Tributes have been pouring in for Hog Hoggidy Hog frontman, George Bacon, whose death on Saturday morning came as a shock to his family and the entertainment community. The band had only just kicked off their national #HogsAreBack tour the evening before, at The Assembly. According to an official statement which was released today, the 40-year-old passed […]

If South African President Jacob Zuma thought that the Police Minister’s Report last week would put an end to demands for him to ‘Pay Back the Money’, he couldn’t have been more mistaken. An avalanche of jokes have hit the print and social media; the Democratic Alliance has vowed to pursue the issue, the Public Protector […]

Comedy Central has announced the debut date for South African comedian Trevor Noah to take over The Daily Show in the USA. The 31-year-old will debut as host of the Emmy® and Peabody® Award-winning show on 28 September. Its current popular host, Jon Stewart, will have his final broadcast on 6 August. The two men collaborated on a brilliant, and short, […]

The surprise in South Africa is not that President Jacob Zuma will not have to “pay back the money” for the R246-million upgrades to his Nkandla homestead…but the lengths Police Minister Nkosinathi Nhleko took to justify his decision at not finding the President liable for costs. Minister Nhleko delivered his Nkandla Report on Thursday, just a day after the […]

Trevor Noah has denied reports in the South African media that his cousin was brutally murdered. In two messages on Twitter yesterday, and another one on Facebook an hour ago, Trevor said: “Thanks to some crafty journalism my family and I spent the whole day yesterday trying to figure out if one of us had […]

German racing driver Nico Rosberg may have been the surprise winner in today’s Monaco Grand Prix, but all eyes were also on the Principality’s Princess Charlene who looked racy, fabulous and totally stylish throughout the weekend’s events. Rosberg’s Mercedes team-mate, British racer Lewis Hamilton, was devastated when a decision (which he has confirmed both he and Mercedes made) […]

A pilot in South Africa managed to execute a textbook emergency landing on Thursday at Lanseria International Airport. And it was all caught on film by aviation photographer Adrian Munro. When the nose wheel of the Partenavia AP68TP ZS-OYN failed to release, the pilot performed a near-perfect landing, balancing the plane on only two wheels for a short […]

South African expat, Major General Bernadus Groenewald, is making headlines in Fiji, Australia and New Zealand with his bravery. Groenewald, who happens to be the Commissioner of Police in Fiji, confronted five thugs at a Suva restaurant, armed only with a chair! In a story headlined “Heroes of the Night”, the Fiji Times said the […]

It has been announced today that missing South African Shaun Michael Beukes has tragically passed away. He was only 34. (This article has been updated at 18:50 SA time.) In a message just over an hour ago on a Facebook community page, Pay It Forward, Gregory Wills-Clifton said: “It is with profound sadness and a broken […]

It must be said: I’ve been blessed. For a blonde whose claim to fame used to be jumping out of helicopters (for a TV show called Treasure Hunt) I got to meet and appreciate so many great men and women in this well-talented country of ours. Yes, the opportunity to hunt down treasures of the […]

Against all odds, the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI-Kirstenbosch) was yesterday awarded a Silver Gilt at the Chelsea Flower Show for what is its 40th exhibit at the famous Royal Horticultural Society show!  Congratulations to designers David Davidson and Ray Hudson and the team of SANBI staff and volunteers who worked tirelessly to achieve […]

There is hope for the rhino. South Africa’s youth are making their voices heard, and in the latest #RhinoShoutOutChallenge two fierce school rivals have come together to shout out in one voice: Save Our Rhino. Hopefully other schools will follow the example set by Kearsney College and Maritzburg College in KwaZulu-Natal. The boys came together […]

Democratic Alliance Federal Leader, Helen Zille, delivered her final speech as DA Federal Leader this morning. Below is the full transcript of her address to the DA’s Federal Congress delegates at the Boardwalk Convention Centre in Nelson Mandela Bay, Port Elizabeth (PE). Writer Suzanne Brenner ‏summed up the speech with the following tweet: “And so endeth the reign of […]

After the announcements, postponements and outrage from some…the date is almost upon us when it will be mandatory for all minors to travel with an Unabridged Birth Certificate.  From 1 June 2015, the Department of Home Affairs in South Africa will require all passengers under 18 to travel with an Unabridged Birth Certificate. Travelstart.co.za have kindly provided […]

Here’s a BIG shout out from the students of Pietermaritzburg College in KwaZulu-Natal to save our rhino. It’s better than Chinese Whispers. It’s the Rhino Shout Out Challenge… South Africa’s rhino faces extinction if poaching is to continue at its current alarming rate. Yesterday it was announced that 550 rhino have already been poached in South Africa […]

Yet another poacher was arrested last night in South Africa’s Kruger National Park (KNP) during an operation that was described as sounding like a “war”. Conservation group Rhino Saving the Survivors reported this morning that there was a lot of activity on Tuesday night in the Kruger Crocodile Bridge Gate area with reports of gunshots heard by residents […]

In celebration of the 22nd New York African Film Festival (NYAFF) an exciting line-up of over 25 films from more than 15 countries from Africa will be screened 6-12 May 2015. It is thrilling to see how the vision for Africa – from Burkina Faso to Botswana, from Ghana to South Africa – is being […]

The South African Police Service (SAPS) has released a statement two hours ago announcing two suspects have been arrested in connection with the high-profile murder of Port Elizabeth teacher Jayde Panayiotou. The country – and South Africans around the world – were moved to march and say #EnoughIsEnough after it appeared that the 28-year-old had been […]

South African Airways (SAA) has today issued a public statement regarding the embargo on the transportation of hunting trophies. The embargo is limited to rhino, elephant, lion and tiger. SAA confirmed that on 21 April 2015 SAA Cargo issued a Policy and Procedures Advisory to its internal stakeholders advising of the embargo, which came as a […]

Check out these two videos from Mount Everest, uploaded  today from South African team base camp manager Rob Bentley. One of the videos captures the avalanche as it started. “Just before it hit,” he wrote. “Never knew I had my camera rolling!” The other, uploaded by SA Team Leader Sean Wisedale shows Rob, moments after the […]

The idea was David Nyawo’s. Walk from Mbombela to Pretoria to protest killing in South Africa. First it was the killings of white farmers and policemen, but then it grew from there to xenophobic killings, and the slaughter of rhino and other wildlife. Nyawo, a teacher near White River, said at the start of his […]

The South African team who were on Mount Everest when a large avalanche hit on Saturday are reported to be heading home. The team was halfway through their trip when the avalanche was triggered by Nepal’s devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake which has left over 3,600 dead. Footage of the avalanche cascading down the mountain was captured and uploaded […]

As South Africans in SA have marched in cities around the country to protest against xenophobia and the violence in general that troubles their beloved land, those abroad are following suit to lend their support. Yesterday South Africans marched in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and today they gathered in London, and more is planned. For South Africans abroad the […]

South African expat – and accomplished musician – Kieran Ballard-Tremeer has become the first woman to swim around Palm Jumeirah in Dubai, the iconic artificial island which can be viewed from space. Kieran (38) completed the 14.5 km swim around the palm-shaped island last Saturday morning in four hours and 25 minutes. The 38-year-old undertook the swim in aid […]

It’s been open season on Open Letters in South Africa recently…mainly addressed to the President. Today, the President has responded to one such letter, that written by Mozambican writer and poet Mia Couto. In the letter the President declares that “South Africans are definitely not xenophobic. The actions of a small minority should not be […]