CAPE TOWN – A total of 13 million smart ID cards that are meant to replace the old green South African ID books have been issued so far, according to the Department of Home Affairs, who also said passports were now issued within only 13 working days. Before the Home Affairs budget was presented to […]

The World’s Best Vineyard 2019 competition, held in London this week, has announced that the Vergelegen wine estate in Somerset West, in the Western Province of South Africa, is Africa’s top winery. “We are absolutely delighted by this award,” said Vergelegen CEO Don Tooth. “The Vergelegen team is committed to building South Africa’s reputation as […]

South Africa coach Stuart Baxter is keeping Nigeria guessing over the approach he will adopt in Bafana Bafana’s Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) quarter-final on Wednesday… after diverting from his usual style in SA’s brilliant 1-0 win over hosts Egypt. Under Baxter, South Africa normally play with a counter-attacking style but the team surprised Egypt on Saturday by diverting from that slightly […]

In South Africa we like to go BIG… and here’s the proof. Watch this footage of a garden in Reservoir Hills, Durban, KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) where they were visited not by one extremely venomous Black Mamba snake… but by FIVE in a week! Nick Evans – superman Snake Rescuer at KZN Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Centre […]

He might not look like an officer or have the expected name of one – just Savage, no surname – but one German Shepherd in the Cape Town K9 unit is getting special mention this month for helping locate R160,000 worth of illegal drugs. The Sable German Shepherd, who has been with the Metro Police’s […]

South African expat – and Princess Diana’s former trainer – Jenni Rivett is auctioning off the most famous sweater ever worn by her boss, in the hope of raising at least $5,000 for a family from Malawi “who really need help”. Jenni says she has “decided to part with this iconic sweatshirt after 20 years […]

A four-seater plane built by twenty South African teens that left Cape Town six weeks ago has landed in Cairo, after successfully completing the 12,000-kilometre journey. Pilot Megan Werner, 17, founder of U Dream Global, which assembled the Sling 4 aircraft, said she was thrilled by the accomplishment, telling the BBC: “I’m so honoured to […]

Over on Twitter, actor John Kani has been trending at the top of the South African list ever since The Lion King released the following photo of the cast of the new movie remake… without including South Africa’s esteemed actor who plays the voice of Rafaki (the wise mandrill). The cast of #TheLionKing. The king […]

Since taking over in May as premier of the Northern Cape – a province beset by severe problems of poverty, joblessness and poor healthcare – Dr Zamani Saul has been getting a lot of attention. And not just because he resembles – and has been asked more than 1,000 times, he says, whether he is […]

As many travellers between Johannesburg and Durban know, there is a quaint little church that is situated in Van Reenan (Free State) at the halfway mark. It looks beautiful in the spring, summer, autumn and even winter (see below). This weekend filmmaker Richard van Schalkwyk stopped on his way to KZN and took some footage […]

Since taking the US by storm on America’s Got Talent, South Africa’s Ndlovu Youth Choir have been inundated with congratulatory messages, but what makes their success story even more amazing is the heartache behind the huge smiles on stage. (See video below.) UPDATE: While the Ndlovu Youth Choir didn’t win AGT, they won hearts around […]

CAPE TOWN – Brave, breakout documentary film STROOP – Journey into the Rhino Horn War has just won two more awards against all odds – the Backsberg Encounters Audience Award back home, and a Genesis Award in Los Angeles… at a festival that included awards for international movie-making icons like Stephen Spielberg and Natalie Portman! […]

Hikers in the Western Cape, South Africa, have found themselves blessed by an abundance of water tumbling down Table Mountain as the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) has announced the good news that, thanks to recent rains, there’s enough water to last the country through its dry winter to the summer. Local resident Helen […]

NIAMEY – The leaders of almost all of Africa’s 54 nations have gathered in the capital of Niger this weekend to launch a continental free-trade zone that could take Africa into a new era, creating a $3.4 trillion economic bloc. The massive new commercial bloc, known as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), is […]

You have to be really fast and really brave to take on South Africa’s taxi drivers… which Scottish race driver David Coulthard most definitely is. Plus he has a great sense of humour! Watch below as he competes against a local taxi driver in the streets of Cape Town, and then rides with the taxi. […]

Here’s the line-up of hot topics that the Carte Blanche team tackle this Sunday 7 July in an extended 90-minute episode – watch here if you’re in SA, and don’t miss out if you’re abroad: the current affairs programme is available to stream from Tues 9 July on Showmax International in many countries: Alex’s Missing […]

CAIRO – In an astounding victory for Bafana Bafana, South Africa’s soccer team beat the host – and one of the favourites – Egypt 1-0 in the Africa Cup of Nations on Saturday. The winning goal, just five minutes before the end of the match, was played by Thembinkosi Lorch. The loss for Egypt was […]

South Africa performed fantastically in their final match of the Cricket World Cup to beat Australia by 10 runs at Old Trafford in Manchester, UK, on Saturday. Man of the Match was Faf du Plessis thanks to his century (100 off 94 balls, 7 fours and 2 sixes), his 151-run partnership with Rassie van der […]

Travelling to Brazil just got easier as South African Airways (SAA) has signed codeshare and frequent flyer agreements with local Brazilian airline Gol – Linhas Aéreas (GOL). The agreements came into effect on Thursday, and not only contribute to SAA’s strategy of growing partnerships globally… but benefits customers with more travel options. SAA acting Chief […]

A 21-year-old from Durban, South Africa, was the youngest out of 120 entrepreneurs named by Forbes Africa in its latest Top 30 Under 30 awards. Avthar Aniruth won in the business category. An innovative, self-taught 21-year-old, Aniruth is founder of Epic Motion Pictures and Audience Networks. “My obsession with making videos, prompted me to learn […]

In a major win for anti-fracking groups in South Africa, the Supreme Court of Appeals ruled this week that the minister for mineral resources did not have the authority to implement regulations promulgated in 2015 for petroleum exploration and production. Civil rights organisation AfriForum and the Treasure the Karoo Action Group (TKAG) had appealed against the […]

Eight-times Wimbledon champ Roger Federer has confirmed he will play Rafael Nadal in Cape Town, South Africa, at a charity match – Match in Africa 6 – that will benefit children in the area. Tickets will go on sale in September BUT you can register your interest for tickets now – see details below. UPDATE […]

STOCKHOLM – South Africa’s Naspers is further extending its global reach after securing 30 million euros ($34 million) in a fundraising effort led by itself and EQT, both existing investors in the European startup Dott, to launch an electric bike-hiring business and roll out new generations of its electric scooters. Naspers, which describes itself as […]

Showmax has a bumper crop of exclusives this month, with hit series like HBO’s Euphoria, the latest season of Younger, the second instalment of Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger, the Fosters spin-off Good Trouble and Season 2 of Die Byl coming only to Showmax. Here are the shows we’re most looking forward to in July. Happy […]

The man whose name was synonymous with the success of Mango, the low-cost airline wholly owned by South African Airways, is to take over the CEO post again after leaving three years ago. Nico Bezuidenhout, who helped found Mango in 2006, led the upstart airline until 2016, during which time he also served two short […]