For the second time in two months an employee of South African Airways based at OR Tambo International Airport has been arrested for extorting money from a foreign national who was denied entry into the country due to invalid papers.   Gloria Ntombi Sidumo (42), an SAA employee, was arrested together with a security officer […]

Here’s a beautiful poem written yesterday by one of the pupils in a Grade 6 class at Cedarwood School in Glenferness (north of Lonehill in Gauteng). According to Gen Andrews, who works at the school, the class was set a task in English to write a poem entitled ‘Love for my country’ in which each line had […]

Local residents and parents have been paying tribute to a life tragically lost yesterday when 16-year-old Constantia Waldorf schoolgirl, Franziska Blöchliger, was murdered in Tokai Lower Forest in Cape Town, South Africa. And the support of the community for the family was evident today during a radio interview with her father. Andreas Florian Blöchliger said he is Swiss and came […]

Known for travelling the world with great cars and adventure in its heart, the hugely popular Top Gear not only has two new hosts including “Friends” actor Matt LeBlanc but shot its first episode in the highlands of South Africa and Lesotho. With the departure of the original hosts – Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May […]

Chill out with SuzelleDIY’s latest video. The South African DIY Goddess proves just how cool she is… and how cool you could be… with her latest DIY invention – airconditioning. “Because sometimes there is a heatwave guys,” she says! At one point – with a stream of gorgeous cool locations behind her – SA’s beloved […]

Good news for braai-loving South Africans in Nashville, Tennessee. South Africa’s fastest growing franchise – Chesa Nyama – is heading stateside. The take-away restaurant chain, which boasts food that’s “flame grilled the traditional way”, has grown from just one store to 300 in just three years! Just over two weeks ago, on 12 February, Chesa Nyama’s holding […]

In this week’s episode of The Listening Post on Al Jazeera, Nicholas Muirhead examines whether the news media in his native South Africa have transformed since the end of apartheid over two decades ago. “Under apartheid, the media – like every sector – were, for the most part, white-owned and operated,” says Muirhead. “In 1994, when the African National […]

Lucky Masinya sure is lucky…and hard-working and talented. The young South African pastry chef, who has lived in a care home in Johannesburg for a number of years, is currently undergoing an incredible work experience programme in London that’s included working with the best at the Ritz, Le Manoir Aux Quat’Saisons and Pretty Sweet; and meeting […]

It’s voter registration next weekend, Saturday and Sunday 5-6 March 2016, for South Africans – and a good time to make sure you are still registered in the ward that you live in – for the 2016 local government elections. On Thursday, Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba urged all eligible South Africans to register during the dates designated by the […]

Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver’s successful restaurant chain, Jamie’s Italian, is heading to Melrose Arch, Johannesburg, and will open sometime in 2016. The famous chef’s first restaurant opened in the British university town of Oxford in 2008 and now there are 40 branches around the world, from India to Brazil and from Russia to Scandinavia. Watch […]

Searching For Freedom: Beautiful expression is often borne of hardship. The art that emerged out of Apartheid South Africa is no exception. If anything — given the limited freedom of expression enforced by the state — the sheer existence of such work created by artists of colour during Apartheid is nothing short of miraculous in itself. […]

Experienced Springbok wing Bryan Habana has been selected for the Springbok Sevens squad to play in their tournament in Las Vegas and Vancouver, SA Rugby announced today. Habana, South Africa’s prolific Test try scorer, joined the squad on Tuesday in Stellenbosch to make himself available for selection, following an agreement with his French club side, Toulon. The […]

South African Minister of Finance Pravin Gordhan presents the 2016 budget speech to Parliament today, Wednesday 24 February 2016, at 2pm. Watch a live feed here…

Last year LLOYD KOPPEL was invited along for both the local and international #meetsouthafrica bloggers’ road trips… to film and capture their experience on video. “What a privilege to travel around South Africa with some of the best travel bloggers and travel writers in the country. Amazing people! Amazing road trip!” says Lloyd of the first video. […]

The murder of a British pilot, Roger Gower, shot down by elephant poachers near the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania on January 28, highlighted the scale of the threat posed by armed crews of poachers. Tanzania’s elephant population has crashed from 109,000 to 40,000 in the past seven years. The threat to the African rhinoceros […]

Once again I found myself alongside some of Cape Town’s finest. Yesterday afternoon – Wednesday 17/02/16 – I drove up to the Koeberg Nature Reserve to document the brave efforts of our Firefighting Crews. The blaze had already made its way East of the reserve and was flaring up at various spots. One incident was too […]

South Africa’s sole Winter Youth Olympics entrant, Elizabeth Olivier, wrapped up her Olympic campaign in Lillehammer, Norway today, Thursday. After ending 36th in the giant slalom on Tuesday, the Eastern Cape teenager competed in the women’s slalom this morning, and was due to do her second and final run this afternoon. We don’t yet have the results but we […]

Get lost in nature… Go hiking in the Drakensberg Mountains… 2. Or cool off on the river banks… 3. Relax in a tree-hide… 4. Visit our beautiful gardens – like Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens… 5. Or take a road-trip – be prepared for views like this… 6. Then there’s Table Mountain – one of the world’s Seven […]

Amidst all the reactionary articles, opinions and TV shows comes this twist on the lyrics to Frank Sinatra’s legendary “I Did It My Way”, which seems to sum up what many in South Africa are currently thinking regarding our president, Jacob Zuma. These ‘lyrics’ were posted on Facebook by Yster Steyn Le Roux on 9 February: And now, […]

A couple of years ago I wrote an article on my blog (Rant!) entitled ‘Why I will not go back to South Africa’ (see below). It was largely incited by the Oscar Pistorius trial, which was happening at the time – I’d just had a baby and found myself sitting glued to my cell phone […]

South Africa is a country of extreme contrasts. It’s home to some of the oldest known human fossils and the world’s youngest language (ja, nee…Afrikaans). The land itself—though mired by its history of battles over ownership—is one of resplendent beauty. Speaking as a local, you may accuse me of bias. But I assure you that […]

A video of a South African Police Service (SAPS) unit hard at work has emerged, showing that it’s not all skop, skiet en donner in the SA cop force! Although it is movie scene fast car (well, motorbike) chases… The video was uploaded by CICA (Crime Intelligence & Community Awareness) on Valentine’s Day, reporting that the […]

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 […]

Thursday was one of those rare hot, wind free, incredible summer days in Cape Town. I was in the air by 8am and spent nearly three hours flying along the coast, photographing our amazing marine wildlife. The dusky dolphins were playing along the Blouberg shores, Table Bay was filled with baitballs and frenetic feeding activity and […]

Just in time for Valentine’s Day – here’s South African domestic and DIY (and Greek) goddess SuzelleDIY with the perfect recipe for love – a ‘heart tart’ (also known as a mille-feuille in French, which means a thousand leaves). Full Recipe transcript below! You will need: 4 Layers of puff pastry 1 punnet of raspberries […]