11 h. ago World Bank grants South Africa a $1.5B loan for infrastructure upgrade and green energy transition

South Africa's National Treasury says the World Bank has granted South Africa a $1.5 billion loan to upgrade transportation infrastructure and help it transition toward a low-carbon economy

Economics

22 h. ago Dad screams as he's dragged to his death by crocodile after ignoring warning signs

A 12-foot crocodile attacked the man who was visiting Bonamanzi Game Reserve in South Africa, clamping its jaws around the father's torso and dragging him into the river

Events

23 h. ago Inside the royal tour to South Africa which was the young Elizabeth's FIRST trip abroad, royal author reveals

With the memory of World War Two still very raw, the spring 1947 royal tour of South Africa was seen as the perfect opportunity for the Royal Family to enjoy some well earned sunshine.

Culture

60 h. ago Lions legend Ian McLauchlan dies aged 83 as tributes paid to Scottish rugby icon

Ian McLauchlan passed away on Friday and tributes have poured in for the Lions and Scotland rugby legend who was a key figure in winning tours over New Zealand and South Africa

Events

61 h. ago Ian McLauchlan, Scotland and British & Irish Lions ‘Mighty Mouse’, dies at 83

‘Mighty Mouse’ led his country 19 times, winning 43 capsPart of successful Lions tours in 1971 and 1974The former Scotland and British & Irish Lions prop Ian McLauchlan has died at the age of 83. The Ayrshire-born McLauchlan, who was known throughout the rugby world as Mighty Mouse, won 43 caps for Scotland between 1969 and 1979, captaining the side 19 times.McLauchlan’s legacy was cemented on the victorious Lions tours of New Zealand and South Africa in 1971 and 1974, being one of only five players to feature in all eight Test matches. Continue reading...

Events

3 d. ago The ‘sacrifice zone’: villagers resist the EU’s green push for lithium mining

Residents of a Portuguese rural idyll where four vast mines are planned are among those who feel they will pay too high a cost for the energy transitionFilipe Gomes had been craving fresh air and quiet routine when he and his partner quit the chaos of London’s catering industry for the fog-misted hills of Covas do Barroso, the sleepy Portuguese farming village in which he was raised.But his rural idyll has been disturbed by miners drilling boreholes as they push to dig four vast lithium mines right beside the village. The prospecting has sparked resistance from residents who fear the mines will foul the soil, drain the water and fill the air with the rumbling thunder of heavy trucks. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago Yoga in a Zimbabwe tavern is the latest mental health outreach in a struggling country

Before dawn in a tavern can be an unlikely time and place for a yoga session

Politics

3 d. ago Freeman and Van der Merwe miss chance to make impression in tough Lions opener | Brendan Fanning

Andy Farrell will want players to display a bit of attitude as well as talent but Argentina showed it will take timeSwag is a word more common in the US than in this corner of the world. It’s a made-to-measure term for athletes with attitude as well as talent; a bit of showmanship to go with the substance. It helps sell the product. When we think of the Lions we like the idea of a bit of swag to go with the occasional success.Scott Gibbs for example, on the 1997 winning tour to South Africa, the trip that rescued the idea of four countries merging into one and still having a relevance in the newly professionalised game. Or Brian O’Driscoll’s stunning impact on his first tour, in Australia in 2001. George North did the same thing in the same country in 2013. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago Marnus Labuschagne axed by Australia after World Test Championship final defeat

Having been promoted to open against South Africa at Lord’s, Labuschagne will miss out in the first Test against the West Indies next week

Sport

4 d. ago Scotland U20 squad named but coach in the dark over fundamental aspect of World Championship

Young Scots to face England, Australia and South Africa in Italy

Sport

4 d. ago South Africa declares national disaster as flooding death toll rises to 92

South Africa's Eastern Cape provincial authorities say the death toll from recent floods has risen to 92

Events

5 d. ago Is this an artist – or a coffee pot? The great William Kentridge reveals the strange secret to a great self

The South African artist has exhibited everywhere, bagging awards in art and theatre, while his work sells for millions. So why did he find becoming an artist so unnatural? Ahead of a major British show, he reveals allYou only have to glance at William Kentridge’s family tree to realise why he is such an outsider. His maternal grandmother, Irene Geffen, was South Africa’s first female barrister while his mother, Felicia Geffen, became an anti-apartheid lawyer. Then there’s his father, Sydney Kentridge, the indomitable QC who represented Nelson Mandela in the 1960s and fought for justice for Steve Biko in the 70s. Studying law would have been the obvious path. “Public speaking, thinking on my feet, were natural and easy skills,” said Kentridge back in 1998. “Being an artist was a very unnatural and hard thing for me to do.”That’s quite a statement. Because in the three decades since, Kentridge has conquered the international art world with the oomph and verve of an emerging twentysom...

Politics

5 d. ago No, South Africa’s HIV care is not ‘under control’. To pretend so recalls the dark days of Aids denialism | Yvette Raphael and Sibongile Tshabalala

It is not just Trump’s funding cuts that have led the country to a health crisis. The real collapse comes from a lack of political courage to actNo one should be surprised that the health system in South Africa is straining in the aftermath of Donald Trump’s cruel gutting of HIV funding. What is shocking is the political will to pretend otherwise.As public health workers, researchers, academics, people living with HIV and civil society organisations, we reject the narrative put forward by the government that things are “under control”. Testing has dropped. Frontline workers are being dismissed. Clinics that served our most marginalised communities have closed or are struggling to keep their doors open. And those most affected, such as transgender people, sex workers and drug users, have not been meaningfully included in any transition planning. The National Treasury and the Department of Health are at odds with each other. Officials within the health department are at odds with each...

Politics

6 d. ago South Africa is at the heart of the HIV pandemic. What happens now the money has been cut?

With 12% of the population living with the virus, Trump’s sudden withdrawal of funding stands to undo decades of progressLebo is very afraid. She used to go to a clinic where sex workers such as her could get HIV medication without facing discrimination. But the dispensary, in Johannesburg’s run-down central Hillbrow district, shut down in January, when Donald Trump cut US funding to the global HIV response.“I’m weak. I’m an old woman,” says the 62-year-old. “So please, we need help; we are suffering.” Lebo, who only wants her first name shared, is now spending 30% of her monthly income of 1,500 rand (£62) on antiretroviral (ARV) medication. Continue reading...

Events

7 d. ago The hillside memorial that sparked misinformation about South Africa’s farm killings

The South African government and experts who have studied farm killings have publicly denounced misinformation

Events

7 d. ago The hillside memorial which sparked misinformation about South Africa’s farm killings

The South African government and experts who have studied farm killings have publicly denounced misinformation

Events

7 d. ago ‘I don’t want my boy to be positive’: pregnant women face sky

As the withdrawal of US funding disrupts treatment and halts crucial research in South Africa, clinics fear the resurgence of mother-to-child transmission of the virusPhotographs by Chris de Beer-ProcterAphelele Mafilika was born HIV positive in 2004. Put on antiretrovirals (ARVs) as a baby, she has been on the life-saving medication ever since and has lived a normal life. No longer. “Now, I have a problem,” she says.For most of her life her viral load (the amount of HIV in her blood) has been undetectable. “When I went for my February clinic visit, I didn’t get my pills. They told me ‘shortage of staff’ and ‘come back another day’. I came back a few times, but it was the same story.” Continue reading...

Politics

8 d. ago A hillside of white crosses fuels a misleading story about South Africa's farm killings

Nearly 3,000 white crosses on a hill in South Africa are a memorial to white people killed on farms over the last three decades

Events

9 d. ago Australia get too clever and pay the price for batting order jumble | Geoff Lemon

Failure of top three meant holders did not have enough runs when South Africa benefited from pitch flattening outAt a little before 1pm on a Saturday afternoon in London, a group of Australian cricketers stood around blinking in the sunlight, looking confused, like they had just popped up from a green tube in an unexpectedly bright part of the Koopa Kingdom. Less than a day earlier they had been right on top, happily on their way to a second consecutive World Test Championship title. In less than three sessions of stubbornness and brilliance, South Africa had taken that away.Sport is about creating an arena for the unexpected and some get hung up on the idea that acknowledging differences between participants is a form of disrespect. But the resource disparity should have made this contest one-sided. It was a triumph over politics and economics as much as over a rival group of players. Continue reading...

Economics

9 d. ago ‘Chokers? This win squashes that’: Bavuma hopes WTC victory can unite South Africa

‘As a country, it’s a chance for us to rejoice in something’South Africa beat Australia by five wickets in finalAfter generations of disappointment and heartbreak South Africa shrugged off the tag that has long haunted them with victory in the World Test Championship here. For years they have been smeared as chokers, but no more.“While we were batting we could hear the Aussies using that dreaded word: choke,” said Temba Bavuma, the South Africa captain. “We came in with a lot of belief and a lot of doubters. We got ourselves into the final, there were doubters as to the route we took. This win squashes that. Here’s an opportunity for us as a nation, divided as we are, to unite.” Continue reading...

Politics