The South African population has grown to 55.65 million in the past five years, according to the latest survey by the department of statistics. In the Community Survey figures released on Thursday, Statistics South Africa said the population grew from 51,770,560 in 2011 to 55,653,654, about 3.88 million. There are 27,247,226 males and in 28,406,428 females. The population […]

WASHINGTON – A fatal accident in which the driver of a Tesla Motors Inc Model S car operating in Autopilot mode was killed in a collision with a truck has prompted an investigation by federal highway safety regulators, the U.S. government and Tesla disclosed on Thursday. The investigation of the first known fatality to involve […]

A growing number of international tour companies refusing to promote elephant riding is putting South Africa’s elephant-back safari industry under pressure to pack in the lucrative but unethical/questionable practice of riding elephants. With an increasing global awareness for the welfare issues and cruel training methods associated with elephant-back riding, a drive to end the practice […]

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa cleared Anheuser-Busch Inbev’s $100 billion-plus deal to acquire SABMiller on Thursday, putting the world’s largest brewer “on track” to complete the merger within the next six months. The Competition Tribunal, which gives the final word on mergers in Africa’s most industrialised country, said in a statement that concessions made by AB […]

A record 200 parties and 61,014 candidates – aged 18 to 90 – will contest the 3 August municipal elections, about 65 percent more parties and 12 percent more candidates than the municipal elections of 2011, according to the Electoral Commission (IEC). In a statement released on Wednesday, the IEC gave the following data: – There are a total of 4,649 unique […]

Driving across South Africa, from Joburg to Cape Town, is about as local as pap and wors. It’s further than from New York City to Chicago, or from the very tippy top of Great Britain to the very bottom. But it’s way more beautiful too (don’t take our word for it)! For anyone who hasn’t done […]

As the fallout continues at the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) over the imposition of censorship by COO Hlaudi Motsoeneng, the resignation of the acting CEO, the protests by journalists and the declaration by the chairman that everything is fine at the public broadcaster, here are some of the best of the statements and memes on social media. […]

The Walt Disney Company on Tuesday released an animation short made by South African company Triggerfish Animation Studios that could become a fully fledged series. The release of “A Dogshow with Cat” comes barely a week after Triggerfish’s collaboration with Magic Light Pictures, the TV show “Stick Man”, which was shown on BBC last year, won the top […]

I’ve always thought of the Red Bus as a touristy thing. You hop on, hop off, get your bearings, see as much as possible in your short holiday time. I’ve also always thought of it as part of those obvious tourist destinations, like Rome, New York, London and Cape Town. But Johannesburg? The truth is, however, that a Red Bus in Joburg is the […]

Seventy-three names have been put forward to take over the position of public protector, once Thuli Madonsela leaves at the end of her seven-year term in October. Of the total 73 nominations that were handed in by Friday last week and announced today, however, numerous have already declined the offer. These include Madonsela herself, who cannot […]

The office of President Jacob Zuma has warned the public to wary of scams looking to collect money on his behalf, one day after it was reported that the National Treasury said Zuma has to repay R7.8 million on non-security upgrades at Nkandla. The presidency warned the public of “scams on social media where people are asked […]

American blogger Jayne Zakheim recently visited South Africa and came away with a couple of facts South Africans may or may not know. For anyone wanting to brush up on their local general knowledge, here goes: 1. Four of the five fastest land animals in the world live in South Africa: the cheetah, the springbok, the wildebeest […]

In an interview with the BBC about his time on the Daily Show in the US, and facing the upcoming US election – and the controversial candidacy of Donald Trump, who was the subject of a viral tweet this week – Trevor Noah said that he found aspects of the US not dissimilar to South Africa. Talking […]

An eagle-eyed fan of rapper Drake spotted him arriving at Lanseria near Johannesburg on Friday, barely a day after the singer was declared to have the longest-running UK number one single this century, supplanting on-off girlfriend Rihanna for her 2007 hit “Umbrella”. Drake topped the singles chart for an 11th straight week with “One Dance”, a collaboration with Wizkid and Kyla. […]

And the answer is… Brazil. Brilliant photos taken by South African Steven Kramer in the states of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Bahia and Minas Gerias. More of Steven Kramer’s photographs can be seen here.

A suspected poacher was caught in Kruger National Park on Wednesday while another drowned trying to escape, while three others caught in Grahamstown last week who were apparently involved in poaching across South Africa were denied bail on Wednesday. One suspected poacher was shot and apprehended by the Kruger’s protection unit while the other drowned by trying to flee across […]

While Tshwane is reported to be under a tense calm after several days of violent unrest and looting, social media is still full of pictures and videos of the devastation – plus several reckless government officials (see video at the end) and policemen who appeared to think it was okay for them to flout the law too. […]

Farm manager Andrew and his companion Sam had stopped their vehicle in Kruger National Park to see something that looked like a rock, when their screeching brakes alerted what was, in fact, a black rhino. Andrew told Latest Sightings that earlier in June they were on their way to see some cheetah when they saw the […]

A magnificent house designed by South African group SAOTA and lying on the mountainside above Clifton Beach and Bantry Bay has reportedly sold for a record price for a residence in Africa – R290 million (almost $20 million). The seller, the Dogon Group, said last month the price was the highest ever fetched for a house […]

As the clouds over Tshwane’s townships gather or disperse on Wednesday after unrest broke out, lots of questions remain about how the African National Congress is going to resolve the issue of the mayoral candidate that brought on the protests. But who is Thoko Didiza and why did the ANC “parachute” her in to try save […]

In the first major public statement by the government about the unrest in Tshwane over the nomination of a mayoral candidate that some parts of the community are rebelling against – reportedly because of her origins – deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa said the protests were acquiring tribalistic tones and urged people to avoid violence. “We […]

Five hundred elephants are to be transferred 185 miles across Malawi in a historic move to create a new sanctuary for elephants, according to the nonprofit African Parks. The elephants will be moved the 300 kilometres – “one of the largest elephant translocations in human history” – in two groups of 250 each, one in July […]

South Africa has narrowly survived a downgrade of the rating of its government bonds. The reprieve, however, is temporary because government has been warned by the Big Three rating agencies – Fitch, Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s – to pull up its socks. South Africa’s current rating – just about investment grade, heading south fast […]

Less than two weeks ago a Picasso sketch fetched R3 million at an auction in Cape Town. For some, the rare local appearance of a Picasso brought back memories of a South African whose own work inspired the Spanish artist to paint perhaps his most famous work ever, “Guernica”. At the same time, a new Spanish movie called “Gernika” has as its […]

It seems like the whole of Broadway turned up for the recording of Burt Bacharach’s hit song “What the World Needs Now is Love” in tribute to those who lost their lives and were injured in the mass shooting in Orlando, Florida, earlier this month. Forty-nine people died and dozens were injured on June 12 […]