An outrageous interview with a South African student  took the internet by storm last month, receiving almost half-a-million views on YouTube within a day of being uploaded. And it was soon all the buzz on Reddit, Facebook and forums with people calling the student “the coolest guy ever in South Africa”.  In the hilarious video […]

South African supermodel Candice Swanepoel has put a smile on many faces in the past week – modelling for Operation Smile charity and posing in video clips. But the biggest  smile  was the one on her own face…when she spotted her mom at the airport in South Africa. She described it, on Instagram, as “that […]

Princess Charlene has recently been the toast of Paris (where she outshone the supermodels at Paris Fashion Week), New York where she and Prince Albert II dined with the President and First Lady…and, with barely a moment back home at the Palace to unpack, she and her husband are on their way today to the […]

Richard Branson broke a Guinness World Record in South Africa this morning by squeezing 25 women into a Mini Cooper! Yes, you read that right! And all 25 ladies were each over five-foot tall. The inimitable entrepreneur, who has a penchant for Guiness World Records, published a post today on his Virgin website headlined “How […]

Feel-good South African film FELIX – which carries  the message that ‘in every one of us lies a talent waiting to be shared’ – has aptly had its own talent recognised by winning the Best Children’s Film at a Festival in Germany. FELIX was selected from over 400 worldwide entries for the €7 500 award at […]

Proving princesses do a lot more than simply pose for magazine covers, Princess Charlene  packed a variety of activities in to her recent trip to America with her husband, Prince Albert II of Monaco.  The royal couple’s September visit to America culminated in a dinner reception hosted by President Obama and his wife Michelle Obama […]

South African paddlers excelled at the ICF Canoe Marathon World Championships in Copenhagen on the weekend, with Hank McGregor and Andy Birkett both claiming titles. They were not alone in standing out, however, with two silver medals also being won, while in the Masters World Championships, which preceded the elite competition, South Africa came away […]

A nine-foot (three-metre) statue of Nelson Mandela – showing him with fist raised as he walked out of Victor Verster prison a free man on 11 February 1990 – was unveiled outside the entrance to South Africa’s embassy in Washington, DC on Saturday. The statue, a copy of one that stands outside the Drakenstein Correctional […]

Researchers at South Africa’s Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) have developed a world-first digital laser that could be a game-changer in the field, paving the way for new laser applications in areas ranging from medicine to communications. A team based at the CSIR’s National Laser Centre has shown that, instead of resorting to […]

A powerful South African team will mount a serious challenge for medals at the ICF Canoe Marathon World Championships, which start in Copenhagen, Denmark on Friday and run through until Sunday. The K1 battle will see 35-year-old Hank McGregor, a two-time K1 world champion and former under-18 K1 world champ going up against his protege […]

South African 3D animated feature filmKhumba, which had its North American debut at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) last week, has been bought by three major international independent distributors – Australia’s Transmission, UK’s Kaleidoscope and Italy’s Eagle Pictures. Khumbais the second 3D animated feature from Cape Town-based Triggerfish Animation Studios, whose Adventures in Zambezia […]

South Africa’s Olympic sailors made an impressive return to the podium, claiming bronze in the SB20 World Championships in France over the weekend. London Olympians Roger Hudson and Asenathi Jim joined forces with Sibu Sizatu and Wadi Xamimpi to claim two race wins, one second-place and three third-place finishes during the week-long competition in Hyeres. […]

  He is a man who has brought tears of joy to an entire nation, a man who has inspired the world to create a better place, a man who has given true meaning to the concept of ubuntu; he is a man and a legend – he is Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, known fondly to […]

The International Rugby Board (IRB) has issued a statement admitting that referee Romain Poite DID make a mistake when he showed Bismarck du Plessis a yellow card during yesterday’s rugby match between the All Blacks and the Springboks. The incident occurred when the South African hooker tackled the All Blacks flyhalf in the 17th minute […]

Walter and Albertina Sisulu: Parenting a Nation explores the private and political lives of the Sisulu family during the apartheid struggle. The exhibition, at the Nelson Mandela Museum in Qunu, in Eastern Cape, gives the viewer a deeper understanding of their role in the emancipation of South Africa, as well as of their deep love and abiding […]

From the dusty fields of Qunu in Eastern Cape, Nelson Mandela grew to become a wise and admirable man, respected and loved around the world. He is a man of integrity, who is known for his love for children. His influence on a global scale is massive, but just as significant has been his emphasis […]

Have you ever noticed how President Jacob Zuma is always the most cheerful in a room full of politicians? While the others turn on stiff and stilted smiles, staged mainly for the cameras, the South African President sports an irrepressible full-vaultage beam through even the most tedious of meetings. Perhaps less stressed than most? In […]

We share the joy of the Mandela family at the discharge of Nelson Mandela after 89 days in hospital. May he find peace and comfort in his home, among his relatives and friends, so that his continuing medical care can proceed with dignity. We are all grateful for the outstanding care he received in hospital […]

After weeks of waiting, and days of speculation…some brave, bare-cheeked hikers proved there truly is snow on Table Mountain today, posting a couple of “cheeky” pictures on Facebook. UPDATE August 2020: Snow on Table Mountain again? In fact the social media website was “snowed under” with pictures of Cape Town’s famous landmark covered in snow, […]

You know you’ve made it when you’re the star of a huge American television series! And that’s what happened recently to a full body X-ray scanner designed by a small but very worthy South African company, Lodox Systems. The scanner played a major role in a recent episode of popular TV show Grey’s Anatomy, with […]

There’s nothing like it. Fantastic South African humour! Sit back, scroll down…and enjoy some classic SA chirps and pictures… And after that’s said and done…there’s nothing more to it than to…    

So here’s one of those emails doing the rounds that’s full of all the good stuff that makes us so proud to be South African. But before you rush off to quote all these great claims to your overseas friends, please bear in mind they may not all be quite as true as we’d like […]

  Winnie Madikizela-Mandela felt particularly close to her jailed husband, Nelson, in October 1970, after she was released from serving 491 days in solitary confinement. She wrote to him on 26 October, saying: “In a way during the past two years I felt so close to you. It was the first time we were together in […]

When South African low-fi filmmaker Sibs Shongwe-La Mer stood up on stage at TEDx Johannesburg, a conference where creative minds gather to share ideas, he seized the audience’s attention by asking: “What happened to that inner child? What happened to the creative we have left to die?” The 21-year-old was referring to society’s willingness to give […]

Timing has a lot to do with being successful, says Joan Joffe, one of the most recognisable faces in South African business. “Well, you certainly caught the computer wave,” I mention to her when we meet at a Rosebank hotel. “I caught three waves!” she responds. “The PC wave, the cellphone wave and the black […]