On behalf of the people of South Africa, President Jacob Zuma has wished “all members of the Chinese Community in South Africa a happy and successful New Year – the Year of the Rooster.” (See 11 Chinese New Year Fun Facts below.) He said the Year is known for bringing success to those who have been patient, and signifies the […]

Over 30 cake sales are being held around South Africa today in a final bid for South Africans to raise  funds for Operation SA’s #SaveSyria initiative. The humanitarian campaign kicked off last month, and has already raised R12.45-million – money which, with a 100% donation policy, goes directly to the people in need in Syria. Social […]

Popular American actress Mary Tyler Moore has passed away at the age of 80. Her longtime representative Mara Buxbaum issued a statement Wednesday saying: “Today beloved icon Mary Tyler Moore passed away at the age of 80 in the company of friends and her loving husband of over 33 years, Dr. S. Robert Levine.” TMZ had […]

No matter whether you love or hate America’s new president, this video of Donald Trump talking with an Afrikaans accent is sure to bring a smile to your face. Afrikaans4Dummies – who have previously produced videos featuring famous Hollywood stars with Afrikaans accents as well as Trump vs Hillary Clinton during a presidential debate in the lead-up […]

Deep in the heart of India is an African tribe who still retain their African features and African roots… although their nationality and way of life is now Indian. The Siddi Tribe in Gujarat originally came from South East Africa, taken to India as slaves by the Portuguese about 750 years ago. They’re now fluent […]

No matter what one’s thoughts may be on Barack Obama as a President, there can be no doubt that when it comes to being a husband and a father – he provided an inspiring role model for all the men out there. At his presidential farewell speech in the USA on Wednesday, the crowd went wild as […]

As predicted, American President Elect Donald Trump has woken up this morning and reacted to major media coverage of Hollywood actress Meryl Streep’s Golden Globes speech, with a derogatory tweet labelling her as “over-rated”. During her acceptance speech for the Lifetime Achievement Award in America Sunday night, Streep addressed Trump’s “instinct to humiliate”. Without mentioning his name, […]

While South Africa – particularly Gauteng and Mpumalanga – has been experiencing heavy downpours over the past few days… on the other side of the world Thailand has suffered a week of unseasonable downpours which have led to at least 12 fatalities and many villages totally flooded with water up to their rooves. South African expat […]

Michelle Obama’s final speech as the United States’ First Lady has made headlines around the world for its power-packed words of inspiration about what got her and President Barack Obama through their years in the White House, and through their lives: the power of hope. It’s a speech that is as relevant to South Africans as […]

LOS ANGELES – LA residents woke up this morning to a slightly different version of their famed ‘HOLLYWOOD’ sign. Overnight it has been transformed to read ‘HOLLYWeeD’, perhaps by someone who smoked a little Hollyweed! At this stage, nobody has claimed responsibility (or is likely to!). According to reports in American media, it’s either a […]

LONDON — The countdown to a historic new £1 coin officially began today, with UK Chief Secretary David Gauke revealing it will enter circulation on 28 March 2017. Gauke stressed: “if you have a round one pound coin sitting at home or in your wallet, you need to spend it or return it to your bank before 15 October.” […]

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Pope Francis urged leaders to work together to fight the “plague of terrorism”, saying in his New Year’s address on Sunday that a bloodstain was covering the world as it started 2017. Speaking to some 50,000 people in St. Peter’s Square for his traditional noon address, Francis departed from his prepared […]

ISTANBUL (Reuters) – A gunman opened fire on New Year revellers at a packed nightclub on the shores of Istanbul’s Bosphorus waterway on Sunday killing at least 39 people, including many foreigners, then fled the scene. (Updated 01 January 2017, 14h00 SA time.) Some people jumped into the Bosphorus waters to save themselves after the […]

Following the loss of his mother, Hollywood legend Debbie Reynolds (84), who passed away within 24 hours of his 60-year-old sister Carrie Fisher’s passing, Todd Fisher has paid tribute to their close relationship with a touching post on Twitter. He uploaded an illustration of mother and daughter, with Debbie dressed as her character from her […]

(Reuters) – – Hollywood legend Debbie Reynolds, who sang and danced her way into the hearts of millions of moviegoers around the world in musicals like “Singin’ in the Rain,” died on Wednesday at age 84, her son said. Reynolds, one of the most enduring and endearing Hollywood actresses, died hours after being rushed to […]

NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Carrie Fisher’s unexpected death on Tuesday did not just leave “Star Wars” fans heartbroken. It thrust movie studio Walt Disney Co into a dilemma over the fate of her iconic character, Princess Leia, as it moves forward with the blockbuster film franchise. Fisher, 60, enjoyed a new round of fame […]

If you’re contemplating 2017 and feeling depressed that the planet has never been in a worse condition… this good news should bring back your smile. Our World in Data (OWID) – an online publication that presents the empirical evidence on the development of human living conditions – has published charts (see below) showing just how much […]

LONDON (Reuters) – Madonna, Elton John and Paul McCartney paid tribute on Monday to British pop idol George Michael, who has died age 53 after a career of soulful ballads and dance songs that provided a soundtrack to much of the 1980s and 1990s. (Scroll to bottom for stories of George Michael’s incredible generosity and […]

LONDON (Reuters) – Singer George Michael, who became one of the pop idols of the 1980s with Wham! and then forged a career as a successful solo artist with sometimes sexually provocative lyrics, died at his home in England on Sunday. He was 53. In the mid-1980s, Wham! was one of the most successful pop […]

BEIJING (Reuters) – It was strangely muted when George Michael, as part of the British pop duo Wham!, took the stage at the Workers Gymnasium in Beijing in April 1985, recalled one of those who attended that now legendary first Western pop act in Communist China. Around 15,000 concert-goers watched Michael and bandmate Andrew Ridgeley […]

Former Wham! singer, George Michael, has tragically died on Christmas Day at the age of 53, his publicist announced on Sunday evening. He reportedly died peacefully in his bed from heart failure. (Updated Mon 26 Nov, 10h30 SA time.) His former manager said in a statement: “It is with great sadness that we can confirm our beloved […]

Queen Elizabeth focused on what she called the value of doing small things with great love in her annual Christmas message on Sunday, reflecting on inspirational examples of “ordinary people doing extraordinary things”. (Watch below.) Queen Elizabeth, 90, missed a traditional Christmas church service on Sunday for the first time in decades due to a […]

As South Africa sent condolences today to victims of the probable terrorist attack that struck in Berlin on Monday evening, an SAPeople follower from Germany has described the feelings her country is currently going through. Cornelia H. from Munich, who loves spending her holidays in “beautiful South Africa”, says: “Germany is in a state of shock. Everyone is […]

ALEPPO, Syria/BEIRUT (Reuters) – The evacuation of the last opposition-held areas of the Syrian city of Aleppo was suspended on Friday after pro-government militias demanded that wounded people should also be brought out of two Shi’ite villages being besieged by rebel fighters. The second day of the operation to take fighters and civilians out of […]

ALEPPO, Syria/BEIRUT (Reuters) – The evacuation of the last opposition-held areas of the Syrian city of Aleppo was suspended on Friday after pro-government militias demanded that wounded people should also be brought out of two Shi’ite villages being besieged by rebel fighters. The second day of the operation to take fighters and civilians out of […]