A slick new video made by a young German doing a trip around South Africa – great music, thrilling footage from a drone – includes a scene less than halfway through that might throw some viewers into a moral dilemma. He rides an elephant. The scene is jarring because in the rest of the video, titled “For that […]

We’ve all seen it happen on videos shared on Facebook, the amazing choir that bursts out in song unexpectedly when the long-estranged couple meets at the airport. But what happens when the staff members at the local Woolies do it right in front of you? That is what happened today (Tuesday) to Drew Abrahamson and a friend in the […]

Over the past two years a group of Durban photographers – from Novos Digital Cinema – have been pouring their hearts and souls into a never before seen showcase of their home town: Durban, South Africa. And the result is spectacular. The video was not commissioned by anyone. It was purely shot out of a passion for what they do, and where […]

British actor Idris Elba – who starred as Nelson Mandela in ‘Long Walk to Freedom’ – has cancelled his trip to South Africa due to a confusion over the immigration laws. New laws governing children entering and leaving South Africa were implemented in June this year, but after a dramatic drop in tourism, some of […]

When Trevor Noah appeared on the Ellen Degeneres Show a few weeks ago, one of the things he talked about was Nelson Mandela’s sense of humour. That part of the interview – where Noah also does a very good version of Mandela’s voice – was not included in the first clip that was released, but now it is. […]

Thanksgiving is a very big time in the US, when people do anything to get home to the family and turkey dinner. This year National Geographic’s biggest scripted series ever tells the story of the first Thanksgiving, when British settlers on the Mayflower landed at Cape Cod in 1620, except it was all shot near another Cape – Cape Town. “Saints & […]

Watch what happens when South African passengers on a flight from Durban to Joburg are told their plane has been turned back due to a storm over Joburg. Passenger Thabo Seopa filmed the scene as the passengers burst out into song, singing R. Kelly’s “I believe I can fly”. The incident happened on Monday 16 November […]

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by what has happened in Paris, you’re not alone. In the aftermath of the attacks on Friday evening, many are finding it hard to figure out what has happened and, indeed, where all this is going. The media has barely taken a moment to breathe. In the last few days there have been French reprisal attacks against […]

Actor and former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is in a new anti-poaching video where an elephant’s tusk gets blown up after the “Terminator” says “Let’s get rid of the demand for ivory”. Watch the video of the tusk explosion: “Hey, stop killing 96 elephants every day just because of this ivory,” Schwarzenegger  says, holding up a tusk. […]

Countless Muslims around the world are voicing their disapproval of the ISIS attacks on Paris on Friday, in which at least 129 people were killed, by raising their voices on social media under the banner #NotInMyName. At the centre of the campaign is a video from September 2014 called “#NotInMyName: ISIS Do Not Represent British Muslims” that […]

“Nomvula” is a very chill, very catchy Xhosa song by up-and-coming singer Nathi – he’s been called “a breath of fresh acoustic air” – in a gorgeous video shot around his home province of the Eastern Cape. The song is from his debut album, “Buyelekhaya”, and has already been viewed over 300,000 times on YouTube in less […]

Andrew Smith certainly thinks so, but he would. He is the founder of a South African solar company NVmyPower. But listen to what he says to a class and then judge for yourself. “Some people say buy a Ferrari,” Smith says. “Some people buy exclusive whiskey or a collectors item. This (solar) way, you’re not only saving […]

The already well-known three-year-old DJ Arch Junior has won the ‘South Africa’s Got Talent’ competition, and picked up a half a million rand in prize money in the process. The tiny DJ, Oratilwe Hlongwane from Alexandra, Johannesburg, who was clearly a favourite with the judges even in the semifinals, was one of six acts who reached the final, […]

Jeremy Loops has taken to Facebook to reveal just how challenging it can be for a South African musician to fill concert halls around the world. Many South Africans abroad – in other professions – will relate to that higher hurdle you sometimes have to jump to prove, to those at home and abroad, that you […]

Two ambulance companies have been caught on camera racing each other to get to an emergency scene in East London, South Africa. The dramatic video, which first surfaced on Facebook, shows two ambulances driving wrecklessly on the freeway as the vehicle in front – driven by Dynamic Emergency Medical Services (EMS) – hogs the road, […]

This week, after undergoing an emergency appendectomy, Trevor Noah discovered what many Americans already know – that their “health system sucks” (in the words of some US media). After being admitted to hospital on Tuesday with abdominal pain, the South African comedian got his first real taste of the US health care system…and it was just like […]

As South Africans joke today that the Rand is falling faster than the ruling party’s membership figures (trading at a record low of 14.2689 to the dollar this afternoon), here’s the latest rendition of Zumanomics, a track based on President Jacob Zuma’s unfortunate speech at an ANC conference in early October. During the speech, Zuma attempted to compare current ANC […]

A video of Sihle the Drummer (his surname is not given on Facebook) playing drums on an assortment of stand-in objects was first posted on his Facebook page in August and was viewed at least 410,000 times. That seems to have gotten him a real set, which he now plays in a new video. Watch Sihle’s first […]

On the same day the South African Police arrested four Krugersdorp policemen who were caught on camera fatally shooting a suspect at point-blank range, Trevor Noah talked about the effects of “brutally” filming cops and whether it deters them from doing their jobs properly. According to a SA Police statement on Tuesday, on 19 October two policemen were attending to […]

South Africa plays a feature role – and it’s a good one – in the new James Bond movie, ‘Spectre’, even though South Africa will be one of the last countries in the world that actually sees a major launch of the spy extravaganza. While the movie itself – which is brilliant – flits from Mexico […]

Here’s another beautiful video of Cape Town from self-taught photographer Brendon Wainwright. This time he has spent two years taking over 7,000 photos to create this exquisite time-lapse. “I have been exploring Table Mountain National Park in pursuit of capturing its beauty like never seen before in a time-lapse video,” says Brendon. “This is 7,530 still images put together… […]

One month into his stint as a talk show host, Trevor Noah spoke to his wildly popular competitor Jimmy Kimmel about how he  gave up his life in South Africa, where he was becoming more successful, to come to try his luck in America. “South Africa is small,” Noah said. “And when you’re from a […]

The anti-poaching wildlife message goes sky-high this week as two Emirates A380 jets take off wearing special livery featuring endangered species…in support of United for Wildlife (a global collaboration of seven of the world’s leading wildlife charities). According to a statement today from Emirates in Dubai, the livery – which features some of the animals threatened by poaching and illegal […]

CAPE TOWN – Four minutes is probably nothing in parliamentary debates, but last week saw a memorable 240-second interlude during the university fees debate when a member of the Democratic Alliance called a member of the Economic Freedom Front a Teletubby. DA chief whip John Steenhuisen stood up on a point of order just after DA leader […]

President Jacob Zuma has congratulated South African hip hop artist Cassper Nyovest on being the first local musician to fill the 20,000 seating capacity Dome in Northgate, Johannesburg, without the assistance of any international act. The SA entertainer – who produces, raps and writes – performed to a full capacity Dome arena over the weekend, fulfilling his dream – […]