Farm manager Andrew and his companion Sam had stopped their vehicle in Kruger National Park to see something that looked like a rock, when their screeching brakes alerted what was, in fact, a black rhino. Andrew told Latest Sightings that earlier in June they were on their way to see some cheetah when they saw the […]

A magnificent house designed by South African group SAOTA and lying on the mountainside above Clifton Beach and Bantry Bay has reportedly sold for a record price for a residence in Africa – R290 million (almost $20 million). The seller, the Dogon Group, said last month the price was the highest ever fetched for a house […]

As the clouds over Tshwane’s townships gather or disperse on Wednesday after unrest broke out, lots of questions remain about how the African National Congress is going to resolve the issue of the mayoral candidate that brought on the protests. But who is Thoko Didiza and why did the ANC “parachute” her in to try save […]

In the first major public statement by the government about the unrest in Tshwane over the nomination of a mayoral candidate that some parts of the community are rebelling against – reportedly because of her origins – deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa said the protests were acquiring tribalistic tones and urged people to avoid violence. “We […]

Five hundred elephants are to be transferred 185 miles across Malawi in a historic move to create a new sanctuary for elephants, according to the nonprofit African Parks. The elephants will be moved the 300 kilometres – “one of the largest elephant translocations in human history” – in two groups of 250 each, one in July […]

South Africa has narrowly survived a downgrade of the rating of its government bonds. The reprieve, however, is temporary because government has been warned by the Big Three rating agencies – Fitch, Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s – to pull up its socks. South Africa’s current rating – just about investment grade, heading south fast […]

Less than two weeks ago a Picasso sketch fetched R3 million at an auction in Cape Town. For some, the rare local appearance of a Picasso brought back memories of a South African whose own work inspired the Spanish artist to paint perhaps his most famous work ever, “Guernica”. At the same time, a new Spanish movie called “Gernika” has as its […]

It seems like the whole of Broadway turned up for the recording of Burt Bacharach’s hit song “What the World Needs Now is Love” in tribute to those who lost their lives and were injured in the mass shooting in Orlando, Florida, earlier this month. Forty-nine people died and dozens were injured on June 12 […]

JOHANNESBURG – South African mobile phone operator MTN Group named the head of Vodafone Europe as its new CEO on Monday, bringing in an outsider with a risk management background less than two weeks after it agreed to a $1.7 billion (£1.16 billion) fine to settle a dispute in Nigeria. Rob Shuter, a South African […]

Almost two days late, the African National Congress has named Thoko Didiza as its candidate for mayor of Tshwane, a metro that the party could quite possibly lose in the upcoming municipal election. On Monday morning there were also reports of a shooting outside the Tshwane Events Centre apparently related to dissatisfaction over the nomination of Didiza. Violence […]

As Matthew McConaughey gets spotted in Cavendish Square the past weekend – he’s in the country to shoot a movie – and Cape Town announced it has issued a record number of movie-shooting permits so far in 2016, we list some of the movies being shot or recently shot in SA. 1. The Odyssey (l’Odyssée) A biopic […]

The African National Congress delayed its announcement until late Saturday – almost till midnight – of its mayoral candidates, although the nominee for Tshwane, one of the metros the party could likely lose in the election, remains undecided. It was reported in the Sunday Times that Thoko Didiza, a cabinet minister under Thabo Mbeki who sometimes […]

In the latest allegation against the Gupta family – and the biggest  by far in rand terms – two reports this weekend allege that they, together with Duduzane Zuma, tried to capture South Africa’s main rail company and get it to accept a R51 billion tender. The letter, which was obtained by the investigative team at amaBhungane, […]

A poll being done by news network eNCA and market research company Ipsos has found that the Democratic Alliance could win Nelson Mandela Bay and Tshwane/Pretoria, and could rule in a coalition government in Johannesburg. The poll was carried out on June 6 and 7, and results were compared to the 2014 national election results. Ipsos […]

You are never too young to raise awareness – and money – for the plight of Africa’s big cats, as the kids at a Durban primary school have proved. They raised R2,000 and had a great time doing it. Kerry McNevin, principal of Tree Tops School (which has kids from age 3 to grade 3), […]

On a crisp Saturday morning early in June, 100 kayakers set out to paddle across the Cape Peninsula, from False Bay to Table Bay. Their primary mission: To raise public awareness of the city’s waterways and canals, and to show the public’s connection to them. The route for the Peninsula Paddle team – kayakers and stand-up paddle boarders doing […]

The company responsible for the South African firefighters who went to help fight blazes in Canada but returned after a pay dispute over their wages said the South Africans earn more than their Canadian counterparts “in real terms”. The 301 South Africans arrived in Canada to help fight wildfires there. After reports surfaced that they were […]

NAIROBI – With more money in their pockets, Africans are eating more fast food and adopting more sedentary lifestyles, leading to a surge in obesity and associated diseases like diabetes and cancer, experts said on Tuesday. Rates of obesity and overweight are rising in nearly every country in the world, the Global Nutrition Report said, […]

In a wide-ranging interview with Business Day’s Sam Mkokeli, “Inside the Mind of Julius Malema”, the Economic Freedom Fighters leader says he wants to be number one in the country and that he would make coalitions after the election with the Democratic Alliance but never the ANC. Some quotes from the interview: “I will never be […]

The hacktivist/s known as Anonymous Africa, after targeting the websites of the SABC, the EFF and Robert Mugabe’s ZANU-PF over the last few days, on Wednesday said they are going after what they called “the 2nd most corrupt family in SA (after the Zumas)”. Anonymous Africa promised to take the Guptas’ companies offline at midday, and by […]

The Test Kitchen in Woodstock has been voted one of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants in New York City on Tuesday, for the second year in a row, with the Cape Town’s La Colombe making the top 100 list for the second time. Chef Luke Dale-Roberts’ Woodstock restaurant came in at position No. 22, after coming […]

Jules Cambon, a former French diplomat, wrote: “Diplomacy will always have ambassadors and ministers; the question is whether it will have diplomats?” Referring to the diplomatic faux pas of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) Minister Nkoana-Mashebane when recently interviewed by Al Jazeera, Business Day suggested in an editorial “SA must learn art of diplomacy”. This […]

The Constitutional Court on Tuesday ruled that the Independent Electoral Commission failed to uphold section 16 of the Electoral Act – which deals with providing voters’ addresses – and erred in its fundamental mandate to safeguard the freeness and fairness of elections, but has said the 3 August elections can go ahead. The Democratic Alliance, one of numerous parties in […]

South African comedian has appeared on the popular daytime talk show hosted by Kelly Ripa. Noah talks about speaking six languages – not all perfectly, he emphasised – how he grew up in a family that loved dogs and about driving a taxi as one of his jobs. https://youtu.be/YkGpPtowCnA