Newsbreak

By Newsbreak Producer Rachel Vadi - Many schools throughout South Africa are busy with preparations and finishing touches - with just a few days to go before the cut off to elect a School Governing Body (SGB) for the new term of office. Newly-elected SGB Chairperson of Arena Park Secondary in Chatsworth - Billal Khan has been describing what the experience was like. Khan says he is now looking for...

By Newsbreak Producer Rachel Vadi - A local Community Police Forum have taken it upon themselves to clear bushy verges and unhygienic dumping areas - converting them into lush gardens. "Keep Our Area Clean" is spearheaded by the Shallcross Community Police Forum (CPF) in Chatsworth, south of Durban. Chairperson Mahendra Lillkan says the project was born out of a need to keep areas not just physica...

By Newsbreak Talk Presenter and Producer, Taresh Harreepershad - A year ago on this day, #SouthAfrica went into a national #lockdown in response to the #Covid19 pandemic. #NewsbreakTalk reflects on 365 days of lockdown with Professor Salim Abdool Karim who has just stepped down from the post of Chairperson of the Ministerial Advisory Committee on COVID-19. We ask him what the year has been like fo...

By Newsbreak Producer, Shanell Danile and Matthew Veeran - the Newcastle Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal is looking to rebuild it's economic infrastructure through tourism. Tourism KwaZulu-Natal has taken a keen interest in the third largest city in the province to help boost its tourism sector- which has been hard hit by slow economic activity during COVID-19. Speaker for the Newcastle Municipality...

By Newsbreak Senior Producer, Genevive Lanka - An unwarranted attack on the judiciary. That is how Constitutional Court Law expert Pierre De Vos has described a strongly worded eight page statement from former President Jacob Zuma. The statement was a response to yesterday's application by the State Capture Commission to have the Constitutional Court holding him in contempt of court and sending hi...

By Newsbreak Senior Producer, Genevive Lanka. The Durban High Court has handed down nine life terms to a 43-year-old man found guilty of repeatedly raping his then ten-year-old stepdaughter, since she was five years old. Some of the charges include sexual grooming, human trafficking and the distribution of child pornography. The man was first apprehended in 2018 by members of the community after t...

By Newsbreak Producer Matthew Veeran - 22-year-old South African pastry chef Sohail Seegobin will get the opportunity of a lifetime, when he travels to France for an internship at the popular Chateau de la Cruzette early next year. Born and raised in Durban, Sohail's culinary skills can be attributed to both his mother and grandmother, from whom he picked up his initial knack for cooking. His upco...

By Newsbreak Producer Genevieve Lanka - The South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG) says a year later and the organisation is still inundated with calls. Spokesperson Cassey Amoore says many South Africans are struggling with anxiety, sleepless nights and feelings of uncertainty over the future...

By Newsbreak Producer Hoosen Ebrahim - The past year has taught Prof. Salim Abdool Karim more about epidemics than his entire career. The epidemiologist and former chairperson of South Africa's Ministerial Advisory Committee on COVID-19 was sharing his recollections to mark a year since South Africa went into lockdown. Yesterday Prof. Karim stepped down from his position - to focus on HIV research...

By Newsbreak Producer Tashlan Naidoo - The South African Medical Association (SAMA) believes that South Africa's goal of achieving 67 percent herd immunity or 40-million vaccinations by the end of this year is not possible given the slow rate of the rollout so far. SAMA Chairperson, Dr Angelique Coetzee says the vaccination focus has now gone from herd immunity to making sure more health-care work...

By Newsbreak Producer Genevieve Lanka - If the Covid-19 virus continues to circulate, the fear is that it could outsmart current medical interventions... This is the view of the Director of the KwaZulu-Natal Research Innovation and Sequencing Platform (KRISP) at the University of KwaZulu-Natal - Professor Tulio de Oliveira. He says the focus right now should be on increasing vaccinations and curbi...

By Newsbreak Producer Tashlan Naidoo - Background checking and screening companies are warning people to be extra cautious as to what they post online - because it could impact on future employment. There has been a significant rise in the number of employers requesting social media background checks, specifically looking at negative comments. Head of communications at Managed Integrity Evaluation...

By Newsbreak Producer Tashlan Naidoo - Background checking and screening companies are warning people to be extra cautious as to what they post online - because it could impact on future employment. There has been a significant rise in the number of employers requesting social media background checks, specifically looking at negative comments. Head of communications at Managed Integrity Evaluation...

By Newsbreak Producer Genevieve Lanka - More than 51 percent of South African children have experienced cyber bullying while a staggering 43.5 percent of children willingly share their personal information on online platforms. This is the findings of a recent survey by digital risk protection company - Digimune. The survey analysed information from 200 parents. The company's co-founder Simon Campb...

By Newsbreak Producer Matthew Veeran - A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between Trade & Investment KwaZulu-Natal and Productivity SA, primed at enabling synergy and ensuring economic growth in the province. Over the past year, the Coronavirus pandemic put a halt to economic activity - which then had a knock on effect on productivity in the province. In light of this, industry leaders...

By Newsbreak Producer Tashlan Naidoo - A new estate on the KwaZulu-Natal south coast aims to integrate a natural wetlands area into the development. The wetlands is home to various exotic flora and fauna species, including a number of frogs. From the Snoring Puddle Frog to the mildly poisonous Guttural Toad - these amphibians will have their habitat restored in the coming years. In this week's Gre...

By Newsbreak Producer Shanell Daniel - Former President Jacob Zuma must be held at the highest level of accountability and justice must be served as he is expected to face the The Constitutional Court. These are the sentiments of Executive Director of the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation, Neeshan Balton. The court will today hear an application by the State Capture Inquiry to have Zuma declared to be in...

By Newsbreak Executive Producer Salma Patel - The Indian Ocean island of Mauritius has announced that they are well on-track to achieving herd immunity. The country hopes that this will kick-start tourism ahead of the holiday season. Mauritius, which had remained Coronavirus-free for almost seven months, reported a scare in early March with 14 new infections. Those citizens have now recovered. But...

By Newsbreak Senior Producer Genevieve Lanka - The situation remains tense at Ezingolweni on the KwaZulu-Natal south coast following a wave of violent protests. The R102 from Hibberdene on the KwaZulu-Natal south coast remains closed after protesters blockaded the road. According to police, protesters also broke into a business and set fire to a municipal building. Yesterday, four trucks were torc...

By Newsbreak Senior Producer Genevieve Lanka - The Commission of Inquiry into State Capture has confirmed that President Cyril Ramaphosa will appear before it next month. The announcement comes just a day before former President Jacob Zuma is expected to appear before the Constitutional Court over his refusal to honour a summons to testify at the commission. The Commission's chairperson Deputy Chi...

By Newsbreak Producer Shanell Daniel - The ongoing Tuberculosis epidemic in South Africa must not be forgotten amidst the global Covid-19 pandemic. These are the sentiments of Junior Clinical Analyst for Medipost, Joy Steenkamp, as today marks World Tuberculosis Awareness Day. The World Health Organisation estimates that in 2019, 58-thousand people died of TB in South Africa and 1.4 million people...

By Newsbreak Producer Tashlan Naidoo - Twenty-one years on, and the Soobramoney family of Chatsworth south of Durban are still battling to come to terms with the death of their beloved son Rory, in the Throb nightclub stampede. The unforgettable day unfolded when teargas was set off in the overcrowded club on the last day of the school term in 2000. Thirteen teenagers were killed in the incident....

By Newsbreak Producer Genevieve Lanka - A video of an unmasked teacher roughly combing the hair of a learner has caused a stir on social media. The video shows a row of boys waiting as the teacher combs the hair of one student. She then yells "next" before the video ends. While some social media users have condemned the action, others have defended it - citing school dress-code policies. However,...

By Newsbreak Producer Genevieve Lanka - Zulaikha Patel, the student who challenged the Pretoria Girl's High School over its hair policies, says the incident reflects a deeper issue of race and identity. Patel shot into the public space after she rejected calls from the school for her to tie down her natural afro. Since then, the school policy has been amended. Patel says school hair policies are s...

The fraud and corruption case against former eThekwini mayor, Zandile Gumede, and 21 other accused has been transferred to the Durban High Court for a pre-trial hearing on June 14th. State prosecutor Ashika Lucken presented the over three hundred page indictment. The charges stem from a 2017 Durban Solid Waste tender amounting to over 400 million rand. Nonkululeko Hlophe reports...