Had it not been for the passion of a self-trained South African naturalist, the discovery of a living specimen of the rare coelacanth around this time in 1938 may never have happened. Eastern Cape native Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer originally trained as a nurse. Although her wish was to work in a museum, there were few opportunities […]

When Jessica Foord was gang-raped five years ago while on a hike with her father, she vowed not to let the trauma consume her life. The survivor of a crime that reportedly takes place in South Africa every 17 seconds, Foord – who was 21 at the time – was determined to use the experience […]

Award-winning songbird Lira is set to wow the world – she’s received a request to perform at President-elect Barack Obama’s inauguration ball on 21 January 2013. Lira, who was born Lerato Molapo in Daveyton, east of Johannesburg, is no one-hit wonder – the singer was discovered in 2000 and since then has been raking in the […]

Homer’s Iliad, the well-known Greek poem set in the Trojan War, has been translated into English versions and virtually every language in the world for many centuries, but now a South African professor in classic literature has published the first South African English translation of the epic tale. Prof Richard Whitaker from the School of Languages and Literature […]

Top South African open water marathon swimmer Theodore Yach, who holds the record for the most crossings to Robben Island, has published an autobiography that has been nominated for an international award by the World Open Water Swimming Association. The 2012 winner is determined entirely by online voting, and South Africans have until 31 December 2012 to vote for In […]

Following a severe eye injury which forced his early retirement, former Proteas wicketkeeper Mark Boucher has gloved up for rhinos – the cricket star has decided to devote his time to rhino activism as South Africa battles with escalating poaching figures. Boucher and South African Breweries (SAB) launched the non-profit SAB-Boucher Conservation in October this year. Boucher was appointed […]

Humanitarian, businessman and academic Jakes Gerwel, a close friend of former president Nelson Mandela, will be remembered for his humility, and as an icon of the freedom struggle and a literature teacher who inspired hundreds of students. The memorial service for Gerwel, who never recovered from a heart bypass operation and passed away on 28 […]

The Cape Town-based Desmond Tutu TB Centre (DTTC) has won a prestigious global accolade for its work, a welcome nod of approval for those working to help reduce infections of the lung disease among children in South Africa and the rest of the developing world. According to the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Global Tuberculosis report of 2012, […]

Sizwe Nzima, a young entrepreneur from Khayelitsha in the Western Cape, has started an innovative business that is helping to solve overcrowding at public health facilities, while also improving the lives of people who rely on chronic medication. Instead of standing in long queues for hours, Nzima’s Iyeza Express collects chronic medication from local clinics […]

The winners of the ImpACT awards for excellence in arts and culture were announced by the Arts & Culture Trust (ACT) at their 15th annual ceremony on 9 November. The initiative recognises South Africa’s top young artistic professionals, and among those lauded were The Muffinz for music and singing, Phillip Dikotla for theatre and fashion label Ozlo South […]

South African entrepreneur Nthabi Sibanda was shortlisted as a finalist in the 2012 Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards, an annual international initiative to identify, support and encourage projects by women entrepreneurs who lead companies in sectors ranging from disaster relief to sanitary waste management, education, healthcare and employment. Sibanda’s entry stood out from more than 1 000 […]

As many as 34 local filmmakers have made their way to the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) – with 22 documentaries in tow – to showcase locally made productions at the prestigious event. It is the largest South African industry delegation yet to take works to an international festival or market. Working with the support […]

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Ampas) in Hollywood  honoured the latest recipients of the Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting at a gala dinner in Beverly Hills on Thursday 8 November. Among the five is South African filmmaker Sean Robert Daniels, from Pretoria in Gauteng. He wrote Killers, the story of a female contract killer whose dying […]

South Africans will be tuning in to SABC1 tonight to watch Room 9, a ground-breaking post-apocalypse detective series, set in an alternate Pan-African world, where evil thrives and darkness rules. The 13-part series is set in the world’s only Occult Detective Unit! The series falls into a similar genre to ‘Walking Dead’…but with a quintessential […]

From growing up in a modest mud hut in rural Limpopo to living a single room with his family inside a Johannesburg baseball clubhouse, and later becoming the first black South African ever to sign a professional baseball contract,  Gift Ngoepe’s story is nothing short of extraordinary. Ngoepe (22) was signed to the Pittsburgh Pirates […]

Young golfing champion Daniël Slabbert, an amputee, is living proof that adversity is no match for determination and a belief in one’s own talents. At just 21 years old, Slabbert is already a veteran of the golf course and a championship winner, and even with a prosthetic leg, he is capable of just about anything. […]

The PinkDrive is an ongoing initiative dedicated to breast cancer, which powers mobile mammography and education units for women across South Africa, while promoting awareness. Through its mobile services, single mother of two, Mandy Winter, discovered she had breast cancer three years ago in October – the designated month for breast cancer awareness. Winter (43) was diagnosed […]

South Africa’s zef rap group, Die Antwoord, have done it again – producing a video that’s impossible to ignore. “Fatty Boom Boom” is intelligent, funny and not for the squeamish! Note the brilliant inclusion of “Lady GaGa”, a parktown prawn and the demise of GaGa’s infamous meat dress.  In less than three days, they’ve attracted […]

Despite the many attempts to curb rhino poaching and the dedicated activism from the public, the slaughter of these beasts continues, with the death toll for 2012 approaching 450 animals. This has not halted the efforts of South Africans. South African artist, scientist and conservationist Noel Ashton has sculpted a series of rhino sculptures titled Mapungubwe Revisited. The […]

Oh wow. We are LOVING South African singer songwriter Lionel Bastos’ latest composition, ‘Win’. Fresh from heartache, the lyrics tell it all. Take a listen to the audio below. It will move you.  Lionel posted this recently penned and rawly recorded song on Facebook a couple of days ago and has already received requests from […]

A few days ago, in Cape Town’s busy CBD, a couple of traffic officers proved just how awesome they can be, by stopping the traffic for a little wildlife! Proving South Africa’s not just the ‘Wild West’! Reactions to these images have been more than just “ag shame”…but more along the lines of “Cape Town […]

A recent visit by royalty to a coaching clinic given by Wheelchair Tennis South Africa (WTSA) in Johannesburg served as affirmation and encouragement for the non-profit organisation’s continuing efforts to develop the sport and maintain its high standard. Prince Edward, the Duke of Kent, made a stop at the University of Johannesburg’s (UJ) athletics training grounds in the suburb […]

Oscar Pistorius has been the toast of America in the last few days, appearing on both Jay Leno’s “The Tonight Show” (video below) and Larry King’s “Larry King Now”. After appearing on Leno’s show, fellow guest Tyler Perry tweeted: “On @JayLeno tonight talking about Alex Cross. I met one of my heroes, @OscarPistorius.” And during […]

South Africa is home to the world’s top gold panners. The local team claimed first position and 16 medals – the most it has ever won – at the 2012 World Gold Panning Championships, which took place in the historic town of Pilgrim’s Rest in Mpumalanga, where gold was first discovered in 1873. Sibongile Nkosi, director of communications […]

A South African man from Kliptown in Soweto is one of 10 finalists for the 2012 CNN Hero of the Year award, an annual campaign which honours everyday people doing good deeds in their communities.   Within hours of hearing about his nomination, Thulani Madondo has gone from being a relatively unknown Soweto resident with a heart […]