LONDON – Prince Harry and his new wife Meghan visited an exhibition marking 100 years since the birth of former South African President Nelson Mandela on Tuesday. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex met friends and family of the anti-apartheid campaigner who died in 2013, including his grand-daughter Zamaswazi Dlamini-Mandela. They also spoke to 92-year-old […]

Former United States President, Barack Obama was the keynote speaker at the 16th annual lecture of Nelson Mandela at the Wanderers Cricket Stadium in Johannesburg on Tuesday. Obama was among prominent leaders at the event, including South African president Cyril Ramaphosa, Mandela’s widow Graca Machel, businessman Patrice Motsepe and others. Obama shared some of his […]

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa will tighten its mine safety regulations to hold mine operators accountable for accidental deaths in the industry, President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Monday. Safety is a huge issue in South Africa’s deep and dangerous mines and increasingly a focus for investors. A spate of deaths at Sibanye-Stillwater’s gold operations, including a seismic event that killed seven […]

The South African Police Service (SAPS) has confirmed that an 80-year-old man was fatally shot during an exchange of gunfire on a farm in Bergville, KwaZulu-Natal, on Monday morning… after the man had wounded an alleged trespasser. SAPS said Bergville police had responded at 11h00 to a report of a shooting on the farm. “It […]

JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesian villagers armed with knives, hammers and clubs slaughtered 292 crocodiles in revenge for the death of a man killed by a crocodile at a breeding farm, an official said. Photographs released by Antara news agency showed bloodied carcasses of the crocodiles in a large pile in the Sorong district of the […]

Airline passengers travelling to and from Cape Town have been enjoying the rare and beautiful sight of snow in sunny South Africa, on the mountains of the Western Cape… even though it’s been exactly two weeks since South Africa received a record-breaking snowfall, the biggest the country has received in a decade. This morning regular SAPeople […]

The South African Automobile Association (AA) announced on Monday that the fuel price is likely to increase in August. The AA has urged the public to be ready to pay more for fuel and illuminating paraffin. “International oil prices see-sawed during the first half of July, but remained within a fairly narrow band, and did […]

A British diver, who helped rescue 12 children and their coach from a cave in Thailand, is reportedly considering legal action against Elon Musk after the South African-born billionaire entrepreneur referred to him as a ‘pedo’ on Twitter. The tweet has since been removed. The diver – a British 63-year-old, Vernon Unsworth, who lives in […]

The South African mining industry has been hit by the death of another six mine workers, this time at the unlisted Palabora Mining Company in Limpopo over the weekend. The miners died during a fire in the copper mine. The mining company said the incident occurred in the early hours of Sunday morning, at one […]

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa’s rand strengthened early on Monday, extending previous gains, as sentiment towards riskier, high-yield markets improved after trade talks between China and the European Union. At 0650 the rand traded at 13.2125 to the dollar, up 0.32 percent from Friday’s close. The dollar slipped against most major currencies on positive trade talks […]

Western Coast Premier Helen Zille says she is “shaken to the core” after visiting Hermanus/Zwelihle. The area has been marred by violence since protestors took to the streets last week to demand the release of a Zwelihle Renewal activist – Gcobani Ndzongana – who is in police custody. Forty-two arrests have reportedly been made in […]

PARIS (Reuters) – Crowds of cheering French football fans gathered in Paris on Sunday, draped in red, white and blue and singing the Marseillaise, as excitement grew head of the France-Croatia showdown at the World Cup final in Moscow. By the end of the match their enthusiasm was rewarded with a 4-2 victory! A day […]

GABORONE – Botswana, home to the world’s largest elephant population, may lift a ban on hunting for sport in the face of what the government says is growing conflict between humans and wildlife, a move sure to provoke protest from animal welfare groups. Conservationists estimate the land-locked southern African country to have around 130,000 elephants, […]

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has certainly enjoyed a successful state trip to the Middle East this week, as news comes that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has committed to invest $10-billion in South Africa. This follows the announcement on Thursday that Saudi Arabia had pledged $10-billion to South Africa as well (of which at […]

As former American President Barack Obama prepares for his trip to Africa this week, he has revealed his choice of top Africa-centric books. Obama, who will deliver a speech in South Africa to mark the 100th anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s birth, is travelling to Africa for the first time since his Presidency. In a post […]

The 13 Thai boys and their coach, whose plight gripped the world when they were trapped in the Tham Luang cave complex in Thailand for 17 days, have expressed their gratitude for those who helped and supported them. In a video compilation, the boys’ main message was: “You don’t have to worry now. We’re safe.” […]

Nancy Sinatra, the first wife of the late, legendary singer and actor Frank Sinatra, died Friday at the age of 101, her daughter, also named Nancy Sinatra, said in an internet tweet. “My mother passed away peacefully tonight at the age of 101,” the younger Nancy Sinatra, 78, wrote on her official Twitter page. “She […]

The fish are back in town! And the fishermen are elated! It’s been a little while since the South Coast of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa has been blessed with its famous annual Sardine Run. Regular SAPeople contributor Andrea Ben was on the scene Monday on Pennington Beach… where the sardines were aplenty… and so too […]

The African National Congress (ANC) in KwaZulu-Natal has apparently sorted out the squabbles within its party and have officially set the date for their elective conference. The provincial task team released a statement saying the elective conference will be held next week from 19 to 21 July. “The provincial task team has taken a decision […]

South African opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), has officially laid charges of fraud and corruption against the executives of VBS Mutual Bank and its majority shareholder, Vele Investments. The DA opened the charges at the Sandton police station in Johannesburg on Friday. The bank executives have been accused of misusing funds for personal gain, […]

NAIROBI (Reuters) – Eight black rhinos have died in Kenya while being transported by the state wildlife service between two national parks, Tourism Minister Najib Balala said on Friday in a statement. The rhinos, who are part of a critically endangered species, died at Tsavo East National Park, the Daily Nation newspaper reported. An initial […]

The penultimate series of Game of Thrones has topped this year’s list of Emmy nominees which were announced yesterday. The multi-award winning series – which is available to South Africans on Showmax – scooped 22 nominations, including Best Drama Series. Showmax shows featured high in this year’s nominations, with two other popular Drama series – […]

The Daily Show, hosted by South African comedian Trevor Noah, has been nominated for three Emmy Awards – for Outstanding Variety Talk Series, Outstanding Interactive Program and Outstanding Short Form Variety Series. Trevor, who is now based in New York, joked: “Wow, I visited Russia for 3 days and now The Daily Show is nominated for […]

Today – Friday 13 July 2018 – is a big day for Africa as South Africa celebrates a significant milestone in radio astronomy… with the launch of the 64-dish MeerKAT array in Carnarvon in the Northern Cape. The MeerKAT will be the world’s largest radio telescope of its kind until the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s  state visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia kicked off on Thursday to great success – the Kingdom pledged $10-billion in new investment in South Africa… and King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud bestowed the Order of King Abdulaziz upon Ramaphosa, the highest honour by the Kingdom. According to The Presidency, the […]