“Simo spent his birthday cold, lying in the mortuary”, a heartbroken Cora Kwepe, great aunty of Zonnebloem NEST Senior School learner, Simo Kwepe, told GroundUp on Thursday. Simo was killed on a Cape Town Metrorail line last week Friday, 12 April. He would have celebrated his 17th birthday on Sunday, 14 April. Kwepe said one […]

About 100 property owners in Strand, Cape Town, picketed at the municipal buildings on Thursday afternoon. They demanded an explanation from the City of Cape Town about an apparent agreement reached between SANRAL and the City on providing services to people occupying SANRAL-owned land near their properties. The protesters says that their property prices will […]

British former marathon runner Paula Radcliffe believes the verdict of a legal case involving Olympic champion Caster Semenya could open the door for transgender athletes to claim an unfair advantage in women’s sport. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) is expected to rule this month on whether the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) […]

JOHANNESBURG – South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s push to reduce rural poverty and quell growing anger over unequal access to property faces further delays after a member of an advisory panel on the issue on Friday rejected key aspects of the plan. Land ownership is a controversial and emotive issue in South Africa where racial […]

JOHANNESBURG – Thirteen people were killed in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, during an Easter service after a church wall collapsed on them late on Thursday, during a violent storm, following days of heavy rains and strong winds, emergency services said on Friday. The tragedy took place at Pentecostal Holiness Church in Empangeni. The 13 fatalities reportedly […]

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa’s government has had to bring forward the bailout of state power firm Eskom, after it rushed 5 billion rand ($355 million) to the struggling utility earlier this month to avert a default and said more cash could be needed soon. Eskom supplies more than 90 percent of electricity in Africa’s most […]

The year 2019 marks South Africa’s silver jubilee and, as the young democracy marks this milestone, the Department of International Relations (DIRCO) has taken stock of the country’s foreign policy. To assess the country’s foreign policy, the department appointed an 11 member review panel, chaired by former Foreign Affairs Minister Aziz Pahad, a year ago. […]

When Ohio University integrative biologist Nancy Stevens peered into a drawer in the wooden cabinets on the top floor of a Nairobi museum in 2010, she saw a chunk of rock containing massive teeth and knew she had come across something important. The overlooked fossils stored at the National Museums of Kenya belonged to one […]

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa faces escalating unrest if the governing African National Congress (ANC) party retains power in next month’s election and fails to introduce major reforms, Mmusi Maimane – leader of the country’s biggest opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA) – said on Thursday. In the most hotly contested election since the end of […]

South Africa’s national cricket team is loaded with match-winners and, with a little bit of luck, can end their World Cup agony at this year’s 50-over tournament in England, fast bowler Dale Steyn has said. See the full squad at bottom of page. South Africa’s World Cup adventures have ended prematurely in unfortunate circumstances on […]

The Electoral Commission has agreed to extend voting hours at some foreign missions on 27 April to accommodate Jewish voters celebrating the Sabbath. “The decision to extend voting hours at these missions followed a request from the South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) to accommodate Jewish voters who will be celebrating the Sabbath on […]

With little faith in their government, Zimbabweans took the rescue effort into their own hands after Cyclone Idai hit the Chimanimani region. Steve Kretzmann reports… The first rains in the aftermath of Cyclone Idai fell on Chimanimani on 12 April, once again isolating the town nearly a month after floods and mudslides left at least […]

Here’s that moment when country singer and The Voice coach Blake Shelton saved South African expat Selkii, using his one and only vote to keep her as a contestant in America’s version of The Voice. Selkii said afterwards: “I thought I would be going home today! But Blake believes in me and I’m going to […]

The ruling ANC party has congratulated South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa and record-breaking athlete Caster Semenya for being named amongst TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2019. The ANC said: “We are a proud nation.” The annual prestigious list, published by the international magazine, includes TIME’s “most influential pioneers, leaders, titans, artists and icons […]

For undecided South African voters, Capetonian resident Faried Swartz has created a brilliant version of ‘Do Re Mi’ (from the Sound of Music). Watch below as he “starts at the very beginning” and charts everything that’s happened since we voted for democracy and the ANC… ANC… Faried says the reaction to his video has been […]

BackaBuddy – a proudly South African donations-based crowdfunding platform – has raised over R100 million rand with contributions from over 125,800 generous donors! The milestone was reached on Wednesday afternoon, 17 April 2019. With this incredible feat accomplished, and 6832 campaigns launched on BackaBuddy, South Africans have once again showcased their generosity while demonstrating the […]

Things got a little hectic for South African expat and singer Selkii this week in America, as she competes in the US version of The Voice… but fortunately she’s survived to continue being a fantastic ambassador for South Africa! During the live Cross Battles on Monday evening, Selki – who is in Blake Shelton’s team […]

Brand South Africa has announced the appointment of Thulisile Manzini as the new Acting Chief Executive Officer, with immediate effect. Manzini is tasked with marketing a positive brand image for South Africa domestically and internationally. Her appointment comes amidst a number of organisational challenges, amongst which is the suspension of Kingsley Makhubela as CEO, who […]

The Democratic Alliance’s (DA’s) latest election advert, which was first screened on Sunday night, has become their fasted viewed content ever… with over 50,000 views on social media in less than 12 hours. Some said they thought it was a Nando’s ad. “For a moment there, I thought I was watching a Nandos advert.?” said […]

University of Johannesburg (UJ) official Nomsa Mahlangu has been recognised for her contribution to varsity sport by being elected president of the Federation of African University Sports. The senior director of sport at UJ, Mahlangu won the election with a big majority when it was held in Entebbe, Uganda, last month. “There were four of […]

South Africans have had enough of their Ford Fiesta motor vehicles being broken into, so much so that there’s a Facebook group called “My FORD was Broken into…South Africa” that has over 3,800 members… many of whom are tagging Carte Blanche in a bid to get the current affairs show to investigate the problem, as […]

Hundreds of thousands of people are still in need of aid after Cyclone Idai battered Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi in March. More than 1,000 people have been reported killed by the storm, the flooding it caused and heavy rains before it hit. The World Bank estimates the affected countries will need over $2 billion to […]

JOHANNESBURG – Ratings agency Moody’s warned South Africa again on Tuesday that growing government debt linked to bailouts of state firms would continue to pressure the country’s investment grade status. Moody’s was the last of the big three ratings agencies to give South Africa an investment-grade rating, so markets are sensitive to any pronouncement it […]

Social media is going crazy after South African pop singer Kurt Darren ‘wrecked’ the country’s national anthem – Nkosi Sikelel‘ iAfrika – at a Varsity Cup rugby game. Some said he ‘butchered’ it and, in the words of Tumi Sole, “didn’t even bother to learn the Sotho lyrics of the National Anthem”. Others – like Tshepo Bothata […]

The spire of Paris’ iconic Notre-Dame collapsed Monday evening, quickly followed by the entire roof, as a fast-moving fire has torn through the 850-year-old cathedral, devastating France’s famous landmark as large segments of the roof have gone up in flames. One witness told Reuters: “Basically the whole rooftop is gone. I see no hope for […]