, an accountant, an entrepreneur and a boxing executive were among 20 friends running the Cape Town Marathon – with saplings strapped to their backs. The group are promoting the planting of native trees amid a nationwide push to replace invasive species with indigenous one […]

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa was booed by the crowd gathered today for the funeral of former Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe. The Master of Ceremony was forced to intervene to appeal to the crowd to give Ramaphosa a chance to speak. Their reaction follows the wave of deadly riots and xenophobic attacks in South Africa […]

The Deputy Minister of Mineral Resources, Bavelile Hlongwa, who had recently been appointed, was killed with four others in a car accident on Friday night on the N1 near Polokwane, according to a statement from The Presidency. Hlongwa, who was 38, had been appointed on 30 May. In his statement today, President Cyril Ramaphosa expressed […]

HARARE – Foreign leaders, including South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa and former presidents Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma, supporters and ordinary citizens gathered at a national stadium on Saturday to bid farewell to Zimbabwe’s founder Robert Mugabe, after a week of disputes over his burial that have threatened to undermine President Emmerson Mnangagwa. Mugabe, who ruled Zimbabwe […]

Travel trends across the world are seeing travellers shying away from the overcrowded sights, rather looking for unique experiences in their destinations. But avoiding the crush of tourists doesn’t mean you should skip visiting some of South Africa’s most well-loved cities. And to celebrate Heritage Day this month – you could even stand a chance […]

Gautrain, the speed train running between Johannesburg, O.R. Tambo and Pretoria, has been banned from the advertising authority of South Africa from using a series of ads that, in an effort to attract more commuters, contend that travelling with its trains could save you up to 11 days a year. “What could you do with […]

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa’s economic growth is unlikely to reach the treasury’s target of 1.5% in 2019 because conditions have changed and the country is facing increasing headwinds, Finance Minister Tito Mboweni said on Friday. This week ratings agency Moody’s, the last of the top three credit firms to rate South Africa’s debt at investment […]

Instead of attending the 74th General Assembly of the United Nations in New York later this month, President Cyril Ramaphosa will stay in South Africa to focus on the burning issues that have beset the country in the past weeks, including gender-based violence, the restoration of law and order and the worsening economy, according to […]

Four suspects involved in a farm attack in Coligny on Tuesday night were swiftly arrested by the South African Police Service (SAPS), thanks to a joint brave and committed effort by the local community police forum (CPF) – made up of farmers and residents – and SAPS. A local resident, who was involved in the […]

Tanzania has flown in nine black rhinos to its Serengeti national park from South Africa as part of efforts to restore its population of the critically endangered species. Rampant poaching during the 1960s and 1970s in the Serengeti, famed for its sweeping planes and Africa’s most spectacular wildebeest migration, devastated the population of rare east African black […]

CAPE TOWN – Olympic 800 metres champion Caster Semenya will be officially awarded her gold medal from the 2011 World Athletics Championships at this year’s edition in Doha, but will not be there to receive it. Semenya was elevated to the gold medal position two years ago when Russian athlete Mariya Savinova, who sped past […]

The number of murders, rapes and armed robberies in South Africa went up in the past year, according to the Minister of Police, Bheki Cele. “Women issues, murder and the fear factor – those crimes that make South Africans live in fear – like house robbery, house burglary. Those are the things we need to […]

South African Police Minister Bheki Cele says police intelligence is working around the clock to prevent more attacks and looting in parts of Gauteng which have been hit by violence against foreign nationals. In a Parliamentary debate on incidents of violence and criminality in parts of Gauteng, Cele said blanket statements about police intelligence being […]

LONDON – Two female penguins are set to raise the first “gender neutral” chick, a London aquarium said on Wednesday, the latest same-sex penguin parents to take a furry baby under their wings. Rocky and Marama, who have been together for six breeding seasons, have adopted a four-month-old Gentoo chick that will be classified as […]