Newsbreak

SABC News and Current Affairs — India has promised to restore mobile phone services in Kashmir later today. The step will partially lift a grinding communications blackout imposed two months ago, when the government stripped the Muslim-majority region of its special status. There was also no word on the thousands including political leaders held in detention since August 5. Rana Senn reports...

SABC News and Current Affairs — By Newsbreak Producer Rachel Vadi - As South Africans prepare to celebrate Diwali - The Festival of Lights, Metro Police have issued strict guidelines over the use of fireworks. According to Metro Police spokesperson Superintendent Parbhoo Sewpersad - fireworks are only allowed to be lit from sunset to midnight on Diwali Day. He says another cause of concern is fire...

SABC News and Current Affairs — By Newsbreak Producer, Bongani Gema - Five suspects have been arrested following an armed robbery at a business premises on Jammu Road in Merebank, south of Durban. The suspects allegedly held the staff at gunpoint and stole an undisclosed amount of money and cigarretes before fleeing the scene of the crime in their getaway vehicle yesterday. Police were alerted to...

SABC News and Current Affairs — By Newsbreak Producer, Bongani Gema - Former eThekwini Municipality mayor Zandile Gumede is expected to appear before the Durban Magistrate's Court for a possible bail violation. Gumede is currently out on R50 000 bail relating to a Durban Solid Waste tender corruption case worth more than R200 million. The former mayor allegedly violated her bail conditions when sh...

SABC News and Current Affairs — By Newsbreak Producer, Shanell Daniel - The corruption trial against former president Jacob Zuma is expected to begin next week Tuesday - the 15th of October. This after his application for a permanent stay of prosecution was dismissed with costs at The High Court in Pietermaritzburg. Zuma and his co-accused, French arms company, Thales, argued that their right to a...

SABC News and Current Affairs — The Pietermaritzburg High Court is due to hand down its ruling today in the application by former president Jacob Zuma and French arms company - Thales - for a permanent stay of prosecution in their corruption case. A full bench of judges deliberated on the application. The charges date back to 2005 and both Zuma and Thales blame the state for unfair delays in the p...

SABC News and Current Affairs — By Newsbreak Producer Tashlan Naidoo - According to road statistics from 2017 there were more than 14,000 deaths around South Africa. October is Transport Month and a time where the Department of Transport and its entities will showcase transport infrastructure services in aviation, maritime, public transport and roads. They are also asking motorists to be mindful o...

SABC News and Current Affairs — By Newsbreak Producer Matthew Veeran - A young Gauteng Biokinetecist is making waves around the country for her dominating performances and numerous tiles in the sport of table tennis. Lenasia's Danisha Patel has been playing table tennis since the age of 10 and has won six consecutive national titles since the year 2014. Juggling her job and her sporting ambitions...

SABC News and Current Affairs — The police in Pakistan have blocked a march by tens of thousands of people towards Indian-administered Kashmir to protest a lockdown in the disputed region. The attempted cross-border trek came as Delhi relaxed some of the restrictions placed on eight million people, but the protesters said the steps were not sufficient enough. Rana Sen reports...

SABC News and Current Affairs — The Hawks in KwaZulu-Natal have raided properties belonging to former eThekwini Mayor - Zandile Gumede - and her co-accused in a corruption case. The accused are eThekwini officials and service providers. They are all facing fraud and corruption charges relating to a 208-million rand Durban Solid Waste tender. Various luxury houses situated in upmarket areas such as...

SABC News and Current Affairs — By Newsbreak Producer Rachel Vadi - The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health is looking into the challenges faced by police in the placement of an abandoned baby. Newsbreak reported earlier this week that a local Phoenix hospital allegedly refused to admit the abandoned baby after treating the one-month-old. It's believed the baby was abandoned by a woman - caught on...

SABC News and Current Affairs — By Newsbreak Producer, Shanell Daniel - Approval has been granted to various assessment bodies by Umalusi, the Council for Quality Assurance in General and Further Education and Training, to administer the upcoming end-of-year examinations. A thorough assessment by the council determined the readiness of the basic education system to manage and conduct the 2019 nati...

SABC News and Current Affairs — By Newsbreak Producer, Bongani Gema - A 32 year-old traditional healer has been arrested in connection with two cases of rape that were reported at the KwaDabeka police station in Clermont, west of Durban. KwaZulu-Natal police spoesperson Brigadier Jay Naicker says on the two separate incidents the suspect convinced the victims that they needed a cleansing ceremony...

SABC News and Current Affairs — By Newsbreak Producer, Taliesha Naidoo - The Hawks together with the Asset Forefiture Unit have raided the home of former eThekwini Mayor Zandile Gumede. Earlier this morning the Hawks raided Gumede's rented home in Somerset Park in Umhlanga but it was vacant. They later raided one of her houses in Inanda north of Durban. SABC News reporter, Nonjabulo Makamu says Gu...

SABC News and Current Affairs — By Newsbreak Producer Shanell Daniel - The family of slain Uyinene Mrwetyana is appealing to the public not to initiate or contribute to any unauthorized projects using her name. This after the University of Cape Town student's name has been misused to raise funds, garner attention and in any way try to "cash-in" on her death. The 19-year-old was raped and killed in...

SABC News and Current Affairs — By Newsbreak Producer Hoosen Ebrahim - Global health experts have raised concerns over the harmful impacts associated with "vaping" e-cigarettes. These devices run on an electronic system that simulates a traditional cigarette, offering an alternative to traditional tobacco smoke. However, the World Health Organisation warned that e-cigarettes are harmful to health...

SABC News and Current Affairs — By Newsbreak Producer Bongani Gema - Two 40-year-old suspects have been arrested following a shoot-out with police in Umlazi, south of Durban. KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Brigadier Jay Naicker says police were conducting a raid when they were alerted to a stolen vehicle driving on the N2 toward Umlazi yesterday. Naicker says when police attempted to intercept...

SABC News and Current Affairs — By Newsbreak Producer Hoosen Ebrahim - Aviation parastatal - South African Airways (SAA) believes an enterprise with transnational networks was at play in it's latest woes. The airline believes that it had in the past, been infiltrated by an international crime syndicate which looted hundreds of millions of rands through corrupt tenders. The period which the aviatio...

SABC News and Current Affairs — By Newsbreak's Tashlan Naidoo - The Mitchell Park trust is calling on British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to pardon Guy Fawkes in an effort to create a greener environment. Guy Fawkes Night is annually held on the 5th of November, marking the anniversary of the discovery of a plot organised by Catholic conspirators to blow up the Houses of Parliament in London in 1...

SABC News and Current Affairs — By Newsbreak Producer Shanell Daniel - A 15-year-old female learner is expected to appear at the Durban Juvenile Court today for allegedly stabbing a fellow learner at a school in Isipingo, south of Durban. KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson, Brigadier Jay Naicker, says the 15-year-old victim was stabbed during an alleged argument with the suspect yesterday. Naicker...

SABC News and Current Affairs — By Newsbreak Producer Rachel Vadi - Concerns have been raised about admission to provincial hospitals after an abandoned baby was turned away at a hospital in Phoenix, north of Durban - this weekend. According to police spokesperson, Captain Louise Naidoo, the baby was found abandoned late on Saturday afternoon - and taken to the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Hospital for...

SABC News and Current Affairs — By Newsbreak Producers Matthew Veeran and Hoosen Ebrahim - In the mid 90's we saw the launch of the original PlayStation gaming system. A few years down the line, the year 2000 saw the emergence of one of the most popular gaming systems of all time, the PS2. In 2006, it's successor the PS3 released and in 2013 we saw the current iteration of Sony's home console - th...

SABC News and Current Affairs — By Newsbreak Producer Hoosen Ebrahim - The Institute of Race Relations (IRR) launched its #SaveTheOpposition campaign in reaction to the dire state of opposition politics in South Africa. The organisation says the need for this campaign became clear over the past week, when factional warfare within the Democratic Alliance (DA) flared up in public. IRR campaign coord...

SABC News and Current Affairs — By Newsbreak Producer Tashlan Naidoo - The Department of Home Affairs is set to release 100 trucks that will service mostly rural areas so people - especially school going children - don't have to travel far distances to access home affairs branches. The department is also working on a number of changes to South Africa's Visa regime, in an effort to make the country...

SABC News and Current Affairs — By Newsbreak Producer Hoosen Ebrahim - Police have launched a manhunt for more suspects linked to the robbery at Cresta Mall in Randburg, north of Johannesburg. One of the robbers was gunned down during a shootout with officers. Police say a number of suspects robbed an electronics store at the mall rekindling fears of a spike in such crimes as the festive season ap...