For any expat living in the United Arab Emirates, it is one of the hardest things to watch – wild animals, often from Africa, not living in the wild and free but being kept in small private zoos and gardens and coddled like pets. Well, that might soon be a thing of the past. According to news reports […]

The African National Congress, the Democratic Alliance and the Inkatha Freedom Party all retained their wards in the nine by-elections contested in five provinces on Wednesday, the Independent Electoral Commission said. The IEC said the voter turnout varied between 26.36 percent and 53.56 percent with an average of 38.93 percent. Two wards were uncontested. The ANC kept four seats in […]

President Jacob Zuma’s office on Thursday released an unusual statement reprimanding a South African business journalist for saying that Zuma was a no-show at an important World Economic Forum debate, and chose to have discussions with the Swedish premier instead. “Zuma has bailed on the Africa Panel – no Pravin either. Defeats the purpose of coming to […]

A total of 1,175 rhinos were poached in South Africa in 2015, down from 1,215 a year earlier – a drop of 40 in all – the Minister of Environmental Affairs Edna Molewa said on Thursday. This would be the first time that figures – though still staggeringly high – had fallen since 2007. Numbers escalated drastically especially since 2011, […]

JOHANNESBURG – The U.S. rapper Mos Def will stand trial in South Africa in March after being arrested for presenting a “world passport” when trying to fly out of the country, according to news reports on Wednesday. At the same time the hip hop artist posted a freestyle rap (see below) on singer Kanye West’s website, […]

It’s been a heady week for the block of flats at the top of Long Street in Cape Town, where a #ZumaMustFall banner went up on Friday, had its photograph taken by countless people over the next 24 hours, but was torn down by ANC members on Saturday. Now the building has been draped with a […]

DAVOS, SWITZERLAND – A delegation of at least 55 people headed by President Jacob Zuma is busy making its way from South Africa to Switzerland to take part in the World Economic Forum, which starts on Wednesday and will reportedly be a tough one for Africa. The South African group at Davos will include government members, and business and […]

Glenn Frey – acclaimed guitarist, songwriter and co-founder of The Eagles – has sadly passed away in New York at the age of 67 from complications due to rheumatoid arthritis, colitis and pneumonia. Many South Africans grew up in the ’70s with popular Eagles’ classics (many of which he co-wrote)  – like ‘Hotel California’, ‘Take it Easy’ and ‘Heartache […]

Reactions today in South Africa to Democratic Alliance leader Mmusi Maimane’s speech on race and identity in the country have been mixed. While many welcomed his words and said it was “charged with emotion”, “showed sincerity” and laid bare “some uncomfortable truths”, there were some who said it made them “cringe”. If you weren’t watching the live feed, […]

The Economic Freedom Fighters said on Tuesday it notes that the party’s national chairperson Dali Mpofu is legal counsel for Gareth Cliff in a civil case against M-Net. The EFF said it acknowledges Mpofu’s professional right and obligation to represent whomsoever approaches and briefs him on any issue that relates to law and said “in our view, […]

It will take 160 years before a baby in Africa has as much chance of being born alive as a baby in a high-income country, according to new research published today by esteemed medical journal The Lancet. The publication claims 3,287 lives are lost each day due to preventable stillbirths, and that the slow progress on the […]

If you are upset that South Africa’s Charlize Theron didn’t get nominated by the Academy Awards for her brilliant performance in ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’, that’s nothing compared to the racial furore that’s been caused by people of colour having been overlooked, with two well-known movie industry members saying they won’t attend the 2016 Oscar awards in […]

A senior member of Julius Malema’s Economic Freedom Fighters will represent well-known radio personality Gareth Cliff in his lawsuit against M-Net claiming he was unfairly dismissed from Idols SA for a tweet he posted apparently did not showing empathy. Cliff will be represented by Dali Mpofu, according to news reports. Mpofu left the African National Congress to join the EFF in 2013, […]

President Jacob Zuma has officially said he made a mistake about Africa being the biggest continent in the world. It is, he admits, the second biggest in terms of population after Asia. In a statement released on Monday, the Presidency referred to a speech Zuma made on 9 December at a dinner in Sandton, where he said […]

The former Idols SA judge Gareth Cliff, who was one of several people publicly taken to task in past weeks for remarks they made on social media over the racial debate, has sued the TV channel M-Net for firing him, according to a news report. On Monday it was reported that the radio personality was suing […]

While some of us are having Sunday breakfast, reading the papers and maybe enjoying a Sunday stroll…South African entrepreneur Elon Musk – founder of companies like PayPal, SpaceX and Tesla electric car – will be monitoring the progress of his Falcon 9 rocket, hoping engineers will be able to guide this one to land safely […]

The six-storey banner saying #ZumaMustFall that went up on Friday at the top of Long Street in Cape Town – resulting in pictures of it being shared on social media over a million times in the first hour (according to the campaign’s facebook page) – has been torn down by African National Congress (ANC) supporters after the […]

Baleka Mbete, the speaker of Parliament, is to receive an award named after Martin Luther King – leader of the African-American civil rights movement – in the U.S. capital, Washington D.C., on Sunday. The Martin Luther King Legacy Award for International Service is bestowed annually by a Washington-based health organisation – the Institute for the Advancement of Multicultural & […]

The Joburg Open golf tournament began yesterday at the Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Course in Linksfield North. This is the 10th time the city is hosting the contest, which ends on Sunday 17 January. “It has proven its value as a highly successful event to market Johannesburg to a huge international audience,” said Bongi Mokaba, the […]

Celine Dion’s husband and former manager René Angelil, who sadly passed away today, was a man whose generosity not only helped launch his wife’s incredible musical career…but helped so many children in South Africa too. René (73) died at the Canadian couple’s home in Las Vegas – where Celine has been performing against since last year after taking a long […]

JOHANNESBURG –  U.S. rapper Mos Def has been arrested at Cape Town International Airport, and his family have been given two weeks to leave the country, according to news reports. The Department of Home Affairs said on Friday that Mos Def, 42, was accused of contravening immigration laws. He has been living in the country […]

CAPE TOWN – Motorists driving up Long Street in the Cape Town city centre today have been distracted – and amused or annoyed – by a massive banner that has been draped down the side of a corner building declaring “Zuma Must Fall”. No one has taken responsibility for the huge, six-storey, black-and-white banner, but it […]

MIDRAND – At the kick-off for the highly anticipated 2016 municipal elections – which could see several major metropolitan areas change leadership – the Independent Electoral Commission of SA said on Thursday the first voter registration weekend will take place on March 5-6. The election date still has to be confirmed by the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional […]

South African National Parks (SANParks) today announced the tragic passing away of a field ranger in the world famous Kruger National Park. Whilst on active anti-poaching patrol, the field ranger was accidentally shot by a colleague after they were charged by a lone buffalo bull at a very short distance in the Malelane section. In […]

More than two-thirds of adult South Africans are confident that all population groups in the country should enjoy a happy future, according to a new survey released this week. The data was collected by the research company Ipsos among 3,617 randomly chosen adult South Africans who were interviewed face-to-face in their homes and home languages from mid-September […]