The South African government has expressed concern at the growing number of South Africans detained abroad. In a statement this week, the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) said over 800 South Africans are currently in prisons across the world for visa-related violations, drug-related charges, as well as various other offences. Earlier this week, […]

A lot happened in the world of palaeontology in 2018. Some of the big events included some major fossil finds, a new understanding of our reptile ancestors and a major controversy whose outcome could rewrite human history. The Conversation Africa asked Dr Julien Benoit to discuss five important moments in palaeontology you may have missed […]

The Department in the Presidency responsible for Women has commended the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) ruling to dismiss the petition of appeal by Pastor Timothy Omotoso’s legal team in having Judge Mandela Makaula recuse himself. Minister in the Presidency Responsible for Women, Bathabile Dlamini, said that recent events in the unfolding of the trial […]

JOHANNESBURG – The South African Reserve Bank will not raise interest rates again until May, according to a Reuters poll, taken after the Reserve Bank surprised many economists last month by adding 25 basis points to borrowing costs. The median forecast in the poll of 25 economists, conducted over the past week, suggests the central […]

The North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria has ruled that South African former president Jacob Zuma must personally pay the costs for his legal fees, and that the State is not liable for legal costs incurred by the former president in his personal capacity when facing criminal prosecutions against him. The Democratic Alliance (DA) had […]

Time Magazine has just announced its “Person of the Year” for 2018, and for once, it isn’t one person. This time it is four people and a newspaper. Collectively calling them “The Guardians”, Time has awarded the accolade to the murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Filipino journalist Maria Ressa who edits the Rappler news website, […]

An incredible story of corporate love in South Africa has been posted on social media, a wonderful story of the kindness of corporates – showing their more human face – to help a proud grandmother be at her eldest granddaughter’s graduation next year. It began with Inge Beukes (@ComradeInge) tweeting on Sunday evening: “Called my […]

South African breaststroker and SA sport legend Cameron van der Burgh announced his retirement from international swimming today… just after winning his fifth World Championship gold medal. The 30-year-old made the announcement during his post-race press conference on Wednesday after winning the World Short Course Championship in the men’s 100m breaststroke. ‘It is an amazing […]

One of the most important criteria for me when deciding whether a city is worth living in is the public transport. The less I have to use a car, the better. Me and driving are a combustible marriage… writes SAPeople’s Ted Botha. New York was perfect for this and Cape Town has a MyCiti bus […]

The rand is the fourth worst performing currency against the dollar in 2018 and among the most volatile, but it remains a favourite for investors chasing high yields and willing to risk short-term losses for sizeable net returns. Implied volatility on South Africa’s rand rose by its most this week since the last finance minister […]

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s Famous Brands said on Tuesday its UK-based unit Gourmet Burger Kitchen (GBK) has closed 14 out of 17 under-performing stores following the approval of a restructuring plan by creditors. A string of British store groups have either gone out of business or announced plans to close shops this year, as […]

The launch this morning of a drive-through bar on one of Joburg’s busiest roads – the notorious William Nicol Drive – had many people in South Africa up in arms. And understandably so – this is a country where drink driving is a MAJOR problem (the worst in the world!) and there are far too […]

Watch the video below to be totally inspired! It was uploaded on Thursday by Jeff Govender, a doctor, who wrote: “Super brilliant medical graduate – Dr Aliya Mukadam!! ??? She should be celebrated!!” And since then congratulations have poured in from South Africans around the country. The footage shows Dr Mukadam being celebrated at the […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa genuinely seems concerned with undoing the damage done to South Africa during the Jacob Zuma years. Today he said no effort must be spared in rooting out corruption in local government so as to restore confidence in public institutions in South Africa. Speaking Tuesday at the South African Local Government Association (SALGA) […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa has welcomed the North Gauteng High Court judgment upholding the President’s dismissal of Tom Moyane as Commissioner of the South African Revenue Service (SARS). The President ended Moyane’s tenure at SARS in November 2018 following a recommendation by the Nugent Commission of Inquiry into the governance of the revenue service and tax […]

The eThekwini Council in South Africa just spent a whopping R2-million, according to the DA, on a trip to Colombia that never happened. The Durban delegates – all 59 of them! – were unable to board the plane in Brazil for the final flight to Colombia because they didn’t have the correct visas! The Democratic […]

Good news for South Africans as Eskom says it will not implement Stage 1 rotational load shedding today. “Eskom will not implement Stage 1 rotational load shedding from 9am today. The electricity system remains tight and the risk of load shedding still remains high for today should power station units fail to return as planned,” […]

Readers of the travel section of the UK’s Telegraph newspaper have voted Cape Town the Best City in the World (something Capetonians already knew!) and South Africa a runner up as the Best Country in the World!!! The results of the annual Telegraph Travel Awards, based on a poll of almost 50,000 readers, were published […]

The axed South African Reserve Service Commissioner, Tom Moyane will on Tuesday know his fate as he bids to get his job back at the High Court in Pretoria. Judge Hans Fabricious is expected to hand down Moyane’s judgement. Moyane approached the High Court to have his dismissal overturned and prevent the SARS commission from […]

DAR ES SALAAM – Ten opposition parties in Tanzania say proposed amendments to a law governing political parties would criminalise their activities. Critics of President John Magufuli, who was the darling of social media when he first came to power in 2015, say he is increasingly cracking down on dissent with restrictions on the political […]

On Monday, about 15 people gathered outside the Wynberg Magistrate Court in South Africa to protest the bail hearing of the man accused of attacking 63-year-old Dianne Case. Case, an award-winning children’s book author and community worker, was stabbed 14 times. According to Case’s daughter, Maxine, on the afternoon of 28 November the doorbell rang. […]

The case against controversial Nigerian pastor, Timothy Omotoso has been postponed to February 2019… because the defence team submitted copies instead of original documents to the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) in their petition. Many say this is yet another delay tactic in the case which has seen thousands of South Africans rally to support […]

JOHANNESBURG – The South African government needs to “bite the bullet” and bail out struggling state-run power firm Eskom, which has asked for R100 billion ($7 billion) in government support, the chief executive of Rothschild & Co in South Africa told Reuters. Rothschild advised Eskom in 2008 when it last received a major cash injection […]

JOHANNESBURG – The chairman of KPMG South Africa on Monday appealed for the firm to be seen as a changed business, following months of efforts to regain public trust after becoming embroiled in major corruption scandals. In an open letter published in South African newspapers, KPMG South Africa’s executive chairman Wiseman Nkuhlu said the local […]

While Eskom is currently not implementing Stage 1 load shedding, the risk of load shedding across South Africa remains high for Monday. “Eskom will not implement Stage 1 rotational load shedding from 9 am today. However, the electricity system remains tight and the risk of load shedding still remains high for today should power station […]