CAPE TOWN – South Africa should start a register that names anyone who is caught faking a degree, the Minister of Higher Education Blade Nzimande said on Tuesday, according to news reports. Talking to journalists before the resumption of the SONA2016 debate, he raised the issue of dealing with the growing number of people forging or misrepresenting […]

In honour of International Childhood Cancer Day 2016, Cape Town’s iconic Table Mountain – one of the Seven Wonders of the World – was lit up in blue last night, 15 February 2016. According to CHOC (Childhood Cancer Foundation, South Africa) this day was started as a global collaborative campaign to raise awareness about childhood cancer and to […]

DURBAN – Police reinforcements have been sent to Westville Prison after an officer locked himself in the armoury and threatened to take his own life, it was reported on Tuesday. The Department of Correctional Services confirmed that a male officer was involved, and said that it was an ongoing situation being dealt with by a task […]

For the second time at least, someone has sneakily put President Jacob Zuma’s controversial home Nkandla up for sale on a free classifieds page, listing it as a “Luxury African Homestead”. The ad on the site OLX listed the price at R260 million and described it as a “3.83ha luxury compound with world-class security & entertainment […]

South Africa’s legendary playground Sun City is due to undergo a dramatic rejuvenation project worth R800 million rand over the course of 2016. According to a media release from Pilanesberg National Park, which lies next to the iconic resort, Sun City will offer new food options including a micro-brewery themed gastro pub, as well as a “raft […]

A long-serving member of staff at Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife (Ezemvelo) has tragically been killed by a sick lioness at Hluhluwe iMfolozi Park (HiP). The fatal attack occurred this morning. Ezemvelo published an official statement on its facebook page this afternoon saying it had “sadly learnt of the death of one of its long serving employees” who was fatally […]

HARARE – An American plane carrying cargo destined for the SA Reserve Bank has been impounded in Harare after a dead body was found on board, reportedly after blood was seen dripping from the plane during a refueling stop. ​”The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) is aware of an aircraft carrying a SARB consignment that stopped in Harare […]

A UK-based news site has named two “allies” of the Zuma-associated business family the Guptas, saying the two were closely aligned with the short-lived minister of finance Des van Rooyen, and were the reason he was appointed in a bid to greenlight a nuclear deal that would benefit the Guptas. The two men were named in […]

Travellers to South Africa have been confused by headlines claiming that the law requiring minors to travel with an Unabridged Birth Certificate (UBC) had been “scrapped”. The law has not yet been scrapped… but Tourism Minister Derek Hanekom said in a statement today that his department is in “intense discussions” with Home Affairs to implement […]

A UK-based production company has announced that it will begin filming a documentary about the circumstances leading to the murder of Reeva Steenkamp by Oscar Pistorius. The shooting of Steenkamp through the locked bathroom door of Pistorius’ house took place on 14 February three years ago, and Pistorius later claimed he thought he was shooting an intruder. […]

CAPE TOWN – A small Southern Right whale carcass washed ashore on to the rocks in Bantry Bay on Sunday and was successfully removed by the National Sea Rescue Institute of South Africa, the city said. The public was urged to avoid the area while the whale removal was taking place. The carcass was taken to Granger Bay for […]

JOHANNESBURG – Africa’s biggest economies have been hammered by the collapse in commodity prices over the past 18 months but there are still investment bright spots to be found. In cities such as Lagos, Nairobi, Accra, Kinshasa and Johannesburg, growth remains robust and investors are prospering in the retail, financial services, technology and construction sectors. […]

BERLIN – The latest movie from South African director Oliver Schmitz, called “Shepherds and Butchers”, a courtroom drama about a man on death row, premiered at the Berlin Film Festival on Saturday. The movie also has a theme song, “Angels”, produced by Bee Gees’ Barry Gibb and Vusi Mahlasela. (Watch clips of the movie and […]

At the 2016 #UbuntuAwards on Saturday night President Jacob Zuma said “South Africa is a beautiful country with wonderful people”. Addressing guests at the second annual Ubuntu Awards at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, the president said: “Today we honour those who hold our beautiful flag high, and who contribute to not only telling, but demonstrating […]

A lot of numbers were mentioned by President Jacob Zuma during the State of the Nation Address on Thursday. The government has released a list of all the numbers extracted from the speech. These range from what the government will spend to promote domestic tourism (R10 million) to the growth rate set to be achieved […]

President Jacob Zuma has assigned three Ministers to provide support to the families of miners who are still trapped at Lily Farm in Barberton. In a sign that hopes are fading of finding the trapped miners alive, the Presidency announced today that the President has assigned the Minister of Mineral Resources, Mosebenzi Zwane, the Minister in the […]

A bizarre story involving two South Africans on the tiny South Pacific island-nation of Fiji – a diplomat reportedly involved in a fatal drunken-driving accident and the chief of police – has taken a new turn after the death of the diplomat. A Department of International Relations and Cooperation spokesman in Pretoria was reported as saying this week that the diplomat, Theo Mostert, […]

When the Eastern Cape Department of Education failed to provide their children with a school, a group of parents in Gotyibeni in Xhorha took matters into their own hands. In 1994, Gotyibeni residents decided they needed a primary school for their children. Other primary schools were far from the area and children had to wait […]

JOHANNESBURG – Two new hominin fossils have been found in a previously uninvestigated chamber in the Sterkfontein Caves, just northwest of Johannesburg, Wits University announced this week. The two new specimens, a finger bone and a molar, are part of a set of four specimens, which seem to be from early hominins that can be associated […]

BLOEMFONTEIN – Only three days after President Jacob Zuma’s case over Nkandla and whether he should #PayBackTheMoney came before the Constitutional Court, his lawyer is back arguing, in Bloemfontein this time, over the government’s decision not to arrest Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir when he was visiting the country in 2015. The adversaries in court, even though they […]

The South African survivor of the helicopter in Tanzania, which was shot down by poachers two weeks ago, has spoken exclusively to SAPeople about the night of the shooting in which his friend and colleague – British pilot Roger Gower – was fatally wounded. Nick Bester – who grew up on a farm in the Free […]

There were numerous highlights in President Jacob Zuma’s State of the Nation Address on Thursday, starting with almost an hour of very vocal interruptions, mostly by the Economic Freedom Fighters, who finally walked out of the chamber shouting “Zupta Must Fall! Zupta Must Fall!” Outside Parliament the EFF’s leader Julius Malema delivered what he called […]

Love him or hate him, Tim Noakes gets people talking. And Wednesday was no different, when the Banting Guru broke down in tears after a day being interrogated about an apparently innocent tweet. It all started with the message on social media by Professor Noakes in which he advised a mother to wean her baby on a low […]

The search continues in South Africa for three trapped miners at Lily mine, in Barberton, and the nation has been called upon to pray for the missing miners and their families as rescue efforts enter Day 6. Hopes were sadly fading Wednesday since the two men and a woman have been trapped underground with no food or […]

The Economic Freedom Fights of Julius Malema increased the fight against the powerful Gupta family, widely known to have connections to President Jacob Zuma, and have released a list of 25 reasons the family must leave or be forced to leave South Africa. The list was made public shortly after the EFF and Malema were on Tuesday indicted […]