As a speech scientist, I never thought I’d see so much excitement on social media about one tiny little word. You heard it say what? Roman Stetsyk/Shutterstock.com The clip, which went viral after being posted on Reddit, is polarizing listeners who hear a computer voice say either “Laurel” or “Yanny.” @AlexWelke tweeted, “This is the […]

Two cash-in-transit vehicles were blown up Thursday morning in Atlas Road, in Boksburg, South Africa. Watch below. Cash heists have become an escalating problem in South Africa recently. Just last month five suspects were arrested for a R30-million cash-in-transit heist. Five of today’s alleged 10 suspects have reportedly already been caught by the South African […]

British Airways is adding some extra sparkle to customers’ journeys ahead of Prince Harry’s marriage to American TV star Meghan Markle. To celebrate the Royal wedding this Saturday, 19 May 2018, the BA93 to Toronto – the city where their relationship took off – will be operated by an all-star crew of only Meghan and Harry’s. The […]

Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa says the department is looking at the possibility of reviewing legislation with a view of phasing out harmful plastic products like straws. Briefing the media ahead of participating in the department’s Budget Vote debate on Wednesday afternoon, the Minister said the possible review would look at plastic products that are […]

Contrary to the “kill or be killed” headlines about ITV’s ‘On Assignment’ programme, which aired on Monday night and “annoyed” several South African viewers… a full viewing of the episode shows it was a little more balanced, and a lot more positive than the SA critics (who maybe only watched the trailer) had given it […]

South Africa’s farm murders and the government’s plan to implement land expropriation without compensation is receiving global attention this week. Firstly, ITV in the UK aired an On Assignment episode on Monday night, which investigated the issues… and last night, the USA’s largest television news channel, Fox News (which has a reputation for biased reporting […]

Remember back in 2015 when everyone was fighting over ‘The Dress’… and whether it was gold and white or black and blue? Well here now is an audio tape that is causing the same division in the social media world. Some swear the automated voice is saying ‘Yanny’ (or Jannie!) and others swear it’s ‘Laurel’. […]

Children were the victims of a shocking 41% of all 124,526 rape cases reported in the past three financial years in South Africa, according to the Democratic Alliance (DA). Zakhele Mbhele, DA Shadow Minister of Police, said in a media statement Wednesday that a parliamentary reply also revealed that in the same period, more than […]

Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba says its new Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) project will help integrate all systems, inside and outside government, to offer a single source for biometric authentication for South African citizens. The Minister was speaking at the launch of the new system at the Taj Hotel in Cape Town this morning, […]

While there has been a slight increase in dam levels thanks to recent rainfalls in the Western Cape, South Africa, the City of Cape Town has cautioned that water usage has also increased. “Although there has been a slight increase in dam levels of 0.5% to an overall level of 21.4% as a result of […]

A new documentary series on ITV about South Africa has infuriated South Africans living in the UK. The first episode of the On Assignment series was aired last night. According to viewers, it showed white South African farmers practicing at a rifle range, and included an interview with a distressed woman who said she had […]

South Africa has recalled its ambassador to Israel, following an attack on the Gaza border which left 55 Palestinians dead and 2,700 wounded… on a day in which the United States opened a controversial embassy in Jerusalem. South Africa condemned “the indiscriminate and grave manner of the latest Israeli attack”. Turkey also recalled its ambassador from […]

Recent actions by US President Donald Trump’s administration are severely straining relations with South Africa’s new government led by President Cyril Ramaphosa. And relations between the two governments are likely to worsen. The first blow was last month’s threat by Trump’s UN Ambassador Nikki Haley that countries unwilling to tow the US line would be […]

A former nurse from Soweto, Thato Maketekete, has opened a new South African shop in Ontario, Canada – with all the best SA goodies to cure the homesick blues! Mrs Balls chutney, Bakers Biscuits, Ouma rusks, bush tea, Maizena, Tastic, ProNutro, ProVita, Ingrams cream, Lux soap, biltong, boerewors, African clothes, shoes and jewellery. You name […]

Gauteng police have reportedly launched a manhunt for an unknown number of suspects after an elderly couple – Fanie and Colleen Engelbrecht – were killed on their farm Welgevonden, Westonaria, on the West Rand, South Africa. UPDATE 17 July 2020: Farm attackers sentenced for murder of Fanie and Colleen Engelbrecht. The SABC says details of […]

A bomb device was discovered on Sunday night at the Imam Husain Mosque in Verulam, South Africa, where one man was killed and two injured during a horrific attack at the KwaZulu-Natal mosque on Thursday. Reaction Unit South Africa reported on social media that it had evacuated several residences in the Ottawa area and cleared […]

  The DA says it will call for a full disclosure on the status of funding for South African Airways (SAA)… given that a further bailout of R5 billion, its third cash injection in just one year, may have been sourced. Alf Lees MP – DA Shadow Deputy Minister of Finance – said that on […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa says education remains the most effective tool in bridging the chasm of inequality in South Africa. “It is through education that we can realise the goal of a non-racial, non-sexist and democratic society,” President Ramaphosa said. He was speaking at the graduation ceremony at the University of Mpumalanga in Mbombela on Saturday, […]

The Wolwerivier settlement is the only immediate option the City of Cape Town can offer families facing eviction from Albert Road, Woodstock, Councillor Brett Herron told the Cape Town Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday. Herron, who was Mayoral Committee member for Transport and Urban Development, urged the 14 tenants facing eviction from Albert Road, Woodstock to […]

Legendary South African photographer Masana Samuel “Sam” Nzima has passed away at the age of 83. Nzima died on Saturday evening, 12 May 2018, at Rob Ferreira hospital in Nelspruit, Mpumalanga. Nzima was most famous for his emotive and iconic photograph of Mbuyisa Makhubu carrying the fatally-wounded Hector Pieterson (12), while Hector’s devastated sister Antoinette ran […]

This Sunday’s episode of Carte Blanche is packed with all the latest hot topics in South Africa – De Lille vs The DA, Protea Glen Land Grabs, Murder By Appointment and Being Transgender. South Africans abroad can watch this show (and many more) by subscribing to Showmax International, where this episode will be available to stream from Tuesday 15 […]

On Friday two political leaders from different parties were assassinated in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, and a third was assassinated in front of his family on Monday… sparking fears that political killings which previously plagued the province are “rearing their ugly head” again, as the country prepares for the National Election next year. The African National […]

The South African government says it will fast-track land reform while waiting for the Parliamentary process to unfold (whereby the Constitution is due to be amended to pave the way for land expropriation without compensation). Rural Development and Land Reform Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane says the department will use the existing legal framework to fast track […]

A new study on second language learning has recently taken the media by storm. A range of headlines – from the BBC to the Daily Mail and The Guardian – all trumpeted the depressing message that it’s impossible to become fluent in a foreign language after around age ten. All of these reports dramatically misrepresented […]

An elephant calf that has been in the care of the Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre (HESC) in South Africa for the past 16 months, has been successfully introduced to the resident Jabulani herd. The introduction took place in early April 2018, and the great news is that the calf will remain with the herd going forward! In November […]