Independent on Saturday

Now that the dust has settled on Melinda Ferguson’s latest book, When Love Kills – The tragic tale of AKA and Anele, let’s unpack it. I interviewed Ferguson, a journalist-turned-author celebrated for penning memoirs and non-fiction – Smacked, Hooked:

Disney has returned with a preschool iteration of The Little Mermaid and it has Taye Diggs voicing King Triton, 12-year-old Mykal-Michelle Harris holding her own as Ariel, and Amber Riley lending her voice to Ursula, the sea witch who is Ariel’s aunt

Nerve-jangling and devilishly bleak, Longlegs is easily the front-runner for the scariest movie of 2024. Set during the drab 1990s of Clinton-era America, the latest offering from writer-director Osgood “Oz” Perkins throbs with a bone-chilling sense

Crimes against humanity are occurring with impunity around the globe; from Myanmar to Sudan, Ukraine and elsewhere. And yet, unlike international treaties for the crimes of genocide, torture, apartheid and forced disappearances, there is not a treaty

A stuffy nose can make breathing difficult, disturb your sleep and leave you feeling miserable. What causes a stuffy nose in winter? Murray Hewlett, the CEO of healthcare provider Affinity Health, says that several factors contribute to stuffy noses

A judge sentencing a South African-born killer to 226 years in an Alaskan jail for two savage murders said there was no hope for rehabilitation, just the need to keep him off the streets. South African-born Brian Steven Smith, now 53, recorded himsel

CHILDLINE KZN is on the brink of closure and says it only has enough money to keep its doors open for the next six months. Acting director Adeshini Naicker said their monthly expenses amount to R600 000, which includes salaries, but if they could rai

New Springbok captain Salmaan Moerat initially thought it was a typing error when he saw the letter “c” behind his name on Monday when he was announced internally as the captain for the Test against Portugal. But he quickly found out from assistant c

EXCEPT for concern about dust and noise from heavy-duty machines, residents of Cleland and Meadows suburbs in Pietermaritzburg have welcomed the widening of the N3 highway near their homes. The construction would soon change the look and size of the

THERE are plans for Pietermaritzburg’s popular Showgrounds, but no one is spilling the beans yet about what’s in store at the site which hosted major tourism and entertainment events for decades. Funfairs, music festivals and agricultural exhibition

On Mandela Day, East Coast Radio (ECR) reaffirmed its commitment to KwaZulu-Natal by giving back to the oThongathi community. Broadcasting the Breakfast Show live from 6am-9am from Newtown Hall, ECR’s presence brought a wave of hope and support to th

THE “red desert” outside Port Edward on KwaZulu-Natal’s South Coast, commonly referred to as the smallest desert in the world because the surface area it occupies is roughly seven hectares, is an archaeological wonder. Plant life is virtually non-exi

Donations of quality second-hand books are growing, aided by people like 11-year-old Milan Edwards who took the initiative to encourage his classmates, friends and family to join the cause. The Denis Hurley Centre-backed Street Lit campaign, support

The most noticeable feature in the pictures of Pietermaritzburg’s Tourism Information Centre and City Hall then and now is how much greener and brighter the area is in summer. The original is from the Facebook Page whats_popping_pmb and shows the lan

Few things spice up a dish – or, for that matter, a herb garden – like basil. With flavour profiles that include sweet, spicy and even citrusy, the herbaceous staple is a favourite of growers and chefs. “Think of a perfectly rich basil pesto, or a to

Swirl, sniff and sip your way through some of South Africa’s best wines at the annual Pick n Pay Wine & Food Festival Durban. The retailer brings the Cape Winelands to Chris Saunders Park in uMhlanga for one day only on July 27, accompanied by delici

Marbella Grand Cafe Where: Shop C1 The Pearls, 2 McCausland Crescent, uMhlanga Open: Monday to Thursday 11am to 11pm, Friday 11am to midnight, Saturday 10am to midnight, Sunday 10am to 11pm. Call: 031 020 0028 Food writer Ingrid Shevlin found a new r

The richness of African stories, intellectualism and heritage are still smothered by non-African languages. Indigenous and traditional voices must be revitalised to overcome historical, long-lived injustices and to prepare Africans for the digital ag

The programme at this year’s Durban International Film Festival features 92 films from 50 countries across several continents. The 45th DIFF is being held at various venues in Durban until July 18-28. There are twenty-nine features including several

One of the biggest global names in speciality coffee will join other experts in Durban to spread the word about global trends in the beloved beverage. Patrik Rolf, from April Coffee in Denmark, is a four-time world finalist as a coffee roaster, a bar

SEX sells and globally criminals are capitalising on the vulnerability of youngsters, leading to an increase in sextortion and revenge porn. Experts say social media usage in South Africa is extremely high and criminals are targeting teenagers and yo

Award-winning broadcaster, children’s book author, voice-over artist and podcast host Carol Ofori has been nominated for the prestigious 2024 African Podcast and Voice Awards (APVA) in the lifestyle and entertainment category. Ofori presents the week

The 1860 Heritage Centre will today pay tribute to struggle heroes Victoria and Mlungisi Griffiths Mxenge. It will also host a presentation and panel discussion on the National Health Insurance. Recently the Department of Health renamed King Edward

LIYAH London is a name music fans will be chanting around the globe as the Durban-born musician’s star reaches its zenith. From pop music to rap, the 20-something might be small in size but her talent is big enough to see her performing and hanging o

Bookings have opened for the 32nd annual Hilton Arts Festival (HAF) at Hilton College, outside Pietermaritzburg, from August 2 to 4. “The Hilton Arts Festival is so much more than a drama festival,” says the festival’s artistic director, Sue Clarence

WHILE vehicle sales continue to take strain, bakkies still top the list of most sought-after transport. Last month the Toyota Hilux led the pack with 2 435 units sold, Ford Ranger was third behind the VW Polo Vivo, with 1 868 and the Isuzu D-Max four

Six months after the major earthquake that hit Japan’s Noto Peninsula, one calico cat still won’t leave its damaged home in Wajima. Named Mei, she lived in the house for about 10 years with her owner, Kazue Ueno, who was killed in the quake. Ueno’s e

Dare we say “grown up”? The new BMW X2 is bigger and more sophisticated in its second generation, but in many ways it retains the cheeky spirit of the mic-dropping original. Unlike the latest BMW X1 that it shares a platform with, the new X2 has not

Red Bull ripped the covers off its long-awaited RB17 hypercar at the Goodwood Festival of Speed and it’s every bit as radical as they’d promised, while also being capable of “F1 equivalent” lap times. The RB17 is not street legal, but unlike Max Vers

Jaguar Land Rover has joined forces with tyre manufacturer Pirelli in a global automotive industry-first commitment to use FSC-certified natural rubber tyres across its range of vehicles. The luxury car manufacturer will be the first to adopt FSC-cer

Some South Africans are diversifying their risk cover to include life insurance that pays out offshore, in US dollars. This is according to the Discovery Life 2024 Dollar Life research paper. The white paper was released to mark the 10-year anniversa

The pending implementation of the two-pot retirement scheme does not mean that those who wish to withdraw savings can use that method to hide money from a soon-to-be-ex spouse or get out of maintenance obligations. The new retirement regime comes int

Since its inception in 2009, Bitcoin has carved a distinctive path through the global economic landscape. Unlike traditional assets, cryptocurrency’s behaviour has been influenced by a combination of investor sentiment, regulatory shifts, macroecono

South Africa follows an input-credit method of VAT accounting, which allows a VAT-registered vendor to claim VAT on expenses that have been incurred in the course of its taxable enterprise. The difficulty is that there is no prescribed period within

Recent news reports alleging irresponsible lending and debt retrieval practices by Capitec Bank in the past have prompted me to contextualise the allegations by revisiting South Africa’s retail credit environment and reflecting on improvements in con

Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi states: “The NHI is a health financing system which is meant to be an equaliser between the rich and the poor. What we all agree on is that all patients and the extremely sick should benefit from the best medicines

ON THE face of it, South African football’s “Big Three” having their pre- season training in Europe tells the story of our game making great progress. And while a highly-decorated coach who should know better has lauded the fact that all of Mamel

MANCHESTER United are still in the process of building their squad and have less depth than many of their Premier League rivals, manager Erik ten Hag said yesterday, as he blamed injuries for last season’s disappointing eighth-place finish. Ten Hag e

THERE are still spots up for grabs in the Springbok squad ahead of the Rugby Championship starting next month, so today’s clash against Portugal will be a final dress rehearsal for a few players to stake a claim. An experimental side will tackle Os L

IT WILL be a Test of firsts when the Springboks take on Portugal in the final mid-year Test of the season in Bloemfontein today. It will be the first time a female referee, Scot Hollie Davidson, will be a match official in a Test that involves the wo

Despite wasting several scoring opportunities, the Bulls pulled off a satisfactory 25-13 victory over defending Currie Cup champions the Cheetahs at Loftus Versfeld last night. The Pretoria outfit missed out on a four-try bonus point that would have

MANCHESTER United have signed 18-year-old French defender Leny Yoro from Lille on a five-year contract, the Premier League club announced on Thursday, as they bid to shore up their defence. Sources say United agreed a €62 million (about R1.237 billio

MPUMELELO Mhlongo, or simply “Mpumi”, will be among South Africa’s great medal hopes at the Paris Paralympic Games, starting on August 28. The track and field athlete Mhlongo will be among the 4 400 athletes competing in 22 sports codes in the French

CARLOS Sainz showed no ill-effects from his protracted search for a seat next year by topping the times for Ferrari ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in yesterday’s sweltering opening practice at the Hungarian Grand Prix. The Spaniard, whose talks w

SOUTH Africa’s volatile Minister of Sport Gayton McKenzie had some sage advice for the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) and Athletics South Africa (ASA) in the aftermath of the Luxolo Adams debacle. The South African

KAIZER Chiefs have remained mum on a new signing, which relegated Cape Town Spurs declared on social media yesterday. Spurs confirmed the club reached an agreement with Chiefs for the transfer of defender Rushwin Dortley. The 22-year-old left-footed

BARCELONA fans have been contributing symbolic amounts of money to the club’s official TikTok account in an effort to help the LaLiga side secure the signing of forward Nico Williams. The 22-year-old Athletic Bilbao winger became a major transfer ta

US SPRINT star Noah Lyles has a last competitive track outing in today’s London Diamond League before heading across the English Channel to the Paris Olympics. Lyles, who won the 100m and 200m titles at last year’s world championships in Budapest, wi

When you’ve set a world record and won an Olympic gold medal in the same race, you have reached the pinnacle of your sport. That is what happened to South Africa’s swimming superstar Tatjana Smith – who was Schoenmaker then – at the Tokyo Games in 20

THE experienced figure of Steve Komphela has broken his silence following his surprise return to DStv Premiership champions Mamelodi Sundowns. Komphela has, interestingly, admitted to never taking his eyes off the Brazilians despite his sacking at th

HE WAS at a crossroads with his rugby career after a serious injury robbed him of a breakthrough season in the Currie Cup with Western Province. But a couple of months later, with a handful of impressive performances in his debut SVNS Series career,

THE chief executive officer of Stellenbosch FC, Rob Benadie, says the club is consulting DStv Premiership compatriots for advice ahead of their debut campaign in CAF competitions. Stellies’ remarkable 2023/2024 season saw them rewarded with a spot in

MATURED David Bedingham has had to patiently wait for his deserved opportunity in Proteas colours and having had the perfect start to his International Test career, he could be an important piece of a puzzle as South Africa continue to rebuild. The P

As the world’s spotlight turns to Paris for the 2024 Summer Olympics, South African travellers have a unique opportunity to witness this global spectacle first-hand. The Summer Games will take place from July 26 to August 11. Paris has plenty to of

Over-tourism occurs when an excessive number of tourists visit a destination or attraction, resulting in damage to the local environment, and historical sites and in a poorer quality of life for residents. Sustainable tourism, on the other hand, pro

Winter is in full swing and, with that, South Africa’s flu season is under way. Sniffles and coughs are reaching a peak and the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) is reporting a rapid increase in flu cases. A variety of infections

Let’s face it, differences in opinions and outlooks between one generation and another do exist. A generation gap can be used to describe the differences in thoughts, actions, and tastes exhibited by members of younger generations vs older ones. The