The City of Cape Town’s Fire and Rescue Service have continued to monitor the hotspots amid an increase in the number of fires reported around the Peninsula in recent days. A crew of 50 Fire and Rescue Service members, supported by various other agencies, are maintaining a presence in Red Hill, Scarborough, Misty Cliffs, Ocean View […]

Arts and Culture Minister Nathi Mthethwa has paid tribute to late musician David Bowie for championing the struggle for equality. “He spoke out and pointed out uncomfortable truths to those around him about racism. In so doing, he was an agent of change and a trailblazer in many different ways,” Minister Mthethwa said. Bowie passed […]

On Saturday at the L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate horse race in Cape Town, a woman (apparently drunk) insulted a group of other guests, repeatedly using the k word on them. The incident, which came on the heels of several other highly publicised racial incidents, was immediately publicised and the woman was quickly fired from her job, which she’d had […]

As kids head back to school this week, Suzelle gives some tips on how to hack your backpack:      

In South Africa we didn’t have the luxury of easing into the year – for us 2016 exploded into life, sparked by racist social media posts followed by a backlash that has us angry, confused, pained, despondent and some crying out for leadership. Leadership is a fascinating concept, a nebulous concept at times and at […]

Just before the last full moon of 2015, I was out in the early evening walking down a dry river bed in a densely populated rhino area with three field rangers and a dog. Armed to the teeth, the K-9 unit walked quietly either side of me. Sure I felt safe, but I was nervous. […]

Hashim Amla’s cricket career has been impressive. In both Test and one-day international cricket matches over the past five years, the right-handed batter has excelled. In 2014, he was named as the Test captain, but he announced his resignation from the role on 6 January 2016. Amla said his resignation from the role was a […]

Almost daily there is an amazing heartwarming story of someone going out of their way – from game rangers to ordinary civilians – to help trapped, injured or almost-dead wild animals. Here’s a tribute to four groups of South Africans over the past two weeks who have come to the rescue of an animal that […]

An Australian couple on honeymoon in Cape Town made the most of their Christmas Day in South Africa, far away from friends and family. They spread a little cheer handing out gifts to the homeless… But Nathan and Grace Haynes’ random act of kindness wasn’t just limited to Christmas Day. The couple from Perth – […]

Almost everyone on my Facebook has been asking the same question: how did the #ZumaMustFallMarch become about race? Isn’t it clear that the current president is bad news for the country? Jacob Zuma – the person and the president, the body that is depicted visually and the figure that is related to politically – is […]

There’s a weird thing happening in South Africa. Well, to be fair, there’s a lot of weird sh@# going down. But I’d like to focus in on the niche weirdness of white, upper-class parents in SA at this point in time. And their seemingly unchecked yet (in my opinion) unbalanced rhetoric: “We’re really thinking about […]

I suffer from depression. These are some of the hardest words to say out loud. They may appear like just another utterance but in essence they are part of a journey that entails wallowing in the depths, a journey where “normal” is often illusive. Depression is an ailment. And like all other ailments it transcends […]

To celebrate International Mountain Day today, Friday 11 December, here are a few awesome and random facts about the Mother City’s 260-million year old iconic landmark…like did you know that Table Mountain is the only mountain in the world to have a constellation (“Mensa”) named after it? Or that there are over 350 trails you could […]

South African musicians Jack Parow and Freshlyground have got together to make an action-packed Bond-esque music video with all the makings of a great spy thriller…including explosives planted in Table Mountain! Exquisitely directed by Jon Savage and Craig Hunter Parker, the five-minute mini-movie follows our South African secret agents of #zefspionage – Jan Bont (Jack Parow) and Geldpenni (Zolani Mahola) […]

South Africa’s supermarket chain Shoprite has opened its first shopping centre in Tete Junction, Mozambique. The opening, on 3 December, marks the entrance of Africa’s largest food retailer to the Tete province. Since starting out as a small chain of only 8 supermarkets in Cape Town in 1979, Shoprite has grown to more than 450 stores […]

Two South Africans have an ambitious plan to turn the  Cape-to-Rio Yacht Race – which is known as one of the toughest yacht races in the world – into an even tougher venture! They plan to row unassisted all the way from Cape Town to Rio de Janeiro! That’s 6,700 km! And to do so […]

South Africa is officially home to the world’s best winemaker of 2015. Congratulations to Abrie Beeslaar – of Kanonkop Wine Estate, in the Western Cape – for being awarded the prestigious International Winemaker of the Year award at a ceremony in London. Abrie, who is the cellarmaster at the renowned wine estate in Stellenbosch, was crowned the winner at the International Wine […]

South African Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba has attempted to clarify the current situation regarding the recently announced concessions to the immigration regulations. In a nutshell, as discovered last weekend by British actor Idris Elba – foreign children are still required to comply with the visa requirements which were implemented on 1 June this year…until such […]

SuzelleDIY’s latest video couldn’t come at a better time – she shared all her top tips on enjoying Amsterdam, just as Air France KLM announced they will now operate year-round daily flights between Amsterdam and Cape Town, starting in May 2016. The latest video from South Africa’s popular DIY queen is a little different from her normal household and how-to-make-a-braai-pie type of […]

On a sunny afternoon in 1986, a young boy in a Soweto in upheaval as the struggle against apartheid intensified, turned on the TV, threw himself on the couch and hoped the soccer game would be worth watching. But the TV was tuned into the channel broadcasting the rugby match between Northern Transvaal and Eastern Province. […]

As Prince Harry begins an official week-long visit to Lesotho and South Africa today, Kensington Palace has released a touching letter from a young orphan who first met the prince 10 years ago, and says he still dreams of that day and the things they did together like planting peach trees. Today the prince will attend […]

As South African National Parks (SANParks) announced yesterday that it has adopted principles to guide “drought preparedness” across its parks, a wildlife vet has described some of the recent harrowing scenes that have met those travelling through the country’s drought-hit parks. When the rain comes…there is often not enough…leaving weakened animals fighting for their lives to escape […]

Almost a year ago to the day, Constable Wynand Laatz and Sergeant Stephen Clark helped rescue an abandoned newborn from a bush on the side of the M13 in Westville, KwaZulu-Natal. Today the two police officers were happily reunited with one-year-old David. Sgt Clark says that on that day, a year ago, the baby was spotted by a […]

Nadine Gordimer was “a powerful voice for change in South African politics, (who) moved untold thousands with the pathos of her sparse, penetrating narratives”, Google wrote in its tribute to the writer on its corporate website. Gordimer is the focus of one of its popular doodles to mark what would have been her 92nd birthday […]

JOHANNESBURG – The state-owned freight and logistics company Transnet has secured R12 billion ($853 million) for its locomotive programme, it announced on Monday, bringing to R48 billion the capital raised to buy the trains. Transnet said it sourced the latest money via a club loan from Absa, Nedbank, Bank of China, Futuregrowth Asset Managers and Old Mutual Specialised Finance.   “I think […]