by The Swedish African Every South African, the world over, remembers where they were when Mandela passed away. One year on, I find myself overseas and sentimental (again) — disconnected from the umbilical cord of home and contemplating what’s really going on behind closed doors at the head-quarters of the rainbow nation. And let me […]

Cape Town has a new beacon of light, shining brightly into the night…and the future. It’s the new 24-metre high art installation, designed by artist Christopher Swift, that is now providing a physical and figurative glimmer of light on Signal Hill in Cape Town. Powered by solar energy, the light from the eight-pointed star (which […]

If there’s one thing that anyone who’s ever lived in – and left – Johannesburg misses, it’s the incredible thunderstorms on the Highveld and the way the big African sky lights up, like a laser show. So for those who live in places where the skies are a little less dramatic and passionate, here’s a video […]

Saturday 15 November marked a new beginning for the city of Joburg as one woman bravely began her mission to transform the city that’s been called the unfriendliest in the world, into JOYburg. Sue Jameson, Joy Activist and Laughter Coach, kicked off the first part of her first prize in the Vodacom #Firsts competition with her ‘my #First Laughter Mob’. […]

South African Post Office (SAPO) has announced they are pleased with the end of what appeared to be an everlasting strike that impeded Post Office operations around the country, leading to unhappy customers across the globe who couldn’t send or receive items from SA (and resulted in an increased use of private courier services for the more desperate)! […]

It’s a month today until Christmas Eve (update: now 12 days till Christmas!), and the festive posts on social media are increasing rapidly! Here’s the latest offering from South Africa – a local-is-lekker version of ’12 Days to Christmas’. It was uploaded by a user called Nixter and features such South African favourites as biltong, hadida, […]

A strange thing has been happening to Johannesburg lately – people are noticing it. While the rest of the world, especially glossy magazines and TV lifestyle programs, have been focusing on Cape Town, Johannesburg has slowly been getting on with business. The latest to pay attention is Good Magazine, an American quarterly brought out by […]

South African expat and truck driver Jaun-Deo (JD) Jardine was stuck for 36 hours in Buffalo during the recent record-breaking snow storm, where he took the photos on this page. “I’m originally from JBay (Jeffrey’s Bay),” he says, “so it’s a bit of a change!” And even though he’s thousands of miles from the sun and surf of […]

A young South African is making his country (and sister) proud in Las Vegas this weekend, after being selected to represent South Africa and the African continent, for the very first time, in the SuperKarts Supernationals World Finals in the USA! Sixteen-year-old Ewan Taylor is competing against the best drivers from around the world, including the likes of […]

Her country fell in love with her before she was even crowned first runner up at Mrs World on Wednesday evening. And to many South Africans watching, Sarah-Kate Scott will always be their winner. The thirty-one year old mother of two sons is a successful business woman who has conquered one of the toughest challenges […]

There are probably few places that conjure ambience more than a library with mahogany shelves crammed with books, all centered on a crackling fireplace. So it’s not surprising that when Cape Town International Airport scored badly on its ambience rating, someone came up with the idea of putting in a library. In June, after a […]

A kind and unassuming waiter by the name of Vincent has become the most talked about South African employee in the past 24 hours. Yesterday he performed a good deed at the Wimpy branch in Canal Walk, Cape Town…which did not go unnoticed. And today he is being celebrated all over social media for his kind […]

A non-profit organisation that works with teachers in the Western Cape’s poorest areas to improve the quality of teaching and learning in maths and science is getting international recognition. The Western Cape Primary Science Programme (PSP), with over 30-years’ experience in the field, received the Global Best award for science, technology, engineering and maths in […]

Every year thousands of tourists flock to the Arctic to view the psychedelic swirling skies of the aurora borealis, or northern lights. But few know that this beautiful display is actually a geomagnetic solar superstorm in our atmosphere.   This general lack of knowledge of the sun’s effect on our atmosphere is why the South […]

Peter Tshisevhe is more than just a poor boy from a poor family. He is one of the best mergers and acquisitions lawyers in the world, his success allowing him to inspire and sponsor talented youngsters from his rural home of Tshakhuma. The lesson he teaches the kids he mentors is that they are more […]

South Africa’s top jazz acts, including legendary jazz pianist Abdullah Ibrahim, will be showcasing the country’s cultural zeitgeist at the prestigious annual EFG London Jazz Festival, which kicks off today, 14 November. This year’s top South African acts will be featured as part of the SA Season in the UK, a programme which is designed to […]

Turn up the videos below and watch the Loeriesfontein dancers having a blast at the recent ‘Rieldans’ competition in Clanwilliam in the Western Cape, South Africa. Rieldans is one of South Africa’s oldest dancing styles and can be traced back to the Khoi San of the Cape. It’s danced at a highly energetic pace with […]

A Norwegian group has made a brilliant video spoof, highlighting the fact that stereotypes about Africa harm dignity, and calling on viewers to challenge the perceptions and vote for better fundraising campaigns that don’t perpetuate debilitating myths of Africa. The video opens with a scene from a “reality show” in which volunteers race to throw food at “starving” […]

Ask anybody who has spent any amount of time in Johannesburg and they will tell you that it has to be one of South Africa’s best kept secrets. Egoli, the city of gold, is Africa’s commercial and economic capital, and anybody who wants to do business on the continent will have to spend time there (staying in […]

What was a well-kept South African secret is now kind of out the bag. National Geographic Adventure magazine has named Muizenberg as one of the 20 Best Surfing Towns in the world, joining such esteemed company as Byron Bay in Australia, Hanatei in Hawaii, Biarritz in France and Bukit Peninsula in Bali. Most of us […]

Today is Remembrance Day (or Poppy Day) when members of the Commonwealth remember those in the army who fought and died in the First World War of 1914-1918.. The Tower of London moat in the UK has been decorated with an incredible ceramic poppy installation to mark the Centenary of the start of the conflict […]

A South African advertising agency could be taking its cue from the iconic Kevin Costner movie In ‘The Field of Dreams.’ In the movie, Costner’s character gets this crazy notion that he must build a baseball field in the middle of his corn farm in Iowa. A voice keeps telling him, ‘If you build it […]

South Africa’s zef-rap rave band Die Antwoord are hot news this week. Well, even hotter than usual. And even more global than usual. The last few days saw the release of the  ‘Chappie’ trailer featuring Die Antwoord alongside Hollyood heavyweights, as well as the launch of their new music video guest-starring international celebrities. Die Antwoord already have […]

The much-anticipated trailer for Chappie is finally here! And it looks like South African Canadian writer-director Neill Blomkamp has got his mojo back.  Blomkamp has returned to his much-loved bizarre sci-fi roots that earned his directorial debut District 9 an Oscar nomination. His second film Elysium, starring Matt Damon and Jodie Foster, was less enthusiastically received. But […]

It’s no secret that South Africa has some of the best (and wildest) open-water swimmers in the world. The British have the English Channel, but we have the Mozambique (read: shark-infested) Channel, which became a body of water to traverse (or is it traswim) when Thane Williams and Jonno Proudfoot did so in April. That […]