“Why on earth would you do that?” It was the question that surprised me from many Australians who thought I was mad to move to South Africa… writes Ed Charles. After all, isn’t Australia full of South Africans trying to escape that terrible country (and crime-ridden Johannesburg in particular)? Well, not quite. But let’s rewind […]

Clare Wiese-Wentzel shares an interview with her father – South African retail tycoon Christo Wiese – on what defines happiness, what doesn’t matter and what keeps him grounded… A few years ago (OK, if I were to give away my age and be brutally honest, I would confess it was about 14 years ago), I found myself working […]

(I wonder, can anyone anywhere be considered an outsider given the implications of the election results for the world at large?) The ongoing protests and occasional riot against Donald Trump’s election are growing tiresome. Imagine for a moment the reaction had Clinton won and Trump’s supporters staged protests or, God forbid, riots. This election confirms the […]

It’s very fitting that as South Africans and the world celebrate the 85th birthday of one of the most inspiring and happiest men in the world, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, it is also World Smile Day. Well wishes have poured in for South Africa’s beloved ‘Arch’ all morning, with an endless stream of photos of […]

There is a debate in South Africa about who Nelson Mandela belongs to, as though he is the property of someone, a political party or a faction of the African National Congress. Added to that, there is a new generation of young people – the “born frees” who never lived under apartheid – who now […]

Back in 2000, Los Angeles native Samantha O’Keefe took a major chance on a winemaking career and an untested wine region when she purchased a farm in South Africa’s Overberg. Today, her Lismore Estate Vineyards wines consistently achieve 90+ ratings from Robert Parker and other industry heavyweights, and she’s considered a pioneer of a region […]

UPDATE 16 March 2017: The City of Cape Town has experienced one of its worst disasters in history with the Hout Bay Fire. It has been beautiful to witness communities come together, but heart wrenching to see some of the negative engagements arise on Social Media… writes photographer JUSTIN SULLIVAN, who has been in the […]

Thousands of people are expected to line the streets of Muhammad Ali’s hometown Louisville, Kentucky, for his memorial today as a procession takes his body past sites that were significant in his life. Outside of America, there was perhaps no other continent as significant in his life as Africa. The American boxing legend had a deep connection with […]

South African actress Charlize Theron has revealed to British GQ magazine that she is constantly trying to win back the love of her country, South Africa. Like a few other expats she finds herself treated like a traitor for having left, and for adopting a foreign accent. In the May issue of the magazine, Charlize says: “I […]

While “Batman v Superman” plays out on movie screens, South Africa has some real superheroes who have swooped in during the presidency of Jacob Zuma to save the day. You might love them or disagree with them, but they deserve recognition and admiration. Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng The chief justice, who brought an end to the […]

Last month a new musical came to London’s West End – the much anticipated Broadway hit, Motown the Musical. And, in a starring role – as Marvin Gaye – is South Africa’s very own Sifiso Mazibuko. When the box office opened for the London debut of Motown the Musical last May, Shaftesbury Theatre in Covent Garden […]

Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver’s successful restaurant chain, Jamie’s Italian, is heading to Melrose Arch, Johannesburg, and will open sometime in 2016. The famous chef’s first restaurant opened in the British university town of Oxford in 2008 and now there are 40 branches around the world, from India to Brazil and from Russia to Scandinavia. Watch […]

When Luyanda Sikhakhane hired her gardener, Bongani Mtolo, she could never have dreamt that the young man who did all sorts of odd jobs, was in fact a qualified accountant. “I hired Bongani to help me with our garden. I had called him in for lunch and was trying to help my little brother with […]

The science fiction dream of living on another planet could become reality for South African researcher Adriana Marais. She is one of the 100 candidates who are one step closer to living on Mars, an initiative of the Mars One Project, should they make it to the next round in the selection process. “When I […]

For the second time this year, I spent a week in Western Australia doing some consulting work for an Australian retail client. TIME AWAY FROM SOUTH AFRICA IS WONDERFUL. Apart from the obvious joys of international travel, time away allows you to get an alternative perspective of your home country that’s all to often clouded […]

While many of us whinge about them, or swerve to avoid them, a South African man – Lymen Mlambo – has taken it upon himself to start fixing potholes in roads near Hartbeesport Dam without even being asked. And his efforts have been warmly and gladly received, with several people on Facebook offering their help and assistance. Local resident Vanessa […]

Popular radio and TV personality Darren Scott has been given a good prognosis today, following his operation last week to remove melanoma cancer from his lungs. In an update on Facebook this evening Darren revealed that doctors gave him the good news today that they’ve “got whatever melanoma and potentially infected nodes in the excised lobe of […]

In an address to a group of schoolchildren this morning Reeva Steenkamp’s mother said she harbours no feelings of revenge towards the man who killed her daughter on Valentine’s Day 2013. Speaking at Reeva’s old high school – St Dominics in Port Elizabeth – June Steenkamp made her first public comments since Oscar Pistorius was released […]

Oscar Pistorius was released into correctional supervision last night, a day ahead of the schedule announced by the South African Department of Correctional Services last week. This morning Pistorius family spokesperson, Anneliese Burgess, stressed to gathered media in Pretoria that Oscar’s sentence “has not been shortened” and that he will adhere to strict conditions. Reading from a family […]

Popular South African radio and TV presenter Darren Scott is out of surgery and will now begin his road to recovery. His wife, Sarah-Kate, reported on Facebook this evening that her husband is in recovery after a successful five-hour operation today. Darren announced on Facebook yesterday that his melanoma cancer had returned for the fourth time (joking that it […]

Warm wishes have poured in for radio broadcaster Darren Scott’s quick and full recovery after he undergoes an operation this morning to remove melanoma cancer from his lungs. The popular South African personality confirmed on facebook yesterday that the cancer had returned, joking that “the fact that this is the 4th time melanoma has come-a-visiting MUST now […]

On Sunday, September 13, Pope Francis will beatify the first South African ever – a schoolteacher who was beaten to death in 1990 by villagers after he refused to pay a sorcerer who promised to end storms battering the region. Benedict ‘Tshimangadzo’ Daswa was stoned by his attackers and ran to a bar to find safety…but he […]

Updated 18 December 2016: Search engine giant Google has honoured anti-apartheid hero Bantu Stephen Biko with a Google Doodle today, on what would have been his 70th birthday. (Update 12 September 2017: Remembering Steve Biko on the 40th Anniversary of his death.) The activist was born on 18 December 1946 and died 39 years ago, on 12 […]

Latest South African comedy ‘Stone Cold Jane Austen’, which opens in SA movie theaters tomorrow, was presented at the Cannes Film Festival in the South of France this week. It’s a brilliant mockumentary about an English rock band from South Africa trying to break into the increasing profitable Afrikaans music market…without being able to speak the […]

South Africans are everywhere…even in the deepest forests of the Amazon! We caught up with Michael Langford, a Capetonian who is currently living in Cusco, Peru where he promotes responsible travel to the nearby Peruvian Amazon. Here he shares some of his stunning photos from a recent rainforest trip (a 30-minute flight from where he […]