Cape Town’s drought and associated water shortage has officially escalated to the level of a disaster. The hope for a natural solution ended with the close of the main rainy season in September, and it is clear that water in the dams supplying the city will not last until the next rains in May-June next […]

As Archbishop Desmond Mpilo Tutu celebrated his 86th birthday, it’s fitting to reflect on the moral values he has promoted and held dear throughout his life. It is his steadfast adherence to these values, his courage, activism and integrity that have set him apart from others in leadership in South Africa today. The hallmark of […]

More than 300 people were killed and at least 500 injured on October 14 when a truck bomb exploded in a crowded intersection in Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital. The attack is being called the worst in the history of the city, a particularly alarming statistic considering that the capital has regularly been the scene of violent conflict since […]

About a hundred people attended the unveiling by Mayor Patricia De Lille of Philip Kgosana Drive in Cape Town on Thursday. Members of the Kgosana family, the Pan Africanist Congress and the Langa community, retired archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane, and several other notable figures attended the colourful event. The Vumani Choral project choir provided entertainment. Kgosana […]

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It’s that time of year when Joburg and Pretoria turn purple. There is a saying amongst students that if you haven’t started revising for your exams by the time the streets turn purple it’s too late. The Jacaranda’s don’t last all that long; the best time is usually the second or third weekend in October, […]

In 2007, barely a year after the man who went on to become South Africa’s president, Jacob Zuma, was acquitted on a charge of raping a young woman called “Khwezi” (the name given to Fezekile Ntsukela Kuzwayo during her rape trial), gender activist Mmatshilo Motsei published “The Kanga and the Kangaroo Court”. The book was an unsparing account […]

Archbishop Emeritus Bishop Desmond Mpilo Tutu’s 86th birthday on October 7 is a good occasion to reflect on the man’s contributions to South African society and global thought.  I do so as a philosopher and in the light of ubuntu, the southern African (specifically, Nguni) word for humanness that is often used to encapsulate sub-Saharan moral ideals. An ubuntu […]

Here’s this week’s Carte Blanche line-up for South Africans abroad… available right now for SA expats to view, if you’re a subscriber of Showmax International. David Patient South African Aids activist David Patient died last week at the age of 56. Diagnosed as far back as 1983, Patient was an icon in the age of HIV […]

Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park (HiP), once a global conservation success story for bringing rhinos back from the brink of extinction in the fifties, is fast becoming a graveyard and failure of epic proportions under the helm of Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife management… writes Jamie Joseph from SavingTheWild.com. Saving the Wild has been closely monitoring the Zululand park since […]

Watch this dramatic footage of 80 ton whales in Hermanus, South Africa… Video and text by Luke Bell. Every year large numbers of Southern Right Whales travel from the Antarctic to the warmer Walker Bay off the coast of South Africa to calve and mate. Located about an hour and a half out of Cape […]

The annual family vacation is a time that we all look forward to, but deciding where to go and planning it can be a real challenge! With large families that have a diverse range of likes and members of various age groups, it can become tricky to plan a holiday that offers something for everyone. […]

From the poles to the equator, marine mammals such as seals, dolphins and whales, play an important role in global ecosystems as apex predators, ecosystem engineers and even organic ocean fertilisers. The ocean off the coast of South Africa is home to a high diversity of these mammals and is recognised as a global marine biodiversity hotspot. Marine […]

South Africans love renovating… and whether you’ve just built a brand-new home, have completed major renovations or refurbishments, or are just looking to update your home’s overall look, the windows you choose are one of the most important final touches to consider… writes Ethan Thomas. Not only do the right windows add character and aesthetic […]

Pietermaritzburg gardeners offer free vegetables to the elderly… Five residents of France location in Pietermaritzburg have turned a dump site into a vegetable garden, selling and donating vegetables to the community . Mduduzi Hlongwane, 51, Nkosingiphile Chule, 22, Khethiwe Zulu, 29, Xolile Chule, 23 and Sindisile Stephanis, 24, are the brains behind the garden, which […]

South Africa has previously been labelled the rape capital of the world. Some statisticians estimate that one in three South African women have been raped or will be raped, writes Jani Allan. Lily Reed became that one in three on the 23rd August 2012 when she was gang-raped, robbed and beaten by twelve armed men […]

As far as corporate accountability goes, the recent announcement that the CEO and seven senior executives at auditing and consultancy firm KMPG in South Africa have resigned is a welcome development. (See bullet point overview at bottom of page.) By resigning, the KPMG executives reinforced the principle of executive responsibility. This is a matter not […]

DStv Premium customers have some good news to celebrate this week. Having a DStv Premium account now means getting access to internet-streaming service Showmax at zero (to be clear, that’s nil, zilch, nada) additional cost!!! Here’s a list of what to watch first… Access to Showmax means getting access to over 25,000 series episodes, movies […]

So how long is 3 minutes? It can either be quick quick or fok long. Well let me tell you… When you only have 3 minutes to get ready and out the door for an appointment or work, 3 minutes is quick quick; it feels like 20 seconds… BUT, if you are in a water […]

Violence continued in Hangberg on Thursday, as dozens of residents protested over the allocation of fishing quotas. [Government called for calm yesterday saying that the fishing allocation had not yet been finalised.] The Deputy Minister of Police Bongani Mkongi had agreed to an imbizo with the community, but the meeting was cancelled. No public reason […]

“Why on earth would you do that?” It was the question that surprised me from many Australians who thought I was mad to move to South Africa… writes Ed Charles. After all, isn’t Australia full of South Africans trying to escape that terrible country (and crime-ridden Johannesburg in particular)? Well, not quite. But let’s rewind […]

Same speech, one year later. What a disgrace… writes anti-rhino poaching activist, SavingTheWild’s JAMIE JOSEPH, as she threatens to lift the lid on rhino poaching corruption if things don’t change. I woke up this morning to a report by East Coast Radio that “Officials from #Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, the departments of Economic Development and Environmental […]

There is a lot of news circulating at the moment around the 14 year old boy that was shot in the mouth at close range by police yesterday in Hangberg… writes JUSTIN SULLIVAN. I’m hoping this quick sequence of images will lay some of the controversy to rest. The image below clearly shows the Police […]

A gathering of disgruntled residents turned violent when police opened fire with rubber bullets and stun grenades to disperse the crowd at the Hangberg Protest in Hout Bay writes JUSTIN SULLIVAN. Police in Riot gear were forced to move in when benches from a neighboring restaurant were added to the fire in the road. Protesters […]

As a disabled person it is really disheartening knowing that we in South Africa recently celebrated our 23rd year anniversary of our new democracy… and still not much has been done to narrow the gap between disabled people and non-disabled people, as there is still so much stigma towards people living with disabilities and special needs. I’m not saying […]