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 […]

Dec 15 (Reuters) – Facebook Inc said on Thursday it will roll out a number of new tools to prevent fake news stories from spreading on the social media network. The company will make it easier for users to flag fake articles on their News Feed, and will also work with organisations such as fact-checking […]

(Reuters) – Yahoo Inc warned it had uncovered yet another massive cyber attack, saying data from more than 1 billion user accounts was compromised in August 2013, making it the largest breach in history. The number of affected accounts was double the scope of an attack in 2014 that the internet company disclosed in September. […]

PRETORIA – President Jacob Zuma has extended South Africa’s condolences to Nigeria and Egypt following tragedies that occurred this weekend at churches in these countries; and has extended condolences to the governments and people of Yemen, Turkey and Somalia following the terrorist attacks that occurred in those countries at the weekend. Nigeria… On Saturday, a church […]

(Reuters) – John Glenn, who became one of the 20th century’s greatest explorers as the first American to orbit Earth and later as the world’s oldest astronaut, and also had a long career as a U.S. senator, died in Ohio on Thursday at age 95. Glenn, the last surviving member of the original seven American […]

Formula One (F1) World Champion Nico Rosberg announced today that he will stop racing in Formula One with immediate effect. Nico wrote a detailed explanation and farewell to all his fans on Facebook (see below). He reached his ultimate dream in Abu Dhabi last Sunday when he became the first German to win an F1 championship […]

Andrew Sachs of Fawlty Towers fame passed away last week at the age of 86, in a care home, after suffering from a secret four-year battle with dementia, it has been announced. His wife Melody, whom he married 56 years ago, made the announcement Thursday saying: “My heart has been broken every day for a long […]

Tomi Lahren has risen to fame and notoriety in America and around the world for her outspoken comments on everything from liberalism and feminism to the Black Lives Matter movement. The Daily Beast calls her a “right wing ranter” and yesterday the BBC profiled the 24-year-old under the heading “The young Republican who’s bigger than Trump […]

South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma has travelled to Havana, Cuba to attend the funeral of the late former President of Cuba, Fidel Castro Ruz, who passed away on Friday at age 90. Zuma joins several leaders from around the world… although neither America’s President Obama nor Russian President Vladimir Putin will be present. President Zuma ordered that the National […]

PRETORIA – President Jacob Zuma has conveyed a message of condolence to the government and people of Brazil after a chartered plane crashed over a mountainous region in Colombia on Tuesday morning. In a statement, President Zuma sent his condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of all the victims of the crash. The chartered plane, […]

PRETORIA – President Jacob Zuma has, on behalf of the government and the people of South Africa, conveyed a message of condolences to the government and people of Cuba following the passing on of former President Fidel Castro. The President said the people of South Africa share the loss of the Cuban people and stand with […]

A shocking video has gone viral around the world, exposing horrific child abuse, coincidentally as the world prepares for ’16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children’, which kicks off on Friday 25 November. South Africans on social media have been sharing the video under the mistaken assumption that it took place in SA, […]

TOKYO (Reuters) – A powerful earthquake rocked northern Japan early on Tuesday, briefly disrupting cooling functions at a nuclear plant and generating a small tsunami that hit the same Fukushima region devastated by a 2011 quake, tsunami and nuclear disaster. The magnitude 7.4 earthquake, which was felt in Tokyo, sent thousands of residents fleeing for […]

Following a comedy sketch on Saturday Night Live, in which Hollywood actor Alec Baldwin starred as American President Elect, Donald Trump, the two TV celebrities (Trump hosted ‘The Apprentice’) have exchanged terse tweets! The sketch revealed how difficult Trump may find it, once in the White House, to actually deliver on the many campaign promises he made […]

Pope Francis has extended the faculties of Catholic priests to have the power to forgive abortion. Writing in a new Apostolic Letter, the Pope said: “I can and must state that there is no sin that God’s mercy cannot reach and wipe away when it finds a repentant heart seeking to be reconciled with the Father.” In […]

At least 73 people have been killed, and over 110 – including children – badly injured, following the explosion of a fuel truck in Mozambique. International reports say that local people – in a country where over half the 24 million people live beneath the poverty line – had gathered around an overturned lorry to siphon petrol out of it, […]