The year ahead is looking pretty fabulous for Pretty Yende, South Africa’s incredible opera singer who has both New York and Paris clamouring for more. Both the Metropolitan Opera House in New York and the National Opera de Paris have announced Yende’s return to their stages in their 2016/17 line-ups. According to Yende’s Facebook page, “it is with […]

There’s a new restaurant in town (Cape Town that is) that’s causing quite a buzz in South Africa. Brownies & Downies. As its name suggests – the restaurant, which was first created in the Netherlands in 2010 – sells brownies. And its patrons are served by a wonderfully friendly team of children with special needs from […]

CAPE TOWN – Parliament descended into minor chaos Wednesday afternoon after the chief whip of the Democratic Alliance John Steenhuisen told the presiding officer that he could not tell COPE leader Mosiuoa Lekota to withdraw the word “faction” when referring to the ANC. Steenhuisen said that by telling the Congress of People’s leader Lekota that labeling […]

President Jacob Zuma has conveyed his condolences on the sad passing of the former United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, who passed away on Tuesday, 16 February 2016 in hospital in Cairo, Egypt. Boutros-Ghali was the first African to hold the position of Secretary- General of the United Nations, served from January 1992 to December […]

In a bid to make up for falling profits in a  bad commodities market, the once-mighty Anglo American of South Africa will sell off some of its major assets and focus only on its copper, diamond and platinum businesses, according to news reports on Tuesday. The 99-year-old mining group recently announced a record pre-tax loss of […]

After two days of protesting at the University of Cape Town over a lack of accommodation for some students, people arrived back on campus on Wednesday faced with the damage that had been caused by protesters, who even burnt paintings owned by the university. The university also said that it was going to lay charges against […]

CAPE TOWN – In his response to President Jacob Zuma’s State of the Nation Address last week, Democratic Alliance leader Mmusi Maimane hit out at the ANC leader on Tuesday, saying Zuma lived on a planet far far away from the rest of South Africa – Planet Zuma. In his speech Maimane said, “Planet Zuma is […]

HARARE – The American plane carrying money for the SA Reserve Bank that was impounded in Harare airport when a body was discovered on board during a refueling stop there continues to be the subject of an investigation in the Zimbabwe capital, news reports said on Tuesday. The unidentified body, which the Reserve Bank said […]

CAPE TOWN – South Africa should start a register that names anyone who is caught faking a degree, the Minister of Higher Education Blade Nzimande said on Tuesday, according to news reports. Talking to journalists before the resumption of the SONA2016 debate, he raised the issue of dealing with the growing number of people forging or misrepresenting […]

In honour of International Childhood Cancer Day 2016, Cape Town’s iconic Table Mountain – one of the Seven Wonders of the World – was lit up in blue last night, 15 February 2016. According to CHOC (Childhood Cancer Foundation, South Africa) this day was started as a global collaborative campaign to raise awareness about childhood cancer and to […]

DURBAN – Police reinforcements have been sent to Westville Prison after an officer locked himself in the armoury and threatened to take his own life, it was reported on Tuesday. The Department of Correctional Services confirmed that a male officer was involved, and said that it was an ongoing situation being dealt with by a task […]

For the second time at least, someone has sneakily put President Jacob Zuma’s controversial home Nkandla up for sale on a free classifieds page, listing it as a “Luxury African Homestead”. The ad on the site OLX listed the price at R260 million and described it as a “3.83ha luxury compound with world-class security & entertainment […]

South Africa’s legendary playground Sun City is due to undergo a dramatic rejuvenation project worth R800 million rand over the course of 2016. According to a media release from Pilanesberg National Park, which lies next to the iconic resort, Sun City will offer new food options including a micro-brewery themed gastro pub, as well as a “raft […]

A long-serving member of staff at Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife (Ezemvelo) has tragically been killed by a sick lioness at Hluhluwe iMfolozi Park (HiP). The fatal attack occurred this morning. Ezemvelo published an official statement on its facebook page this afternoon saying it had “sadly learnt of the death of one of its long serving employees” who was fatally […]

HARARE – An American plane carrying cargo destined for the SA Reserve Bank has been impounded in Harare after a dead body was found on board, reportedly after blood was seen dripping from the plane during a refueling stop. ​”The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) is aware of an aircraft carrying a SARB consignment that stopped in Harare […]

A UK-based news site has named two “allies” of the Zuma-associated business family the Guptas, saying the two were closely aligned with the short-lived minister of finance Des van Rooyen, and were the reason he was appointed in a bid to greenlight a nuclear deal that would benefit the Guptas. The two men were named in […]

Travellers to South Africa have been confused by headlines claiming that the law requiring minors to travel with an Unabridged Birth Certificate (UBC) had been “scrapped”. The law has not yet been scrapped… but Tourism Minister Derek Hanekom said in a statement today that his department is in “intense discussions” with Home Affairs to implement […]

A UK-based production company has announced that it will begin filming a documentary about the circumstances leading to the murder of Reeva Steenkamp by Oscar Pistorius. The shooting of Steenkamp through the locked bathroom door of Pistorius’ house took place on 14 February three years ago, and Pistorius later claimed he thought he was shooting an intruder. […]

CAPE TOWN – A small Southern Right whale carcass washed ashore on to the rocks in Bantry Bay on Sunday and was successfully removed by the National Sea Rescue Institute of South Africa, the city said. The public was urged to avoid the area while the whale removal was taking place. The carcass was taken to Granger Bay for […]

JOHANNESBURG – Africa’s biggest economies have been hammered by the collapse in commodity prices over the past 18 months but there are still investment bright spots to be found. In cities such as Lagos, Nairobi, Accra, Kinshasa and Johannesburg, growth remains robust and investors are prospering in the retail, financial services, technology and construction sectors. […]

BERLIN – The latest movie from South African director Oliver Schmitz, called “Shepherds and Butchers”, a courtroom drama about a man on death row, premiered at the Berlin Film Festival on Saturday. The movie also has a theme song, “Angels”, produced by Bee Gees’ Barry Gibb and Vusi Mahlasela. (Watch clips of the movie and […]

At the 2016 #UbuntuAwards on Saturday night President Jacob Zuma said “South Africa is a beautiful country with wonderful people”. Addressing guests at the second annual Ubuntu Awards at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, the president said: “Today we honour those who hold our beautiful flag high, and who contribute to not only telling, but demonstrating […]

A lot of numbers were mentioned by President Jacob Zuma during the State of the Nation Address on Thursday. The government has released a list of all the numbers extracted from the speech. These range from what the government will spend to promote domestic tourism (R10 million) to the growth rate set to be achieved […]

President Jacob Zuma has assigned three Ministers to provide support to the families of miners who are still trapped at Lily Farm in Barberton. In a sign that hopes are fading of finding the trapped miners alive, the Presidency announced today that the President has assigned the Minister of Mineral Resources, Mosebenzi Zwane, the Minister in the […]

A bizarre story involving two South Africans on the tiny South Pacific island-nation of Fiji – a diplomat reportedly involved in a fatal drunken-driving accident and the chief of police – has taken a new turn after the death of the diplomat. A Department of International Relations and Cooperation spokesman in Pretoria was reported as saying this week that the diplomat, Theo Mostert, […]