Surge in coronavirus cases as 260,000 people test positive in a day

A record-breaking surge in coronavirus cases was reported yesterday as almost 260,000 people tested positive for the virus in 24 hours. The most significant increases were noted in the US, Brazil, India and South Africa, as the total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases surpassed 14.2 million.  On Saturday, the World Health Organisation reported 71,484 new … Read more

Body of Nelson Mandela’s coronavirus victim daughter leaves her home in Soweto to be buried

The funeral of Zindzi Mandela, the daughter of South African anti-apartheid leaders Nelson and Winnie Mandela was held in Johannesburg on Friday morning. It comes the day after her son revealed that she tested positive for the coronavirus on the day that she died, becoming the most high-profile victim of Covid-19.  Mourners lined the streets … Read more

Cecil Rhodes statue on Table Mountain in Cape Town beheaded

A monument to British mining magnate Cecil Rhodes has been decapitated in South Africa.  Rhodes, who was a 19th century businessman who founded the De Beers diamond company and gave his name to Northern and Southern Rhodesia – now Zambia and Zimbabwe – has been a target of anti-colonialist campaigners in Britain and South Africa.  … Read more

Nelson Mandela’s daughter Zindzi dies in Johannesburg at the age of 59 

Nelson Mandela’s daughter Zindzi dies in Johannesburg at the age of 59 Zindzi Mandela, 59, died this morning in a hospital in Johannesburg  Zindzi had been South Africa’s ambassador to Denmark since 2015 She rose to international fame in 1985 after reading her father Nelson Mandela’s letter which rejected a deal with the South African … Read more

Wealthy siblings who own a TOWN in South Africa claim they ‘never do anything to show off’

A wealthy property developer who documents his glamorous life on social media insists he ‘never does anything to show off’ – despite sharing snaps of exotic trips aboard private jets, Champagne-fuelled nights out and designer clothes. Zaf Baker, 27, and his brother Adam, 26, spend most of their time flitting between Dubai, London and South … Read more

Tiny antibodies found in ALPACAS could help suppress a second wave of coronavirus

Tiny antibodies found in ALPACAS could help suppress a second wave of coronavirus and allow countries to safely lift lockdown, researchers claim Scientists in Sweden and South Africa have used ‘nanobodies’ from an alpaca The experts have claimed that their research ‘potently neutralises the virus’ The small antibody targets the spikes of the virus which … Read more

Giant diamond whose cuts adorn the Crown Jewels was formed 400 miles below the Earth surface

The giant diamond cut into gems that now adorn the Crown Jewels was formed 400 miles below Earth’s surface — three times deeper than other precious stones.  Analysis of similar diamonds by the Gemological Institute of America revealed that the Cullinan was a ‘super-deep’ diamond — and one of the rarest objects on Earth. The largest … Read more

Where have all the swallows gone? They’ve been harbingers of summer – but this year numbers are low

That dashing flight, shining blue back, and burst of twittering which sounds more like gossip than birdsong — there is no mistaking the most beautiful, agile and heart-lifting of birds, the swallow. Swallows make one of the most thrilling journeys in the natural world, bringing hope and renewal with them. We need that hope more … Read more