The SA movie industry is forging ahead with some great productions – from period pieces to cross-cultural love stories to tearjerkers and more. Have a look at the latest offerings. A group of soldiers in the Boer War find themselves sent to Saint Helena island in the Atlantic Ocean as prisoners of war in “Modder […]

The South African rand has hit its strongest level in four months – reaching R14.65 to the dollar at its best – after the sacking of finance minister Nhlanhla Nene by President Jacob Zuma in December sent the financial market and the currency tumbling. It closed trading on Tuesday at about R14.7. In early January the currency slipped to as low as […]

Nhlanhla Nene, the finance minister who was sacked in December by President Jacob Zuma, causing the financial market and the rand to plummet, has broken his silence for the first time, suggesting he will take up a new job shortly. “Watch this space,” he said. In the exclusive interview with eNCA, Nene said he had been […]

After a lifetime of being isolated from the world, the Atlantic island of St Helena, where Napoleon was exiled and died, had its first major flight from Johannesburg land this weekend. The flight, chartered by Air Safety Support International to bring its team of five personnel to St Helena to assess the airport, touched down on Sunday morning […]

Many South Africans abroad have heard that question, “Do you have lions in the streets?” Well, on Sunday it (possibly) came true with the appearance of one on the late-night streets of Braamfontein, in central Johannesburg. But it’s still unclear whether it was a hoax or the animal was part of a movie or ad production. The […]

PRETORIA – Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Tuesday that he wanted to “correct the incorrect impressions” spreading in the media that he believed churches should not get involved in politics. Ramaphosa said in a statement that he welcomed “the robust manner in which the churches and all other religious formations have engaged the government on […]

I spoke to a number of people today about the rhino poaching situation and the unconfirmed report that 32 animals died in just 14 days. I do believe this number could be very close to the truth, but what really made me stop in my tracks is that someone that had just visited the user […]

The Congress of the People, under former ANC leader Mosiuoa Lekota, has withdrawn from parliamentary activities following the African National Congress’s refusal to take action against President Jacob Zuma. In announcing this, the party also took a swipe at Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa. The Constitutional Court ruled unanimously on 31 March that Zuma had failed […]

NAIROBI – The World Bank on Monday lowered its 2016 sub-Saharan African growth forecast to 3.3 percent from a previous forecast of 4.4 percent in October, citing plunging global commodity prices. The bank said the commodity price rout, particularly for oil which fell 67 percent from June 2014 to December 2015, as well as weak […]

“It was another crazy week in the Ukraine,” a South African there reported this week, after he had gone out on the streets of Kiev to record the latest goings-on. “First, the President was found to have an offshore account. Then the Dutch voted against the EU-Ukraine agreement (this is what set in motion the […]

The city of Johannesburg’s garbage-collecting division Pikitup has reached a deal with workers, who have been striking illegally for almost a month, which meant the clean-up of the city could begin on Monday. The strike caused tensions to rise in the city, with trucks that kept going out being fired upon at one point, according […]

SpaceX, the space rocket company owned by South African-born Elon Musk, made history on Friday by successfully landing part of its Falcon 9 rocket on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean. The rocket was launched from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and sent a cargo capsule to the International Space Station. The landing had been attempted several […]

In barely two months the Gupta family has gone from being the alleged darling of President Jacob Zuma – apparently able to manipulate business deals with government and get cabinet ministers appointed, according to media reports – to suddenly taking flight from South Africa last Thursday with a mountain of luggage, headed for Dubai. In the past few […]

It seems that the voices against President Jacob Zuma grow louder daily, as the gravity of his actions and, after the apparent meaningless of his apology for Nkandla, sink in. If you have missed any of the voices – besides all the opposition parties – who are seeking to get him to step down, here […]

Two of the Gupta family have resigned their positions in the family’s South African company, and President Jacob Zuma’s son Duduzane has quit one of its subsidiaries, after what was described in a statement on Friday as a “sustained political attack”. The resignations from Oakby Resources and Energy were of Atul Gupta and Varun Gupta, who the statement said would resign with […]

Cape Town has most of the top expensive streets in South Africa, according to a new survey, which put six of the country’s top 10 costliest addresses on the Atlantic Seaboard side of the city. Three were in Johannesburg. Top out of the list is Nettleton Road, high above Clifton, which, with a value of almost R45 million, was almost […]

Only days after global accounting firm KPMG and Sasfin Bank announcned that they were no longer doing business with the Gupta family, First National Bank has done likewise. According to a statement on Wednesday by the Gupta’s Oakbay Investments, it demanded  an explanation from Jacques Celliers, CEO of FNB, “for the closing of the Company’s accounts. […]

The local government elections, possibly the most important ever in South Africa’s 21 years under the African National Congress, will take place on 3 August, it was announced on Wednesday. The announcement was made by President Jacob Zuma a day after he survived a motion to impeach him in Parliament. The elections will be a […]

Barely hours after the ANC quashed a vote to impeach President Jacob Zuma in Parliament on Tuesday, numerous representatives of unions, churches and other civic bodies came together to organise action for the “removal of a corrupt president”. “Anger and urgency is growing,” the group said in a statement released afterwards. “Ever larger numbers of […]

The Abu Dhabi-based airline Etihad will run a flight to Johannesburg for three months over the northern hemisphere summer, filling the gap left when embattled carrier South African Airways cut the route from its offerings last month. These will be added to the flights to the region already operated by Qatar Airways and Emirates, which both […]

In a day of mounting criticism of President Jacob Zuma, a heated and long debate in Parliament, and unusual partnerships to get him removed from power, the opposition parties saw a motion to impeach Zuma fail against an ANC majority. At the same time, respected former finance minister Trevor Manuel said it would be in the interests of the […]

Shouting “traitors” at ANC MPs still sitting in their seats, opposition parties left the house en masse on Tuesday, after losing a motion of impeachment against President Jacob Zuma 143 to 233. Upon hearing the results, Democratic Alliance leader Mmusi Maimane, who had proposed the motion, immediately stood up and said that the DA as opposition […]

The impeachment debate against President Jacob Zuma had barely got underway on Tuesday when the opposition with one voice asked that the speaker of the house, Baleka Mbete, who is often seen as an ally of Zuma’s, be removed from the chair and be replaced by someone who could be fair and impartial. Members of […]

Democratic Alliance leader Mmusi Maimane is scheduled to speak first, Deputy Justice Minister John Jeffery next, then Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema.

What would it take for President Jacob Zuma and the African National Congress (ANC) to understand that South Africa is a constitutional democracy, and provide desperately needed leadership to protect this fundamental principle? President Zuma’s apology and the ANC’s acceptance and defence of it are missed opportunities to reclaim credibility and the moral high ground. […]