12 hours in Jhb Part 2
In the second part of this series we find out if the Bike Life team of Antonio and Devlin can finish off their ambitious quest. 5 bike parks around Jhb in 12 hours.
Acer for Education - Science and Technology Train in South Africa
Acer and Tshwane Computer Solutions have partnered with various leading universities, The Africa Earth Observation Network or AEON, and the National Research Foundation to establish the first ever Science and Technology Train in South Africa.
Dogs and horses show off at the Dressage South Africa Challenge
This year's Dressage South Africa Challenge included something different at Eaton Farm Stables.
Alexandria dune considered to be the best example in SA of bare coastal dune field
The Alexandria dune field which forms part of the Addo National Park, is considered to be the best example in South Africa of bare coastal dune field, often referred to as a dune sea. Let's take a look at this story and find out more.
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SOUTH AFRICA: WINNIE MANDELA BACK ON CAMPAIGN TRAIL
English/Nat
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela has survived a conviction for kidnapping, divorce from one of the world's most famous leaders, continued scrutiny over the abduction and murder of a young activist and the disappearance of others.
But the immensely popular President of the African National Congress' Women's League is back on the campaign trail.
The Mother of the Nation is back.
Placed very high on the A-N-C's list for Members of Parliament, Madikizela-Mandela
may also be in line for a position in the cabinet.
Madikizela-Mandela is a huge draw-card for votes for the A-N-C and remains popular among the burgeoning under-class in South Africa, the (m) millions of poor without formal shelter or employment.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
We admit the fact that we have not been able to do the best, we haven't been able to live up to the promises we made and we acknowledge that fact. And we do understand their impatience at times.
SUPER CAPTION: Winnie Madikizela-Mandela/President of the ANC's Women's League
It is she who often without any media attention sets out in the middle of the night with blankets, medicine or kind words for the poorest of the poor who have once more become victims of fires or floods or aggression.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
Really she is a remarkable survivor. If one things of what happened I think it was in December 97 when she was for a whole week before the TRC, she was hammered and hammered. And for the greater part of last year she was quite silent. She was not many times in the news. Now she's ninth or tenth on the ANC's election list.
SUPER CAPTION: Professor Sampie Terreblanche/Political Analyst
Neither Madikizela-Mandela nor the South African government can escape her conviction for the kidnapping of 14-year-old activist, Stompie Sepei.
But the ruling African National Congress would certainly like to.
Thabo Mbeki who is expected to succeed Nelson Mandela as President recently said that her crime was committed for political reasons.
Like thousands of other South Africans from both sides of the political divide, Winnie did not ask the country's Truth Commission to give her amnesty and she was forced to undergo days of cross examination over Stompie.
She still faces investigation over the teenager and other activists who went missing.
All this could floor the strongest of individuals.
But Winnie Madikizela-Mandela has always picked herself up and dusted herself
off.
She will bring in the votes for the A-N-C.
Only the future will tell how she will use this new chance.
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South Africa - Makalali Day 2, Drive 2
Makalali Private Game Reserve, South Africa
The South African Weather Service says severe thunderstorms are expected to hit Gauteng
Gauteng is bracing for more storms as the South African Weather Service issues additional warnings for the weekend. Yesterday's deluge left a trail of destruction with scores destitute. Some of the worst affected areas were in the north of Pretoria, including the greater part of Soshanguve, Mamelodi east and Hammanskraal.
Contingency measures have been put in place to limit further damage to homes and infrastructure.
Lightning - Mabula Game Reserve
Lightning strikes during the first rains in Mabula Game Reserve in October 2016.
South Africa Police Inspection
WATCH: ANC paints Joburg yellow demanding service delivery
Hundreds of ANC members from greater Johannesburg – in collaboration with alliance partners Sanco, the SACP and Cosatu – are marching to the offices of Mayor Herman Mashaba, Premier David Makhura and Eskom to hand over memorandums demanding service delivery.
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Victim shoots at hijackers in Bryanston
A man is seen shooting at two hijackers after they attempt to hijack his Range Rover in Bryanston.
A Walk in the Park: travels in & around South Africa's national parks
From the Kalahari to Mapungubwe, from Cape Town to the Kruger Park, and from the Garden Route to the Karoo, the e-book A Walk in the Park follows author Roxanne Reid's 10-week journey through 12 national parks in South Africa. This is no dry catalogue of the topography and ecology of the parks, no boring list of their facilities. Instead, it's a dynamic string of experiences, activities and people, peppered with interesting facts, cultural heritage and food, and liberally spiced with gentle humour.
The book has two aims. The first is to inform and entertain the average armchair traveller who wants to live vicariously. That’s why you’ll find answers to questions, such as why your partner is potentially more dangerous than a black mamba, vultures need a spin doctor, and a barnacle has a penis that’s 20 times longer than its body.
The second aim is to provide practical ideas if you want to take a road trip around South Africa and do things for yourself. There are nearly 300 ideas to choose from – where to catch up on some cultural history, enjoy good food or a relaxing sundowner, and of course some more extreme adventures like paragliding or skydiving. And lots of stuff in between – a horse trail, a wilderness hike among lions, elephants and creepy crawlies, a Tarzan-and-Jane swing among the treetops, a 4x4 trail, even a walk in the Kalahari desert with a San tracker.
In the Foreword, author and TV presenter Denis Beckett said: This is a delicious book. It evokes things we love about [South Africa]. It conjures up places that soothe the soul. Its huge fault is that ... well, people are going to read it. And then where will all our best-kept secrets be?
The second edition of A Walk in the Park, updated in 2015, is now available as an e-book from Amazon worldwide. Find it here:
SOUTH AFRICA: INTERNATIONAL ARMS MARKET
English/Nat
South Africa is trying to grab a bigger share of the international arms market - after years of isolation because of sanctions.
The industry is attempting to play down its embargo busting past.
But new allegations have surfaced - this time that South African made weapons have found their way to Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia.
South Africa has come a long way since the days when apartheid gave it a pariah status in the international community.
The country's weapons industry flourished, as the government violated embargoes prohibiting the trade in arms between the outside world and the Pretoria regime.
Organisations like the Armaments Corporation of South Africa, (Armscor), a government weapons procurement agency, were used to break international sanctions.
But these days Armscor is keen to distance itself from the past, and like the new multi racial government, is looking ahead to the future.
SOUNDBITE:
This past year has been an extremely exciting one for our whole country, for our rainbow nation. We've proudly re-entered the international arena, and the doors are open, the welcome signs are up. President Mandela has displayed outstanding leadership him and his government. We need to remember that we come into our democratic era, out of the dark past - the difficult past.
SUPER CAPTION: Ronnie Kasril, Deputy Minister of Defence
But the government has been embarrassed by allegations that South African weapons have found their way into Croatia - in violation of an arms embargo - and were supplied to Yemen during the country's civil war.
The Defence Ministry is playing down the allegations.
SOUNDBITE:
A statement was issued, information was provided, and the minister and I have not come across any factual basis to any abuses.
SUPER CAPTION: Ronnie Kasril, Deputy Minister of Defence
But in spite of these reassurances the issue of illegal arms sales refuses to go away.
An American based human rights group claims that South Africa continues to supply weapons to the former Rwandan government. The regime which is now in exile, is credited with murdering 500 thousand Tutsis during the country's bloody civil war.
The South African government has denied all knowledge of the allegations and has asked those with any information to come forward.
Whilst supporting the government position, Armscor say's that South Africa cannot survive without its arms industry. Last year the country exported 854 (m) million Rand (244 (m) million U-S dollars) in weaponry.
SOUNDBITE:
South Africa sells arms because the arms industry creates jobs. Today we are employing in our arms industry, approximately sixty thousand people...and if you would multiply that by four it gives you some idea about what contribution it makes to the nation as a whole, as far as job creation is concerned. It creates wealth, it's a driver of technology - which also has perils in the commercial sector.
SUPER CAPTION: TJ De Waal, Managing Director Armscor
The government has promised to exercise greater control over the sale of weapons.
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Hunting bushpig with lights in South Africa
Hunting bushpig with lights in South Africa over bait. Join HuntingInAfricaSafaris.com on a two day bushpig hunt. Bushpig hunting for those of us who prefer it slower.
Voices of Joburg - Ryza, a graffiti artist in the city
JOBURG - City Buzz conveniently stumbled upon a graffiti artist doing his thing in Newtown and we just had to talk to him!
Judge Jules SA Tour.MOV
Judge Jules Message to South Africa as he Graces our Shores this Saturday at Trinity Superclub Cape Town, South Africa
Top Best Places to visit in South Africa
Insider Guide!!
Best Places to visit in SA
Table Mountain- It is a significant tourist attraction, with many visitors using the cable way or hiking to the top. It is 1,086 metres (3,563 ft) above sea level, and about 19 metres (62 ft) higher than the cable station at the western end of the plateau.
Kruger National Park - Kruger National Park, in northeastern South Africa, is one of Africa’s largest game reserves. Its high density of wild animals includes the Big 5: lions, leopards, rhinos, elephants and buffaloes. Hundreds of other mammals make their home here, as do diverse bird species such as vultures, eagles and storks. Mountains, bush plains and tropical forests are all part of the landscape.
Cape of Good Hope and Cape point - The Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa. This misconception was based on the misbelief that the Cape was the dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.
Blyde River Canyon - Blyde River Canyon Reserve is situated against the Greater Drakensberg escarpment and includes natural wonders such as the Bourke's Luck Potholes, the Three Rondavels, Pinnacle Rock and God's Window. Many visitors to this region enjoy the visual splendour of combining the Panorama Route with exceptional game viewing in the Kruger National Park to create a spectacular itinerary in Mpumalanga. Incorporating the third largest canyon in the world and impressive lush scenery
Bloukrans Bridge Bungee Jumping - Recognised as the 'highest bungee from a bridge' in the world
The Bloukrans Bridge is an arch bridge located near Nature's Valley, Western Cape, South Africa. The bridge stands at a height of 216m above the Bloukrans River. Its central span is 272m and the bridge is 451m in length in total.
Kimberley Big Hole - Kimberly is one of the most unique and authentic historical destinations in South Africa, because of the Kimberley diamond mine, which occupies a surface of 17 hectares, 463 meters wide, for a depth of 240 meters, and it used to be active since 1871 to 1914. The Big Hole in Kimberley is considered for one of the deepest cavities excavated by man with a depth of 200 m2.
SunCity - Home to the Valley of Waves and sprawled along the border of the Pilanesberg National Park, Sun City Resort enjoys the fine distinction of being the only surf-and-safari destination within a two-hour drive of landlocked Johannesburg.
Cango Caves - The Cango Caves are located in Precambrian limestones at the foothills of the Swartberg range near the town of Oudtshoorn, in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. The principal cave is one of the country's finest, best known, and most popular tourist caves and attracts many visitors from overseas.
Gold Mine in Gold reef City - The shaft was opened in 1897, only 11 years after Johannesburg was established and was part of the gold reef stretching 100 km from Boksburg in the east to Randfontein in the west.
This made gold reef city (shaft 14) the world’s richest producer of gold, 1.4 million kilograms over its 90 year life span. This shaft was at its time, one of the deepest gold mines and worked by 30 000 miners.
Winelands - About 40 km to the east of Cape Town, lying in the shadow of a continuous belt of Cape fold mountains, lies a series of generous valleys known as the Cape Winelands. Stellenbosch, Franschhoek, Paarl, Tulbagh, and Wellington form the backbone of the Cape Winelands* – their wine routes representing hundreds of wine and grape producers. These valleys are the largest winemaking region in the country with grape cultivation that dates back to the 1600s.
Democratic Alliance holds final campaign rally
(4 May 2019) South Africa's political parties on Saturday swept into the final weekend of campaigning ahead of Wednesday's election in which the ruling African National Congress might find its greatest challenge from within.
Top opposition parties Democratic Alliance and Economic Freedom Fighters are seizing on public frustration and ANC divisions in the hope of drawing more voters and forcing the ruling party into giving up a greater share of power.
We can either choose five more years of corruption and empty promises or we can choose change. I don't know about you but I'm choosing change, DA leader Mmusi Maimane told supporters at a rally in Dobsonville on Saturday.
The DA gained support in the municipal elections in 2016 as the ANC lost control of Johannesburg and the capital, Pretoria.
But while the opposition party promotes itself with assertions of good governance it has been slowed by infighting.
Twenty-five years after the racist apartheid system ended, the party of the late Nelson Mandela is shaken by corruption allegations that toppled a president last year.
President Cyril Ramaphosa, a former Mandela protege who took office after Jacob Zuma was forced out, has vowed to tackle the graft that has sapped the very welfare programs and basic services that many South Africans badly need.
But Ramaphosa faces pushback from Zuma allies within the ANC, and some South Africans have expressed concern that despite his assured election win the party will later oust him from power.
Ramaphosa is expected to make his final appeal to voters on Sunday.
And so will the leader of the opposition EFF, Julius Malema, who by some measures has gained ground among voters with populist calls to seize white-owned land without compensation and nationalize mines and banks.
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