This Sunday Ina Bonnette speaks openly about her horrific ordeal – in which her then husband and his three accomplices raped and tortured her, and murdered her son in the room next door. Known as the Modimolle Monster, her ex Johan Kotze – who is now in jail – violently attacked her just over eight […]

Drummer, saxophonist, composer, activist – and anthropology student – Sipho “Hotstix” Mabuse has turned 70. If you wanted a guidebook to the distinctive character of the South African jazz scene, Mabuse’s 50-year career offers one. South African jazz occupies a landscape that is rarely elitist, never haughtily insulated from popular and traditional sounds. Professional survival […]

There’s a new star rising in South Africa. Hlumelo Ledwaba. And according to all who witnessed her breathtaking performing at a Soiree on Sunday evening, she’s destined for the global stage. Watch below. Well known actor and performer Michael de Pinna (Yebo Gogo!) held the first of what promises to be a popular series of […]

South Africa’s Director of Rugby, Rassie Erasmus (48), does not mince his words, a trait that could earn him the wrath of the sport’s governing body, World Rugby. This weekend Erasmus faces the organisation’s wrath as he defends himself in a disciplinary hearing after a video of him criticising a match official went viral. Erasmus […]

South African dancer Johannes Radebe, who is currently starring in the UK on ‘Strictly Come Dancing‘ says he is stopped “all the time” by British police, and has subsequently tried to change the way he dresses. The ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ professional dancer, 34, has opened up about how crucial it is to consider location and […]

The Pretoria Boys High School has produced a fantastic combined performance of The Lion Sleeps Tonight that is possibly a world first – Big Band, Pipe Band and Gumboot Dancers! Watch below. As their version of Solomon Linda‘s global hit is delighting South Africans worldwide, the school says it is proud to have a Cultural […]

The Drakensberg Boys Choir in South Africa has dropped its latest single – their version of Imagine Dragon’s ‘Follow You’ – and the joy is contagious! As the school’s English teacher Pamela Couzyn told SAPeople: “So much energy and happiness from our boys now that we are performing to larger audiences again.” The enthusiasm and […]

Gift Matjila admits that with tears in his eyes, releasing his very first single is a dream come true. For South Africans hearing the new track – ‘Ek Staan By Jou‘ (I Stand By You) – it’s bringing tears to their eyes too, and giving them goosebumps. With lyrics like “Ek staan by jou soos […]

In certain residential areas in Gauteng, South Africa, there are people walking their tigers as if they’re walking their dogs! This Sunday on Carte Blanche, community activist Audrey Steyn speaks to the current affairs show about “how two white tigers are terrifying residents in Boksburg”. “So there’s tigers in Benoni, there’s tigers in Boksburg, there’s […]

On Sunday morning, the office of Chief Whip Hon. Pemmy Majodina issued a statement – in light of South Africa’s local government elections, coming up on 1 November – admitting to challenges in the ANC’s service delivery, but insisting that improvements are being made. But for many citizens it’s too little, too late. Across the […]

She’s 90 years old and thrashing runners half her age! Undefeated by lockdown or the pandemic, South Africa’s astonishing Deirdre Larkin kicked off her ninth decade with a gentle 10km run. This Sunday Carte Blanche meets the humble, humorous South African running legend, a national treasure who turned 90 on SA’s Heritage Day (24 September).  […]

South Africans are going crazy for Adele’s new single ‘Easy On Me’ (WATCH VIDEO BELOW), with Adele’s name topping the Twitter Top 5 trends in SA for the second consecutive day… since the British singer-songwriter made her highly anticipated music comeback on Friday, releasing her first new record since the 2015 Grammy award-winning album “25”. […]

Squid Game is anything but your typical, saccharine, soft-glow Korean television drama. In this biting commentary on life in South Korea today, viewers are presented with a twisting, technicolour story of violence, betrayal and desperation. All of this is set around a series of macabre games in which players literally fight to the death. Despite […]

You can watch Carte Blanche on Sunday 10 October in South Africa on DStv Now or stream it overseas in most countries from Tuesday 12 October if you live abroad (in most countries). Here are this week’s must-watch topics: The Mysterious Case of Dead African Penguins Penguins are an endangered species spending most of their […]

Why would more than 600 journalists from 117 countries collaborate on a global investigation of jaw-dropping scope? Find out tonight as Carte Blanche previews what is set to be the largest journalistic collaboration in the world to date – the Pandora Papers! With millions of leaked documents, Carte Blanche joins a global investigation into the […]

South African dancer Motsi Mabuse was told she would never make it in Germany because of her skin colour… but with her dazzling international success, she has proved the critics wrong! As a judge on ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ Motsi (40) is a household name in not only Germany, but the UK – where she replaced […]

A piece of controversial artwork by the late boxing legend, Muhammad Ali, depicting South Africa, is part of a prestigious Bonhams auction taking place in New York on Tuesday 5 October. The original painting (felt pen on paper) – titled ‘Let My People Go’ – includes a “white man whipping a black man”, and was […]

Tributes have poured in for South African writer and director Franz Marx, who passed away this morning at the age of 78. He was most famous for creating the Egoli TV show, a soapie about 3 families in Gauteng, which gripped South Africans from the moment it first aired in 1992 until it ended in […]

Global Citizen Live – the global moment of unity in the mission to defend the planet and defeat poverty – is taking place right now. Watch the live video stream below. It’s just moved from Paris (Ed Sheeran rocked it!) to New York City. The once-in-a-generation 24-hour Global Citizen Live broadcast is coming from six […]

This Sunday’s Carte Blanche broadcast has something for everyone. You can watch the show on Sunday 26 September in South Africa on DStv Now or stream it overseas on Showmax International in most countries from Tues 28  September if you’re abroad. CELEBRATION: South Africa’s Paralympic Heroes When you meet Ntando Mahlangu, a young unassuming man […]

This Heritage Month, you can celebrate South African stories and talents in this collection of movies, comedy and documentaries that tell fascinating tales of the complicated, beautiful land we love. Most of these are also available to South Africans living abroad in many countries. Browse full collection  On Heritage Day (Friday 24 September) – settle […]

Teaching is a difficult profession, especially in some of South Africa’s poorest schools. But for many educators, it’s a rewarding calling. Now, despite the odds, a headmaster working in a remote village in Limpopo has won the Global Principals’ Award. This week, Carte Blanche meets the man who has been recognised for his excellence – […]

The Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra performed its first concert in front of an audience since the start of the Covid-19 lockdown, outside the main entrance of Groote Schuur Hospital on Wednesday. By Liezl Human. The concert was dedicated to frontline health workers nationally, recognising the work that they have done and are still doing. There […]

The Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra is paying tribute and saying thanks to doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers across South Africa in the most beautiful manner – performing a concert right outside Groote Schuur Hospital, which has been at the heart of the Covid-19 pandemic in the Western Cape. The hour-long lunch time concert is […]

It may have been almost 40 years since their last single, but Abba are now back in the charts with two new songs – I Still Have Faith in You and Don’t Shut Me Down. The new songs form part of a ten-track album that will be released in November… writes Shanika Ranasinghe, Royal Holloway […]