Television viewers in the UK were treated to a brilliant performance by KwaZulu-Natal’s LIV choir on BBC1 yesterday evening… and today hundreds have written on the BBC’s facebook page about how the broadcast gave them goosebumps and inspired them with their ability to make good out of bad circumstances. The amazing 20-strong LIV Choir – who come from […]

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa’s athletes have returned to a heroes’ welcome… as they arrive home from their record-breaking Olympic Games in Rio, Brazil – where they scooped more medals than they won in London (2012) and an equal tally of 10 from Antwerp (1920) and Helsinki (1952). Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula was on hand to welcome the […]

JOHANNESBURG – The Democratic Alliance’s Herman Mashaba has been elected as the new Executive Mayor of Joburg, replacing the ANC’s Parks Tau. On Twitter, DA supporters were already rejoicing before the official announcement, and even Wikipedia confidently updated their entry for the businessman before it was announced: Earlier today the DA’s Vasco da Gama was elected as Speaker (unleashing […]

JOHANNESBURG – A female councillor for the ANC has sadly passed away during the Joburg Council meeting today. The inaugural meeting – in which the Speaker, Mayor and Chief Whip are being elected – was adjourned when the councillor fell ill and collapsed, apparently battling to breath. She was led out of the chambers by medics shortly […]

JOHANNESBURG – Democratic Alliance (DA) Councillor Vasco Da Gama has been elected as Speaker of the Johannesburg Council… and it’s – predictably – launched a wave of tweets: …and cue the sailing and sailor puns. And go!!! #VascoDaGama #JoburgCouncil — Michael 🍏 (@TheMikeAppel) August 22, 2016 Jesus is back and he didn't come back alone. #VascoDaGama https://t.co/xyFiM3LIar […]

JOHANNESBURG – The Joburg Council was forced to adjourn after a scuffle broke out between party agents over the secret ballot and voting process. The IEC has however said it’s satisfied with the process and counting, and has called for proceedings to continue. The scuffle had broken out between the EFF Deputy President and an unknown Councillor. Both had […]

It’s been a huge day for Caster Mokgadi Semenya, winner of not only the 800m Women’s race in Rio last night… but also of the hearts of the people of South Africa. The SA athlete was so popular on social media that “Happy #SemenyaSunday” became one of the highest trending hashtags on Twitter as South Africans around […]

The first litter of free roaming lion cubs in the area in over 130 years has been born in Mountain Zebra National Park outside Cradock in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. The birth of the cubs comes after the successful re-introduction of two male lions into the 28,000ha Park in April 2013, followed by two females […]

There has been an outpouring of support from South Africans and locals in Cornwall after a South African family, living in the UK, suffered a terrible tragedy this weekend whilst holidaying in Newquay. According to family friend Madelein Jansen Van Noordwyk “my dear friend [Lisinda Bruynius] has had the worst happen on her family holiday in […]

South Africa’s rhinos have again fallen victim to the breathtakingly beautiful full moon which rose on Thursday evening… and was still shining bright last night. Passionate wildlife advocate Jamie Joseph, from Saving the Wild, reported Saturday evening that “#Zululand has suffered another devastating full moon slaughter in Hluhluwe iMfolozi. “I have wept over the #rhinos that have […]

Caster Semenya catapulted Team South Africa’s 2016 Olympic medal count into double figures on a hot Saturday evening in Rio as she ran to a predictable 800-metre win. The 25-year old went into the race as one of the hottest favourites in sporting history and her season’s best of 1min 55.33sec was almost a full […]

As predicted South African athlete Caster Semenya raced her way to Gold in the Women’s 800m event at the Rio Olympics Saturday evening. With her country united behind her – as she faced controversy and “Haters” (because of her higher levels of testosterone than most women) – Caster focussed on her dream… and transformed it into a […]

DURBAN – Nando’s scooped two of the four Grand Prix Prizes Saturday night at the 38th Annual Loerie Awards, held at the Durban ICC this year. A total of 179 awards were given at #Loeries2016, the most prestigious creative industry and brand communication awards for Africa and the Middle East. Nando’s – South Africa’s legendary flame-grilled chicken restaurant chain […]

Triathletes Mari Rabie and Gill Sanders both bounced back from heartache and heartbreak respectively to do South Africa proud on the penultimate day of the Olympics here on Saturday with an 11th and 23rd place. Rabie returned to the Olympics after an eight-year absence, during which she recovered from a life-threatening heart condition just two […]

Springbok coach Allister Coetzee expressed his satisfaction in the composure shown by his team in their 30-23 win over Argentina in Nelspruit on Saturday. The victory in the Mbombela Stadium opened the Castle Lager Rugby Championship campaign for the Springboks on a positive note. It wasn’t looking good in the second half. The Springboks trailed […]

Until recently Caster Semenya was famous for her silence, posting only images of inspirational quotes on her Twitter account like “When life puts you in tough situations, don’t say ‘why me’, say ‘try me’”. She seldom added a personal caption… but lately – as all the world’s eyes are on her and her country has united […]

The University of the Witswatersrand (Wits) in Johannesburg, South Africa, has leaped into the top position of all universities in Africa in the latest Shanghai rankings. According to Wits, the latest Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) – otherwise known as the Shanghai rankings – places Wits amongst the top 1 percent of all universities […]

The Democratic Alliance has condemned “the cold-blooded assassination” of its councillor, Johannes Baaitjies, on Wednesday night.  In a statement on the DA website, it said “Baaitjies was found lying on his face on the main road between Danielskuil and Postmasburg [Wednesday] night. He was shot twice in the head and once in the upper body, and dragged […]

PRETORIA – Newly elected Tshwane mayor, the DA’s Solly Msimanga, declared that today “corruption, cronyism, nepotism and patronage comes to an end” in the capital. He said there will be no more “blue lights” and that Tshwane is to be a city for all the people and not just a small-connected group. Msimanga was sworn in […]

Sunette Viljoen secured South Africa another Silver medal in the Rio Olympics on Thursday, with a throw of 64.92 in the women’s Javelin. We congratulate @Sunette_Viljoen on her #Silver Medal at the #Rio2016 #Olympics 🇿🇦 Dankie! pic.twitter.com/dtHtghjQEY — South African Government (@GovernmentZA) August 19, 2016 It was her first throw that secured the silver. Her third […]

It’s all hail King Henri the Third as Team South Africa triathlete Henri Schoeman raced to third place and South Africa’s second bronze medal of the Olympic Games on Thursday. Schoeman, who just a day ago was running the medical gauntlet in the Athletes’ Village to alleviate fears of a possible respiratory infection before getting […]

CAPE TOWN – A young child has allegedly been killed at a lion sanctuary near Parys, in South Africa, today. Four Paws organisation says “another victim of canned hunting, this time a child”. According to FOUR PAWS, the incident occurred at the Otavi Lion Sanctuary. In a press release Thursday, Four Paws said that Parys Police Department confirmed […]

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – Africa’s biggest Coke bottler, Coca-Cola Beverages Africa, will rethink its spending plans in South Africa if Pretoria’s proposed tax on sugary drinks gets the green light, a spokeswoman said on Thursday. In a bid to fight a growing obesity rate in the continent’s most lucrative market for Coca-Cola and fast-food chains in […]

JOHANNESBURG – Leader of the Democratic Alliance, Mmusi Maimane, made the following remarks during a press conference held in Johannesburg Wednesday afternoon: “The Local Government Elections held on the 03 August 2016 were a watershed moment in South Africa’s democratic era. These elections saw millions of South Africans across the country voting for change. “In years […]

South African athlete Caster Semenya cruised into first place in Heat 2 of the Women’s 800m today in Rio – in a time of 1:59.31, securing her spot in the Olympic semi-finals on Friday (02:15 SA time). South Africans tweeted their joy, saying things like “that was the longest 2 mins of my life  but […]