West Mathewson, the owner of a lodge in Hoedspruit that was known for his interactions, and conservation work, with lions, died after being mauled by his two white lions today. “Confirmed reports that lodge owner West Mathewson was killed by his two white lions at Treetop Lodge near Hoedspruit this morning,” according to a tweet […]

Tragically, at least four, if not 17, dolphins washed up dead on the shores of Mauritius this morning, and another four ailing dolphins were found stranded. This comes one month after Japanese vessel MV Wakashio ran aground, causing an oil spill although local authorities claim there is no link. Greenpeace has called for an urgent […]

A large black mamba has been rescued from the surf at Addington Beach on Durban’s famous beachfront, a destination which is usually more popular with bathing tourists than venomous snakes! According to SAAMBR, the snake was 2.47 metres long! Metro Search and Rescue reached out to SAAMBR (the South African Association for Marine Biological Research) […]

Joseph Dhafana, a proud ‘Zimbo’ as he refers to himself, moved to South Africa in 2009 with his wife Amelia… writes Swartland Style. Despite many challenges including refugee camps and living in a Methodist Church in Johannesburg whilst awaiting asylum, they finally boarded a train from Johannesburg to Cape Town, and found themselves in Riebeek […]

Four more airports have been given the green light to resume operations, bringing the total to 18 airports which are permitted to operate in South Africa, says Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula. International air travel remains prohibited. The four airports are: Mthatha Airport, Hoedspruit Airport, Phalaborwa Airport and Margate Airport as the new additions. “Air travel is […]

Eight-year-old Clarence Solomons lost his life during a protest over a house demolition, after being hit by a stray bullet. The Elsies River woman whose house was demolished by the City of Cape Town’s law enforcement says she now has to share her mother’s small flat with six other people. She wants the City to […]

Social media users were shocked this week by the emergence of videos on Twitter that show Standerton in a state of chaos, with rubbish strewn across streets. The garbage has apparently been piling up for approximately three months in the Lekwa Municipality, reportedly as a result of a garbage collectors strike. Several local residents said […]

The City of Cape Town’s Anti-Land Invasion Unit (ALIU) will not be allowed to evict people or demolish their structures, whether occupied or unoccupied, without a court order while the country remains in a state of national disaster. Judges Shehnaz Meer and Rosheni Allie in the Western Cape High Court on Tuesday afternoon granted an […]

The Cape of Good Hope SPCA had a virtual walk event this weekend that helped them make more than R180,000, R30,000 above their target, enabling them to buy a kit for repairing bone fractures in their furry patients. The #PawFeetLove event was held on Saturday and Sunday. It didn’t matter what distance was walked, the […]

A Johannesburg businessman has been released on bail of R50,000, after being charged with defrauding the city of R7.5 million for undelivered computers. Deon Pillay, the sole director of Esizwe Techology, is accused of taking payment of almost R7.5 million for 570 computers that were never delivered to the city. He is charged by the […]

The Association of Southern African Travel Agents (ASATA) has put out a call for government to give a definite date for the reopening of international travel, so that airlines can plan and the devastated industry can start to recover. “A definite date for international travel would allow sufficient time for airlines to plan the reintroduction […]

Doctors at Tygerberg Hospital in Cape Town have started using modified snorkel masks to protect themselves when dealing with patients who have tested positive for  COVID-19. “They have been modified with the addition of a breathing filter where the snorkel would usually be,” the hospital said. “Using these full-face modified snorkel masks, the doctors are […]

South Africa’s National Treasury and the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) today presented “damning findings” before Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Public Works and Infrastructure which, according to the Democratic Alliance (DA), suggests that Minister Patricia De Lille was much more involved in the procurement of the Beitbridge “Washing Line” than she has previously admitted. These findings […]

Smooth-drinking wine and hardy indigenous Nguni cattle might seem an unlikely pairing – yet 320-year old Vergelegen Estate in Somerset West is home to one of South Africa’s largest Nguni collections, numbering over 400 prime cattle. The good news is that this renowned estate has welcomed 132 Nguni newborns over the past few weeks – […]

Three suspects, among them two police officers, are today expected to appear before the Durban Specialised Commercial Crimes Court for allegedly defrauding and laundering proceeds from the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) COVID-19 relief funds. This comes after the trio, aged between 25 and 39, were arrested in Durban on Monday afternoon by the Germiston Serious […]

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has urged countries to desist from the nationalisation of COVID-19 vaccines and has requested that they join a vaccine pact. The call from WHO comes as countries across the world race to find a vaccine for COVID-19. Following a letter to all member states requesting them to join the vaccine […]

Soccer star Lucas Radebe along with other South African celebrities like Francois Pienaar and Karen Zoid are inviting South Africans abroad to join them to raise funds for South Africa’s COVID-19 Solidarity Fund this weekend, which is a Bank Holiday weekend in the UK. South Africans across the globe can join the well known personalities […]

When conservationist Menzi Nxumalo spoke to people in rural KwaZulu-Natal, he struggled to communicate with them, even though they were speaking the same language. “We’d go to communities and try to communicate to them about the impact of invasive species, but we failed to deliver the message because of the communication failure,” he explains. Government […]

The ANC Parliamentary Caucus says it has learnt with “great shock and sadness” of the sudden passing of ANC MP Comrade Hishaam Mohamed due to a heart attack early Monday evening. Mohamed joined the National Assembly in the 6th Parliament, serving as a member in the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services and Whip […]

South African citizens in the UK, with passports that are expiring, have inundated SAPeople with desperate messages after saying they have been unable to get hold of anybody at the SA Embassy in London for months. Phones have gone unanswered. Offices have been closed. And since around 12 August, the website no longer exists. We […]

An 11-year-old lifesaver in training in Fish Hoek, Cape Town, this weekend took it on himself to paddle out to two men hundreds of metres offshore who appeared to be panicking on their inflatable mattress and he helped them back to the beach.   Braedon Powell, who is with the Nippers division of Fish Hoek […]

Diabetes mellitus is common in Malawi: over 268,000 adults live with the disease, and the number is expected to double in the next 20 years. It’s a noncommunicable disease which occurs when the body can’t turn food into energy properly. Although the cause of diabetes is not well understood, it’s linked to a combination of […]

Cape Town dams are standing at 88 percent of capacity, up four percent from last week and up from 81.7 percent this time last year, because of recent rains and a sustained reduction in water consumption, the city has said. Theewaterskloof is 85 percent full, Wemmersheok 84 percent and Berg River Dam 100 percent. Consumption […]

The South African government said over 10 private sector funders, private equity investors and partners – which still remain unidentified – have expressed interest in South African Airways and its subsidiaries, as time runs out for the ailing airline to be saved. As at the beginning of August, the Department of Public Enterprises had received […]

Firefighters in Durban have managed to save the famous Juma Masjid Mosque in Denis Hurley Street (formerly Grey Street) from being engulfed by flames. Five apartments in a neighbouring building were also saved as the fire blazed on Monday afternoon. It is believed that the fire began at around midday in a building beside the […]