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. […]

Countless adventurers have jumped, abseiled and done a free-fall off the iconic Orlando Towers, and now the famous old power station in Soweto is going to get some new art. A competition is underway to select whose it will be. A panel comprised of visual artist Helen Sebidi, illustrator Karabo Poppy Moletsane and fine artist Bambo Sibiya will oversee the […]

From early childhood, electronics whizz Boswell Mhlongo spent his time tinkering with TVs, broken irons and kettles. In adulthood, after being sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of a policeman, Mhlongo discovered he was also a computer boff – a talent that enabled him to access an on-line dating site from the confines of […]

JOHANNESBURG – Global accountancy firm KPMG and South African investment bank Sasfin have severed ties with a company owned by the Guptas, a family of Indian-born businessmen, due to a scandal over their relationship with South African President Jacob Zuma. In an email to KPMG staff seen by Reuters, local chief executive Trevor Hoole said […]

The funeral of murdered activist Sikhosiphi Bazooka Rhadebe took place on Saturday amid calls to bring the perpetrators to justice. Two journalists as well as members of the community were reportedly attacked during the service. Rhadebe was killed two weeks ago when assailants posing as police officers arrived at his home and gunned him down in […]

Khulubuse Zuma, businessman nephew of President Jacob Zuma, is one of the many names apparently mentioned in the millions of newly leaked documents that show celebrities and politicians around the world who have shady offshore investments. The so-called Panama Papers, which were leaked to media around the world,  come from the files of the Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca with details […]

The number of politicians, organisations and media calling for President Jacob Zuma to step down has mounted considerably since Thursday’s momentous court decision saying he had failed to defend or respect the constitution – although senior African National Party members have either dismissed the idea of his resignation or said it would only create more problems. Sunday Times […]

A day after President Jacob Zuma made his much-derided and much-criticised apology to the nation over Nkandla, one of his ministers was booed off the stage at the Cape Town International Jazz Festival. Arts and Culture Minister Nathi Mthethwa came on stage before the performance of SA duo Mafikizolo on Saturday, but was quickly met with […]

Want sun in your house all day? Look no further than this two-storey for sale in Helderberg, Somerset West, which turns. What’s more, access to the top floor can be cut off by lowering or raising a walkway at will.  The 625-square-metre house, which is on the market for R25 million, has a ground floor with a separate entrance […]

The office of President Jacob Zuma has rejected as “preposterous and malicious” an allegation by EFF leader Julius Malema that Zuma carried R6 billion to Dubai for the Gupta family. “Mr Malema’s allegation has no basis in fact,” the Presidency said in an unusual statement posted on Saturday, two days after Malema made the allegation on […]

Cliff divers Orlando Duque and Jonathan Paredes went in search of a challenge – and found it at Victoria Falls, Zambia, one of the seven natural wonders of the world. “This is one of the most beautiful places,” says Duque, who, with 13 cliff-diving world titles, two Guinness world records and more than 20 years […]

President Jacob Zuma has (finally) apologised for the Nkandla affair, but said that he had never deliberately intended to subvert the constitution. Zuma addressed the nation in a quickly arranged address on Friday night (which was only announced an hour before it was delivered), a day after the Constitutional Court ruled that Zuma had failed […]