South African athlete Ernst van Dyk raced to a fantastic third spot in the Boston Marathon Men’s Wheelchair Race on Monday in the USA. This is the 21st time that Ernst has competed in the Boston Marathon… and the 18th time that he has won a podium position! Ernst has famously won the race a […]

KZN Filmmaker Anthony George Kirkwood has created a hard-hitting short film about the recent unrest in South Africa. The film has been submitted to the My RØDE Reel 2021 Short Film Competition, the world’s largest short film contest. Anthony’s filming of the ‘apocalyptic’ events in July began on the first day when he assisted the […]

Curfew could be reinstated if hospital beds start running out… By GroundUp Editors   There is no scientific basis for the continued 12am to 4am curfew. It should be ended. The third wave is over and this restriction does not mitigate the Covid pandemic. If Covid hospitalisations start ticking up again, a temporary curfew may […]

In the face of South Africa’s stark inequalities it was clear that many people were likely to fall into even more desperate circumstances once the reality of COVID-19 restrictions set in. Many immediately lost jobs or saw their businesses collapse, and a host of other restrictions led to unprecedented changes in how we lived. By […]

It’s been barely three weeks since South African Airways (SAA) took to the air again (after being grounded for 16 months), and there already seems to be some trouble in paradise. The South African Cabin Crew Association (SACCA) has been picketing at the airline’s Kempton Park offices. SACCA members are reportedly protesting against alleged unfair […]

Bonang Matheba, arguably South Africa’s most famous  celebrity, has announced on Twitter – where she has over 4.9-million followers – that she has ended her contract with her management company, citing possible criminal conduct. In a series of tweets in the past few days, Bonang said she’d been quiet for too long and there were […]

Ten people have tragically lost their lives in a fatal bus crash on the N3 near Ladysmith in South Africa today, Tuesday 12 October. The bus was apparently on its way to Johannesburg. According to local reports, the bus plunged into the Tugela River near the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) town, and at least 50 passengers sustained […]

A protest is planned in Tshwane this morning to demand that Afrikaans be declared an indigenous language of South Africa. A petition will be handed over to the Department of Higher Education. DA Leader John Steenhuisen and DA Shadow Minister of Public Service and Administration, Leon Schreiber, are leading the protest action outside the offices […]

In a heartfelt post on Facebook, two brothers have paid tribute to their father, German tourist Michael Mirschel, who died yesterday – Sunday 9 October – after jumping from a luxury houseboat that had caught fire in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), South Africa. The brothers – Alex and Mario – wrote in German about the last 48 […]

Irrelevant that the statement was made after hours or that employee was unaware of company’s social media policy… By Tania Broughton. Nhlanhla Christopher Makhoba was dismissed from Clover in 2017 after posting on EyeWitness News’s Facebook site: “Whites mz be all killed”. The Durban Labour Court and the CCMA have upheld the dismissal. The court […]

Two people, including one crew member and a passenger, have sadly died after a fire broke out on a luxury house boat in Jozini, KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) in South Africa. The passenger is reported to be a tourist from Germany. Another crew member is also missing, according to the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA). SAMSA […]

The sun was shining and spirits were soaring on Sunday – along with kites – as South Africans shed the winter lockdown blues and embraced a fabulous new almost-normal, as big events returned with today’s Dolphin Beach Kite Festival and the famous Cape Town Cycle Tour (see more below). Dolphin Beach Kite Festival Photos by […]

Squid Game is anything but your typical, saccharine, soft-glow Korean television drama. In this biting commentary on life in South Korea today, viewers are presented with a twisting, technicolour story of violence, betrayal and desperation. All of this is set around a series of macabre games in which players literally fight to the death. Despite […]

It’s that time of the year again – when Pretoria transforms into a beautiful purple haze, as the Jacaranda trees burst into bloom, and purple petals carpet the city’s pavements. Yesterday morning, Friday 8 October, as rain fell on Pretoria (one of South Africa’s capital cities), local resident David (Dawie) Jacobs captured these stunning photos of […]

A much loved and loving family pet, Kei, is to receive a Heroism Award for risking his own life to save that of the family that adopted him from the SPCA last year. During a horrific home invasion in Benoni, South Africa, on 3 October, Kei almost lost his life after he bravely attacked an […]

CRADOCK – The organisers of the Fish River Canoe Marathon in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, have sadly confirmed the deaths of two participants during the first stage of the two-day race on Friday. 53-year old Pretoria paddler Axel Marggraf died after falling out of his K3 canoe in Soutpansdrift rapid, while 31 year old […]

South Africans can now download their digital COVID-19 vaccination certificate following the official launch by the Minister of Health, Dr Joe Phaahla. Addressing a media briefing on government’s efforts in the fight against COVID-19 and the national vaccination rollout programme on Friday, the Minister said the certificate could be used for travel and tourism, sport […]

South Africans are to be plunged into loadshedding land for the entire weekend… through to Thursday morning, Eskom has announced. The organisation said that to continue replenishing the emergency power generation reserves in South Africa, and address additional risks, Stage 2 loadshedding will be extended from 21:00 tonight until 05:00 on Thursday. Yesterday, Thursday, South […]

The National Consumer Commission (NCC) has urged consumers in South Africa to return 100% Apple juice produced by Pioneer Foods. This includes both LiquiFruit and Ceres 100% apple juice. “Consumers who have these products must not consume them but return them immediately to the point of purchase,” said the NCC in a statement on Friday. […]

South Africa’s Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI/Hawks) has launched an investigation into the construction of the so-called R15 million Lesseyton sports facility in the Enoch Mgijima Municipality in the Eastern Cape… which was exposed this week by former DA Leader Mmusi Maimane. Maimane declared on Monday, when the stadium was launched: “The #TsotsiGame must […]

The Nobel Prize in Literature, considered the pinnacle of achievement for creative writers, has been awarded 114 times to 118 Nobel Prize laureates between 1901 and 2021. This year it went to novelist Abdulrazak Gurnah, who was born in Zanzibar, the first Tanzanian writer to win. The last black African writer to win the prize […]

South Africa is finally being removed from the UK’s dreaded Red List! From Monday!!! This means anyone entering the UK from South Africa, who is double-vaccinated, will no longer need to spend £2,000 on mandatory 10-day quarantine in the UK! The news comes as a huge relief for South African expats who haven’t seen their […]

The DA has told residents of Cape Town that “we are ready to end load shedding” (the term South Africans use for Eskom’s power cuts which have blighted homes and businesses for the past decade or so). The DA said over the past 13 years, Capetonians have demonstrated “tremendous resilience in the face of the […]

Following a furore over DA posters in KwaZulu-Natal which declared “The ANC called you racists. The DA calls you heroes”, the DA has announced today that it is in the process of removing all the posters that have “inadvertently caused offence”. Dean Macpherson – DA KZN Chairperson – said in a press statement on Thursday: […]

The UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) has lifted its advice ‘against all but essential travel’ for over 30 countries and territories. The change, announced today, means UK travellers will be able to visit these destinations with greater ease… although still not South Africa. SA is not on the list of 32 countries and, […]