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By Ainsley Ash MAIN IMAGE: Due to coronavirus restrictions, Muslims are celebrating Ramadan a little differently this year. SOURCE: Ali Arapoğlu on Pexels Across the world, the coronavirus pandemic is changing the way that millions of people are marking Ramadan. The holy month is a time when Muslims traditionally focus on prayer, spiritual rejuvenation, charity,… Read more: How the coronavirus shapes this year’s holy month of Ramadan

By Skylar Thoma MAIN IMAGE: The WHO warns that as many as 769,000 people could die from malaria this year if current efforts to combat the disease, such as the distribution of treated mosquito nets, are interrupted. SOURCE: Twitter @WHO As many as 769,000 people in Africa could die from malaria this year as efforts… Read more: Africa’s malaria deaths could double due to coronavirus fallout

By Renny Simone MAIN PHOTO: South African President Cyril Ramaphosa struggles to put on a cloth mask. The incident has been heavily lampooned on social media. SOURCE: eNCA With the eyes of the nation upon him, President Cyril Ramaphosa gave his fellow South Africans something they desperately needed: a good laugh. The moment came at… Read more: Ramaphosa mask flub goes viral

By: Laura Peterjohn MAIN IMAGE: Ramaphosa addresses South Africa in a national broadcast on Thursday night, detailing a 5-stage plan aimed to re-start the economy while easing the nation’s lockdown. SOURCE: Siyabulela Duda/GCIS South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has unveiled plans to begin easing the country’s lockdown in a week’s time. On Thursday night Ramaphosa… Read more: Ramaphosa announces 5-stage plan to ease lockdown

By: Ayinde Summey MAIN IMAGE: 12 rangers from the Virunga National Park in the DRC, famed for its gorillas, have been killed in an attack by suspected Hutu rebels. SOURCE: Francesco Ungaro, Pexels A deadly armed attack on a village in the Virunga National Park in Democratic Republic of Congo has left 18 people dead.… Read more: DRC attack leaves 12 rangers dead in park famed for gorillas

By: Laura Peterjohn MAIN IMAGE: Post-mortem testing has shown that people thought to have died of flu in California in February actually died of coronavirus, suggesting that the virus was present in the US weeks earlier than previously believed. SOURCE: Gustavo Fring, Pexels California officials have confirmed that the coronavirus was likely to have caused… Read more: Coronavirus entered US weeks earlier than previously thought

By Renny Simone MAIN PHOTO: A face mask on a pile of $100 bills. Some prominent Republicans have been accused of giving material and moral support to ‘Reopen America’ protests. SOURCE: Elliot Alderson from Pixabay Are the ‘Reopen America’ protests the start of a new conservative movement, a cynical political ploy, or something in between?… Read more: ‘Reopen America’ protests linked to powerful Republicans

By: Laura Peterjohn MAIN IMAGE: A tweet posted by news outlet News24 showing police busy with anti-looting patrols. Source: Twitter @News24 South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has ordered the mobilisation of the entire South African National Defence Force (SANDF) to help with enforcing the country’s lockdown regulation – one of its largest deployments in its… Read more: SA mobilises army to maintain order

By Renny Simone MAIN PHOTO: A frame from a video that has been widely circulated on social media, apparently showing police action against nurses demanding PPE equipment. Source: Twitter @MichaelSun168 Some South African nurses are threatening to stay home from work unless the government meets their demands for, among other things, increased compensation and more… Read more: Nurses’ union threatens strike unless Ramaphosa meets demands

By Ainsley Ash MAIN PHOTO: Due to the coronavirus pandemic, schools have sent students home to complete their semester online. Many students say this is not what they signed up for and want back some of their money. SOURCE: Edward Jenner on Pexels Students in the US are suing universities that have closed their doors… Read more: US students sue colleges for loss of on-campus experience

By Lizzie Stricklin MAIN IMAGE: Planet Earth is celebrated in the fiftieth annual Earth Day celebrations. SOURCE: Orlando, Pixabay As the world marked the fiftieth anniversary of Earth Day today – the largest secular holiday celebrated internationally – people across the globe were forced to move events planned for the day to online platforms. Efforts… Read more: Coronavirus mutes Earth Day – but the celebrations go on

By Skylar Thoma MAIN IMAGE: SA President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced a plan for R500 billion in government spending to address the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic. SOURCE: Twitter @PresidencyZA South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the largest economic relief package in South Africa’s history, amounting to approximately 10 percent of the country’s Gross… Read more: Ramaphosa announces historic R500bn economic rescue package

By Skylar Thoma and Ayinde Summey MAIN IMAGE: Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma speaks at a press briefing Thursday, announcing that some lockdown regulations “will remain in place for a long time”. SOURCE: Screen grab from Twitter @PresidencyZA South Africa is facing an extended period of coronavirus restrictions – even if… Read more: South Africans face extended coronavirus restrictions

By Laura Peterjohn and Lizzie Stricklin MAIN PHOTO: The sale of tobacco has been banned in South Africa as part of the lockdown measures to combat the spread of COVID-19. SOURCE: Gerd Altmann, Pixabay Lockdown in South Africa means no social gatherings, no travel, and no smoking or alcohol – much to the public’s disdain.… Read more: Here’s the Reason South Africa is Banning Alcohol and Tobacco

By Lizzie Stricklin MAIN IMAGE: A new study published Wednesday revealed that Greenland’s ice sheet experienced record melting in 2019. SOURCE: Bernd Hildebrandt, Pixabay Greenland’s ice sheet experienced record melting in 2019 due to “unprecedented atmospheric conditions” which meant that the earth absorbed more sunlight than usual, according to a new study published in The… Read more: Greenland ice sheet hits record melt rate in 2019

By Ainsley Ash  MAIN PHOTO: After being placed under business rescue in December, South African Airways has been denied further funding from the government. SOURCE: Maria Tyutina on Pexels The South African government has denied further funding to South African Airways, its national carrier.  In a letter signed by Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan … Read more: South African Airways denied more funding

By Renny Simone MAIN PHOTO: A young child and an adult read a storybook together. SOURCE: Lina Kivaka from Pexels If you want to nurture the little scientist in your child, give him or her a book. That, at any rate, is what the scientists are saying. A new study published this week has found that children… Read more: Parents knew it all along: kids just want to know, Why?

By Skylar Thoma MAIN IMAGE: WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus speaks to the press following President Trump’s announcement that the United States’ funding for the organisation would be cut. SOURCE: Twitter @WHO World leaders expressed concern on Wednesday after President Donald Trump moved to cut off US funding to the World Health Organisation (WHO). The… Read more: World leaders dismayed as Trump cuts US funding to WHO

MAIN IMAGE: Domestic violence cases have increased across the world since the start of coronavirus restrictions. SOURCE: Tumisu on Pixabay By Ainsley Ash With at least a third of the world’s population on coronavirus lockdown, many women and children are at home, safe from the virus, but find themselves in more immediate danger of domestic… Read more: Global domestic violence surges under coronavirus restrictions

By Lizzie Stricklin MAIN IMAGE: South African schools remain closed as the nation’s lockdown continues until the end of April. SOURCE: Henk Pijper, Pixabay With the South African government having extended the country’s lockdown until the end of April, concerns are rising about whether the school year can still be completed on time. The concern… Read more: Future of education in flux as SA schools remain closed

By: Laura Peterjohn The SA government is considering the possibility of temporarily increasing social grants during the lockdown period. SOURCE: Twitter @ANCLimpopo The South African government has moved to try to reduce the economic impact of coronavirus by lowering the country’s repo rate to it’s lowest level in a quarter century. At the same time… Read more: SA government considering new budget to tackle coronavirus

By Skylar Thoma MAIN IMAGE: The sale of alcoholic drinks is currently banned in South Africa under the nationwide lockdown. The lobby group Gauteng Liquor Forum has demanded that government lift the ban or face legal action. SOURCE: Pexels.com. More than 20,000 liquor license holders will have to wait until the end of the week… Read more: Tensions rise over ban on cigarette and alcohol sales

By Renny Simone MAIN PHOTO: Guangzhou, a city in China’s Guangdong province that is home to a large African immigrant population. SOURCE: stben on Pixabay A group of African ambassadors in Beijing have written a letter to the Chinese foreign minister, urging the government to take action on xenophobia against African immigrants in China. The… Read more: Anti-black racism reported in China’s “Little Africa”

by Ainsley Ash MAIN PHOTO: A montage of the faces of political prisoners being held in Egypt where a campaign is under way to secure their release in the face of the risk posed by coronavirus. Source @BowdyT Prison authorities across the world are facing a coronavirus crisis in their institutions. For many detention centres,… Read more: Governments struggle to contain coronavirus threat to prisoners

By Ayinde Summey MAIN IMAGE: Vehicles at a roadblock in Johannesburg on Wednesday. The Minister of Transport has warned that strict enforcement of lockdown rules will be applied over the Easter weekend. Source: Twitter @SouthernStaying While South African children may be stuck at home this Easter, there is one bit of good news: the Easter… Read more: South Africa tightens travel restrictions – but the Easter bunny gets a pass

By Lizzie Stricklin MAIN IMAGE: Opera singer Andrea Bocelli will be performing at the Milan Cathedral in a virtual concert on Sunday. Source: Shen Xin, Pixabay Andrea Bocelli will stand alone before the towering pillars of the Milan Cathedral. The room will be silent, although thousands of fans will be listening closely, awaiting his opening… Read more: To Share His Voice, Bocelli Goes Online

By Skylar Thoma MAIN IMAGE: President Cyril Ramaphosa addresses the nation to announce that South Africa’s three-week lockdown has been extended to five weeks. President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Thursday that South Africa’s nationwide lockdown would be extended by two weeks, to the end of April.  Thanking the nation for their efforts to date, Ramaphosa… Read more: Ramaphosa calls for national solidarity as lockdown is extended through April

By Renny Simone MAIN PHOTO: Children wash their hands in Sudan. Washing hands, along with maintaining social distance, is one of the best ways to minimize transmission of coronavirus (Oxfam) Half a billion people could be pushed into poverty as a result of the developing economic crisis precipitated by the coronavirus pandemic, Oxfam said in… Read more: Coronavirus crisis ‘may push half a billion into poverty’

By Renny Simone MAIN PHOTO: A swarm of desert locusts, taken in 2014 near Satrokala, Madagascar (lwoelbern from Wikimedia Commons) Nearly a month before sub-Saharan Africa recorded its first coronavirus infection, Somalia declared a national emergency in response to a different natural threat: swarms of desert locusts. Somalia’s Ministry of Agriculture called the insects “a… Read more: Huge locust swarms threaten food security in East Africa as coronavirus hampers response efforts

By Lizzie Stricklin MAIN IMAGE: NASA satellite image of Tropical Cyclone Harold over Solomon Islands on Friday. A Level 5 Cyclone, dubbed Tropical Cyclone Harold, has ploughed its way through several Pacific archipelagos since Monday, leaving a swathe of destruction across impoverished island nations already girded against the global coronavirus pandemic. The storm is now… Read more: Tropical Cyclone Harold rips through Pacific islands

By Skylar Thoma MAIN IMAGE: Scattered people walk about a park in Wuhan, China. The city in which the coronavirus epidemic began is now relaxing its lockdown measures. SOURCE: Pexels After more than two months under a strict lockdown, Wuhan, the city where coronavirus was first reported, is finally beginning to relax restrictions on movement. … Read more: WHO warns world to be cautious as Wuhan lifts lockdown

MAIN PHOTO: Abhalali has lost a bid to have demolitions halted in parts of Durban. This photo of a demolished shack was posted by the group on its Facebook page. By Ainsley Ash Shackdweller movement Abahlali baseMjondolo has expressed its disappointment after the Durban High Court rejected an application to stop the eviction of shackdwellers… Read more: Courts rejects shackdwellers petition to stop demolitions

By Ayinde Summey MAIN IMAGE: The burial of a coronavirus victim in Saudi Arabia. Source: @MedinahDate As the global coronavirus pandemic has affected many parts of our lives, death rituals across cultures have not been spared.   Countries like the United States have banned funeral gatherings to prevent virus transmission, while other countries such as the… Read more: Funerals during a pandemic

South African president Cyril Ramaphosa has moved swiftly to discipline his Minister of Communications, Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, for violating the country’s coronavirus regulations. On Sunday, Ndabeni-Abrahams was pictured in a post on the former deputy minister of higher education Mduduzi Manana’s Instagram page, enjoying a lunch with her husband at his home, directly contravening the government’s… Read more: President puts South Africa’s minister of communications on leave

By Renny Simone MAIN PHOTO: A map of the United States, with red circles indicating Covid hotspots (Martin Sanchez on Unsplash) New data suggest that the coronavirus, which has been described by some as ‘the great equaliser’ due to its virtually universal impact, is not as egalitarian as it first appeared. Factors like race and class are increasingly… Read more: New US Covid statistics suggest communities of color hit hardest by virus

By Ayinde Summey MAIN IMAGE: Police escort a bride to a waiting police van after they arrested her for breaking the coronavirus regulations at her wedding in Richards Bay at the weekend. The image has been widely shared on social media. Source: Twitter. What was supposed to be a joyous wedding celebrated under the year-round… Read more: Lockdown affects weddings in KZN and Western Cape

by Ainsley Ash MAIN PHOTO: Coral bleaching occurs when the coral turns white as a stress response to warm water temperatures. The effect is visible in this photo of coral in Keppel Bay, on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. (Arc Centre for Excellence in Coral Reef Studies) Australia’s Great Barrier Reef has just experienced its most… Read more: Great Barrier Reef experiences largest bleaching event in five years

By Laura Peterjohn MAIN PHOTO: South African Minister of Communications Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams is in trouble after this photo was posted on Instagram by her former colleague Mduduzi Manana, showing her apparently enjoying a social call at his home in the midst of the coronavirus lockdown. SOURCE @MDUMANANA on Instagram As police crack down on South… Read more: Government officials face questioning after breaking social distancing guidelines

By Lizzie Stricklin and Skylar Thoma Creativity is blooming on the internet as people around the world are being inspired to take up artistic challenges from wherever they find themselves in lockdown. An explosion of online content, from silly social media challenges, to museums and universities sharing their resources, is giving people a way to… Read more: 7 ways to feed your creative need while staying locked indoors

By Ainsley Ash  MAIN IMAGE: A graphic issued by the Western Cape government showing the spread of Covid-19 cases in the province. The Western Cape Government has issued an appeal for medical volunteers to sign up to help fight the spread of COVID-19 as it gears up for a rise in case numbers in coming… Read more: Western Cape government calls for medical volunteers to help fight Covid-19

By Lizzie Stricklin MAIN PHOTO: Samoa is one of the few nations that has not reported any coronavirus cases. SOURCE: Simon Steinberger, Pixabay Global COVID-19 cases have exceeded one million, global news outlets reported yesterday. According to data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at John Hopkins University, cases have been confirmed… Read more: Coronavirus cases pass one million, but virus-free pockets remain

By Renny Simone MAIN PHOTO: Police Minister General Bheki Cele and other senior members of the police executive conducted an inspection of lockdown operations in Limpopo yesterday. SOURCE: Twitter @SAPoliceService Police action is killing South Africans nearly as fast as COVID-19, if allegations reported to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) are to be believed.… Read more: Police face allegations of murder, abuse as SAPS enforces lockdown

By Laura Peterjohn MAIN PHOTO: An image that has been widely shared shows a pair of bears outside a house in Stockport, England. The owners of the house have been putting them out in different outfits, enacting different home-bound scenarios for the entertainment of their neighbors and gaining a following on social media. SOURCE: @Adam_Harrison13… Read more: In a time of isolation, communities come together

By Skylar Thomas MAIN PHOTO: Zoombombing has become a phenomenon on the online meeting platform. The platform which offers easy web conferencing is under scrutiny. (Source: Zoom website) With the global need for online communication in the current coronavirus crisis, many have been turning to the US-based online platform Zoom for business meetings, online classes… Read more: Zoombombing: The New Online Epidemic

By Ainsley Ash & Renny Simone Viral photos, purporting to show wild animals ‘reclaiming’ cities left vacant by coronavirus shutdowns, have been making the rounds on social media. But are these feel-good posts too good to be true? A recent tweet featuring photos of dolphins and swans swimming in clear Venice canals has amassed tens… Read more: Feel-good fake news? Shutdowns bring spate of urban wildlife sightings – and plenty of misinformation

By Lizzie Stricklin Victoria Falls is thundering again after a deluge of rainfall increased Zambezi River flows this week, prompting a deluge of beautiful photographs – but also public concern about the stability of the Kariba Dam downriver. Images of a surging waterfall posted to social media sites by photographers show the waterfall traditionally known… Read more: Warnings as Victoria Falls thunders again

By Ayinde Summey Caption: Homeless people at the Caledonian Stadium in Pretoria. Photo: Department of Social Development. Authorities in Pretoria this week found themselves with a headache after their efforts to provide accommodation for homeless people in a local stadium has been rejected by some. Tshwane Law Enforcement officers relocated more than 2 000 homeless… Read more: 200 Homeless People Escape Mandatory Shelter in Pretoria

As nations around the globe are placed in lock down, enforcing polices of social distancing and government “stay at home” orders to slow the spread of COVID-19, millions of businesses are being deemed ”non-essential to daily life” forcing their doors to close. This has prompted the layoff of millions of workers, who are seeing their… Read more: Coronavirus: A Pandemic of Unemployment

Minister of Communications Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams addresses the press conference on cell phone tracking Thursday. (Skylar Thoma) The South African government moved to reassure its citizens yesterday that cellphone tracking efforts will only be used on people who have tested positive for coronavirus and have not gone into quarantine. At a media briefing of the Coronavirus… Read more: SA Government Reassures Public About Cell Phone Tracking

By Kamal Morgan The Warwick Market is an amazing area of vendors and sellers with items ranging from food, phones, clothes, ornaments, shoes, herbal remedies, and more. It has been around for decades and is still thriving. The city of Durban has tried its best to keep this important area alive by having the community… Read more: Warwick Markets