If you haven’t heard the name Michael Andrew, stay tuned. He could be the next Michael in swimming after Michael Phelps, except this Michael has roots in South Africa. In fact, the 15-year-old swimming sensation has been on a three-month trip to South Africa visiting family, but also taking part in several competitions, such as […]

The thing with solar-powered cars is that you can only drive them during the day. It’s a problem solved by Nigerian student Segun Oyeyiola, who added a wind turbine to his Beetle. Now he can drive all night, too. It cost the Nigerian man more than R70 000 to fight his personal battle against global warming […]

Congratulations to writer and editor Ivan Vladislavić who has won the prestigious Yale University Windham-Campbell Prize for fiction.  Vladislavić says he has been “in a bit of a daze” since hearing the news, and that he will use the $150 000 (almost R1.8-million) cash prize “to pursue my own work in a way that’s never been possible […]

The KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government has allocated R12.060 billion to spend on various infrastructure projects in the province during 2015/16 financial year.   “The province is budgeting to spend R12.060 billion in 2015/16, R11.804 billion in 2016/17 and R12.196 billion in 2017/18 on various infrastructure projects. This equates to R36.060 billion over the 2015/16 MTEF,” said […]

Good news for those living in the States, or visiting South African family and friends in the US – South African Airways (SAA) has announced that it will no longer stop in Senegal on its route from Johannesburg to New York, cutting the route by 90 minutes and making it the fastest way to get […]

We just love these photos of South Africa that Derrick Watterson has taken during his trips back home to Durban. Like so many others who’ve left South Africa’s shores, there’s no greater appreciation of the uniqueness of SA than when you no longer live here. Derrick, who moved to the UK 14 years ago, takes regular trips back to South […]

Last month the Department of Home Affairs announced plans about the rollout of its new Smartcard IDs and passports. It also said that in order to alleviate queues at its offices – which many have been complaining about – it had come to an agreement with several banks to have kiosks at their branches (and also […]

Check out this incredible GoPro footage of South African BASE jumpers Jean Jacques Wallis and Max (Andy) Hunt…racing to the top of an abandoned building in Pretoria to see who can jump off it first. Phew! The guys base jump regularly from the building. “We have an agreement with the building owners to go play there […]

There’s a certain delight South Africans abroad take in sharing their SA treats with foreigners. Their faces. Their reactions! If you’ve never seen it – this is priceless. Check out four Americans trying out South African food for the very first time… By the end of the video, which was compiled by BuzzFeed, their responses […]

Along with biltong, Mrs Balls and Ouma rusks, Lunch Bar is another one of those uniquely South African treats. Developed by Cadbury specifically for the South African market back in the 1960s, Lunch Bar was created as a “fill me up sweet snack that offers MUCH MUCH MORE.”  And so have their ads. Everyone has a […]

The release in the United States today of ‘Chappie,’ the latest movie from Neill Blomkamp of ‘District 9’ fame, has been accompanied by a flurry of videos, most of which feature a duo who could upstage the movie’s titular robot. Namely, Ninja and Yolandi Visser of Die Antwoord. Probably the most publicised of the new […]

First the dress went viral – was it blue and black or white and gold? – and now the hardhitting ad by a South African agency to fight women abuse is doing the same. In an ad created for the South African chapter of the Salvation Army #StopAbuseAgainstWomen, the tag line above a picture of […]

As the ‘Lion Opens Car Door’ video spreads rapidly around the world – attracting a massive 1.4-million views in less than 48 hours – animal behaviourist Kevin Richardson has confirmed that he’s seen this type of incident happen himself. Richardson, aka South Africa’s legendary Lion Whisperer, says “Seen that happen at the park I used to work […]

For anyone who’s looking to move back to South Africa or ‘semigrate’ to Cape Town from other parts of the country, The Foschini Group is looking for I.T. Talent to join their dynamic team in Cape Town, and will be in London later this month to discuss career opportunities. Here is a message from TFG: TFG […]

Fresh off ‘Fifty Shades of Grey,’ Irish actor Jamie Dornan will soon be heading to South Africa to shoot a biopic set in the Congo. The 1960s-era movie, ‘Jadotville,’ will be filmed in Ireland and South Africa starting in April, according to Netflix, which has bought the worldwide rights for $17-million. The movie is based […]

A video from the Ad Council in the USA is spreading a lot of love on the internet. The Public Service Announcement (PSA), which was uploaded just yesterday, has already received over 1.5-million views on YouTube! The video, ‘Diversity & Inclusion – Love Has No Labels’, attempts to show that love has no boundaries, no […]

Swimmers competing in the Wildside to Pollock Swim in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, this last weekend were joined by a playful pod of dolphins – not to mention a two-metre shark! – in a long-distance challenge that is destined to become a bucket-list swim in years to come. The intrepid bunch of swimmers, from the Eastern Cape, […]

Loadshedding, Hippo Crossing warning signs, beautiful homes with high fences (to keep people in or out?), Chop & Dop, Bakuzzis (!) and packed mini-taxis… These are just a handful of things that make South Africa unique. In a brilliant advert that uses the astonishment of foreigners to showcase the best (and worst) of South Africa […]

From teacher to broadcaster and now back to working with youth, news anchor Pat Pillai has come a long way. In his new home at LifeCo UnLtd SA, he plans to help young South Africans live lives more in the spirit of Nelson Mandela. Pat Pillai, the veteran anchorman of eNews, has left the programme […]

As hoped by so many people who have been following the story of Thandi – the brave rhino who survived a cruel poaching incident exactly three years ago today – her little rhino calf, whom she miraculously gave birth to recently, has been named Thembi. The name is meaningful for two reasons. Firstly, Thembi means Hope in isiXhosa. And […]

Kirstenbosch’s suspended walkway, the Boomslang, was today declared Most Beautiful Object in South Africa (MBOISA) at Design Indaba Expo 2015. This award comes hot on the heels of the announcement that Cape Town’s Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden attracted more than one million visitors last year, securing it as one of the most important tourist attractions in South […]

The Tulip Hotel in Cape Town was demolished today (1 March 2015)…and has given rise to a spate of videos on YouTube showing the demolition from all angles, at all speeds and with a range of soundtracks. Here are some of the best… Residents in the area are reportedly relieved that the hotel, which was […]

South Africa’s ultimate design festival – Design Indaba – aimed at inspiring people to create a better future through design and creativity ends today. Louise Ferreira, an advocate of the High Court and member of the Cape Bar (as well as the mother of an 18-month-old), delivers her verdict on Design Indaba 2015… The Verdict on Design Indaba 2015 […]

I was fresh out of school with boots too big to handle and an attitude to match when I embarked on the fascinating journey of life in another country. Let me just say that I wanted in no way to find myself at 18 years of age living in the middle of the countryside! I […]

Proteas captain AB de Villiers has set Twitter aflutter after his awesome performance on the field today in Sydney, achieving the fastest 150 runs in One Day International (ODI) history and helping South Africa break records and reach the highest ODI score ever made on Australian soil! The 31-year-old now holds the record for making the fastest 50, […]