First Take SA

South African Airways has announced that it will be cancelling more domestic, regional and international flights by the end of the month. The only route the ailing airline will retain locally are reduced flights between Johannesburg and Cape Town, ceasing operations to Durban, Port Elizabeth and East London. Regional flights to Luanda, Entebbe, Abidjan via Accra and Ndola will also be canned. Inte...

The ANC in KwaZulu-Natal says it is dismayed by the warrant of arrest issued by the Pietermaritzburg High Court for former President Jacob Zuma. Zuma did not attend the court proceedings of his corruption trial and the judge was not satisfied with the content and authenticity of a sick note produced by his lawyer. However, the warrant will be executed only if he does not appear in court on the 6th...

The screening of travellers for the Coronavirus has been intensified at the Groblersbrug border post between Botswana and South Africa. One person who works at the border was taken to hospital and isolated after displaying symptoms associated with flu. The national Department of Health has reiterated that there are no cases of the Corona Virus in South Africa.

Former President Jacob Zuma's legal team and his family are dismayed by the Pietermaritzburg high court's decision to issue a warrant for his arrest. This is after Zuma failed to appear in court. However the warrant will only be effected if he does not show up for the next appearance in May. The judge was not satisfied with the content and the authenticity of the medical note handed in by Zuma's a...

The Limpopo Health Department says there is no confirmation that a patient who has been put in isolation at the Ellisras Hospital in Lephalale, with a high fever and flu-like symptoms, has contracted the corona virus. However, the department has opened a facility at the Polowkane Hospital for any possible coronavirus cases in the province.

Every day a South African is arrested in Brazil for drug trafficking while one-hundred men have been arrested for the same offence since 2017 in Mauritius. They were travelling via O.R. Tambo International Airport. Anti-drug activists revealed the statistics in Braamfontein during a panel discussion on drug trafficking in Johannesburg. They warn that the number could be higher as drug mules use co...

The fraud and corruption case against former president Jacob Zuma and his co-accused the French arms manufacturer, Thales, is back in the Pietermaritzburg high court today (Tuesday). But his office has confirmed to the SABC that Zuma will not attend the court as he is not well. The two lost their bid to appeal to a judgement for a permanent stay of prosecution last year. Their application for leav...

Today marks the 20th anniversary of World Cancer Day - a global initiative led by the Union for International Cancer Control, aimed at supporting the cancer community and ensuring that cancer continues to be a priority in the world health and development agenda. This as 8.2 million people die from cancer world wide each year, out of which 4 million are considered premature deaths with ages 30 to 6...

Some air travellers arriving at the O. R Tambo International airport say the screening for the Corona virus is not an inconvenience but a necessary health precaution. Officials from the national health department and the SANDF health personnel have started screening international air passengers arriving at the airport for the deadly virus. Over 300 people are now known to have died from the virus...

Embattled Tshwane Mayor Steven Mokgalapa yesterday announced his intention to resign from his position at the end of this month. He maintains that he did nothing wrong but said it was best for the city if he stood down. He has been on special leave and was expected back at work today. Mokgalapa has been facing votes of no confidence in the Tshwane Council. He has accused the ANC and EFF of launchi...

One of Enoch Mpianzi's siblings has described the late teenager as a shy, but very intelligent boy. Shadrack was speaking at his brother's memorial service at Parktown Boys' High School, north of Johannesburg this afternoon (tuesday 28 January). The former Brixton Primary learner drowned during his new school's Grade 8 orientation camp near Brits in the North West. He was 13-years-old. Learners an...

Interim DA leader, John Steenhuisen, says the ANC governed Mogalakwena Municipality in Mokopane, Limpopo, is being run like a mafia state. Steenhuisen was on a fact finding mission in the troubled municipality. The Mogalakwena municipality has been dogged by political infighting, corruption allegations, political killings and violent service delivery protests. Steenhuisen says he'll call on Presid...

Trade union federation Cosatu in the Free State has endorsed the continuation of the shutdown over chronic water shortage in Maluti-A-Phofung municipality in Qwaqwa. Majority of the workers have called for the continuation of the shutdown which started last Monday and suspended on Wednesday after a government delegation met with community leaders. The Union leaders held a meeting with workers YEST...

Trade Union, NUMSA, says they are expected to meet with Autopax stakeholders tomorrow to map a way forward - after the Translux and City to City buses operator announced that its not able to pay its employees their full salaries for January. Autopax - a subsidiary of the Passenger Rail agency of South Africa (PRASA) - has been placed under administration following claims of corruption and maladmin...

The Communications Worker's Union has vowed to take up the fight against the retrenchment of three-thousand employees at the fixed-line operator, Telkom. This as the union together with Telkom enter into consultations in order to curb the loss of jobs which CWU actually puts at six-thousand workers. CWU's Secretary General, Aubrey Tshabalala says the upskilling of workers should not be over-shadow...

The founder of the People's Dialogue and former Joburg mayor, Herman Mashaba says their future political fortunes with Mmusi Maimane are not linked. He was speaking during a joint media briefing with the victim families of the Lily Mine disaster in Johannesburg yesterday ( Wednesday). Earlier Mashaba vowed to form his political party within the next two months. Former DA leader, Maimane said he st...

South Africa has a health crisis with overcrowded public healthcare facilities. The Treatment Action Campaign wants government to inject more money into building clinics and hospitals to reduce the overcrowding, improve infrastructure and ultimately stop deaths. This comes after 10 babies died of klebsiella at the Tembisa Hospital on the East Rand. Seven other babies are still critical.

The editor of SA Flyer Magazine, Guy Leitch, has warned that South African Airways could suffer a loss of public confidence in the long-term. This after the airline cancelled at least 30 domestic flights between Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban and ten return flights to the city of Munich in Germany. The airline says it cannot rule out further flight cancellations. SAA, which was placed under vo...

Corruption in the Kwa-Zulu Natal Police service came under the spotlight again at the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture on MONDAY . This emerged in the testimony of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Forensic Auditor, Trevor White. White highlighted how politically connected businessman, Toshan Panday, allegedly paid off KZN-police staff in supply -chain management with gifts and bribes.

Seven babies are still fighting for their lives in an isolated ward at the Tembisa Provincial Hospital on Gauteng's east rand. This follows the death of ten newborn babies at the hospital's neonatal ward in the past two months after an outbreak of klebsiella pneumonia. Overcrowding and a shortage of staff have been highlighted as the main reasons behind the infection.

The South African Cabin Crew Association (SACCA) together with the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) say government should urgently release the funds needed to save South African Airways. The airline is in urgent need of a two-billion rand government bailout in order to keep its aircrafts in the air. The airline has already exhausted two billion rands from private lenders. SAA...

Fifty two years after his assassination.. Dr. Martin Luther King's family says his legacy still lives. This amid a chapter of divisive American politics and undercurrents of racism. Today is Dr Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the United States. It's held annually on the third Monday of January. The late American civil rights leader championed justice and equality for black Americans from the 1950's,...

Two Johannesburg families are grieving the deaths of their sons, both of which occurred under school supervision, in two separate incidents. Both families are demanding answers from Laerskool Bekker and Parktown Boys High School. 13-year-old Enock Mpianzi's body was retrieved from the Crocodile River, near Brits, in the North West on Friday, where he was attending an orientation camp organised by...

Some economists say the decision by the Reserve Bank's Monetary Policy Committee to reduce the repo rate will not do much to boost the ailing economy. The central bank took most economists by surprise by lowering the repurchase rate by 25 basis points. The move will reduce the prime lending rate to 9.75 percent from 10 percent with effect from tomorrow

Trade union Solidarity has asked for a moratorium on retrenchments at Telkom. The telecoms giant has notified unions that up to 3000 workers could lose their jobs as it struggles with declining performance in fixed voice and data services.