She’s at it again. South African minister of foreign affairs Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, who in May had a highly publicised interview with an Al Jazeera journalist where she explained how she had a hole in her head, has said she does not know about Brexit. Shortly after reports of International Development and Cooperation minister Mashabane’s comments reached the press, a department spokesman […]

An ad by the Democratic Alliance that has been criticised by Nelson Mandela’s grandson for using the former ANC leader’s voice has been seen over 100,000 times on YouTube and Facebook in two days, the DA said on Monday. The ad shows a young mother leaving home with her child to go to the polls, whereupon they […]

JOHANNESBURG – Delays have been experienced at OR Tambo International Airport because of the rollout of the new biometric system to collect data on people arriving and leaving South Africa. Reports on Friday said that delays at the Johannesburg airport were up to two hours long, although no reports have been received from the weekend. Chris Zweigenthal of […]

Since the SA Broadcasting Corporation’s acting CEO Jimi Matthews resigned a week ago Monday over the “corrosive atmosphere” at the public broadcaster, the chaos at the SABC continues, with protests outside its offices in Cape Town and Johannesburg, and an apparent turnaround by the ANC over its support for the man who’s apparently causing all the trouble, […]

Several days after a slight majority in Britain voted for #Brexit, and to leave the European Union, sending financial markets into chaos for several days and many people regretting their vote to leave the EU, Trevor Noah of “The Daily Show” takes a funny but informative look at what it was all about.

For his latest album, “Johnny Clegg 2016”, the South African singer of “Scatterlings of Africa” remixes some of his most-loved songs and gives them a fresh dance beat. Watch the latest rendition of “Take My Heart Away (High Society Remix)”, shot by Jaron Clegg in Diepsloot: The 17 tracks, including “Great Heart” and “Scatterlings of Africa”, offer new remixes that […]

In a new article that exposes Democratic Alliance leader Mmusi Maimane to a world audience – calling him charismatic and saying he’s been dubbed “the Obama of Soweto” – Newsweek magazine posits the question in its headline: “Could Mmusi Maimane Be South Africa’s Next President?” The article includes a video interview with Maimane during a visit to […]

In a week when journalists protested outside the SABC, the broadcaster suspended several employees for not respecting ‘editorial’ processes, the acting CEO resigned because of “the corrosive atmosphere” at the broadcaster, South Africans can reasonably ask: What next? What other sectors should they be prepared to defend in the coming months from state over-enthusiasm? If the government sticks to its plan […]

The South African population has grown to 55.65 million in the past five years, according to the latest survey by the department of statistics. In the Community Survey figures released on Thursday, Statistics South Africa said the population grew from 51,770,560 in 2011 to 55,653,654, about 3.88 million. There are 27,247,226 males and in 28,406,428 females. The population […]

WASHINGTON – A fatal accident in which the driver of a Tesla Motors Inc Model S car operating in Autopilot mode was killed in a collision with a truck has prompted an investigation by federal highway safety regulators, the U.S. government and Tesla disclosed on Thursday. The investigation of the first known fatality to involve […]

A growing number of international tour companies refusing to promote elephant riding is putting South Africa’s elephant-back safari industry under pressure to pack in the lucrative but unethical/questionable practice of riding elephants. With an increasing global awareness for the welfare issues and cruel training methods associated with elephant-back riding, a drive to end the practice […]

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa cleared Anheuser-Busch Inbev’s $100 billion-plus deal to acquire SABMiller on Thursday, putting the world’s largest brewer “on track” to complete the merger within the next six months. The Competition Tribunal, which gives the final word on mergers in Africa’s most industrialised country, said in a statement that concessions made by AB […]

A record 200 parties and 61,014 candidates – aged 18 to 90 – will contest the 3 August municipal elections, about 65 percent more parties and 12 percent more candidates than the municipal elections of 2011, according to the Electoral Commission (IEC). In a statement released on Wednesday, the IEC gave the following data: – There are a total of 4,649 unique […]

Driving across South Africa, from Joburg to Cape Town, is about as local as pap and wors. It’s further than from New York City to Chicago, or from the very tippy top of Great Britain to the very bottom. But it’s way more beautiful too (don’t take our word for it)! For anyone who hasn’t done […]

As the fallout continues at the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) over the imposition of censorship by COO Hlaudi Motsoeneng, the resignation of the acting CEO, the protests by journalists and the declaration by the chairman that everything is fine at the public broadcaster, here are some of the best of the statements and memes on social media. […]

The Walt Disney Company on Tuesday released an animation short made by South African company Triggerfish Animation Studios that could become a fully fledged series. The release of “A Dogshow with Cat” comes barely a week after Triggerfish’s collaboration with Magic Light Pictures, the TV show “Stick Man”, which was shown on BBC last year, won the top […]

I’ve always thought of the Red Bus as a touristy thing. You hop on, hop off, get your bearings, see as much as possible in your short holiday time. I’ve also always thought of it as part of those obvious tourist destinations, like Rome, New York, London and Cape Town. But Johannesburg? The truth is, however, that a Red Bus in Joburg is the […]

Seventy-three names have been put forward to take over the position of public protector, once Thuli Madonsela leaves at the end of her seven-year term in October. Of the total 73 nominations that were handed in by Friday last week and announced today, however, numerous have already declined the offer. These include Madonsela herself, who cannot […]

The office of President Jacob Zuma has warned the public to wary of scams looking to collect money on his behalf, one day after it was reported that the National Treasury said Zuma has to repay R7.8 million on non-security upgrades at Nkandla. The presidency warned the public of “scams on social media where people are asked […]

American blogger Jayne Zakheim recently visited South Africa and came away with a couple of facts South Africans may or may not know. For anyone wanting to brush up on their local general knowledge, here goes: 1. Four of the five fastest land animals in the world live in South Africa: the cheetah, the springbok, the wildebeest […]

In an interview with the BBC about his time on the Daily Show in the US, and facing the upcoming US election – and the controversial candidacy of Donald Trump, who was the subject of a viral tweet this week – Trevor Noah said that he found aspects of the US not dissimilar to South Africa. Talking […]

An eagle-eyed fan of rapper Drake spotted him arriving at Lanseria near Johannesburg on Friday, barely a day after the singer was declared to have the longest-running UK number one single this century, supplanting on-off girlfriend Rihanna for her 2007 hit “Umbrella”. Drake topped the singles chart for an 11th straight week with “One Dance”, a collaboration with Wizkid and Kyla. […]

And the answer is… Brazil. Brilliant photos taken by South African Steven Kramer in the states of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Bahia and Minas Gerias. More of Steven Kramer’s photographs can be seen here.

A suspected poacher was caught in Kruger National Park on Wednesday while another drowned trying to escape, while three others caught in Grahamstown last week who were apparently involved in poaching across South Africa were denied bail on Wednesday. One suspected poacher was shot and apprehended by the Kruger’s protection unit while the other drowned by trying to flee across […]

While Tshwane is reported to be under a tense calm after several days of violent unrest and looting, social media is still full of pictures and videos of the devastation – plus several reckless government officials (see video at the end) and policemen who appeared to think it was okay for them to flout the law too. […]