South Africa’s Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters was crowned Miss Universe in a ceremony in Las Vegas, USA, on Sunday night. Demi-Leigh (22), from Sedgefield in the Western Cape, is the first South African to win the title since Margaret Gardiner in 1978. The runner-ups in the competition were Colombia and Jamaica. A fan from the Philippines wrote […]

The Springboks made up for last year’s history-making loss to Italy, by beating the Italians in a whopping 35-6 victory in the European country’s home territory on Saturday, clocking up their second win of the Outgoing Tour. It’s also SA’s biggest win against Italy in 20 years. Eben Etzebeth recovered from last week’s injury to […]

World 400-metre track champion Wayde van Niekerk may have missed out at the annual IAAF Awards ceremony in Monaco on Friday but every cloud has a single lining! South Africa’s Olympic champion and 400m world record-holder Van Niekerk lost out to Qatar high jumper Mutz Essa Barshim for the Male Athlete of the Year Award […]

With Windguru showing red across the board (southeaster is set to scream for the next week) I thought I’d take the gap and get in a flight around the Peninsula yesterday… writes marine conservation photographer Jean Tresfon. The morning started out overcast with low cloud but cleared sufficiently to allow for a flight. We started […]

Here’s this week’s Carte Blanche line-up, available for South Africans in SA on Sunday and for expats from Tuesday through Showmax International… Abalone Poaching Abalone poaching is rampant and it’s driving shellfish to extinction in South Africa. We catch poachers red-handed, brazenly diving in broad daylight with bags of abalone. Carte Blanche asks: why are authorities […]

The City of Tshwane’s mayoral mansion has been sold for R5.1 million from a reserve price of R4.8 million. From this sale, the Democratic Alliance (DA) claim a total of 52 RDP houses – inclusive of land and services – will be built for those who need it most in the city. The DA-led multiparty […]

Aimee Barrett-Theron has become the first woman to earn selection to SA Rugby’s Premier Panel of referees after she was promoted to the top tier of match officials, along with Cwengile “JD” Jadezweni, Stuart Berry and AJ Jacobs. It means Barrett-Theron (30), who recently refereed the opening match of the Women’s Rugby World Cup in […]

A man’s life was saved today – in Knysna Heads Channel in South Africa – by the awesome efforts of a passenger ferry Paddle Cruiser. The man – who is believed to be 26-years-old and a Knysna local – had apparently been spotted floating in the water, unconscious. Luckily for him, he was spotted by […]

InterNations recently released its 2017 list of the best cities in the world for living and working abroad… and two South African cities feature in the Top 27 Best Places where expats (from other countries obviously!) are happiest. They are Johannesburg and Cape Town… and Joburg actually features way ahead of Cape Town. The city […]

A major water outage in the greater Sandton area this week – caused by a burst pipe – resulted in schools, hospitals, homes, restaurants and businesses having to resort to desperate measures to cope without running water. Comedian, writer and consultant Viv Vermaak shares her experience… Viva Sandton Water Shortage! Viva! There is nothing more […]

With South Africans joining the rest of the world to buy as many bargains as they can on Black Friday tomorrow, one local business is offering a chance instead to make it Give Back Friday. Sweep South, an online platform which connects cleaners with individuals, is transferring the savings they’d usually give to their customers on […]

South Africa’s priority crime unit Hawks has been commended for its swift action yesterday in arresting six fleeing armed robbers on the East Rand. Watch videos below. According to the Bedfordview News, the arrests took place after a robbery on Wednesday morning at Killoran Place in Bedfordview. A high speed chase ensued (see below), and […]

Pretoria resident Beulah Cronjé made a wish come true for her housekeeper, Lettie, and gardener, Frank… and her pictures are going viral. Lettie and Frank had never flown in an aeroplane or seen the sea! Beulah, who originates from Jeffrey’s Bay, according to her Facebook profile, and her husband Chris decided after more than 11 years […]

All around South Africa there is a beautiful, growing trend to grow vegetables for those who are struggling to put food on the table. And it turns out that even policemen are spending their spare time growing free food for those who are starving. The South African Police Services (SAPS) reports that in Estcourt, KwaZulu-Natal, […]

A man who went missing on 16 November 2017 has been found alive near Omdraai farm in Bethlehem, South Africa. He was trapped under a rock in the area for five days. His rescuers initially thought he was dead and say it is a miracle that he is still alive, after having had no food […]

Nando’s has done it again! Here’s their take on Robert Mugabe’s resignation yesterday as President of Zimbabwe, after leading the country for 37 years… Nando’s posted the above ad: “That’s a wrap” with “Farewell to the king of the take-away” below the heading, and hashtag #MugabeResigns. Other notable South Africans have also tweeted their opinions […]

Billionaire business entrepreneur Elon Musk has given an incredibly candid interview to Rolling Stone magazine. (The interview took place just after actress Amber Heard broke his heart by breaking up with him.) Well known South African writer, Gus Silber, described the Rolling Stone profile as reading “like a therapy session, with Musk confronting his worst […]

South African chef Chantel Dartnall was named the BEST “Lady Chef in the World” at the awards in Poland last month. And this weekend her restaurant – Restaurant Mosaic in Elandsfontein, Pretoria – was named the second best restaurant in South Africa. (Secretly we wish Mosaic had come first… but that honour went to the […]

South Africa’s Chad le Clos and Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom were the big winners as they were crowned series champions at the Fina Swimming World Cup in Singapore, on Sunday… with Le Clos making history as he became the first male to win four World Cup titles. Both superstars collected winner’s cheques for $150,000. According to […]

It’s been a busy long weekend for Princess Charlene of Monaco as the principality’s National Day 2017 (Fête du Prince) has been celebrated. On Friday the former South African Olympic swimmer and her husband, Prince Albert II, distributed gifts to beneficiaries of the Monegasque Red Cross, as is the annual tradition. During the course of […]

South African boxer Zolani ‘Last Born’ Tete made history on Saturday night  in Belfast, Northern Ireland, with the fastest World Title knock-out in boxing history! He knocked out his opponent – fellow South African Siboniso Gonya – in just 11 seconds! The previous record was 17 seconds, from a fight in 1994. The 29-year-old defending […]

South Africa has a new world champion after gymnast Bianca Zoonekynd won the double mini trampoline event at the 2017 Trampoline World Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria last Sunday 13 November… an amazing achievement when just three months ago she was lying in hospital with broken ribs and a punctured lung from a car accident. Victory […]

Ponte City – one of Johannesburg’s most iconic landmarks – is set to launch a restaurant that taps into the vibrant spirit of the city. Pioneered by the innovative social enterprise, Dlala​ ​Nje​, “Fifty-One-Oh-One” (5101​) is poised to become one of the City Of Gold’s A-list event venues, forming part of a wider effort to reinvigorate the […]

Zimbabwe’s ruling party – Zanu-PF – has voted to sack its longtime leader, Robert Mugabe (93). The party has also expelled his wife Grace (Chair of the Zanu-PF Women’s League) whose mission to be the next leader led to the current non-coup coup. And the man who Mugabe fired as Vice President a fortnight ago […]

There have been so many awesome versions of Toto’s Africa – from the hand-rubbing version of Africa by Angel City Chorale in Los Angeles, to the lip-synced version by Hollywood stars, and the Castle lager production that made expats want to return home… but you probably haven’t see this one, which is slightly different!   […]