The South African Government says it has welcomed the decision by South Sudan President Salva Kiir to pardon death-sentenced South African William Endley. Endley, a former South African National Defence Force (SANDF) colonel, was in February sentenced to death for espionage and conspiring to overthrow the government. He was sentenced along co-accused, James Gatdet, a […]

You’ve seen the classics – from all three Scream movies to Anthony Hopkins’s Hannibal to the psychological terror that is Shutter Island. Looking for a new flavour of fright? These lesser-known horrors and thrillers are waiting for you on Showmax if you live in South Africa. For South Africans living abroad – two of these movies […]

Hydrologists from the Department of Water and Sanitation say the country will not experience drought over the next three months, even though below normal rains are forecasted. The experts met in Tshwane recently – as they do annually – to discuss their state of preparedness for floods during the rainy season. “The country will definitely […]

The brilliantly talented, insightful and always frank Viv Vermaak has perfectly summed up the feelings of so many people in South Africa (and the world) who suffer from anxiety and depression. Responding to Viv’s words, posted Tuesday morning, one parent said “you wrote this today for my daughter, who is very dear to my heart. Thank […]

For all those missing SA, proud South African Adri Joubert Alborough has put together a compilation of  beautiful photos taken around South Africa. Like many South Africans, Adri has family scattered around the world in the US, UK, New Zealand and Taiwan. “I have so many friends abroad, and am constantly being asked for photos… so […]

CAPE TOWN – South African former president and Nobel Peace Prize winner FW de Klerk was discharged from a three-night hospital stay after recovering from a lung ailment, his foundation said on Monday. De Klerk, 82, was hospitalised over the weekend for treatment of pneumothorax, “an abnormal collection of air in the pleural space between […]

It’s becoming easier for South Africans living in the UK to travel home for a holiday, with new flights added from London to Johannesburg and Durban this week. With South Africa being a popular destination for holiday-makers from the UK, SA expats get to benefit with British Airways (BA) increasing their direct flights between London […]

South Africans living in London are invited to attend the annual Starfish Wine Tasting, taking place on Wednesday 21st November – an opportunity to taste some of the finest wines from around the world… and to help orphaned and vulnerable children in South Africa. The intimate after-work wine tasting will be hosted by Investec in […]

On Trevor Noah’s latest Between The Scenes segment (filmed literally between The Daily Show scenes), the SA expat and talk show host shared another South African memory – how his then 10-year-old brother explained race to a friend who couldn’t understand why Trevor looked white and his brother didn’t. Trevor’s two younger brothers are from […]

Kevin Anderson has clinched his biggest tournament win of his entire career, by winning the 2018 Vienna Open, an ATP 500 event! The victory means that the South African expat, who is based in the USA, has qualified for the ATP Finals in November… making him the first singles player from South Africa in 23 […]

Namibia’s desert landscape got a makeover this week as magical water poured down from the heavens. In some parts over 100mm fell according to the Namibia Meteorological Service, flooding rivers (see video below) and finishing with radiant rainbows. Well known Gauteng-based publicist Georg Knoke, who grew up in Namibia, said on Facebook: “Magic in Sossusvlei – […]

CapeNature and SANCCOB Saves Seabirds successfully released 13 rescued and rehabilitated African penguins on Saturday at Stony Point penguin colony in Betty’s Bay, on the Overberg coast of South Africa’s Western Cape province. While the first bunch raced (or waddled) for freedom, watch below as a few stragglers needed to be coaxed into the water… […]

The Currie Cup reached a thrilling conclusion in Cape Town on Saturday when the Sharks avenged their defeat in last year’s final… to beat this season’s unbeaten Western Province, dashing their hopes of a fairy-tale finish. The Sharks won 17-12 in what was the ninth time the two sides have battled it out for the […]

The future of Mapoyi Mthetho, the ‘unknown’ opera singer filmed singing outside a Bloubergstrand restaurant on Thursday, is looking a LOT brighter… thanks to Capetonian diner Nicolene Smith capturing the moment on film (see below), and to South Africans who made the video go global (and thanks to Mapoyi’s incredible talent of course!). At midday […]

Chinese business tycoon Jack Ma has three main pieces of advice for South Africa: improve the education system, invest in entrepreneurs and ensure clean governance. Speaking at the inaugural South Africa Investment Conference business dinner on Friday night, Ma said for any country to develop it has to pay attention to those three elements. Ma […]

It’s been a fantastic day for South Africa as local and international businesses have come to the inaugural South African Investment Conference bearing gifts in the form of investment commitments to the tune of R290 billion ($20 billion). “This R290 billion is what we have now in our hands and these are in addition to […]

The damaging side-effects of a drug to prevent and treat malaria are under investigation this week on South Africa’s top current affairs programme, Carte Blanche (which is now available around the world). This week’s episode also covers food waste (a third of perfectly good food is wasted because it looks less than perfect!), botched boob […]

Two South African actors from Gauteng have found a brilliant way to deal with whatever bad news blows their way – through humour and song! Marissa Claasen and Thiart Li have teamed up to create “PUN-demonium” with their regular video songs, posted together with positive hashtags like #enoughsaid #proudlysouthafrican and #Laughatyourself. Thiart says: “Even though SA […]

South Africans have been sharing a beautiful video showing an incredibly talented Capetonian singing opera, while restaurant diners watch and video him. It was posted on Facebook by Nicolene Smith on Thursday, after lunching with her parents at Ons Huisie in Bloubergstrand. Nicolene said she felt it her “duty” to record and share. “What a […]

After 8 years of living in Australia, we as a family have decided to move back to South Africa… writes Stuart Turner. In this better part of a decade we have made friends, dived into the culture, had a thousand barbeques, frequented pubs, changed cities, done road trips, changed jobs, had 3 more children, made […]

With landscapes as varied and beautiful as its culture, South Africa is a melting pot of diverse cultures and creeds. South Africa is home to eleven official languages, which truly emphasises the multi-cultural and multilingual nature of the country. So to help you better understand and immerse yourself in such a complex yet rich culture, […]

Amongst the more depressing aspects of Finance Minister Tito Mboweni’s maiden budget speech to the South African parliament on Wednesday (details here), there were some highlights… Sanitary pads are to be added to VAT free items which will come as welcome news to over half the population! Sanitary pads – along with bread flour and […]

I woke up the other day and realised we moved to South Africa just over two years ago… writes Phil Maloney from Canada. Two. Years. In dog years, I’ve been in South Africa longer than the Spice Girls were a band. It’s been all kinds of crazy and all kinds of wonderful (but mostly all kinds of crazy). […]

Europe made a step forward in the fight against plastic on Wednesday with a move to ban popular throw-away plastic items like straws and cotton buds… and a greater burden to be placed on manufacturers to recycle; all in a bid to help clear up ocean pollution. Under the proposal by European Union (EU) lawmakers […]

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa’s state pension fund and a local black investment firm have bought a majority stake in Africa’s biggest cattle company for R5.2 billion. The Public Investment Corp. (PIC), Africa’s largest investment fund and the biggest investor in South Africa’s economy, said on Tuesday it had bought a majority share in Karan Beef […]