Drought, protests, anger over the social grants payment system, and the collapse of Metrorail marked this year in South Africa. A man walks through Marikana in Philippi East, on 14 February 2017. A high-profile court case eventually resulted in the City of Cape Town being ordered to buy the land on which Marikana is located. […]

Rumours that President Jacob Zuma has instructed the South African National Defence Force to draw up plans for implementing a state of emergency may or may not be true. Nonetheless they are evidence of South Africa’s febrile political atmosphere. But any assumption that the election of Cyril Ramaphosa as the new leader of the African […]

Watch below as President Jacob Zuma hears that his Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa has won the ANC leadership race, and will replace him as ANC President instead of Zuma’s ex-wife Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma. If a picture tells a thousand words, a video says even more… #ANC54 The Moment #Zuma hears #Ramaphosa is the new president […]

Team South Africa Roller Derby is heading to the Roller Derby World Cup in Manchester, in the UK, in February, and really needs our help to get there. Their fundraiser on Thundafund ends today – there are some really cool rewards and super cool advertising deals for potential sponsors. Here’s everything you never knew about […]

The value of the Rand has risen all day as the chance of Cyril Ramaphosa becoming the new ANC leader became apparent… and as the news was confirmed Monday evening that Ramaphosa is the leading party’s new President, the Rand stood at R12.73 to the US dollar, and R17.10 to the British pound. People around […]

South Africa’s Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa has been elected the new ANC President. This means that should the ANC win the next national elections, Ramaphosa will be the country’s president. The value of the Rand already began rising this morning as Ramaphosa was slightly in the lead… In the final tally, Ramaphosa received 2440 votes, […]

Watch the ANC 54th national elective conference coverage:

The hope was that in opening the 54th National Conference of the African National Congress (ANC), South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma would rise to the occasion, seize the moment of his last address as party president with honesty and leave something worthy of history. For posterity to cherish. It sounded as though he was taking […]

There were many haunting and heroic moments this year, all deepening my understanding of these experiences and propelling me to further pursue my quest for expressing our truth in an unseen world… writes Western Cape photographer JUSTIN SULLIVAN. Witnessing bravery in the path of destruction and experiencing the suffering of others, through all the heartache and […]

The jokes have already started on social media as South Africa waits to hear who will be the next leader of the ANC: President Jacob Zuma’s Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa or his ex-wife Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma The 54th ANC National Elective Conference has been packed as 4,776 ANC delegates gathered to vote for the top six […]

The South African Revenue Service will collect the Sugary Beverages Levy (SBL) from 1 April 2018. The levy is fixed at 2.1 cents per gram of the sugar content that exceeds four grams per 100ml, which means the first four grams per 100ml are levy free. SARS on Friday said the levy falls under the […]

The 54th ANC National Elective Conference is packed as 4,776 ANC delegates gather to vote for the top six leadership positions, including new party President… which is a close race between President Jacob Zuma’s Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa and his ex-wife Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma. So far Ramaphosa leads with 1,469 branch votes from across six […]

Few in Cape Town have done more to introduce foodies, chefs, distillers, brewers and tourists to wild food, particularly fynbos – the vast category of indigenous plant life that covers the Cape’s mountains – than forager/cook Roushanna Gray, whose interactive workshops fall under the name Veld and Sea. Roushanna makes foraged food look sexy, with dishes like edible […]

Watch South African YouTube vlogger, Josh Pieters (who has over 800,000 subscribers), test two well known British vloggers on their ability to pronounce and understand South African words. To be fair to the boys, there’s a chance not all South Africans themselves could translate some of the words, which come from four of the country’s […]

#LionsHeadFire: A small veld fire on the lower slopes of Lion’s Head was quickly brought under control thanks to an incredible initial attack from ground and aerial resources, writes Western Cape photographer JUSTIN SULLIVAN. Three ‘Working On Fire’ Choppers, one Spotter plane and ground crews from NCC Environmental Services, Table Mountain National Park, Working on […]

President Jacob Zuma has announced that government will introduce fully subsidised free higher education and training for poor and working class South African undergraduate students, starting in 2018 with students in their first year of study at public universities. This will be done in a phased-in approach over a period of five years, he said […]

The suspense is tangible as the African National Congress (ANC) – South Africa’s former liberation movement that’s turned into a tired governing party – approaches its fiercely contested 2017 elective conference. By December 5, the party’s branches had largely spoken, and its provincial structures had consolidated the branch delegates’ voting preferences. The lay of the […]

Kensington Palace has announced that Prince Harry and American actress Meghan Markle will marry on 19 May 2018. The Palace said in a tweet at lunchtime on Friday: “His Royal Highness Prince Henry of Wales and Ms. Meghan Markle will marry on 19th May 2018.” (Please Note: Henry is the Prince’s birth name, used by […]

The National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NATJOINTS) has put in place measures to secure the 54th African National Congress (ANC) Elective Conference… as the ANC battles it out to decide on its new leadership. Chairs may fly (as happened with the ‘Festival of the Chairs’ at an ANC conference in the Eastern Cape!) at […]

Groundbreaking South African movie – ‘The Wound’ – has been shortlisted for a nomination in the Oscar Foreign Language Film category! The Wound filmmakers said: “We are so proud to announce that The Wound has made it to the Oscars shortlist! This is unreal! Thank you so much to everyone for their support! Enkosi!” The filmmakers […]

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has placed the Mayor of Cape Town, Patricia De Lille, on suspension, and has asked her to supply reasons to the Federal Executive on why she should not resign as the mayor. DA National Spokesperson Phumzile Van Damme said on Thursday night that the DA is acting in the interest of […]

Drowning is a major cause of childhood injury and a top killer of young children in South Africa… as was tragically highlighted this week by the death of 20-month-old Cape Town toddler, Connor Weber, who drowned when he fell into a bin that had been used to collect water during the current drought in the […]

EFF Commander in Chief (CIC), Julius Malema, has predicted that presidential contender Cyril Ramaphosa will win the election to be the new President of the ANC, and that Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma will lose because she’s supported by ‘crooks’. Taking to Twitter, Malema said: “For those asking for my predictions, I think he will win. I […]

Groote Schuur Hospital is celebrating another first in the Western Cape. At a press conference today, it was announced that Groote Schuur has performed the first ever bilateral sequential lung transplant in the Western Cape, and the first of its kind in the public sector nationwide! The hospital – famous worldwide for being the location of […]

The Gauteng Disaster Management team has been tasked with finding alternative accommodation for over 1,000 people, who were left displaced following a major storm in the Midvaal municipality on Monday (which included strong winds that witnesses said was a tornado). “Information compiled by disaster management so far indicates that 565 shacks were damaged with an estimation […]