Messages of congratulations have poured in from Heads of State across the world for South Africa’s newly-elected President Cyril Ramaphosa. “President Cyril Ramaphosa received messages of congratulations from a number of Heads of State and Government during a round of telephone calls on Sunday 18 February 2018. President Ramaphosa took the calls at his official […]

Watch the daring rescue below of a giraffe which was choking on a metal wire wrapped dangerously around its neck. The video was uploaded by Inside Edition on 29 January 2018. It was apparently filmed in Mikembo Sanctuary in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Rescuers worked together to tranquillise the large animal with a […]

Multichoice announced on Wednesday that it will not renew its contract with the 24-hour News Channel ANN7, when the contract expires on 20 August 2018. The decision has been met with mixed feelings – with some concerned for what this means to media freedom, and others welcoming the end of “dishonest journalism”. Following an internal […]

A South African woman has been seriously injured in an attack by a male leopard at Matopi 1 Camp on the Botswana side of the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. Unusually, she was inside her tent when the attack took place. This account of the attack was posted on 4x4community.co.za forum: On the night of the 4th of January my […]

An enthusiastic adventure conservationist (very) bravely helped rescue a Kudu caught in a fence in Botswana. Grant Pengilly, a South African field guide and helicopter pilot from Wild Wonderful World, says in a caption on YouTube: “After leaving the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, we came across a young male Kudu caught in a fence. “With […]

The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) is meeting Monday with officials from the Embassy of the United States of America in Pretoria, following the recent disturbing comments attributed to President Donald Trump. DIRCO said it will provide an opportunity to the Charges de Affaires (the second in charge) to explain the statement by […]

South African comedian Trevor Noah has weighed in on Donald Trump’s reported remarks about “sh*thole countries” in Africa. The South African expat, who hosts The Daily Show in New York, replaced the Korean segment he was going to broadcast with his views on Trump’s alleged words instead. The US President’s comments were reported by the Washington […]

Following US President Donald Trump’s alleged controversial comments that America doesn’t need any more immigrants from “shith*le” African countries or Haiti, the Government of Botswana has issued a statement and social media users in Africa have taken to Twitter to post #mysh*thole photos for the President’s perusal… Meanwhile the American President has denied he made […]

US President Donald Trump apparently believes most countries in Africa are “shithole countries”. He appears to think the same of Haiti and El Salvador. According to reports in US media, Trump made the comment during a meeting with a group of senators at the White House. They were discussing immigration and changes to the visa […]

Ethiopia has announced a ban on the adoption of children by foreigners. The African country had become a go-to destination for thousands of families abroad – as well as the occasional celebrity like Angelina Jolie – wishing to adopt a child. There has been a dark cloud hovering over adoption in the country since 2013, […]

A South African tourist, believed to have been a 36-year-old woman, has reportedly died this morning in a hot air balloon crash near the ancient city of Luxor in Egypt. Her name has not yet been released. Seven other people were injured in the accident, and 12 remained unharmed, according to reports around the world. […]

Whilst there has been much jubilation in Zimbabwe amongst white farm owners since former President Robert Mugabe was ousted, it appears not all is rosy. (Please see Update below.) The controversial policy of land seizure seemed to have changed since Emmerson Mnangagwa became the country’s new leader… and just a couple of weeks ago a […]

The last few weeks, I have found ample reason to curse my ill-timed blog migration project. Here I was chasing down broken links when in reality I was meant to buy Christmas presents and decorate the house… writes Eva Melusine Thieme aka Joburg Expat, named after the blog she created while living as an American German expat in South […]

In a move that underscores his commitment to conservation, His Royal Highness Prince Henry of Wales – aka Prince Harry – has formally joined African Parks as their President. The appointment was just made public Wednesday morning in a statement released by Kensington Palace.  African Parks is a conservation NGO, founded in 2000, that manages national […]

Supporters of the Khoisan 4, who are camping at the Union Buildings and holding a Hunger Strike, are calling on South Africans everywhere to please help the protesting men get what they need, so they can get home for Christmas. This is Day 15 of their Hunger Strike, and their health is deteriorating rapidly. The […]

The last twelve months have been a confusing time for African democracy. We have seen coups that didn’t look like coups and elections that didn’t look like elections. In this sense, it was a year of illusions. As in 2016, the broad trend is clear: with a number of notable exceptions, the gains made in […]

The Tanzanian mainland is marking the 56th anniversary of independence from British rule. The mainland unified with Zanzibar in 1964 to create the current nation-state under Mwalimu Julius Nyerere who is often invoked as “the father of the nation”. The new nation-state’s economic, social and political path was paved in 1967, when Nyerere proclaimed the […]

A young 25-year-old Arab guy from Israel is doing more for Africa in a one-minute video than most of us combined. Watch here as Nuseir Yassin breaks some of the negative perceptions about Africa. Over 4.2 million have already watched it (update: now over 10 million!)… https://www.facebook.com/nasdaily/videos/935030406649112/ Nuseir (Nas) – who graduated from Harvard and […]

A Durban-born company has come up with an amazing concept. Perhaps a cure for the ails of entrepreneurship and a way to kick-start some amazing businesses into South Africa’s economy. Big Box has only been around for just over a year. But this team is taking no prisoners in their goal of igniting an entrepreneurial […]

New Zimbabwe President, Emmerson Mnangagwa, has reportedly ordered that a white Zimbabwean farmer – who was evicted in June – be allowed to return to his land, according to media reports. According to Bloomberg, the new President has also ordered “an end to the intimidation and eviction of farmers, regardless of race, with immediate effect”. […]

Little Foot, the world’s oldest complete Australopithecus skeleton, was unveiled at the University of Wits in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Wednesday 6 December 2017, and has made headlines around the world. The fossil – believed to be of a 30-year-old female – was discovered by South African palaeoanthropologist Ron Clarke, who took part in the […]

It’s the video that everyone’s seen on their facebook timeline at some point – a chimpanzee set free that returns to its cage and embraces wildlife conservationist Dr Jane Goodall, in a moment she calls one of the most extraordinary of her life. At that point Dr Goodall had never met the chimpanzee, which was […]

Heineken on Monday laid the foundation stone of its first brewery in Mozambique in the presence of Max Tonela, Minister of Trade and Industry. This new brewery, incorporating the latest technologies, represents a $100 million (€85 million) investment. Located in the province of Maputo, between the Marracuene and Manhiça districts, the brewery will have a production […]

Former Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who was fired by Robert Mugabe just a few weeks ago, has been sworn in as Zimbabwe’s new President, becoming the third President of that country. But while South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma thanked President Robert Mugabe for all he did for liberation, others like Botswana’s President have criticised Mugabe for […]

Former President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe has reportedly been granted immunity from prosecution, and assured hsafety to live out the rest of his life in Zimbabwe, as part of his resignation deal. South Africans, who were outraged at the prospect of him retiring in SA, can breathe a sigh of relief. It is not his […]