Oh no! Nigeria has overtaken South Africa as Africa’s largest economy. The long-awaited release of yesterday’s recalculated report on Nigeria’s gross domestic product (GDP) data shows that their economy is around double that of previous estimates. In fact the West African country overtook South Africa a while ago, but it has taken a while to […]

PJ Powers is one of the biggest singing sensations in South Africa. I met Penelope twenty-four years ago, just after my accident. Let me tell you about it… On 9th December 1989 my life changed irrevocably! I was understudy for the role of Guinevere in Camelot, being performed at the State Theatre in Pretoria. On the 9th […]

As some of South Africa’s and the world’s greatest athletes battle it out in today’s Ironman South Africa in Port Elizabeth, there is one group who are competing to support an injured friend and in memory of another cyclist friend. Over 50 friends and athletes have entered the competition to show support for their friend […]

This Monday, April 7, when Oscar Pistorius’ murder trial resumes in the North Gauteng High Court, it’s unlikely he will be the first on the stand as anticipated. It’s the second anti-climax for trial-watchers following its postponement on March 28, when Judge Thokozile Masipa told the legal teams, the defendant and a packed public gallery, […]

South Africa is my home. I know this thanks not to the small mining hospital on the outskirts of Kimberly which I call my birth place, nor thanks to the votes I have cast in any of my country’s previous elections. I know this because I have not seen the back of a single day […]

As Howard G. Buffett, son of billionaire investor Warren Buffett, donates a generous R255-million to combat poaching and the conflict it finances in Africa…Nepal has just celebrated its second year of ZERO poaching. No tigers, rhinos or elephants were killed. And before you rush to point out that their country is a lot smaller and […]

In the municipal ward by-elections yesterday, the Democratic Alliance and the ANC both fared well. The by-elections took place in the Eastern Cape, Free State, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and North West on Wednesday, 2 April 2014. A total of nine wards were contested and voting took place in 35 voting districts. Of these, so far four […]

This isn’t specifically South African…but many South Africans have asked us to feature articles about saving the whales…so we thought you may be interested in this fantastic news, announced today. The Australian Marine Conservation Society reported – via Facebook – that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ruled that Japan’s “scientific whaling” programme breaks […]

Jacob Zuma’s middle name is “Gedleyihlekisa” which means: “He who smiles while crushing you.” Indeed, South Africa’s president certainly seems to be smiling while crushing the life out of his country. I remember at the age of ten riding up to the grocery store to buy my Mother some milk. On my way I passed […]

Johnny Clegg’s current tour of the USA is proving a big hit with nostalgic South African expats scattered across the country (as well as with non-SA fans). A South African fan in Austin, Esme wrote on Clegg’s Facebook page: “Thanks/Dankie for a GREAT show last night in Austin. Both sessions had 50% South Africans there, me […]

South African open water swimmer Roger Finch has reported in, a third of the way into his gruelling 35 km False Bay crossing, with good news for the seals. A message from Roger was posted to Facebook saying: “Just to let the environmentalists know, there are A LOT of seals out here. They don’t just […]

Cape Town has been selected as the Global Earth Hour Capital in recognition of the city’s efforts to address climate change. This title is awarded as part of the global Earth Hour City Challenge (EHCC) which is a joint effort between WWF and ICLEI (Local Governments for Sustainability), and aims to highlight and reward cities […]

There’s a new hit rocking South Africa – Nkandla Style…sung to the tune of “Gangnam Style”. The song is sung as if by South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma, starting with “Since the day I can remember, I always wanted more…I wanted more money, like the Afrikaner Boer.” The lyrics reference the Nkandla Report by the […]

Here’s a very cool view of the Durban Sky Grand Prix last weekend…via a timelapse video. Durban hosted the first ever adrenaline-pumping Sky Grand Prix on the beachfront last Friday and Saturday.  The Land Sea Air Event was a huge success with thousands of Durbanites coming through to experience the  action. This is a quick […]

Cape Town comedy duo Derick Watts & The Sunday Blues have a ‘kiff’ new video called Payday, being billed as “their most ridiculous song yet”….and with lyrics like “when I get my paycheck, it’s like my life’s begun, When you have no paycheck it’s like you’re having no fun” – everyone can relate! Here the guys […]

If you’re missing Cape Town – here’s another awesome version of Pharrell Williams’ latest hit ‘HAPPY’ from the Mother City…featuring all your favourite scenic spots and happy Capetonians! The “Cape Town (Happy)” video was shot two weeks ago, and uploaded a couple of days ago to YouTube where it has already received over 65,000 views! […]

Much to the surprise of Oscar trial observers, the prosecution called it a day today and court was adjourned until Friday March 28, when the defence will make its case. For us armchair members of the jury, Advocate Gerrie Nel’s case seems incomplete but what we should not forget is cross-examination of witnesses for the defence is […]

It’s not often you can say there’s an elephant in the room…and there really is! In one of the sweetest stories on Facebook today, Thula Thula MD Françoise Malby-Anthony, related how she and her safari lodge staff rescued a baby elephant that wandered away from its herd and into her garden last night. Thula Thula […]

As the prosecution winds down its case, we can expect some bombshell revelations, and today – Monday March 24, 2014 – was just the beginning. Hawks’ cellphone expert Captain Francois Moller read out transcripts of WhatsApp messages between Oscar and Reeva, which have been downloaded from Reeva’s cellphone. Below is a sample. Oscar has denied witness testimony […]

It was an awesome day out in Nelson Mandela Bay in Port Elizabeth yesterday for both the competitors who took part in the City Lodge Hotel Group “3 Beaches Challenge”…and for the dolphins who joined them! Photographer Dirk Erasmus was out in a rubber dingy to capture the day’s activities in this fairly new event […]

Durban hosted one of South Africa’s hottest aviation events on Friday and Saturday – the Durban Sky Grand Prix of aerobatics, and as can be seen by the photos, their promise to “take you to the sky and back” was delivered. The Land Sea Air event was held at North Beach and featured a special […]

We-love-Thuli-Madonsela fever is spreading through South Africa. For those who don’t yet know her, Advocate Thulisile Madonsela is the Public Protector (Ombudsman) who recently completed the investigation and report on the over R200-million upgrade to President Jacob Zuma’s residential complex in Nkandla. Facebook fan pages have risen rapidly to support and commend Ms Madonsela for […]

A fabulously evocative and vibrant South African painting sold for over a million pounds in London this week! ‘Zanzibar Woman’ by Irma Stern (1894-1966) was auctioned at the prestigious Bonhams sale of South African art for a total of £1,082,500 (R19,289,760). Irma painted this portrait, an oil on canvas, during her 1939 trip to the […]

The United Nation’s International Day of Happiness has had an extra happy vibe to it this year with Pharrell Williams’ latest hit song “HAPPY” playing all the way from Tokyo to Toronto, Cairo to Cape Town. It seems every country around the world has uploaded their own version – Bosnia, Tunisia, Australia, Madagascar, Japan…in fact […]

Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom will be screened at the United Nations in Geneva today, 20 March 2014, ahead of the commemoration of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination tomorrow. The screening of the film, based on the late South African President’s autobiography, will be followed, by a panel discussion during the […]