A tragicomic movie about two terminally ill young men on the road in South Africa has been one of the top 10 movies in Germany for most of 2016. According to the write-up for “Der Geilste Tag” (The Most Beautiful Day), writer/director Florian David Fitz “co-stars alongside the hugely popular German star Matthias Schweighoefer and the duo play […]

Professor Jonathan Jansen, a well-known commentator on politics in South Africa who saw himself at the centre of protests earlier this year, is to leave his post as vice-chancellor and rector of the University of the Free State to take up a post at Stanford University in the United States. According to a statement on […]

The Hawks investigative unit of the South African Police has been in the news recently because of a so-called former rogue unit at the SA Revenue Service that the Hawks want to question Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan about. A report in the Sunday Times this weekend even suggested Gordhan faced imminent arrest over the allegations, […]

JOHANNESBURG – The vice chancellor of the University of Johannesburg said the arsonists who attacked the Auckland Park campus early on Monday, causing R100 million in damage, would be brought to book. At the same time the Economic Freedom Fighters student body president said its members were not responsible for the fire, according to news […]

In South Africa we love the diminutive and the shortened word as much as the next far-flung English-speaking country – arvie for afternoon, mozzie for mosquito, and so forth. A recent video by Australian friends Josh and Rhys explains “How to Speak Australian – Abbreviate Everything” (see video below) that strikes the same note. Many of the words […]

The same day that the Sunday Times has come out with a report that Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan could be arrested very soon by the Hawks, the president’s office released a statement condemning the media for speculating that cabinet ministers are about to be fired. “Ministers serve at the pleasure of the President,” the statement […]

ShowMax, the entertainment streaming service owned by South Africa’s Naspers is now also available in 36 countries in Africa, the company said on Friday. ShowMax, a cheaper alternative to Netflix (R99 versus $7.99 or R123) – with arguably a better selection of content, since it offers popular US shows from the HBO channel such as “Game of Thrones”, […]

All but one of a group of trawlers suspected of fishing illegally in South African waters managed to evade the SA Navy patrol boat, after numerous concerned citizens had raised the alarm about the boats acting suspiciously offshore. A post on the Facebook page of Salt Fishing South Africa on Tuesday morning by Mark Hicks got shared […]

More than four years ago Johannesburg journalist Alex Eliseev heard snippets of the most extraordinary story of Betty Ketani – there was murder, kidnapping, a trail that ran dead, and sheer coincidence – and this week the 18-year case came to a tear-filled end as Ketani’s family laid her to rest. Aliseev, who has covered some pretty harrowing stories (the Haiti earthquake, […]

About 30,000 South African tourists went to Kenya last year, making it the biggest African source of tourism for the country, and Kenya wants to push that figure up by 20 percent this year. “Our ease of access with a flight of less than five hours to Nairobi by Kenya Airways and South African Airways, products suited […]

The international ratings agency Moody’s has given Cape Town the highest possible credit rating, the city said on Thursday. At the same time Moody’s raised some of the ratings for Johannesburg. Cape Town now has the highest possible level of credit quality within the national context, the city said. The cities’ ratings are different from the country’s rating, which […]

If the new hero Black Panther in the latest “Captain America” movie sounds familiar, it’s because he has an accent that originates in South Africa. Chadwick Boseman, who plays the new character Black Panther in “Captain America: Civil War”, the superhero-filled movie that broke box office records last weekend when it opened in America, told talk […]

Rwanda, the home this year of the World Economic Forum Africa, taking place this week, is sometimes known as the Switzerland of Africa, and – with good reason, after its numerous successes – it sells itself as “Remarkable Rwanda”. The capital is Kigali, and the country is often referred to as Land of a Thousand […]

Eskom CEO Brian Molefe said on Thursday no more load shedding was anticipated in South Africa through summer of 2017, except for planned maintenance. Addressing the media in a quarterly State of the System briefing, Molefe said there had been no load shedding since August 2015. He said that capacity was being progressively added, and several […]

Shooting of “The Dark Tower”, based on the best-selling Stephen King book and starring Matthew McConaughey and Idris Elba, has started in Cape Town and the Western Cape. The movie is being directed by Dane Nikolaj Arcel, famous for making the first (and best) “Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” and the brilliant but much-overlooked “A Royal Affair”. […]

In 2014 South Africa, which had been Africa’s biggest economy, slipped to second place behind Nigeria, and new figures suggest it has now slipped another notch – coming third behind Nigeria and Egypt. According to statistics released by the International Monetary Fund on Wednesday, Egypt’s GDP has been growing steadily at over two percent the last […]

The Democratic Alliance has asked President Jacob Zuma to reverse the decision to procure a private jet – reportedly at a cost of R4 billion – which was confirmed by the Minister of Defence on Wednesday. “Given our current economic climate and our country’s record high unemployment crisis, South Africa cannot afford to spend R4 […]

In recent months two highly controversial political leaders, Donald Trump and Jacob Zuma, have received harsh, intense global media coverage. Trump, a white man, is the Republican presumptive nominee in the US presidential race as “leader of the free world”. Zuma, a black man, is the embattled President of the African National Congress-led government in […]

Africa loses at least $50 billion a year — and probably much, much more than that — perfectly lawfully. About 60 percent of this loss is from aggressive tax avoidance by multinational corporations, which organise their accounts so that they make their profits in tax havens, where they pay little or no tax. Much of the remainder […]

For anyone from who remembers the Doll House, the drive-in, Springbok Radio, the Radium, Highlands Park and “Ag Pleeze Deddy”, here’s a big old blast from Johannesburg’s past. For those who don’t, the abovementioned would be 1) a roadhouse, 2) an outdoor moviehouse, 3) the radio version of MTV, 4) a beer hall, 5) a football club […]

DUBAI – Investec Bank, a lender in the aviation market, has closed a $1 billion operating lease transaction with Emirates Airline, it said on Monday. The deal will pay for the delivery and sale and leaseback of four A380-800s, the world’s largest passenger jet, Investec said in a statement. Investec Aviation Finance has around $5 […]

While Johannesburg and Cape Town attract a growing number of new residents daily, they do not come anywhere near the explosive growth taking place in other parts of Africa. A recent report published by the World Economic Forum – which has its Africa summit in Kigali, Rwanda, from Wednesday – listed the three cities in Africa with a population […]

A 813-carat diamond named The Constellation and mined in Botswana has been sold for the highest price ever paid for a rough diamond, its owners said – more than $63 million. The Canadian Lucara Diamond Corporation said in a statement on Monday that the diamond, recovered from the Karowe mine in Botswana in November 2015, had […]

“The Last Face,” a movie about the relationship between an aid worker and a doctor in a wartorn African country that was shot in South Africa and stars Charlize Theron, is one of the most anticipated movies to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival this week. The world-famous French festival runs from May 11-22. “The Last […]

The Guptas, friends of President Jacob Zuma, have reportedly paid $30 million for a mansion in an elite area of Dubai, according to a report in City Press this weekend that it said was confirmed by two sources. The house is in Emirates Hills, according to City Press. Emirates Hills is a gated community apparently named […]