South African bass-baritone Simphiwe Simon Shibambu sang for the Queen yesterday at a a Celebration of  the Commonwealth service which took place at Westminster Abbey in London. Shibambu delivered an incredibly moving performance of the traditional Xhosa song ‘Qongqothwane’, which clearly touched Queen Elizabeth II, who is head of the Commonwealth. She paused to chat with Shibambu for a […]

A month-old baby in dire need of heart surgery in the war-torn country of Yemen in the Arabian Peninsula has been evacuated by a South African mercy flight and flown 16,000 kilometres to safety and surgery after other countries were unwilling to risk going into the area. A team of South African medical aviation evacuation specialists […]

Springbok wing Bryan Habana will return to France to resume his club commitments with Toulon after the club released him to play for the Springbok Sevens in two rounds of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series. Habana, holder of the Springbok record for the most Test tries, played on the World Series circuit for the […]

Following a vigil in Khayelitsha to support the family of murdered teenager Sinoxolo Mafevuka (19), one of the township residents sent Capetonian organiser, Kerry Nelson, the following email tonight… Bongiwe Mnyamana’s letter from Khayelitsha: “I just wanna thank you not only for what you did for the community and for the Mafevuka family…but you have touched me […]

Within days of a social media campaign being mobilised to raise awareness and show support for the family of murdered teenager Sinoxolo Mafevuka, two men – aged 21 and 26 – have allegedly been arrested in connection with the crime. Nineteen-year-old Sinoxolo was brutally raped and murdered two weeks ago in Khayelitsha, a township in the […]

South African-born, Los Angeles-based film director Gavin Hood, who made “Tsotsi” and the newly released thriller “Eye in the Sky” with Helen Mirren, said the entire movie was shot in South Africa, even though it “takes place” in Nairobi, London and Las Vegas. He said the movie, which is a tense drama starring Mirren, Alan Rickman […]

The Cell C Sharks – who this weekend became South Africa’s only unbeaten Super Rugby side – have put their might behind the Rhinos without Borders initiative… to increase awareness of the poaching crisis and raise funds to help 100 rhino be safely translocated to Botswana. With rhino poaching in South Africa reaching epic proportions, Botswana is […]

Anywhere in the world, the Labia Theatre would be a gem. The independent, quirky, fabulous, one-of-a-kind movehouse in Cape Town has to be seen and experienced to realise just how special it is. Recently turned 65 years old, the iconic four-screen cinema in the heart of the city  takes you back to the years when going to the […]

South African athlete Wayde van Niekerk made sprinting history on Saturday in Bloemfontein when he became the first man to ever run faster than 10 seconds for 100m, 20 seconds for 200m and 44 seconds for 400m after smashing his PB (personal best) in the shorter sprint at the Free State Championships in Bloemfontein. Ever humble, […]

South Africa’s gorgeous Candice Abrahams was crowned Mrs World in Dongguan, China, tonight! Watch video below. Candice – who hails from Honeydew in Johannesburg – competed with 45 other married women from countries around the world to make it to the semi-finals with Mrs Poland, before winning the title. Candice is a model, fashion blogger, wife to […]

There’s something so exquisitely special about South Africa that creeps into your soul…and never leaves. We all know it. Those South Africans who can never tear themselves away because their roots run too deep. Those expats who have left but who see visions of ‘home’ wherever they look – in potholes, tea stains and the […]

If you’re far from the ocean today, take a virtual ride with hot young South African surfer Shane Sykes in this awesome video, ‘Silence of Eyes’, which just won the inaugural ZigZag Short Film Competition. Directed and filmed by Steven Michelsen, the 4-minute video took about three months to make and features KZN North Coast’s Sykes […]

The New York Times last week promoted a house for sale high above Clifton, Cape Town, for a cool $4 million (or R65 million) in its regular feature “House Hunting in … “, which looks at property for sale around the world. The house it publicised was a four-bedroom on the slopes of Lion’s Head. A […]

A former policeman who was kicked off the force has appeared in court in Bushbuckridge along with three accomplices after being caught in Kruger National Park – in full view of holiday makers – allegedly on the way to poach rhino, according to news reports on Friday. A spokesman for the Hawks reportedly confirmed that the […]

It was like a South African reunion in Las Vegas last weekend as SA expats from around the USA made the trek to support – and in some cases – meet their favourite team, the Springbok Sevens. And it’s sure to be the same this weekend as the Blitzbokke look to make an impact in Vancouver, […]

Sometimes the first few notes of a song will take you back in time. A time you may not have thought about in 20 or 30 years. One minute you are sitting in traffic on a congested freeway in the stifling Texas heat. Or in London in the drizzle, or Perth or Prague. The next second you […]

For anyone overseas feeling homesick for South Africa, or even for someone in Cape Town feeling lus for some views of the Kruger Park or the Blyde River Canyon, Google Maps is partly answering the call. Short of taking a trip on a second’s notice, you can click on Google’s newly launched South Africa, the Mzansi […]

The new movie by “Tsotsi” director Gavin Hood opens in South Africa and the United States on Friday, and not only brings him back to Africa but it looks like it’s going to be a blockbuster and rank him with the world’s top action and suspense directors. “Eye in the Sky” has a brilliant cast – Helen […]

Amidst the chaos and flooding during yesterday and today’s welcome downpour in Gauteng, one man’s selfless actions have made some hail him a ‘hero’. The country, which has been suffering what some say is the worst drought in a century, received such a heavy rain yesterday that some roads from the Kruger National Park (see video below) to […]

In the wake of the tragic death of Franziska Blöchliger, the teenager brutally murdered in Tokai Park on Monday 7 March, a remarkable and inspiring event took place on the evening of 9 March. (Watch video below.) The mothers of Westlake Village, who had come together to clean up their community and effect the arrests […]

Business Day associate editor Sam Kokeli saw Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday, after the deputy president wrapped up a week of answering questions in Parliament. And both of them were sitting in economy class on the South African Airways flight from Cape Town to Johannesburg. Ramaphosa is the second high-ranking member of government to attract attention for […]

South African golfer Ernie Els was jumping for joy on Monday, when Rickie Fowler hit a brilliant hole-in-one on a bonus hole to earn Els’ autism foundation a whopping one million dollar donation from sponsors at a charity event in Florida! The event took place at Palm Beach Gardens in the USA, where Els has […]

Raymond Ackerman, who put what is arguably South Africa’s favourite supermarket on the map after buying three stores in the turbulent 1960s, turns 85 today. Last week, quite coincidentally, a documentary about Ackerman’s life and how he strived to run a fair, non-racial business in apartheid South Africa, “Good Business, The Story of a South African Retail Giant”, […]

While South Africans may have been in tears at losing the cricket match – and KFC T20 International Series – against Australia at Newlands on Wednesday evening… Aussie cricket legend Shane Warne has been filmed sobbing after holding a South African baboon spider named Britney. Warnie, as he’s known in Australia, has a well-documented phobia of […]

South Africans Stephen and Laura Kramer relocated to Melbourne, Australia, 20 years ago where they both work as vets. They’re back on holiday in South Africa…and loving it. With the hugest respect to all our Aussie mates (and Kiwis too!), here’s a blog Stephen wrote at the weekend for his daughter back in Australia… “Ok Manda, here’s the travel […]