Hugh Masekela is today being celebrated by Google who is treating users in the UK, US, South Africa and a few other countries to a special Hugh Masekela doodle on what would have been the late jazz musician’s birthday. The ‘Father of South African Jazz’ would have turned 80 today, 4 April 2019. The musician […]

While the South African government says it is doing all it can to keep the lights on, and admitting that “only” Stage 1 load shedding is anticipated for the busier winter season, Australians have freaked out over just an hour of power cuts tonight and demanded better service. South African expat Stephen Kramer, who now […]

A KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) graduate has made sure everyone knows just how happy and proud she is to graduate, by performing a traditional Zulu dance on stage. The University of KZN said Bachelor of Social Science graduate Zandile Sanele Shange “had the crowd on their feet” with her impromptu dance. Twitter user uNdlunkulu Xoli said: “Every year, […]

In a victory on the war on rhino poaching, three members of the notorious Ndlovu rhino poaching gang have each been handed a sentence of 25 years imprisonment in South Africa today. (Update 24 Nov ’20: Ndlovu rhino poaching gang to hear judgment on Appeal.) Judge Pickering handed down the sentences at the High Court […]

Julius Malema’s firing of what looked like an assault rifle at the EFF’s five-year anniversary in July 2018, has set off imitators around South Africa, threatening public safety, claims civil rights organisation AfriForum. AfriForum cited three subsequent incidents involving firing shots in the air, all of which occurred in March 2019. In one, the owner […]

Just a warning upfront – this video is definitely not for the sensitive. We may all know and understand that animals prey on each other in the wild, and it’s part of the circle of life… but in this particular sighting, what the impala is seen to be enduring is quite upsetting. On the positive […]

BEIRA, Mozambique – Hundreds of thousands of people are in need of food, water and shelter after Cyclone Idai battered Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi. And, as of today (Tues), at least 843 people had been reported killed by the storm, the flooding it caused and heavy rains before it hit. View the factbox at the […]

The 40,000 sq km Serengeti-Mara plain that straddles the border of Kenya and Tanzania is famous for its abundant and diverse wildlife. It is also home to one of the wonders of the world: the Serengeti-Mara wildebeest migration. Each year about two million wildebeest, zebra and gazelles migrate from Tanzania to Kenya’s Maasai Mara in […]

Eskom has refuted claims that there have been safety breaches at the Koeberg nuclear power plant in the Western Cape, South Africa. Eskom confirmed that both units at the plant are running safely following allegations made in a video recording where a YouTube vlogger, Willem Petzer, alleges that there have been nuclear safety breaches at […]

JOHANNESBURG – South African tax revenues fell a whopping R15 billion short of the government’s target in the 2018/19 fiscal year, with revenue estimated at R1.287 trillion ($91 billion), the revenue service said on Monday. South Africa has seen revenue collections fall consistently since 2015 due to weak economic growth and administrative weakness, the latter […]

A legendary charity swimmer has thrown his rubber cap and goggles in the ring, signing up for a “wild swim” to promote alternatives to heavy minerals mining on South Africa’s pristine Wild Coast. (See GroundUp articles on Xolobeni.) Stan Kozlowski, who has helped collect more than R12 million for conservation and other good causes over […]

CAPE TOWN – The development bank of the BRICS group of emerging economies has approved funding of $790 million for three South African projects, the bank’s president said on Monday. “We plan to end the year with total loan approvals of about $2.3 billion in South Africa,” New Development Bank president Kundapur Vaman Kamath told […]

Sri Lanka’s test captain Dimuth Karunaratne – who led his team to a record-breaking win against South Africa last month – was arrested on Sunday for drink driving after an accident injured at least one person near the main hospital in capital Colombo, a police spokesman said. Sri Lanka won a two-test series against South […]

LONDON – The Rolling Stones have postponed a tour of the United States and Canada to give singer Mick Jagger time to receive medical treatment, the veteran rock band said on Saturday. “I’m devastated for having to postpone the tour but I will be working very hard to be back on stage as soon as […]

Miniaturised frogs form a fascinating but poorly understood group of amphibians. They have been exceptionally prone to taxonomic underestimation because when frogs evolve small body size they start to look remarkably similar – so it is easy to underestimate how diverse they really are. As part of my PhD I have been studying frogs and […]

International Relations and Cooperation Minister Lindiwe Sisulu and Police Minister Bheki Cele will urgently meet on Monday with Heads of the Diplomatic Missions in South Africa following reports of attacks on foreign nationals. In a statement issued on Saturday, Sisulu expressed deep concern at the recent spate of violence and urged law enforcement officers to […]

JOHANNESBURG  – The retail price of petrol in South Africa will rise by nearly 9 percent from April 3, while the price of wholesale diesel will increase by close to 6 percent, the energy department said on Sunday. The price of petrol will rise by 131 cents to 16.13 rand  ($1.11) per litre in the […]

On Carte Blanche this evening (Sunday 31 March) in South Africa, and available to stream from Tues 02 April for South Africans abroad in many countries. Cyclone Idai – Surviving the Aftermath With hundreds of people dead and the government of Mozambique grappling with the outbreak of waterborne diseases as they coordinate the delivery of […]

Former South African president Jacob Zuma’s son Duduzane will stand trial for culpable homicide over a fatal car accident in 2014, a Johannesburg judge said on Friday, rejecting a request to dismiss the case for lack of evidence. Driving a Porsche sports car, Duduzane Zuma, 35, crashed into a minivan taxi on a highway near Sandton in […]

SAFA President, Dr Danny Jordaan has joined South Africans around the country in congratulating former Bafana Bafana defender Siboniso Gaxa who has graduated from Wits University with a Political Science and Social Studies degree. The SAFA President, a proponent of the philosophy of taking education as a priority and fall-back plan by football players, said Gaxa […]

South Africa’s central bank kept its benchmark repo rate unchanged at 6.75 percent on Thursday in a unanimous decision, saying it assessed the risks to the inflation outlook to be more or less balanced. All economists surveyed by Reuters predicted the repo rate would remain on hold. (Reporting by Mfuneko Toyana, Tiisetso Motsoeneng and Naledi […]

Former SA Revenue Service (SARS) deputy commissioner Edward Kieswetter has been appointed as the new Commissioner for South African Revenue Service (SARS). President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Wednesday that Kieswetter will lead the revenue service for the next five years starting on 1 May. The National Treasury was confident that the selection process that was […]

On Monday while many people drove, bussed, cycled or walked to work… there was a doctor in KwaZulu-Natal who not only walked over an hour with a bag of heavy medication on his back, but even swam across a river to make sure he reached his patients! Dr John Michell, who studied at the University […]

Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Mmusi Maimane has written to the Zondo Commission requesting President Ramaphosa be subpoenaed to testify before 8 May when South Africans vote. Maimane said in a statement on Wednesday: “The revelations emanating from testimony before the Zondo Commission into State Capture yesterday confirm that President Ramaphosa and his family are deeply […]

BEIRA, Mozambique – Cyclone Idai’s deadly hit has left some 1.85 million people in need of assistance in Mozambique in a catastrophe that United Nations chief Antonio Guterres said on Tuesday rang “yet another alarm bell” about climate change. Guterres described Idai, which flattened homes and caused massive flooding after slamming into Mozambique near the […]