President Cyril Ramaphosa has (finally) ended the tenure in the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) of advocates Nomgcobo Jiba and Lawrence Mrwebi, as recommended by the Mokgoro Enquiry into the fitness of the two officials to hold office. The President took this action on Thursday, 25 April 2019 after studying the findings and recommendations of the […]

Cyclone Kenneth killed at least one person and left a trail of destruction in northern Mozambique, destroying houses, ripping up trees and knocking out power, authorities said on Friday. Officials said thousands have been left homeless, and warn of heavy rains to come. (UPDATE: Cyclone Kenneth brings floods to Mozambique, death toll rises to 5) […]

South African expats will tomorrow head to the country’s high commissions, embassies and consulates-general around the world to cast their votes in the national and provincial elections. The date, 27 April, coincides with exactly 25 years to the day South Africans first voted in the first democratic elections in 1994. The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), […]

Olympic 400 metres champion Wayde van Niekerk has backed South African compatriot Caster Semenya in her battle with the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), which now appears to have taken a new twist. Semenya, a double 800 metres Olympic gold medalist, is waiting for the outcome of her appeal to the Court of Arbitration […]

The largest uncut diamond in recent history has been unearthed in a mine in Botswana. It’s larger than a tennis ball, and second only to South Africa’s famous Cullinan Diamond. The announcement was made Thursday by Lucara Diamond Corp which found the treasure at its Karowe mine in Botswana, beating the Canadian company’s own record […]

Unfortunately Cyclone Kenneth has stayed on course and has battered northern Mozambique on Thursday with gusts of up to 280 km per hour after killing three people on the island nation of Comoros overnight. Impoverished Mozambique is still recovering from another powerful tropical cyclone (Idai) which made landfall further south last month, flattening the port […]

Tanzania on Tuesday denied blocking the publication of a critical International Monetary Fund report that accuses President John Magufuli’s government of undermining economic growth with “unpredictable and interventionist” policies. In the leaked report, seen by Reuters last week and which the IMF said was not made public after Tanzanian authorities did not consent to its […]

Cricket South Africa (CSA) has launched an inspirational campaign, ahead of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019, that dares the world to “see what South Africa can be when we are one”… Dubbed #ItsMoreThanCricket, the series of videos celebrate the diversity of the country… and of the Proteas team… “There is no other country […]

Violent winds of up to 140 kph lashed the East African island nation of Comoros overnight, killing three people, authorities said on Thursday, as tropical Cyclone Kenneth swept towards flood-battered Mozambique and southern Tanzania. The region was pounded by Cyclone Idai last month; the storm and subsequent flooding killed more than 1,000 people in Mozambique, […]

Rescue workers are in a fight against time to find unaccounted-for people as the death toll from the torrential rains in Durban and along the eastern coast of South Africa exceeds 70 people. Rescuers are still sadly discovering more bodies in areas where mudslides and sinkholes have swallowed homes. KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) province, where most of […]

There have been renewed calls for South Africa to join other countries in Africa, most recently Tanzania, who have pledged to ban single-use plastic… as mountains of plastic refuse have piled up on Durban’s once iconic beachfront following the devastating floods in KZN this week that left 60 dead and over 1,000 people displaced. Tragically […]

KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Health MEC, Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo, has urged the relatives of people who passed away during the flash floods that swept through Durban on Monday night and Tuesday to come forward and identify their bodies. According to Reuters, the latest figures put the death toll at 60 people, and more than 1,000 have fled […]

MAPUTO – Another tropical cyclone – Kenneth – is expected to make landfall on Mozambique’s coast on Thursday, just over a month after a more powerful storm struck the Mozambican port city of Beira further south and killed hundreds of people. Weather forecasters say Cyclone Kenneth will bring heavy rainfall, strong winds and waves of […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa today visited sites in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), South Africa, which have suffered devastating flooding and subsequent mudslides this week, leading to the death of 51 people and hospitalisation of over 30. Bodies are sadly still being dug out from under the mud and collapsed buildings. The President announced that the government has availed […]

More than 50 people were killed in southern and eastern parts of South Africa after heavy rains caused flooding and mudslides, authorities said on Wednesday. Rescue workers were digging through collapsed homes and other buildings in coastal areas of KwaZulu-Natal province, where the death toll stood at 51, local officials said. There are also over […]

South Africa’s ‘little’ rhino horn film with a huge message has won one of the world’s top wildlife prizes. The groundbreaking South African film, STROOP – journey into the rhino horn war, which local distributors declined to take on because they didn’t think it would attract enough of an audience, continues to blaze on the […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa has conveyed condolences to the government of Sri Lanka following a series of deadly terrorist bombings over the Easter weekend which left 321 dead, of which 45 were children. The wave of suicide bomb attacks on churches and hotels started Sunday morning as explosions were reported from St. Anthony’s Church in Kochchikade […]

Massive flooding in Durban, South Africa, overnight left at least 23 people dead, after multiple structural collapse, and many more missing and buried under mud and debris, according to IPSS Medical Rescue. The KwaZulu-Natal Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Department announced at a press briefing on Tuesday morning that over 2,000 emergency calls were received […]

Prince Harry and his wife Meghan are rumoured to be in talks about a move to Africa after the imminent birth of their baby. According to the UK’s Sunday Times, a “formal plan” is being drawn up to move the Duke and Duchess of Sussex (Harry and Meghan) overseas to work. Those involved in the […]

MAPUTO – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) will grant Mozambique a $118.2 million credit facility to help it rebuild infrastructure after a devastating cyclone that killed hundreds of people and flattened whole villages, the lender said on Friday. The IMF said in a statement that this will be a zero-interest, 10-year loan. More than 1,000 […]

AMSTERDAM – Just as visitors to the Western Cape and Northern Cape of South Africa are treated to fields of wild flowers in South Africa’s springtime, so too are expats in the Netherlands treated to spring flower fields around the nation as the country’s famous tulips burst into bloom at this time of year… painting […]

Both the male and female winners of Saturday’s Two Oceans Marathon in the Western Cape were proud South Africans, made all the more special by it being the 50th marathon. Two Oceans said “the best smile in running today” came from defending champ and Ultra queen, Gerda Steyn in the female section. The reigning males […]

Poor people in South Africa often feel that the only way they can be heard is to protest. The past few days have shown that not even this gets them a hearing. Protests in the townships and shack settlements where most poor people live in Johannesburg, Tshwane and Cape Town are in the news. These […]

“Simo spent his birthday cold, lying in the mortuary”, a heartbroken Cora Kwepe, great aunty of Zonnebloem NEST Senior School learner, Simo Kwepe, told GroundUp on Thursday. Simo was killed on a Cape Town Metrorail line last week Friday, 12 April. He would have celebrated his 17th birthday on Sunday, 14 April. Kwepe said one […]

About 100 property owners in Strand, Cape Town, picketed at the municipal buildings on Thursday afternoon. They demanded an explanation from the City of Cape Town about an apparent agreement reached between SANRAL and the City on providing services to people occupying SANRAL-owned land near their properties. The protesters says that their property prices will […]