Over 130 marches are taking place around the world this weekend to raise awareness about the plight of elephants and rhinos who are currently being poached to extinction in Africa… The poaching, often masterminded by international criminals, is driven largely by a demand for ivory products in China, and by a mistaken belief in the medicinal value of […]

The Democratic Alliance has said member of parliament Dianne Kohler Barnard will face disciplinary action after sharing a post on Facebook that praised former president P.W. Botha, although social media is still abuzz with her gaffe. The shared post, written by freelance journalist Paul Kirk, said: “Please come back PW Botha – you were far more […]

Happy Birthday to quite possibly Africa’s most famous cat, and definitely one of its most pampered (although she keeps firmly in touch with her more humble roots). South Africa’s legendary Skabenga – who has been photographed dining on prawn cocktails – woke up this morning to fabulous gifts, like a leopard print diamante collar, and messages from fans around […]

For anyone experiencing delays in getting a passport or Smart Card ID in South Africa, relief is on the way, with a new programme launched in Johannesburg on Wednesday to allow certain banks to take applications and issue them. The Minister of Home Affairs Malusi Gigaba said the initiative – which is still being rolled out – will allow people […]

New Springbok captain Fourie du Preez implored his team to keep building momentum from their victory over Samoa last weekend when they face Scotland in Newcastle on Saturday. Du Preez, the SA Rugby Player of the Year in 2006 and 2009, was named to captain the Springboks at St James’ Park on Saturday in this […]

Here’s a humorous take on a famous scene from Hollywood blockbuster ‘Wolf of Wall Street’, with its stars Matthew McConnaughey and Leonardo di Caprio speaking with strong South African accents. The video was uploaded by Afrikaans4Dummies who captioned it: “Now this is why Wolf of Wall Street would never have made it if the actors were South […]

Four of the top 10 hotels in Africa favoured by multimillionaires are in South Africa, although none of them made it into the first three. The multimillionaires’ five highest-rated boutique hotels on the continent, however, were all in South Africa. Those are some of the findings of a survey conducted over a period of 12 months and released […]

A British lawyer on a flight from Doha in Qatar to Cape Town is suing Qatar Airways after being bitten by a highly venomous spider during the flight, according to news reports. Jonathon Hogg (40) apparently spent a month in hospital in South Africa, where he underwent three operations and a skin graft. He reportedly said the […]

LONDON – British Airways has announced it will cut two of its seasonal flights to Cape Town in 2016, which some have ascribed to the new visa restrictions for South Africa. BA said the flight to Cape Town on Thursdays and Saturdays, and the return flight on Fridays and Saturdays would end on March 27, 2016, […]

The first YouTube video gained fame – or rather, infamy – for the American (possibly a schoolgirl) who thought England was a planet and couldn’t understand why a British person was changing a dollar figure into a weight (pounds). Now comes even more infamy as growing YouTube comedy vlogger Maxim Bady takes her on. In the first […]

Congratulations to Fourie du Preez who will become the Springboks’ 56th Test captain when he leads South Africa out in a must-win match in Pool B of the Rugby World Cup (RWC) against Scotland at St James’ Park in Newcastle on Saturday. Du Preez made a massive impact upon his return against the match against Samoa […]

Nando’s is on fire as usual, with the restaurant chain in South Africa posting an advert to celebrate the launch of local comedian Trevor Noah in America, at the same time as a Nando’s branch in the UK is credited for maybe helping the Tonga team win their pool match in the Rugby World Cup yesterday. ESPN […]

Nationwide protests against corruption in South Africa are planned for tomorrow (Wednesday 30 September), the main one in Pretoria ending at the Union Buildings. Former COSATU leader Zwelinzima Vavi, who has been a strong voice against corruption and is one of the main organisers of the protest marches, said, “This is something that has become more than necessary to […]

While Trevor Noah was gearing up for his first Daily Show on Monday, President Jacob Zuma was getting ready to address the 70th Session of the UN General Assembly. That was enough for the cartoonist Zapiro to get into gear, showing Zuma lost in traffic caused by people on their way to Trevor’s show. Zuma’s […]

Unfortunately South Africa’s murder rate continues to increase with a shocking total of 17,805 murders committed from 1 April 2014 to 31 March 2015, according to the national crime statistics which were released today. That works out to an average of almost 49 people per day. In comparison, the total number of people murdered in Australia, according to BBC […]

Any excuse to have another cup of coffee is a good excuse! Today is World Coffee Day, so head out to your favourite coffee shop – we have a few suggestions below – and indulge. South Africa has pretty much kept up with the global wave of great new coffee – some call it speciality/specialty coffee, […]

The two lions brought to South Africa after being rescued from a Bulgarian zoo have landed! They have also been released into their new home in the Eastern Cape. Watch the touching video of the release of Jora and Black The lions Jora and Black, seven-year-old brothers, were rescued by the Born Free Foundation, among other conservation […]

WASHINGTON – Hitachi Ltd. has agreed to pay $19 million to settle charges by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charges that the Japanese company violated American antibribery laws by allegedly making improper payments tied to South African government contracts to build two power-generation plants, it was reported on Monday. In late 2005, Tokyo-based Hitachi sold a 25 percent stake in […]

The Daily Show in the United States has a new stepdad after Jon Stewart, “and he’s black.” That’s how Trevor Noah introduced his first show to shouting and applause, adding that he was going to “continue the war on bullish*t”. Watch the video of Trevor Noah’s first show Trevor lost no time on the satirical […]

Congratulatory messages of pride and support have been pouring in for Trevor Noah from his fellow South Africans all over the planet…as television viewers in America, and parts of the world, get ready for the South African comedian’s debut on Comedy Central’s ‘The Daily Show’ in a few hours’ time. Whilst Trevor will be alone in that […]

Nothing like a Cape Town wind (and Mother Nature’s black Southeaster) to turn your weekend plans upside-down. Which is what happened in Muizenberg on the weekend, when surfers tried in vain to set some new world records, although they still had fun. Fish Hoek photographer ROBYN GWILT captured the photos on this page of the 2015 Wavescape […]

Last week the South African government released its annual data detailing lots of national statistics, even how optimistic people are. The document is 91 pages long and covers everything from the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) to how many women hold management positions to the number of households that still have landlines for telephones (a whole […]

Trevor Noah will be taking over the Daily Show TONIGHT, Monday the 28th of September. Filling the massive shoes of Jon Stewart will be no easy task, but as a New Yorker with a South African mother, I think the new South African expatriate will be able to add huge value and insight to the nightly news […]

SOFIA – Jora and Black, two lions rescued from a Bulgarian circus, are on their way to a private reserve in the Eastern Cape, it was reported by the Born Free Foundation on the weekend. The two seven-year-old brothers were rescued by Born Free in July this year from a cramped metal beast wagon near Bulgaria’s capital, […]

While you were sleeping last night… photographer PETER DE GROOT in Durban and ANDREA BEN in Joburg captured these awesome photos of the Super Moon, Blood Moon and Eclipse in South Africa’s skies. “Starting at 03:10 I approximately every 10 minutes, ending at 04:30. The darkest photo towards the middle is the start of the Full Eclipse […]