A selection of photos we (GroundUp) took this year! © 2021 GroundUp

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has ended a week of self-isolation which followed his positive test for COVID-19 on 12 December 2021. The President thanked all South Africans along with leaders and friends internationally who conveyed their good wishes during this period. In turn, the President said he wishes everyone infected with COVID-19 a safe […]

Il Divo baritone singer Carlos Marin has tragically passed away at the age of 53 after reportedly contracting Covid-19 in the UK. The Spanish singer, who was born in Germany, had fallen ill on 7 December. He had been admitted to hospital in Manchester a few days ago, and had been intubated and placed in […]

South Africa’s Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Gwede Mantashe, has tested positive for COVID-19. The Minister tested positive on Saturday, 18 December 2021, after experiencing mild symptoms. According to the Presidency, “Minister Mantashe is in good spirits and he is currently in self-isolation.” The Presidency said on Friday that President Cyril Ramaphosa is also […]

Pigcasso, the abstract expressionist painter and rescued pig from South Africa, has made headlines abroad with the announcement this week that one of her paintings has sold for an incredible £20,000. Pigcasso’s page said on Wednesday: “WILD AND FREE (Pigcasso 2021) MAKES HISTORY! The magnificent Masterpiece that has inspired a global record has sold to […]

Let the Christmas countdown begin with these 6 local South African festive season movies. Showmax is counting down to Christmas with a merry line-up of local holiday movies. From laugh-a-minute comedies to feel-good tear-jerkers, these homegrown films will give you all the festive season feels for a very Mzansi Christmas.  Add these new holiday favourites […]

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is “making good progress” in his recovery from COVID-19, while continuing treatment for “mild symptoms” the Presidency announced on Friday. The President is in “good spirits and comfortable in his recovery”, according to Minister in The Presidency, Mondli Gungubele. President Ramaphosa tested positive for the coronavirus viral infection on Sunday […]

With France banning travel to and from the UK  for most – although not all – travellers, the Western Cape has pounced on the moment to promote its beautiful beaches as a fabulous alternative to the French Riviera. From midnight tonight French local time, only UK citizens/residents will be allowed to leave France to enter […]

The South African government, through the African Renaissance Fund (ARF), has signed an agreement with the African Vaccination Acquisition Trust (AVAT) to donate 2 030 400 doses of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines, valued at R288.6 million, to African countries. AVAT was formed following the establishment of the African Union’s COVID-19 African Vaccination Acquisition Task […]

South African expat Marnus Labuschagne has scored another century for his adopted homeland, Australia… becoming the Australian with the most runs since his Test debut on 7 October 2018. This was his sixth Test century, and his first against England. Labuschagne (27)  started this year on a good note, being hailed “an incredible player, a legend […]

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The World Trade Organization is close to resolving a dispute over how to spread COVID-19 vaccines more widely and fairly, but is facing an “orchestrated effort” – including deliberate leaks – to block a deal, the body’s chief said on Thursday… By Philip Blenkinsop. WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told Reuters she had […]

There’s something for everyone on Carte Blanche this week – from a barber to the stars, to saving the Bearded Vultures, repatriating Africa’s stolen artefacts and Elon Musk’s venture to Mars. Carte Blanche has a packed 90-minute blockbuster adventure just for you. You can watch the show on Sunday 19 December in South Africa on […]

“I couldn’t be more excited after hearing the wonderful news that our beautiful City, Cape Town, has bagged a double at the 2021 World Travel Awards!” Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis says. For the second consecutive year Cape Town has been named the World’s Leading Festival and Event Destination, which is fantastic news for everyone […]

Party leaders from across the political spectrum in South Africa today signed the coalition agreement that has established multi-party governments in hung councils across the country. The agreement successfully formed coalition governments in all three Metro Municipalities in Gauteng, and in so doing kept the ANC out of government in these Metros, the parties said […]

A South African mom, who now lives in England, has decided to turn personal trauma from the past into a positive that can help others. Having tragically lost her father and brother only nine days apart, Ilze Lee and her children, Bradley and Leah, were still coming to terms with the loss when the children’s […]

The Northern Gauteng High Court in Pretoria, South Africa, has ruled that former president Jacob Zuma’s medical parole was granted unlawfully. The court further ruled that the period that Zuma was out of jail on medical parole will not be deducted from his 15-month prison sentence. AfriForum, which was an applicant in the case asking […]

Environmentalists and community groups assemble expert evidence… By Tania Broughton International and local experts have filed affidavits in support of attempts to stop Shell’s seismic survey off the Wild Coast. On Friday the Makhanda High Court will hear the application for an interdict to stop the survey. A previous attempt to get an interdict failed […]

CAPE TOWN – Intrepid adventurer Richard Kohler is just days away from leaving Cape Town for a solo surfski paddle across the Southern Atlantic to Salvador in Brazil, aiming to become the first person to complete the 7,000 mile journey alone and unsupported… writes Dave Macleod. 52 year old Kohler will be paddling a specially […]

Cape Town says it is destination-ready and can’t wait to welcome back its visitors… many of whom will be SA expats heading home for the holidays, or British sun-seekers desperate to soak up SA’s fabulous culture, cuisine and cool beaches. The UK has scrapped its red list (from 4am Wednesday) meaning that their travellers are […]

Encouragingly, the result of a major study in South Africa shows that vaccinated individuals who received two-doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine have 70% protection against hospital admission. Whilst protection against hospital admission is a lot less than the highs of 93% in South Africa’s Delta-driven variant, 70% is still regarded as very good protection. The […]

The UK government has said that all 11 countries currently on its travel Red Llist, including South Africa, will be removed from 04h00 on Wednesday morning! “Tears rolling down my cheeks,” said SA expat Loulou C, who is in Scotland. “I am SO SO happy… going to cuddle my mum and not let her go; […]

Great news for the thousands of South Africans around the world who have inadvertently lost their South African citizenship – the Democratic Alliance (DA) has confirmed it will take the fight for the rights of South Africans unknowingly deprived of their citizenship to the Supreme Court of Appeal. Section 6(1)(a) of the South African Citizenship […]

A couple in Level Two informal settlement in Khayelitsha, Cape Town are growing vegetables on a small plot next to their home to feed their family and a local soup kitchen. They say they cleared the area that had once been used as a dump site. Xolani Mbokodi and his wife Vuyokazi Vapi live with […]

A festive family in South Africa got a shock after putting up their Christmas tree and decorating it – when a deadly poisonous SNAKE poked its head out from behind a bauble! British family Rob and Marcela Wild were admiring their just-up fir with children Edward and Sahara when they suddenly spotted the venomous boomslang. […]

You wouldn’t be surprised to see a game of snakes and ladders under the Christmas tree… but imagine the shock for a Western Cape family, when they saw a real live snake IN their Christmas Tree. And it wasn’t just any snake. It was a boomslang… which is of course named for the fact that […]