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 […]

As much of the world starts preparing to celebrate the most famous journey to Bethlehem, taken by Mary and Joseph over 2,000 years ago… social media followers are celebrating a modern day act of kindness taken by a couple of strangers to help a man on his way to Bethlehem, South Africa. Neville Manchu’s post […]

PRETORIA – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has not received any request from South Africa for a financial aid programme, its managing director Christine Lagarde said on Wednesday, as the country struggles with weak economic growth and rising debt. “I am not here to discuss any kind of financial support or to negotiate any kind […]

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa‘s Competition Commission on Thursday recommended Shoprite’s retail unit, which houses the country’s biggest supermarket chain, be fined 10 percent of its turnover for anti-competitive behaviour. Shoprite shares fell more than 4 percent after the commission referred it to the country’s Competition Tribunal, which will ultimately decide if the commission’s charges and […]

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa’s Public Protector on Wednesday ordered President Cyril Ramaphosa to discipline Treasury Director-General Dondo Mogajane for not disclosing a criminal conviction when he applied for his job. Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane told reporters she had directed Ramaphosa to take disciplinary action against Mogajane within 30 days after investigations confirmed Mogajane failed to […]

Today is Day 20 of the Khoisan6’s peaceful protest at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, South Africa… writes concerned Tshwane resident, Lisa Marcelle Hold. Last night they went hungry and are in desperate need of food and fresh water. Conditions over the past week have been horrendous with unbearable weather – either searing heat or torrential rain […]

South Africa’s Public Protector (PP), Busisiwe Mkhwebane, has found that the 2016 family holiday trip to Dubai by former Minister of Sport, Fikile Mbalula, was paid for by Sedgars Sports, a sporting goods supplier, and that this constitutes a conflict of interest. The PP has also found that Mbalula acted in violation of the Constitution […]

A warrant has been issued for the arrest of Grace Mugabe, wife of former Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, and Interpol’s help is being sought to help enforce it. This follows after Mrs Mugabe’s diplomatic immunity was overturned in July this year… which paved the way for Mrs Mugabe to be prosecuted for allegedly assaulting a […]

A lodge manager and guide at Leopard Rock Lodge, Mark Lautenbach, has been tragically killed in an elephant attack in South Africa. North West MEC for Rural, Environment and Agricultural Development, Desbo Mohono said in a statement that Lautenbach was a manager and guide at the Leopard Rock Lodge operating in Madikwe Game Reserve. Lautenbach […]

Almost two years ago I photographed a fire that threatened St Francis Bay as well as Cape St Francis… writes Christopher Scott. People feared the inevitable, but all was saved. A close shave as some would say. Today 18th December 2018, a week before Xmas I saw a posting ‘FIRE in St Francis Bay, houses […]

Even his detractors would concede that Cyril Ramaphosa has greatly improved the political atmosphere in South Africa since assuming the presidency in February 2018. True, the scope for any further deterioration was minimal. So squalid was his predecessor’s rule that virtually any new leader from outside the Zuma patronage machine would have offered some respite […]

Turkish Airlines is now flying twice a week between the Zambian capital Lusaka and Istanbul, via Dar es Salaam. The new route was launched on 14 December 2018 and it makes Lusaka the 306th destination serviced globally by Turkish Airlines – more than any other airline. Turkish Airlines’ Senior Vice President of Sales Kerem Sarp […]

Fire fighters have been battling a runaway fire that has destroyed approximately 15 houses in the seaside resort of St Francis Bay, near Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. Strong gale force winds of at least 60kmh were hampering efforts, but in the past hour the Kouga Municipality has reported that the […]

Antonia Mtambo, (69) a pensioner and domestic worker from Willowfountain, Pietermaritzburg, was living in a home that became irreparable when a white-ant infestation destroyed her house and exposed her to the elements… Her plight broke the hearts of her employers of over 15 years – Michelle Hugo (68) and daughter Kerry (35)… and so they […]

The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) has confirmed that Tristan-Lee Niemand and another six South Africans detained in China have been released from prison and will be deported this week. The department said in a statement the South African mission in Shanghai has informed Minister Lindiwe Sisulu that the seven South African nationals […]

Almost everyday, hundreds of homeless people gather at the Service Dining Rooms for a warm cooked meal and cooldrink. Situated in Cape Town’s city centre, this charity has been feeding people in need for over 80 years. On Thursday, the organisation held its annual Christmas Party. where meals were prepared for over 400 people. The […]

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa’s rand traded slightly stronger early Tuesday, helped by a fragile dollar as markets counted down to a crucial U.S. Federal Reserve meeting amid speculation it will soon hit the pause button to its monetary tightening cycle. At 0645 GMT, the rand traded at 14.3500 versus the dollar, 0.3 percent stronger than […]

The argument has dragged on long enough about who should take the credit for bringing South Africa’s apartheid regime to an end. Of course, some will immediately respond by saying that apartheid has not yet been defeated – it still lives on in innumerable ways. But at least the regime that promulgated the legislation and […]

JOHANNESBURG – South African Airways (SAA) said on Tuesday that it had signed a partnership deal with Emirates airline which would see the two firms expand an existing codeshare agreement and work on other areas of cooperation. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has been at pains to stabilise struggling state-run firms like SAA, which has […]

A Johannesburg restaurant manager, who saved the life of a customer’s young son, has been publicly heralded for her quick action and extreme calmness in a situation that could have had a tragic ending. Lone Wolf Spur Steak Ranch owner Chris Marks posted a photo with the Gauteng restaurant’s store manager Nelly Malinga, and said […]