A pod of Humpback Whales frolicking off the shores of Cape Town has spent the week entertaining residents and holiday makers in the Western Cape, South Africa. Since last Saturday the whales have been spotted along the coast, most recently at Mouille Point. South Africans lined up along the coast to watch them, some even […]

A whale carcass was sadly found washed ashore in Cape Town, South Africa, yesterday (Thurs 9 Dec). By nightfall the carcass, which had beached amongst rocks on the Sea Point shoreline, had been removed. Jacques du Toit, City of Cape Town Environmental Management representative, said it’s “very difficult to say what the cause of death […]

The import of hunting trophies from thousands of endangered and threatened species – including lions, rhinos and elephants from South Africa and other countries on the continent – is set to be banned in Great Britain. The UK’s Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, George Eustice, today announced plans for a a […]

Seventy percent of those who have been admitted to hospital are those who are unvaccinated, revealed Health Minister, Dr Joe Phaahla, on Friday. According to the Minister, while scientists are still conducting more studies concerning the efficacy of vaccines against the Omicron variant, early signs indicate they are still effective. “So, as things stand the […]

The South African Department of Health has announced that the first recipients of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine booster shot will likely get it in January. The department’s Deputy Director-General, Dr Nicholas Crisp, told the media on Friday morning that the first qualifiers to the booster shot will be eligible on 28 December, but that since […]

Heartless poachers have brutally shot dead four rhinos at a private game reserve in South Africa, and horrifically wounded a fifth with a shot to the head – just to saw off their horns for cash. The ruthless gang used high-powered rifles fitted with silencers to butcher the herd and even sawed off a fibreglass […]

South Africa has recorded 22 391 new COVID-19 cases, representing a 29.8% positivity rate. This means there are now 3 093 452 laboratory-confirmed cases since the outbreak, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) said on Thursday. This as there has been 19 988 045 tests conducted. Gauteng recorded the highest number of infections after 11 […]

Vultures across Africa and the globe are experiencing population declines. This is no different in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa – the southernmost breeding range of three of the tree-nesting Vulture species. (See video below.) KZN’s vulture population contributes significantly to South Africa’s breeding population, located within the breeding range for all three tree […]

Troukoors (Wedding Fever), the first Showmax Original romcom, will be available to binge from 13 December 2021. Talented Ilse-Lee van Niekerk (Getroud Met Rugby, 4 Mure, Die Boekklub) stars as Jessica, a wedding planner who’s surrounded by love but struggling to find it for herself. Troukoors is made by SAFTA winner Louis Pretorius and SAFTA […]

Well known British TV personality Piers Morgan has weighed in again on Britain’s banning of flights to and from South Africa, and called for SA to be removed from the UK’s Red List. Piers first tweeted support for South Africa when British Prime Minister Boris Johnson first announced that South Africa was being put back […]

Mark Alexander, President of SA Rugby, and Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber congratulated Malcolm Marx, Eben Etzebeth, Siya Kolisi, Lukhanyo Am and Makazole Mapimpi for being named in the World Rugby’s Men’s 15s Dream Team of the Year on Wednesday. Following stellar performances for the Springboks in a blockbuster 2021 season, Marx (hooker), Etzebeth (lock), Kolisi […]

South African actor and producer Sharlto Copley’s new film Ted K was featured at this month’s inaugural Red Sea International Film Festival (RSIFF) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia… where the director told SAPeople, Sharlto was “an amazing actor” and “in another league”. The film, which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival before its Arab premiere, stars […]

PARIS (Reuters) – Global airlines blasted governments on Wednesday for worsening the Omicron scare through snap border measures and “rip-off” virus testing regimes, and urged politicians to let travellers make their own decisions based on scientific data. Willie Walsh, director general of the International Air Transport Association, predicted “knee-jerk” border restrictions resulting from the coronavirus […]

The Archbishop of Canterbury in the UK, Justin Welby, has called for human solidarity – for nations around the world to work together to fight Covid-19, rather than banning flights from countries in Africa where Covid-19 cases appear higher. The Archbishop said in a series of tweets that the “only route out of this pandemic […]

Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula is demanding an apology and R2 million from GroundUp’s reporters Raymond Joseph and Masego Mafata and from the Daily Maverick. This follows the publication last Monday of our (GroundUp’s) article The minister, the Lottery boss and the luxury R5.6 million home by the Daily Maverick. The letter of demand from Mbalula’s […]

While initial laboratory experiments in South Africa have shown that the Omicron variant can “partially evade” protection from the Pfizer vaccine, the news is still better than expected and more promising than many headlines that went out on Tuesday night around the world. Alex Sigal, a professor at the Africa Health Research Institute, announced the […]

The ANC failed to secure the mandatory two-thirds majority required by the Constitution to pass the 18th Constitution Amendment Bill in the National Assembly today, Tuesday 7 December. Had it passed, it would have resulted in the amendment of Section 25 of the Constitution to allow for expropriation of land without compensation. Dr Annelie Lotriet […]

For anybody who has ever met Jack Umba, you’ll know he’s the best barista ever – he’s hard-working, kind-hearted and whips up the best coffees around town, Cape Town. But like many South Africans, it’s been a tough couple of years… however, instead of giving up, Jack is following his dreams to get his coffees […]

Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu has paid tribute to the late former struggle veteran, Ebrahim Ebrahim. “It is with a very heart that I learned of Ebrahim Ebrahim’s passing,” the Minister tweeted on Monday. Sisulu described the former Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, affectionately known as Ebie, as a committed member of the African […]

Sjoe, a heartwarming story from Utrecht in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), South Africa, is being shared on social media today. The story was posted by Nico Moolman on Monday afternoon, after his son – also named Nico – had found a distressed animal on Sunday. Nico Senior said: “Yesterday my son Nico found an old steenbokkie tangled […]

Netflix has parted the waves to reveal the trailer for Cape Town-based Triggerfish’s third animated feature, called ‘Seal Team’. This fun feature film will be available to stream from 31st December 2021. Seal Team is the story of Quinn, a seal who spends his days relaxing in the sun, splashing in the beautiful waters off […]

The family of  Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi have confirmed that the 93-year-old traditional Prime Minister to the Zulu Monarch has tested positive once again to Covid-19, but have expressed their relief that he is double vaccinated and “relatively asymptomatic”. The family of the Founder and President Emeritus of the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), and Inkosi of […]

The South African Health Department has withdrawn access to EVDS data since October… By James Stent The National Department of Health has blocked access to data from the Electronic Vaccination Data System (EVDS) to researchers from the South African Medical Research Council (MRC), the Western Cape health department, and university-affiliated pandemic research groups. This means […]

Round two in the fight against Shell’s Seismic survey in the ocean off the Wild Coast is set to be heard on 14 December when local community groups will argue that it is not only their livelihoods at stake but, through their ancestors who “reside” at sea, their relationships with God. “The Wild Coast is […]

Bravo to ‘Des and Dawn’ – with the booklaunch of their memoir in Johannesburg on Sunday morning… writes Georg Knoke. I say Des and Dawn – because they were inseparable, as we all know! Despite Dawn Avril Lindberg passing away, literally a year ago to this date (Dawn passed away on 7 December), they wrote this […]