Steven Bantu  Biko would have been 67 years old today. But he died at the hands of the apartheid security police at the age of 31. He was born just outside King William’s Town in the Eastern Cape in 1948 and was a tall, handsome man with a charismatic personality. Biko was a founder member of […]

“The world has lost a visionary leader, a courageous voice for justice, and a clear moral compass. By showing us that the path to freedom and human dignity lies in love, wisdom and compassion for one another, Nelson Mandela stands as an inspiration to us all,” says Kofi Annan, the former secretary-general of the United Nations and the […]

His ragged pants and vest and grimy headband make Samson the kind of kid you cross the road to avoid. Too-big boxing gloves and the inflexibility of his stare do not help dispel the notion that Samson is a bully bruising for a fight. First impressions would be wrong though. Nine-year-old Samson lives on the […]

Madiba’s journey home to his village of Qunu, where he will be buried on Sunday, began at 1 Military Hospital in Pretoria on Tuesday 10 December as a glass-sided hearse carried his flag-draped coffin through the streets of the capital to the Union Buildings. There, the seat of government and the scene of his inauguration […]

Innovative products and ideas from South Africa have transformed lives; South African inventors have made pool cleaning simpler with the Kreepy Krauly; South African doctors (including Dr Chris Barnard) have made heart transplants possible, and a young South African, Ludwick Marishane, has made it possible to bathe without water. Innovation proposes novel solutions to everyday needs, and helps […]

  Clay is usually used to make bricks or mould beautiful ceramic creations. It’s not something most people think of putting into a jar and using as a cosmetic. But Adolphina Setsena, one of the winners of the South African Breweries Foundation Social Innovation Awards of 2013, finds it as natural as brushing your teeth […]

South African author Anita Pouroulis has won one of children’s publishing’s top awards for her picture book ‘Oh, What a Tangle’.  The former primary school teacher from Bedfordview in Johannesburg won the Best World Children’s Book Award at the China Children’s Book Fair in Shanghai earlier this month. ‘Oh, What A Tangle!’ was released in the […]

A chance to work with Hollywood A-list actor Uma Thurman is on the cards for one lucky up-and-coming South African filmmaker with the Jameson First Shot competition. Thurman is set to bring a fresh spin to the competition, both as a skilled actor and as the first woman to take on the lead role for the […]

Nadine Gordimer turns 90 today and can look back on a life that has won her praise and honours as South Africa’s most acclaimed living author. She is a celebrated writer who is more widely read outside South Africa than at home. Lauded internationally as an icon of white liberal resistance to apartheid, she voted […]

It turns out that while South Africa is hotly debating the pros and cons of fracking in the Karoo, Botswana has gone right ahead with gas extraction and quietly opened up vast areas which include some delicate ecosystems. The development has allegedly gone unchecked, and poses a grave impact on the rights of the people, […]

Through mud and rain, the Springboks played an awesome match against Scotland at Murrayfield on Sunday 17 November, claiming a 28-0 victory! It’s the first time in two years that the Scots have been left scoreless.  The South African tries in Edinburgh were scored by Willem Alberts, Willie le Roux, JP Pietersen and Coenie Oosthuizen; […]

If you’re in London – make sure to get down to GJ’s in Wandsworth on the 30th November for a Save the Rhino fundraising event.  It’s sure to be a fun day for the whole family. Tickets are £5 per adult and kids under 10 are free. Starts at 13:00.

A work by South African artist Paul Emmanuel has been included in France’s official state commemoration of the centenary of the First World War next year. Emmanuel’s The Lost Men France was selected by a multidisciplinary committee of World War One experts from France and elsewhere. The programme, which was launched in Paris on 7 November, begins […]

South Africans Misty and Dylan Weyer received a warm welcome at Cape Point on 1 November after completing a gruelling two-month mountain biking trip along the Dragon’s Spine – from Beitbridge, southern Zimbabwe, to Cape Town’s Cape Point, via neighbouring Lesotho – to raise funds for children with cerebral palsy. The couple, who hails from […]

Everyone has dreams; for Paul Modjadji that dream is to help people reach their full potential. The Brand ambassador for the City of Tshwane and the Daring to Dream movement, Modjadji is the driving force behind the project. As a big dreamer himself, his story, to live his dream has resulted in him dancing on […]

Sigourney Weaver is the latest big-name star to join the cast of Chappie, Neill Blomkamp’s movie about a kidnapped robot. Production started in Johannesburg this week. Blomkamp, the South African writer and director whose debut movie District 9 attracted a best movie Oscar nomination in 2010, will direct Chappie from the screenplay he wrote with […]

The award-winning Elelwani, the world’s first Tshivenda-language feature film, will have a special run at Johannesburg’s Cinema Nouveau from 1 to 7 November before opening in South African cinemas in January. The November run will ensure that the film can be considered for next year’s South African Film and Television Awards (Saftas), says Helen Kuun, chief […]

Loyiso Bala may be known unofficially as South Africa’s king of R&B, but now the much-loved entertainer has added an official title to his name: he has been appointed South African UNAids Goodwill Ambassador. The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/Aids (UNAids) made the announcement on 21 October. As a goodwill ambassador, 34-year-old Bala will […]

Three South Africans are in the top 10 of the overall rankings of the Fina Swimming World Cup after back-to-back events in Dubai and Doha, which ended on Monday, with Chad le Clos in first place. The 21-year-old from Durban enjoys a convincing lead at the top of the standings, with 332 points to his […]

  Mokgoro Ntshieng, creative director of the Olive Tree Theatre, is passionate about her art form and its ability to transform society. She believes that if given an opportunity to tell your story, you can change perceptions. In South African theatre, women’s voices have been muted, so she and her business partner, producer Kerryn Irvin, […]

Tucker Vorster and Japie De Klerk are on cloud nine after both players received a call from South African Davis Cup captain, John-Laffnie De Jager, requesting their availability for the forthcoming Davis Cup tie against Russia. Vorster and De Klerk jetted into the Russian capital on Sunday with the rest of the South African Davis […]

The International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences has unveiled the nominees for the 41st International Emmy Awards, and two popular South African shows are on the list. SA represents Nominated in the comedy category the satirical news series Late Nite News (LNN) is in its eighth season. The show is hosted by stand-up comedian, Loyiso Gola, and […]

Celebrated South African playwright, director and producer, Mokgoro Ntshieng, is hoping to bring the magic of theatre a little closer to home by inspiring women to play a major role in performance art. Already established in performance art, Ntshieng has founded her own women’s theatre, Olive Tree Theatre Productions, in Alexandra township, in Johannesburg, Gauteng. Ntshieng has […]

A team of South African scientists and international collaborators has discovered the first evidence of a comet entering Earth’s atmosphere and exploding, “raining down a shock-wave of fire which obliterated every life form in its path”, Johannesburg’s Wits University announced on Tuesday. According to the university, the discovery “has not only provided the first definitive […]

Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, the big-screen dramatisation of Nelson Mandela’s autobiography, won the Audience Favourite Feature award at the Aspen Filmfest in the United States, it was announced on Wednesday night. The film beat a number of heavyweight contenders, includingThe Fifth Estate,August: Osage County,NebraskaandOne Chance, to emerge as the most popular film at the […]