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 […]

WASHINGTON – Using a global network of telescopes to see “the unseeable,” an international scientific team on Wednesday announced a milestone in astrophysics – the first-ever photo of a black hole – in an achievement that validated a pillar of science put forward by Albert Einstein more than a century ago. Black holes are monstrous […]

Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama was admitted to a New Delhi hospital on Tuesday with chest infection, an aide said, adding that the 83-year-old Buddhist monk was stable.   The Dalai Lama, who shares a close friendship with South Africa’s Archbishop Desmond Tutu and with whom he co-wrote ‘The Book of Joy’, was flown […]

PARIS – French President Emmanuel Macron wants to declare April 7 as a national day of commemoration of the Rwandan genocide, his Elysee office said in a statement on Sunday. The presidency made the announcement as the Rwandan government started commemorations marking the 25th anniversary of the genocide against Tutsi and moderate Hutus, raising the […]

Scientists have unearthed fossils in a coastal desert of southern Peru of a four-legged whale that thrived both in the sea and on land about 43 million years ago in a discovery that illuminates a pivotal stage in early cetacean evolution. The 13-foot-long (4-meter) mammal, named Peregocetus pacificus, represents a crucial intermediate step before whales […]

LONDON – The Rolling Stones have postponed a tour of the United States and Canada to give singer Mick Jagger time to receive medical treatment, the veteran rock band said on Saturday. “I’m devastated for having to postpone the tour but I will be working very hard to be back on stage as soon as […]

Former South African Proteas captain Graeme Smith has tweeted that his parents have been successfully evacuated from the Viking Sky cruise liner off Norway’s west coast, after it was hit by a massive storm just after lunch. On Saturday afternoon, in a tweet that was published in newspapers around the world, Smith said: “My parents […]

At least 49 people have been killed, and 20 injured following an attack on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. Tributes from around the world have poured in, including one from All Blacks rugby player Sonny Bill Williams, who is Muslim: “My heart is hurting about the news coming out of Christchurch. Sending love & […]

LONDON – Britain’s Prince Harry and his pregnant wife Meghan are to set up their own household, breaking away from the joint operation they shared with Harry’s elder brother William and his wife Kate, Buckingham Palace said on Thursday. Harry and Meghan, known officially as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, have shared staff with […]

LONDON – Meghan Markle said on Friday she hoped the baby she is expecting this spring with Britain’s Prince Harry will follow in her feminist footsteps. The former “Suits” actress made the comment during an International Women’s Day panel discussion at King’s College London. Asked how her “bump” was treating her, Meghan told the audience: […]

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg will not seek the Democratic nomination for U.S. president in 2020 but will instead launch an effort aimed at combating climate change, he said this week. A billionaire who could have sunk millions of his own dollars into a campaign, Bloomberg had publicly toyed with running and has […]

MADRID – Holders Real Madrid were sensationally knocked out of the Champions League on Tuesday after being thrashed 4-1 at home by an outstanding Ajax Amsterdam who overturned a first-leg deficit to reach the quarter-finals 5-3 on aggregate. The humiliating defeat completed a miserable week for Real, who have monopolised the competition since 2016 and […]

American actor Luke Perry, who rose to superstardom on the teen-oriented 1990s U.S. television drama “Beverly Hills 90210” and then aged into a fatherly role on comic-based “Riverdale,” died on Monday at the age of 52 after suffering a “massive” stroke last week, his publicist said. Publicist Arnold Robinson said Perry died in a Los […]

German haute-couture designer Karl Lagerfeld, artistic director at Chanel and an icon of the fashion industry with his extravagant outfits and striking catwalks, has died aged 85. Instantly recognizable in his dark suits, pony-tailed white hair and sunglasses, Lagerfeld was best known for his association with Chanel but delivered collections for LVMH’s Fendi and his […]

Former ambassador to Iran, Yusuf Saloojee, was arrested by the Hawks on Thursday and subsequently made a brief court appearance at the Johannesburg Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on the same day facing charges of corruption. Saloojee, 75, has been a subject of the Hawks’ Serious Corruption Investigation unit following allegations that he allegedly partook in […]

The South African government has launched the #NaturallySuperior campaign which aims to rally behind golden girl Caster Semenya. The campaign will target various eminent people, sectors of the local and global community as well as human rights organisations to join in condemning and opposing International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) regulations. Its mandate, according to […]

South Africans across the country will today participate in World Read Aloud Day which is dedicated to highlighting the importance and power of reading aloud and sharing stories with children. The day will see South Africa attempting to break the Read-Aloud record by reaching 1.5 million children today. Spearheaded by Nal’ibali – this year’s story […]

The death toll has climbed to 27 in the twin explosions at a church in the conflict-plagued Sulu province of the southern Philippines on Sunday, the local police said. Police Chief Superintendent Graciano Mijares, Philippine National Police (PNP) director in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), told local media that so far his office […]

If you’re a South African expat living in the United States, look up into the night sky on Sunday and – if it is clear – you may witness the so-called “Super Blood Wolf Moon” total lunar eclipse, which will take a star turn across the continental US during prime time for viewing. The total […]

On June 23, 2016 the United Kingdom held a referendum to decide whether it should leave or remain in the European Union. More than 30 million people took part in the vote with 51.9% choosing to leave and 48.1% to remain. Six months later, the new Prime Minister Theresa May delivered a speech in which […]

ATHENS – The ancient monuments in Athens got a rare dusting of snow on Tuesday as temperatures across Greece hit record lows, bringing transport to a standstill in some areas. While early morning tourists at the Acropolis were treated to a snow-globe scene, locals had to contend with roads made impassable by ice and many […]

PARIS – A music video, set in the Louvre, by Beyonce and Jay-Z – who were recently in South Africa for the Global Citizen Concert – helped boost visitor numbers to a record 10.2 million last year, the most for any museum in history, the Louvre said on Thursday. A rebound in tourist numbers to […]

Following a deadly tsunami in Indonesia that struck coastal towns on the Sunda Strait on Saturday, 22 December 2018, the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) has urged South Africans with family members in Indonesia whom they cannot contact or locate, to contact the department’s 24-hour switchboard number at 012 351 1000. […]

Grammy award winning singer Nancy Wilson, 81, died peacefully at her California home Thursday after a long illness, her longtime publicist said. The torch singer of the 1960s called herself a “song-stylist” and resisted being labeled a jazz singer for most of her career because she could cross so many genres. “She was one of […]

Former US President, George HW Bush, passed away on Friday night (22h10) at the age of 94, just seven months after his wife Barbara died. The news was announced by his son, former President George W Bush, in a statement saying: Jeb, Neil, Marvin, Doro, and I are saddened to announce that after 94 remarkable […]