Many on social media are commending South Africans for their sense of humour, especially when the proverbial kak is hitting the fan with the allegations by ANC MPs saying they were offered jobs by the Guptas. Out come the jokes – such as “The ANC is a five-letter word (curry)” – but most popular is #StateCaptureMovieTitles, referring to the capture […]

In a report released by an international survey company that tracks the wealth of people across Africa, it was found that Mauritians are the wealthiest individuals not he continent and Zimbabweans the poorest. The Annual 2016 Wealth Report released by Research and Markets said that Mauritians had about US$21,700 per person, while people in Zimbabwe had US$200 per […]

It has been a busy 12 hours since deputy finance minister Mcebisi Jonas dropped a bomb by publicly declaring that he had been offered Nhlanhla Nene’s finance minister job before the minister was sacked by President Jacob Zuma. Jonas’ declaration came only a day after former ANC MP Vytjie Mentor said that she too had been […]

At a packed launch of the English book version of the compiled letters between literary royalty Andre Brink and Ingrid Jonker, Brink’s widow said Cape Town’s revered bookshop the Book Lounge was the perfect place to introduce the book to South Africa. “We came here a lot,” said Karina Brink. “We called it our lounge.” […]

The largest oval vivid fancy diamond ever to appear is headed for sale in Hong Kong next month, where it is expected to fetch $30 million to $35 million. The internally flawless blue diamond, at 10.10 carats, was mined in South Africa and is one of a collection of 11 cut by jewellers De Beers […]

President Jacob Zuma has – quite unusually – for the second time in less than 24 hours said that he does not know a senior former ANC MP who said the Guptas offered her a ministerial job, and insists that she did not accompany him to China in 2010, when news reports at the time […]

Maybe it was a result of the heavy rains earlier, which left parts of Rustenberg flooded, but a crocodile seems to have gone astray and found its way on to the N4 near the town. “Crocodile at the Kroondal turn-off,” tweeted Trapspotter on Tuesday night. He gave the details of a nearby crocodile farm to be […]

President Jacob Zuma said he has no recollection of Vytjie Mentor, a former ANC member of parliament, and so he cannot comment on her allegation that the Guptas offered her a ministerial job while Zuma was in the next room. “The Presidency has received media enquiries about a reported comment on social media by former […]

The seventh annual Cape Town Carnival rocked Greenpoint on the weekend, festooning the fanwalk between the city centre and Cape Town Stadium with singers, dancers, puppets, oiled-up firemen, scenes of District Six and more. Under the theme “Street Life”, there were more than 2,000 costumed musicians and performers from communities and schools across the city, including the […]

A US animal rights group has said it will pursue its lawsuit against the United States Fish and Wildlife Service for granting permits to three American zoos that imported 17 elephants it alleges were stolen from Swaziland and spirited out of Africa before a court hearing on the case. The animals have been taken in by the […]

BLOEMFONTEIN – The Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa has dismissed the government’s appeal against a Gauteng High Court ruling that Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir should not have been allowed to leave South Africa in June 2015 and should have been arrested. Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court to stand […]

A month-old baby in dire need of heart surgery in the war-torn country of Yemen in the Arabian Peninsula has been evacuated by a South African mercy flight and flown 16,000 kilometres to safety and surgery after other countries were unwilling to risk going into the area. A team of South African medical aviation evacuation specialists […]

GRAND BASSAM, Ivory Coast – Ivory Coast soldiers armed with assault rifles patrolled the deserted beaches of a resort town on Monday, a day after gunmen from al Qaeda’s North African branch killed 16 people. The raid was the third high-profile attack by Islamist militants in West Africa since November, but the first on Ivory […]

South African-born, Los Angeles-based film director Gavin Hood, who made “Tsotsi” and the newly released thriller “Eye in the Sky” with Helen Mirren, said the entire movie was shot in South Africa, even though it “takes place” in Nairobi, London and Las Vegas. He said the movie, which is a tense drama starring Mirren, Alan Rickman […]

The fast-growing company Uber has been in the news quite a lot lately, as it further entrenches itself as a taxi and transport alternative in several South African cities. So what’s the deal? The process is fairly simple. You join Uber as a customer via your phone on the Uber app, and it costs nothing […]

Anywhere in the world, the Labia Theatre would be a gem. The independent, quirky, fabulous, one-of-a-kind movehouse in Cape Town has to be seen and experienced to realise just how special it is. Recently turned 65 years old, the iconic four-screen cinema in the heart of the city  takes you back to the years when going to the […]

The New York Times last week promoted a house for sale high above Clifton, Cape Town, for a cool $4 million (or R65 million) in its regular feature “House Hunting in … “, which looks at property for sale around the world. The house it publicised was a four-bedroom on the slopes of Lion’s Head. A […]

A former policeman who was kicked off the force has appeared in court in Bushbuckridge along with three accomplices after being caught in Kruger National Park – in full view of holiday makers – allegedly on the way to poach rhino, according to news reports on Friday. A spokesman for the Hawks reportedly confirmed that the […]

JOHANNESBURG – A South African teenager has found debris which will be sent to Australia for testing as part of the investigation into the disappearance of a Malaysian Airlines plane two years ago, the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) said on Friday. Liam Lotter, 18, told South Africa’s East Coast radio he found the […]

Sometimes the first few notes of a song will take you back in time. A time you may not have thought about in 20 or 30 years. One minute you are sitting in traffic on a congested freeway in the stifling Texas heat. Or in London in the drizzle, or Perth or Prague. The next second you […]

For anyone overseas feeling homesick for South Africa, or even for someone in Cape Town feeling lus for some views of the Kruger Park or the Blyde River Canyon, Google Maps is partly answering the call. Short of taking a trip on a second’s notice, you can click on Google’s newly launched South Africa, the Mzansi […]

The new movie by “Tsotsi” director Gavin Hood opens in South Africa and the United States on Friday, and not only brings him back to Africa but it looks like it’s going to be a blockbuster and rank him with the world’s top action and suspense directors. “Eye in the Sky” has a brilliant cast – Helen […]

Parliament – or at least the African National Congress side of the house – on Thursday approved a 4.5 percent raise for President Jacob Zuma. Zuma now earns R2,874,851 a year, which means he gets R7‚876 a day or R239‚568 a month. The Democratic Alliance’s Chief Whip, John Steenhuisen, was visibly angry about Zuma getting a raise after firing finance […]

Business Day associate editor Sam Kokeli saw Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday, after the deputy president wrapped up a week of answering questions in Parliament. And both of them were sitting in economy class on the South African Airways flight from Cape Town to Johannesburg. Ramaphosa is the second high-ranking member of government to attract attention for […]

The tragic and redemptive story of Amy Biehl, the American Fulbright scholar who was living in South Africa when she was attacked by a township mob in Cape Town and stabbed to death, will be made into a film backed by Tyler Perry and some other US movie luminaries. According to news reports on Thursday, the movie, titled […]