JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – Six months into the job of running loss-making South African Airways, Vuyani Jarana is mapping out a punishing austerity plan. Jarana, who faces the daunting task of turning the flag carrier around, said layoffs and other cuts were unavoidable as he contends with a draining cost-to-income ratio of 108 percent. “SAA cannot […]

According to South African civil rights organisation AfriForum, a petition against the proposed process of expropriation without compensation has been signed by nearly 250,000 members of the public. The organisation says it will be submitting the petition, as well as a memorandum, to Parliament in Cape Town tomorrow morning. “The memorandum contains a summary of […]

South Africa’s rand firmed in early trade on Monday, recovering some of the losses from last week, as the dollar softened ahead of central bank policy meetings and the U.S.-North Korea summit this week. * At 0637 GMT, the rand traded at 13.0125 per dollar, 0.5percent firmer than its close on Friday. * The rand […]

South African opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), have their eyes set on the Northern Cape and Gauteng province as one of their strategies prior to next year’s general elections. DA leader Mmusi Maimane said on Saturday, after the meeting of the party’s federal executive in Johannesburg, that the DA aims to gain support in […]

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – The South African government is concerned by the rand’s plunge to its lowest this year and will step up a “defence mechanism”, Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene said, but he fell short of calling the currency’s dip a crisis. The rand dropped to 13.2875 against the dollar on Friday, its weakest since Dec. […]

The United States president, Donald Trump has arrived in Singapore on Sunday Morning prior to the summit with North Korean leader  Kim Jong Un. Kim landed a few hours before Trump made his arrival in the city. The aim of the summit is to discuss the nuclear deal with North Korea. The two leaders are […]

In May last year South Africans were blown away by the courage and determination of Xolani Luvuno… who completed the 42.2km annual Wally Hayward marathon in Gauteng on one leg and crutches. Today he completed the Comrades Marathon!!! (Phew, tears!) Xolani lost a leg about eight years ago after suffering bone marrow cancer. Today he […]

In a series of tweets Sunday morning, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, has “categorically” denied newspaper reports today that he demanded a R4.5-million “kickback” for a deal made by the Public Investment Corporation (PIC). Mkhize described the allegations – which were published by the Sunday Times – as “a ridiculous and malicious […]

Attracting investment to grow the economy, creating jobs and addressing poverty and inequality in South Africa is top of mind as President Cyril Ramaphosa participates in the G7 Leaders’ Summit Outreach in Toronto, Canada. The President arrived in the country on Friday ahead of the two-day session hosted by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. “The […]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Fossils of two amphibians that lived within the Antarctic circle 360 million years ago are forcing scientists to rethink the origins of land vertebrates, including where these pioneers first appeared and the climatic conditions that spawned them. Scientists said on Thursday they have unearthed partial remains of primitive Devonian Period amphibians named […]

A suspected stowaway from Tanzania was rescued yesterday on the bulk carrier M1 Harmony by the NSRI in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. The man, who is believed to be 32-years-old, had allegedly injured himself while trying to escape from the ship’s crew after they discovered him. According to NSRI PE duty coxswain Kevin Warren, the […]

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – Elite South African police unit, the Hawks, raided offices of India’s Bank of Baroda on Friday and seized documents as part of an investigation into state corruption under former president Jacob Zuma, a police spokesman said. Bank of Baroda, which is winding down its operations in South Africa, was thrust into the […]

(Reuters) – U.S. celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain, host of CNN’s food-and-travel-focused “Parts Unknown” television series, killed himself in a French hotel room, CNN said on Friday, in the second high-profile suicide of a U.S. celebrity this week. He was 61. Bourdain, whose career catapulted him from cooking at New York’s top restaurants to dining in […]

Former South African President Jacob Zuma, who was ousted by his own party in February, appeared at the Durban High Court on Friday for the second time on corruption charges relating to a $2.5 billion arms deal in the late 1990s. Zuma faces 16 charges of fraud, racketeering and money laundering relating to the deal […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa told congregants at the centenary celebrations of the Afrikanerbond that land needs to be shared in order to reduce poverty and unlock its economic value to benefit all South Africans. The President on Thursday night said the Afrikanerbond should not see the acceleration of land reform as a threat but as an […]

There’s a message currently being shared from a “gatvol” South African, summing up how he (or she) sees the current state of play: The message, from an unnamed South African living in the country, begins: “I loathe to have to share the realities of life here in good ol’ S of A, and always choose […]

South African convicted axe murderer Henri van Breda, who was found guilty of murdering three members of his family, has been sentenced to life in prison. Van Breda, was found guilty on 22 May of murdering his parents Martin and Teresa, and older brother Rudi – in a brutal axe attack at the family’s luxury […]

It may come as a surprise to many in South Africa… but South African Airways (SAA) has been named as one of the Top 10 Airlines in the World, according to an international survey. In fact SAA made it into the Top 5. It clearly wasn’t being measured for financial performance – SAA’s “horror show” […]

The African National Congress (ANC) has issued a statement saying it rejects Economic Freedom Fighters’ (EFF) Chief Whip Floyd Shivambu’s “racist and narrow nationalist diatribe with the deepest contempt it deserves”. This statement goes a step further than an earlier one from the ANC Chief Whip, which had said Shivambu’s comment about National Treasury Official […]

A South African father is due to appear in court tomorrow on charges of murder after allegedly shooting his 14-year-old son dead outside an Ennerdale school, south of Johannesburg on Tuesday night. The father reportedly dropped off his son for evening classes at school, and fell asleep while waiting to take his son home. When […]

The Office of the ANC Chief Whip says it condemns the “unwarranted and unsubstantiated utterances” attributed to the Chief Whip of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), Floyd Shivambu. During a meeting of the Standing Committee on Finance in South Africa yesterday, Shivambu allegedly attacked National Treasury Official, Ishmail Momoniat, and objected to him presenting before […]

Looking at the current protests, economic hardship, racial tensions and increased Cape gang violence; I am sure the last thing we as Capetonians were thinking about, was “Kykie, how about a lekker new name for our Airport?” writes Vannie Kaap founder, Keyser Sôze. So let me start off by saying that I think the mood amongst […]

The South African National Congress councillor in Nelson Mandela Bay, Bongo Nombiba has been officially denied leave to appeal in Port Elizabeth Court. The councillor was  convicted of fraud and money laundering in March. He is serving five years at St Albany Prison. He pocketed R20 000 in donation money that was meant for a […]

The public across various provinces in South Africa are still digesting the escalating price of petrol. On Tuesday night many fuel stations were packed with motorists filling up their tanks before the increase… and others took to social media to joke that gifts of petrol will now be welcomed for birthdays and engagements, and that […]

South African police have seized documents from the offices of mobile phone operator MTN Group after Turkey’s Turkcell launched a lawsuit over a disputed Iran licence, MTN said on Tuesday. Turkcell alleges that the South African mobile company used bribery and wrongful influence to win a lucrative Iran license originally awarded to Turkcell. MTN rejects […]