Registration for the 2014 elections has now opened for South Africans abroad. You can register at your closest South African embassy, High Commission or consulate during their normal working hours until 7 February 2014.

The publishers of TheSouthAfrican.com are looking for a Cape Town based journalist with web writing and subbing skills.

A jubilant crowd gathered on Cape Town’s Grand Parade for an incredible light show projected onto Cape Town’s neo-Renaissance-style City Hall. After a video displaying the ways in which the city hopes to ‘live design, transform life’ during its year-long run as World Design Capital, Nelson Mandlela’s face appeared with the national flag. As the crowd erupted in cheers, the countdown began, followed by a long night of music and fireworks

A major discovery in HIV is good news for South Africa, where about 1 in 10 are HIV-positive. Patients previously believed ‘cured’ of HIV have experienced a viral rebound, marking an important new question: if HIV can remain in the body while undetectable in the blood, where might the ‘deep reservoir’ that harbours the virus be?

South Africa exported R770 million (USD 72 million) more in value than it imported in the second-last month of 2013

Fitch Ratings, one of the world’s largest credit ratings agencies, kept South Africa’s rating steady this week despite ongoing concern about the economy’s failure to grow – and, in particular, to grow in a way that creates jobs

I am a Tier 2 migrant and would like to find out for how long I am allowed to go on business trips abroad. My director would like for me to travel overseas on a business trip for 7 months. Would this be allowed?

In many ways, this was South Africa’s year: the Beloved Country reached the ‘end of the beginning’ of democracy when Madiba passed, and the world celebrated his life and legacy with us. But Mzansi also made headlines when Oscar shot Reeva, and our own national conversation continues to revolve around the urgent national challenges we face and the search for the next generation of leaders.

We ring in the festive season by looking back at some of the news stories that made us smile in 2013.

UK-based SABMiller chairman Graham Mackay, who spent his life creating one of the world’s most admired businesses, passed away on Wednesday at his home in Hampshire.

Thandi the rhino survived an attack at the reserve just outside Port Elizabeth in March last year. Poachers tranquillised three rhino with darts, and hacked off their horns, leaving them to bleed to death. The two other rhinos died from their wounds.

The Security Cluster of Ministers have closed ranks around Number One as the State releases its own Nkandla report ahead of the Public Protector’s more hotly-awaited one. As many expected, the State has defended everything down to the large swimming pool as esssential to the First Family’s protection, although some overpayment for individual items has been admitted to

I contacted various South Africans around the world to get their idea of why they love and respect Madiba so. Shahan Ramkissoon is a television and radio journalist at a broadcasting company that broadcasts in the USA and UK.

I contacted various South Africans around the world to get their idea of why they love and respect Madiba so. AB Moosa is an entrepreneur and ithe Managing Director of the Avalon Group, South Africa’s largest and oldest independent Cinema Exhibition and Entertainment Company.

I contacted various South Africans around the world to get their idea of why they love and respect Madiba so. Jay Naidoo is founding General Secretary of Cosatu, former Minister in Mandela’s government and Chair of GAIN, a global foundation fighting malnutrition in the world.

ANC councillor Jimmy Lembede was murdered in his KwaZulu-Natal home last year, and his wife and two children sustained serious injuries. This was viewed as a politically motivated murder to force a by-election in the municipality.

New markets like West Africa and Asia are providing all the growth in South African arrivals, which hit their highest level ever in 2013

South African woman who used to work for Charles Saatchi gives evidence during the trial of two assistants accused of fraudulently spending £685,000 on company credit cards belonging to the advertising mogul and his ex-wife Nigella Lawson.

In the aftermath of the Mandela state funeral at Qunu from which Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu was very nearly totally excluded, and which the Nobel laureate was only able to attend after an eleventh-hour intervention, many commentators within and outside of South Africa have expressed doubt about the strength of the link between the spirit of the African National Congress under Jacob Zuma and the living legacy of Nelson Mandela

The week of mourning for Nelson Mandela has seen us reflect on how South Africa has changed in the last 20 years. For some this will mean a renewed sense of loyalty to the ANC — for others this focus on Madiba’s values brings home how out of sync some of our leaders are with his vision

Zimbabwean assemblies are currently facing unpaid hotel bills of USD 750 000 as well as various unpaid travel and expenses allowances for MPs.

According to an eNCA report, Tutu slammed the exclusion of the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) from proceedings as precisely contrary to Mandela’s legacy

The 9 metre high bronze statue, believed to be the world’s tallest sculpture of Mandela, was unveiled in Pretoria on Reconciliation Day.

Sometimes clients have outstanding tax issues when they get to point where they should be able to qualify for British citizenship.

Various possible solutions have been tried and proposed, but as of yet nothing seems to be entirely effective – we have now surpassed last year’s record number of rhinos poached in South Africa.

Nelson Mandela’s burial in a private ceremony at the family gravesite in Qunu followed a moving funeral service where over 4 000 mourners gathered earlier to pray and pay tribute to the man described by US President Barack Obama as “the last great liberator of the twentieth century”.

Jacob Zuma’s humiliation at the Mandela Memorial at the FNB Stadium may have been distasteful, but it was an essential act of democracy, argues Kameel Premhid.

Kallum Alexander imagines what would have happened if Tony Blair had invaded Zimbabwe in 2001.

Every year tourists from all over southern Africa and the globe descend upon the mighty Victoria Falls for a once-in-a-lifetime New Year’s celebration.

The fake interpreter who admitted to having hallucinations and visions of angels as his meaningless gestures robbed millions of the opportunity to share in Madiba’s memorial has a history of criminal accusations. An eNCA exclusive has revealed that Thamsanqa Jantjies has been convicted of theft and has been accused of rape, attempted murder and other crimes under circumstances that remain hazy due to missing court records

Runi Khan, London resident and former Honorary Consul for South Africa in Bangladesh, feels profoundly honoured to have had a few close encounters with Nelson Mandela. She shares some of her treasured memories.

South Africa, beset by massive long-term unemployment, has added a mere 1,000 non-farm private-sector jobs in the last quarter

Zimbabwe’s gold sector is slowly recovering after declining sharply in the last decade after output of the precious metal reached an all-time low of 3.0 tonnes in 2008 from a peak of 29 tonnes in 1999.

As a sharp-minded Black Consciousness pioneer who was a close friend of Steve Biko, human rights laywer and academic with extensive diplomatic experience, Reverend Canon Barney Pityana’s words carry some weight. Now, the Reverend asks Zuma to step down

South African government says it is aware of the alleged existence of a picture of Mandela’s body lying in state and has called on the public not to view it or share it.

An entire planet watched yesterday as a man stood next to Barack Obama and Jacob Zuma and signed. It was, in our day and age, absolutely expected that deaf interpreters would be on hand to make an event such as this accessible to the millions of deaf and hard-of-hearing people around the world who have an equal stake in the legacy of Nelson Mandela. The cameras worked, the budget was there, the heads of state were there, the speeches were read (some to lusty boos). But what the deaf ‘heard’ was nothing but dead air: the signer was a fake

The first batch of mourners to pay homage to Madiba, led by President Jacob Zuma, included an emotional Graca Machel, Madiba’s wife, as well as former wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela

Cubans and Americans shook hands for the first time in six decades. Blair and Bush shared a pew with the Arch, who has argued that they should be tried as war criminals for the Iraq war. A large Palestinian delegation mingled with many of the countries who deny their state membership at the UN. But in a day brimming with the possibility for unique diplomatic outcomes, the most memorable occurrence was home-grown – the spectre of a large stadium crowd openly booing President Zuma

APPROXIMATELY 1.4 million workers in Australia have full-time shift jobs that require them to work non-traditional hours, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. These are shift jobs that may require the workers to be on-duty with evening or night hours, rotating shift schedules or irregular schedules. The fact is that this type of work schedule can take a considerable toll on a person’s health, and a large part of the health effects related to this style of shift work relates the worker’s inability to get ample sleep at night. In addition to the health effects, decreased sleep can also increase workplace accidents and pose an additional threat to workers.

The existing executive director Becky Hughes tells us more about the role…

As entire countries – like the USA, by order of the President – joined South Africa in official displays of grief, some cities were able to orchestrate an impressive light memorial in the colours of the South African flag to honour Nelson Mandela’s passing

The particular story of Nelson Mandela – an outlaw, the Black Pimpernel, for decades a prisoner watching his country from an offshore island – should lend itself better to a people’s art form like graffiti than to oil paintings in galleries

A young blind journalist says that Nelson Mandela influenced his will to succeed despite discrimination, as well as the need to live without bitterness.

Zuma was booed when the screens showed him arriving with two of his wives. Barack Obama, Mandela’s wife Graça Machel, ex-wife Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, former presidents Thabo Mbeki FW De Klerk and Cuban President Raúl Castro received loud cheers from the crowd.

The Soweto Gospel Choir enthralled local shoppers at a Woolworths store in Parkview, by paying a surprise tribute to Madiba.

Saracens will play South African rugby team, The Sharks, at Allianz Park on Saturday 25 January, 2014

From placing flowers at the Mandela statue to attending Wednesday’s memorial service in London, here’s how South Africans in Britain can pay their respects to Nelson Mandela.

French President Francois Hollande and British PM David Cameron will be among those attending Tuesday’s memorial. US president Barack Obama will be joined by three former US presidents; Jimmy Carter, George W Bush, Bill Clinton, their spouses and 26 Congressmen.

The UK Home Office has announced in November 2013 that new revised rules affecting members of the HM Armed Forces and their families will come into effect on 1 December 2013. The rules are being amended in order to bring the Armed Forces family rules in line with the UK Family Immigration rules. From 1 […]

Never mind what Nelson Mandela did for his country; for the continent and for the world; what he did for me – a white South African of nothing special to note besides an objecting conscience – was make it possible to feel good again.

South African Chamber of Commerce in London notes with deep sadness the passing of the first democratically elected president of South Africa and the greatest statesman of a generation, Nelson Mandela.

From his first speech to an ecstatic crowd upon release from prison, to meetings with the Queen and Oprah, Nelson Mandela has exerted a mesmerising charm in person and a colossal moral heft in public. Ten of the most compelling video moments of his life after 1990 – and, from 1961, his first-ever TV interview for the BBC

“It is only to easy to exalt the virtue of the fallen and raise them to the status of Gods. But to do so would betray the reality of human existence and diminish the reason for which they are truly remarkable. And it would be to forget what ultimately sets such great men apart. It is not that they were God-like which makes them exceptional, it is that they were ordinary, they were human and the showed us what we could be”

The passing of a global moral titan has had a huge effect across the world, with countries around the world – such as India – declaring an official period of mourning. This is in addition to the deep personal grief felt around the world and especially in South Africa. Some tributes from the global moral and political leaders, from the Castro family to Barack Obama.

Farewell my elder brother, my mentor, my leader. With all the energy and determination at our command, we pledge to join the people of South Africa and the world to perpetuate the ideals and values for which you have devoted your life

This is a time for South Africans to gather. Join your compatriots, and other people moved by the passing of a great soul, at South Africa House today from 9am – with a main vigil starting at 6pm

It has been an immense privilege to have witnessed firsthand such a historic time of great change. Despite the great challenges our country faces, I’m proud of far we’ve come. I’m humbled to have been a tiny part of the Mandela Miracle. I hope his leadership will continue to inspire us.

Despite a deeply flawed presidency, Nelson Mandela’s charisma, inclusiveness and forgiveness make him global South Africans’ favourite international statesman. Pieter de Lange looks at his successes and failures.

Former South African president Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela has died in Johannesburg at the age of 95.

An abridged biography of the great South African leader Nelson Mandela.

South Africans’ penchant for importing more than they sell to the world, as well as bleak news from the United States, has been the cause of a dramatic dip in the value of the Rand. The national currency continued its headlong dive to the region of R10.53 to the US Dollar

TheSouthAfrican.com took time to chat to Ricardo Correia, a South African expat who manages a cluster of Food and Beverage outlets at the LEGOLAND® Windsor Resort. Ricardo joined the Resort in 2006 after finishing his studies. His main aim was to develop a greater understanding of different cultures by working and meeting people from all over the world

Democratic Alliance (DA) Parliamentary Leader Lindiwe Mazibuko told the press yesterday that her party would move to have President Jacob Zuma impeached and removed from office if it could be proven that he deliberately obscured the truth about the Nkandla security upgrades when the construction of his lavish compound was brought up in Parliament

Like the Elves and the Shoemaker. Do something good behind the scenes.

It’s true that Saffas are rather unique, and just like every other nation we are known for certain things, things we say or do, but it’s different when you can admit what makes you a true South African. Here is the second half of sixty things that make us proudly South African.

If South Africa still seems race-obsessed, a new survey suggests that that may be mostly a function of how elites think and argue. Ordinary South Africans, the tenth annual in-depth Reconciliation Barometer reveals, are far more concerned about growing income inequality than anything else.

It’s true that Saffas are rather unique, and just like every other nation we are known for certain things, things we say or do, but it’s different when you can admit what makes you a true South African. Here is the first half of sixty things that make us proudly South African.

Shortly after national carrier South African Airways cut its direct flight to Cape Town, ostensibly due to a lack of demand, British Airways is doing the opposite – for the opposite reason

Businessman, sushi king and highly versatile political personality Kenny Kunene has founded a political party and registered it with the IEC in time for the 2014 elections

As over 100 Zimbabwean prisoners have passed away in the past year from malnutrition, MPC-T legislator and shadow minister, Jessie Majome, is questioning where all the funds for Zimbabwean prisons are actually going.

Prices for rooibos, a tea consumed in a growing number of countries, are expected to rise sharply on the back of weak 2013 harvests and strong worldwide and South African demand. Lock your pantries, expats!

This year’s 2013 Corruption Perception Index (CPI) – a respected global ranking of clean government and clean business – will not make much of a Christmas present for South African public and private sector managers and their employees. But the fact that South Africa still ranks 72nd out of 177 countries polled will be most embarassing to the ruling party on the eve of what is set to be this country’s most contentious election since democracy

While motorists complain of ‘the gantry who stole Christmas’, the rage against the e-tolling machine goes much deeper than cost and inconvenience. Will motorists, churches, labour and opposition parties manage to catalyse themselves into sustained resistance, or are e-tolls really a fait accompli?

40 000 kilometres and 28 countries later, this South African achieved her dream of becoming the first woman to circumnavigate the entire African continent on a motorcycle.

With rhino poaching reaching an all time high, South African National Parks take to the sky with a Gazelle military helicopter to better the chances of catching illegal poachers in South Africa.

Nkandla is symbolic of how the people’s hope and faith and optimism has been variously abused, misused and ultimately destroyed. It is the tipping-point in the abusive relationship, argues Kameel Premhid.

The South African Rand hit new lows against major currencies towards the end of last week with poor data announcements and further talks of the Federal Reserve burring back on tapering

British businessman Mike Hale left South Africa four years ago after £1.5 million went missing from his insurance business. He has now been found after a 13-year-old girl saw a campaign to try and trace him on Facebook and recognised him as her PE teacher.

South Africa’s black middle class population has grown to 4.2-million from 1.7-million in 2004.

To try and sum up South African cuisine in a sentence would be impossible because its flavours are some of the most varied in the world. Here are 10 uniquely South African foods from several regions of the country.

Five trailblazing South Africans in the UK business community were honoured at this year’s South African Business Awards in London.

President Jacob Zuma has signed the Electoral Amendment Act, which means South Africans living abroad can now register to vote, and vote, at their local embassy. Here’s how to do it.

South Africa’s former president says he was put under pressure to cooperate in a military invasion of Zimbabwe by the last Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair, who planned to topple Robert Mugabe by force.

The Department of Basic Education (DBE) is calling on the public inside and outside South Africa to comment on the government’s plans to make the teaching of an African language compulsory from grade 1. The scheme will be piloted in the Foundation phase, at Grade 1 level, from next year, with plans to roll the initiative out nationally from 2015 (and phase it with every additional grade annually thereafter)

World Aids Day is on Sunday 1 December, and SA education charity plans on tackling HIV head on as more people are infected by HIV/AIDs in South Africa than any other country in the world.

Anti-rape activists, education experts and parents are enraged that matric drama pupils were asked a compulsory question to direct a rape scene during their final written exam by using a loaf of bread and a broom.

You are kindly invited to attend ZIMAA UK 2013 to be held this year at Holiday Inn, High Wycombe on 30 November 2013. It will be a great night that celebrates Zimbabwean arts and culture and honours the cream of the crop. A 3 course buffet dinner will be rounded off by an exciting entertainment […]

Ramphele’s party’s election plan for 2014 seems to be cutting it dangerously fine: the party will hold its inaugural national conference in January, where it will also confirm its leadership. Those leaders will then have no more than six months to canvass their constituencies and build a personal and party brand before the elections are held, as many predict, in or around June 2014

Guy Mulvaney sets out to obtain Dr Mamphela Ramphele’s opinions on a wide range of issues

The South African rand has made mild recovery over the last week from its four year high points earlier this month.

Foreign business owners in Zimbabwe have been told they must hand control of their companies over to indigenous Zimbabweans by 1 January 2014 or they will be arrested.

I was thrilled to read this week that the Proteas would be returning to SABC with the national broadcaster and Cricket South Africa concluding a broadcast deal that will see ball-by-ball coverage return to television screens for all Proteas matches during the upcoming season. The whole country will now be able to watch the  one-day internationals […]

In a revealing interview, Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa compared those who flout South Africa’s laws to publish photos of the president’s Nkandla homestead to Josef Goebbels. This followed the majority of the South African media’s decision to splash the forbidden images across their front pages

A South African Londoner, Roger William de Klerk, has been named as the victim of a fatal collision with a bus near East Croydon station. The Forest Hill resident was struck near the corner of Addiscombe Road and Cherry Orchard Road on Tuesday 19 November as the third in a spate of six cyclists’s deaths

South African Airways has revealed the two winners of its photography competition, Capture South Africa.

London School of Business and Finance (LSBF) today announced the names of five entrepreneurs who were shortlisted for the final stages of Mamba Mentors, an initiative that provides guidance, expertise and financial support to budding self-starters — with a particular focus on promoting ideas that build links between the UK and Africa

Flashmobs came late to sunny South Africa, but in a country of malls where high-level dance skills are not exactly a rarity, it was certain that the trend would take off. Below are ten of the best.

Veteran Zimbabwean stone sculptor Locadia Ndandarika has had her fair share of trials in life, including the death of a child and struggling to make ends meet as a single mother following her divorce from a husband who did not support her artistic dream. Her talent has taken her around the world and she hopes to exhibit her remarkable work in London soon.

Linford Andrews has been nominated for Business Leader of the Year in the 2013 South African Chamber of Commerce Business Awards. Read his profile and vote for him here.

Mark Warren has been nominated for Innovator of the Year in the South African Chamber of Commerce Business Awards 2013. Read his profile and vote for him here.