South Africa has been recognised as a leading player in the space science sector. The South African National Space Agency (SANSA) has been selected by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to become the designated regional provider of space weather information to the entire aviation sector using African airspace! This means that every aircraft flying […]

The Waterberg region of South Africa boasts the third largest population of rhino in the country, most of which are owned by private individuals who receive no financial support in the global fight against rhino poaching… writes René de Klerk for Safari News. Local Waterberg reserve owners Tessa and Ant Baber started Save the Waterberg Rhino (STWR) in […]

As South Africa heads for the polls in a few months time in its sixth democratic election, political party electioneering has begun in earnest. President Cyril Ramaphosa kick started the governing African National Congress’s (ANC’s) election campaign in his January 8th Statement celebrating 107 years since the birth of the liberation movement. This campaign continued […]

The owners of a new restaurant development in Melville’s 7th Street, South Africa are being applauded for their initiative in recognising great attitude and hard work, and improving the lives of people who may not have otherwise had the opportunity… and who had been exploited before. Gauteng publicist Georg Knoke wrote on social media: “Dreams […]

Every day, 365 days a year, a clutch of people – with backpacks that are perhaps a bit too heavy the first day – set off for one of the most incredibly beautiful hikes in the world… writes author and SAPeople editor Ted Botha. To say ‘incredibly beautiful’ is actually selling it short. You have […]

For many residents in Franskraal and Hermanus, in the Western Cape, today was a day from hell… as three fires burned out of control in the Overstrand, and strong winds of 60 to 80 km/h forced aerial support to be grounded and and fuelled the inferno. Residents were evacuated. Buildings, including houses, were destroyed. And […]

Coming Up on Carte Blanche this week on Sunday 13 Jan in South Africa, and available to stream from Tues 15 Jan for South Africans abroad. (14-day Free Trial). Eskom Lights Out Amid debts of R480-billion, coal supply constraints, hundreds of corruption charges and management instability, Eskom is now chopping jobs to save money. The power utility limps […]

Popular former American NFL hero, Tim Tebow, and South Africa’s gorgeous former Miss Universe Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters are engaged to get married! In a message to Demi-Leigh (23) on Facebook, 31-year-old Tim announced: “Thank you for saying YES and making me the happiest man in the world. You’re the love of my life, and I can’t […]

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa opener Aiden Markram made an attacking start to the third test against Pakistan with a rapid 78 not out as the hosts went to lunch on 108 for one wicket at the Wanderers in Gauteng on Friday. Markram’s availability for the last test of the series was only confirmed after a […]

JOHANNESBURG – State-run South African airline SA Express, which has seen several executives suspended over corruption allegations, hopes to break even by the end of the financial year, its spokesman said in a radio interview on Friday. He was speaking ahead of the relaunch of the airline’s flights from Cape Town to Bloemfontein, after its […]

I have had a few requests to re-post my, ahem, mini-thesis on Bohemian Rhapsody (the song) in light of the astonishing, moving, and now Golden Globe-winning performance by Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody, the movie… writes Gus Silber. I take the liberty of doing so herewith, with thanks to the requesters, and […]

There are not many South Africans who have been honoured by having a statue of themselves erected in London… writes Peter Ball from The Heritage Portal. Only two come readily to mind and they are Jan Smuts and Nelson Mandela, whose statues stand proudly in Parliament Square, Westminster. However, there is a lesser known South African […]

PRETORIA – Over 30 pieces of rhino horns were seized at the OR Tambo International Airport (ORTIA) Thursday morning during an on-going operation into ridding the airport of criminal activities. The South African Police Service (SAPS) said in a statement that recent reports of the detection of Rhino Horns in the East, originating from Southern Africa, […]

Pretoria resident Ria Viljoen is fortunate to be able to visit the Rietvlei Nature Reserve regularly because the City of Tshwane’s 3,800 ha reserve is just 15-20 minutes from her doorstep. But this week Ria had an extra stroke of luck… a rare sighting of cheetahs on the hunt amongst the pink pompoms. On Saturday, Ria […]

Home Affairs helps Asisipho Sosibo get a birth certificate just in time to compete in March… The new year has kicked off to an exciting start for Special Olympics participant Asisipho Sosibo from Durban. In November, GroundUp reported that Sosibo, 15, was one of 50 athletes selected to represent South Africa at the Special Olympics World Summer […]

Andrew Patterson (39) from Sea Point, Cape Town, climbed Table Mountain every day in 2018 to raise funds for three non-profit organisations; Habitat for Humanity, One Heart for Kids and The Sunflower Fund. Through the wind, rain, freezing temperatures, clouds and sun, Andrew was committed to his cause and hoped to inspire South Africans to […]

Award-winning South African flutist and composer Wouter Kellerman and singer songwriter Lady Zamar have collaborated to create a unique cover version of Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s ‘Shallow’ from ‘A Star is Born’. Watch below. Shallow received a Golden Globe earlier this week for Best original Song, as well as four Grammy Award nominations, including […]

Woolworths South Africa has apologised to Ubuntu Baba founder Shannon McLaughlin for copying her baby carrier (although they didn’t quite use the word “copying”). It was thanks to social media, and her blog post going viral, that Shannon finally received a response from Woolworths. According to the post – “Dear Woolworths, you have some explaining […]

The Patagonian desert in southern Argentina is a harsh environment. Little seems to thrive on its seemingly endless red plains and parched land. Yet in this unlikely place there is a unique bilingual community. It’s made up of the Afrikaans and Spanish-speaking descendants of the about 650 South African Boers, who came to Patagonia in […]

South African Giniel De Villiers has taken the overall lead for his Toyota team at the Dakar Rally in the Peruvian desert! Despite nine-times world rally champion Sebastien Loeb winning the second stage on Tuesday 8 Jan, the biggest gains were made by Toyota Gazoo Racing SA’s De Villiers / Dirk von Zitzewitz (302) and Bernhard ten […]

It was a huge moment tonight for Banyana Banyana in Dakar, Senegal – where forward (Chrestinah) Thembi Kgatlana took home two trophies – the CAF Goal of the Year and CAF Woman Player of the Year awards; and Head Coach Desiree Ellis was named the CAF Women’s National Team Coach of the Year 2018. This […]

Zolani Mahola, the lead singer of Freshlyground, is lending her support to the South African Bone Marrow Registry for a cause close to her heart. The ‘Give a Little, Save a Life’ campaign, launched on donations based crowdfunding platform, BackaBuddy, aims to raise R300 000 to assist four local children who are in dire need of a life-saving […]

The family of 66-year-old Stanley Currie, who went missing in South Africa after boarding a flight from Dublin, Ireland, to Joburg has expressed gratitude to all those who helped share their distraught posts looking for him. It was information from a member of the public that helped locate him, together with fantastic work from a […]

South Africa’s Minister of Basic Education announced a 2018 matric pass rate of 78.2% in the first week of January as well as a number of other significant achievements. These are academic results of students in their final year of high school. The results are used to gauge the state of the country’s education system. […]

Brand South Africa has welcomed South Africa’s improvement in the 2018 Index of Economic Freedom. This comes after the Heritage Foundation has ranked South African 77th out of 100 world countries in terms of economic freedom. In terms of economic freedom, the Heritage Foundation indicates that with a world rank of 77/180, South Africa is […]