Newsbreak

By Newsbreak Producer Genevieve Lanka - More than 40 families left destitute by a shack fire in Cato Crest in Durban have accused the eThekwini Municipality of turning a blind eye to their plight. A 38-year-old woman had died in the blaze on Sunday morning, while a 16-year-old boy is in a critical condition. The fire is said to have been started by illegal electrical connections. However, spokespe...

By Newsbreak Producer Genevieve Lanka - A new multilateral system, offering a more equitable process of travel must be created, if international tourism is to recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is the view of Dr Taleb Rifai, a former Secretary-General of the United Nations' World Tourism Organisation and the current Secretary General of the World Tourism Forum Institute. In a w...

By Newsbreak Producer Tashlan Naidoo - A new book has been penned in celebration of the life and times of an unsung hero in the anti-apartheid struggle - Thambi Naidoo. The biography by Dr. Ismail Vadi encapsulates Naidoo as an astute follower of Mahatma Ghandi's Sathyagraha movement - and a catalyst for the many protests against racial oppression in South Africa. Naidoo and his family were honour...

By Newsbreak Producer Matthew Veeran - As the first term of school wraps up this week, education experts have raised concerns about the impact of reduced learning hours on pupils. The pandemic has forced schools across the country to restructure the learning week, to enable smaller classes, social distancing and screening protocols. However, experts believe the loss of teaching time and crammed sc...

By Newsbreak Producer Matthew Veeran - Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has been convicted of the murder of George Floyd - the African-American man whose death sparked worldwide protests against racism. After a three-week trial, the jury found Chauvin guilty on three counts of murder and manslaughter. Crowds gathered on the spot where Floyd died cheered when the verdict was announce...

By Newsbreak Producer Tashlan Naidoo - Almost 400-thousand people over the age of 60 have successfully registered on the Electronic Vaccination Data System (EVDS) in just five days. The second phase of the vaccine rollout, in which the elderly will be prioritised, begins on the 17th of next month. Milani Wolmarans, Project Manager for the system says they expect millions more to register in the co...

By Newsbreak South Asian Correspondent Rana Sen - India's capital went under strict lockdown as Delhi hospitals faced a crisis with tens of thousands of new Covid-19 cases reported daily in the city. The government also allowed vaccination for all adult citizens as in just a matter of days the national tally of infections swept past 15 million with 180-thousand deaths. From New Delhi, Rana Sen rep...

By Newsbreak Senior Producer Genevieve Lanka - Tomorrow's by-elections across six wards in KwaZulu-Natal will be an acid test for political parties, ahead of this year's local government elections. Senior Programmes Officer at the Democracy Development Programme - Brian Mhlongo - says with campaigning severely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic - parties will want to maintain their strongholds - in...

By Newsbreak Producer Shanell Daniel - The father of a four-month-old baby girl has been sentenced to twenty-five-years behind bars after pleading guilty to brutally killing her. Twenty-one-year-old Ashwynne Kortjie, from Bonnievale, in the Western Cape, entered into a plea and sentencing agreement with the State after admitting to killing his daughter, Ashmee-Lee Stallenberg, because she would no...

By Newsbreak Producer Genevieve Lanka - Police officers who hide behind their badge, while involved in criminal activity will face the full might of the law. This is according to KwaZulu-Natal Police Spokesperson - Captain Nqobile Gwala. She was reacting to the arrest of a 21-year-old constable and a 43-year-old suspected drug dealer in Greytown last week. Gwala says police were executing a search...

By Newsbreak Producer Shanell Daniel - The Mahlabathini Magistrates Court, in KwaZulu-Natal, has handed down a community-based sentence of 12-months to a 16-year-old school girl, convicted of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm. The matter relates to the assault of a fellow learner from Mathole High School in September last year. The incident was captured on camera. The sentence comes a...

By Newsbreak Producer Genevieve Lanka - Whether planned or emergency - women who undergo Cesarean-section deliveries often face stigma. Caesarean section, also known as C-section, is a surgical procedure during which a baby is delivered through an incision in the pregnant woman's abdomen. Most often, this procedure is performed because a normal delivery would put the baby or mother at risk. As Apr...

By Newsbreak Producer Hoosen Ebrahim - Amendments to the plastic carrier bag and plastic flat bag regulations have been gazetted and are set for implementation. The amendments focus on promoting a circular economy and ensuring sustainability of the environment - using recycled material. Government is set to introduce this phased approach from 2023 until 2027 - ensuring that in these four-years, th...

By Newsbreak Producer Rachel Vadi - 16-year-old science wiz Suhaan Singh has contributed to the fight against COVID-19 - with a novel invention to automate the screening and sanitising process. Suhaan's inspiration came from wanting to safeguard his family and school mates. He did this by using a Lego kit to construct and modify a robot. For his creation, Suhaan has been selected to represent Sout...

By Newsbreak Producers Hoosen Ebrahim and Taliesha Naidoo - Firefighters have been battling to contain a blaze raging in Cape since Sunday morning. The runaway veld fire destroyed part of the Rhodes Memorial and a restaurant on the slopes of Devil's Peak. Meanwhile, students from the University of Cape Town had to be evacuated from the campus and have been moved to pre-determined locations. Firefi...

By Newsbreak Producer Rachel Vadi - The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) says it expects government to lift the pause on the rollout of the Johnson and Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine in the country later this week. This after the rollout was temporarily suspended following six women in the United State developing severe side effects. Newsbreak has been canvassing the views o...

By Newsbreak Producer Rachel Vadi - Water troubles continue to plague residents of Trenance Park in Verulam, north of Durban - who were without water for close to 11 days, last month. This time the impoverished area was hit by theft of water meters which has left some residents without water since Thursday night. Chairperson of the Community Policing sub-Forum, Linda Francis says theft of water me...

By Newsbreak Executive Producer Salma Patel - The lockdown to curb the spread of COVID-19 has created many online opportunities. App developer, Farhad Omar, saw the gap and created an application that when downloaded, gives the user access to lectures and sermons from any mosque in the country. The app called "SMART BILAL" allows access to any Islamic sermon from a house of prayer that streams or...

By Newsbreak Producer Taliesha Naidoo - KwaZulu-Natal police are investigating a case of murder and robbery after a security guard was killed in Verulam, north of Durban. It's alleged the 40-year-old man was accosted by unknown suspects while on duty at a business premises in Lake View on Friday. The victim was found with head injuries and his hands tied behind his back. It's believed he was also...

By #NewsbreakTalk Producer and Presenter, Taresh Harreepershad - Statistics South Africa said the unemployment rate stood at 32.5% in the October-December quarter, meaning 7.2 million people were unemployed, up from 30.8% in the previous three months. The figure was the highest since the survey began in 2008. Approximately 3,1 million (29,8%) out of 10,3 million young people aged 15-24 years were...

By Newsbreak Talk Executive Producer, Salma Patel - Government has paused the rollout of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine to healthcare workers earlier this week to assess safety data. The use of the jab was temporarily stopped in the US after six women developed unusual blood clots. Did you have this jab and are you concerned about developing blood clots? #NewsbreakTalk discuss what this delay mea...

By Newsbreak Producer, Rachel Vadi. - A 34-year-old woman who pleaded guilty to the kidnapping of a one-week-old baby was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment in the Empangeni Regional Court this week. The sentence was suspended for six years, provided she does not commit the same crime again. KwaZulu-Natal National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson, Natasha Kara says the accused lied to the 16-yea...

By Newsbreak's Indian Correspondent Rana Sen - India was perhaps living its worst nightmare in recorded memory as it posted more than 217-thousand new Covid-19 cases, which took the nation's tally to 14.7 million today. And yet it seemed to have no impact on a major religious event and boisterous election rallies, which saw rival politicians jostling for space.

By Newsbreak Senior Producer, Genevive Lanka - The National Health Department has assured South Africans that every citizen, who registers on the Electronic Vaccination Data System, will be offered a vaccine. Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize and his team, launched the EVD system for people over the age of 60, this morning. Phase two of the vaccination programme will include the elderly, essential...

By Newsbreak Producer Genevieve Lanka - Over 30 local artists will be going live this Sunday, in celebration of Tamil New Year - which was observed globally this week. The first day of year on the Tamil calendar is traditionally celebrated as a festival. Kamani Moodley of the MultiCultural Academy of South Africa says the event will not only showcase local talent, but will also promote goodwill an...