South Africa has sent its condolences to the people of United Arab Emirates (UAE) following a helicopter crash that claimed the lives of four people in the North-Eastern region of the country, including a South African paramedic. “The government and people of South Africa wish to extend its sincere condolences to the Government and people of the UAE […]

A devastating wild fire has torn through the historic town of Wupperthal (also spelt Wuppertal) in the Cederberg – tragically destroying most of the small tourist town which is nestled outside Clanwilliam, in the Cape West Coast District. The SABC News Western Cape said Friday evening that it is estimated about 30 houses have burnt down, […]

A couple of months ago, as I flew along the Overberg coast I could not fail to notice a fair amount of what I suspect to be poaching activity… writes marine conservation photographer Jean Tresfon. I counted six inflatable boats, all carrying multiple divers, spare cylinders and sackfuls of what looks suspiciously like abalone. Also […]

While politicians play with South Africans’ lives, desperate for next year’s vote and jostling for popularity in the coveted Cape Town region; and a few opportunistic racists from white and black camps try to hijack the Clifton Fourth Beach controversy to prove their opposing points… normal South Africans have been, well, getting on with it… […]

The Cape of Good Hope SPCA has issued a statement in response to the slaughtering of a sheep on Clifton’s 4th Beach in Cape Town. The slaughter took place during an #OccupyClifton protest on Friday, which was organised by activists after a private security company apparently instructed beachgoers to leave Clifton Fourth Beach on Christmas […]

Motorists will usher in the New Year with a little more in their pockets thanks to news today that the petrol price is set to come down in January. The Department of Energy on Friday announced that both grades of petrol 93 (ULP and LRP) and 95 (ULP and LRP) will decrease by R1.22 and R1.23 […]

Siphon suction pumps will be used to further lower the Middle Lake Dam level in Benoni after part of the dam caved in earlier this week. Local, provincial and national government worked together to establish the operation to avert the possible loss of lives and serious damage to infrastructure following the caving in of a […]

Initiation deaths were at the centre of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Zweli Mkhize’s meeting with Eastern Cape traditional leaders. Held at the Nqadu Great Place in Willowvale on Thursday, the meeting between the parties discussed ways of curbing further deaths of initiates during the traditional ritual of ulwaluko. The country has seen a […]

Durban has been hit by a severe thunderstorm on Thursday evening. EThekwini Municipality issued a newsflash warning of the bad weather, just before it hit. The Municipality warned residents and visitors in Durban and surroundings of severe thunderstorms with a possibility of localised flooding. According to South African Weather Services, this inclement weather is likely […]

The City of Cape Town, South Africa has on Thursday reiterated its stance that public amenities are available to all members of the public. In a statement the City noted ongoing reports about an incident that occurred on Clifton Fourth Beach on Christmas Eve where beachgoers were apparently instructed to leave the beach by private […]

Public health facilities across Gauteng were abuzz with excitement as 324 healthy babies were delivered on Christmas Day. As in previous years, the Soweto-based Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic hospital had the highest number of deliveries with 47 babies while Rahima Moosa Mother and Child hospital had 32 babies -including a set of twins. Another set […]

South Africa has successfully launched into space the continent’s most advanced nanosatellite to date – the ZACube-2. The ZACube-2 will provide cutting edge remote sensing and communication services to South Africa and the region. “This satellite will help us monitor our ocean traffic as part of our oceans economy and also monitor veld fires and […]

LONDON – Sister Wendy Beckett, a nun and art historian who became an unlikely television star in Britain in the 1990s, died at the age of 88 on Wednesday, the BBC reported. South Africa-born Beckett was living in a caravan in a Carmelite monastery in Norfolk, east England, when she started studying art in the […]

They say dogs are a man’s best friend. But today a scared and trapped dog in South Africa discovered that sometimes man can be a dog’s best friend. According to SPCA Midrand a man “came running” to the SPCA today to inform staff about a dog that had fallen into a manhole. Without hesitation, Inspector […]

Following a deadly tsunami in Indonesia that struck coastal towns on the Sunda Strait on Saturday, 22 December 2018, the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) has urged South Africans with family members in Indonesia whom they cannot contact or locate, to contact the department’s 24-hour switchboard number at 012 351 1000. […]

JOHANNESBURG – South African power utility Eskom will reduce its executive management to 10 from 21, it said in an internal memo seen by Reuters, part of the cash-strapped company’s efforts to reduce its wage bill. “It is crucial that we set ourselves up for the future, and I believe that the steps we’ve take […]

Coming up on South Africa’s favourite current affairs show Carte Blanche on Sunday 23 Dec in South Africa, it’s a feel-good episode filled with success stories – all available to stream from Tues 25 Dec for South Africans abroad. (14-day Free Trial): I’m Possible He continues to astound doctors and his loved ones. Grant Lottering, the ultra-endurance […]

A consortium of local and international investors have reportedly proposed a R21-billion private loan to South African Airways (SAA)… on condition that the consortium receives a 51% equity share in South Africa’s national carrier (which would effectively mean the government – which has in recent years mismanaged the airline – would have to hand over […]

JOHANNESBURG – South African jazz artist Musa Manzini has played his music all over the world, but one performance will always stand out – strumming his guitar while surgeons operated on his brain! A video of the multi-instrumentalist and university lecturer taken during the six-hour surgery for a brain tumour, shows him lying on his […]

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa on Thursday appointed a new chief executive officer to state-run arms firm Denel as the government tries to turnaround the cash-strapped company plagued by years of mismanagement. Daniel Du Toit is expected to take up the role in January, a joint statement by the ministry of public enterprises and Denel’s Board […]

LONDON – Perennial chart-topper Ariana Grande has lost the race to top the British singles chart at Christmas – to a blogger who posts about fatherhood and sings about sausage rolls… and is raising money to help feed people suffering from poverty. LadBaby, whose real name is Mark Hoyle, recorded his version of Starship’s 1985 […]

When it’s so hot, you just have to swim! Thousands of social media users have fallen in love with this video of monkeys ‘monkeying’ around in Durban, South Africa. The video – which has already had over 285,000 views – was shared by regular SAPeople contributor Carol Malley Carol told SAPeople: “We had a cracker […]

SYDNEY – Former Australia cricket captain Steve Smith said on Friday he had not been involved in planning to tamper with the ball during the Cape Town test against South Africa, but took responsibility as a leader for failing to put a stop to it. Smith, along with vice-captain David Warner and opening batsman Cameron […]

A few months ago Mthetho Mapoyi was an unemployed young man serenading patrons at Cape Town’s beachfront restaurants with the opera songs he used to imitate as a child, learnt from the only thing his father left behind when he deserted the family – an old Pavarotti CD. But his life has changed! SAPeople caught […]

MOSCOW – A major earthquake with a magnitude of 7.4 struck off Russia’s sparsely populated far east on Thursday, but officials said the threat of a tsunami had passed and no damage was reported. The quake off Russia’s Kamchatka peninsula, which was initially measured at magnitude 7.8 by the United States Geological Survey (USGS), before […]