Newsbreak

By Newsbreak Producer, Taresh Harreepershad - The Independent Examinations Board revealed that the national pass rate for independent schools is 98% for the 2020 exams. CEO Anne Oberholzer a number of matric learners from private schools dropped out due to the COVID-19 pandemic. SABC reporter Minoshni Pillay reports

By Newsbreak Producer, Rachel Vadi - R126 million worth of unregistered medicines believed to be Ivermectin was seized at OR Tambo International Airport earlier this week. The discovery was made during an inspection of a cargo container that was destined to South Africa from India. The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) found that the company that imported the medicines in...

By Newsbreak Executive Producer, Salma Patel and Newsbreak Producer, Taresh Harreepershad - About one thousand 500 people were murdered in the country in the three months from October to December last year while 12-thousand-218 people were raped in the same period. Releasing the crime statistics for the perioid in Pretoria, Police Minister, Bheki Cele said the number of murders showed a six-point-...

By Newsbreak Producer Tashlan Naidoo - Police have opened a case of murder following the fatal shooting of a police officer at Welbedach East in Chatsworth, south of Durban. It's alleged that the suspect shot at the officers who were attending to a domestic violence complaint. Police spokesperson Colonel Brenda Muridili says both cases will eventually be closed because the suspect is now deceased....

By Newsbreak Producer Shanell Daniel - Sentencing proceedings in the Miguel Louw murder case has been postponed to April this year at the Durban High Court. 44-year-old Mohammed Vahed Ebrahim was found guilty of the premeditated murder of the nine-year-old boy and was convicted on charges of murder, kidnapping and theft. Newsbreak's Shanell Daniel has the latest and filed this report...

By Newsbreak Producer Shanell Daniel - The South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) says focus is now on how to scale up the COVID-19 vaccine and investigate how it works in real life as compared to clinical trials. This as the rollout of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine officially began in the country. SAMRC CEO, Professor Glenda Gray, says healthc-are workers who take the vaccine are being mo...

By Newsbreak Producer Matthew Veeran - Young Durban director Veron Vadivelu has commented on the difficulties of breaking into the South African film industry, with his attempts to promote his short film falling on deaf ears. This is despite the fact that his first feature film "Untitled for Now" has been quite successful on the international stage. Veron's six minute short has been described as a...

By Newsbreak Producer Tashlan Naidoo - Renowned South African photographer, Deseni Soobben is thrilled that three of her photographic works are on display at the "Tate London Gallery" in the United Kingdom. The images depict the forced removal of residents at Newlands in Durban, more than two decades ago. The photographs will be on display alongside photographer Zanele Muholi's collection. Soobben...

By Newsbreak Producer Rachel Vadi- Business tycoon and philanthropist Rajen Reddy passed away this morning from a heart-failure - following a month long stay in the Intensive Care Unit of a local hospital. Reddy, the CEO of KZN Oils began building his business empire in the construction, plumbing and motor repair fields before launching KZN Oils in 2012. With headquarters in Durban, KZN Oils suppl...

By Newsbreak Executive Producer Salma Patel - A popular Durban actor and entertainer has gone missing. 47 year old Pranesh Maharaj has been mssing since February the 7th from his home at Somerset Park in Umhlanga. Maharaj was driving a white Hyundai i10 when he left home. Maharaj recently won the Simon Sabela Award for the role of Best Supporting Actor in the movie 3 Days To Go. Anesh Dusrath, Mah...

By Newsbreak Producer Hoosen Ebrahim - Described as a first for the African continent, social media giant Facebook has been requested to answer questions before the South African parliament. This follows the Democratic Alliance's call to the Committee of Communications and Digital Technologies, who have finally accepted to meet with the social media giant. Some of the concerns that would be discus...

By Newsbreak Producer Shanell Daniel - Currently there is enough water in most parts of KwaZulu-Natal to last well beyond the winter months, until the next rainfall season. This is because thirteen of the eighteen dams within the operation area of Umgeni Water in KwaZulu-Natal are at capacity - some even exceeding 100%. In this week's Greenscene we found out more from Umgeni Water's Shami Harichun...

By Newsbreak Producer Shanell Daniel - Representative of the "I can make a difference" organisation, Dr Naseeba Kathrada, has rejected a study by the Soweto Clinical Trial Centre which has says that 80% of Ivermectin tablets found in South Africa contain at least one undeclared substance. We brought you the story yesterday and according to the centre's Managing Director, Dr Qasim Ebrahim Bhorat, t...

By Newsbreak Producer Shanell Daniel - 20-year-old Tevin Singh, accused of attempting to petrol bomb his neighbour's house recently, has been granted bail. The Shallcross, south of Durban, resident was released on R3,000 bail at the Chatsworth Magistrate's Court and charged with conspiracy to commit murder. Details related to the incident remain under police investigation. Spokesperson for the Nat...

By Newsbreak Producer Tashlan Naidoo - Economists predict the rand will strengthen in the coming days, following the vaccination rollout in the country. The South African currency has gained 5% against the dollar this month. Economist, Professor Dilip Garach says even though our economy has taken a beating from the lockdown, the rand has done better because the dollar has been weakening due to pol...

By Newsbreak Producer Tashlan Naidoo - The Active Citizens Movement (ACM) believe that president Cyril Ramaphosa needs to show more leadership with regard to former President Jacob Zuma's defiance of a judgement imposed on him by the Constitutional Court. The apex court had compelled Zuma to appear before the State Capture Commission and give testimony in relation to the more than 40 people who im...

By Newsbreak Producer Tashlan Naidoo and Taresh Harreeparshad - President Cyril Ramaphosa and Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize were among the first people to get South Africa's first COVID19 vaccine jab this afternoon at the Khayelitsha District Hospital in the Western Cape. This as the first 80-thousand doses arrived in the country last night from Belgium. A total of 20 million vaccines are expect...

By Newsbreak Producer Tashlan Naidoo - 80,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine have arrived in the country from Belgium. The roll-out of the one-dose jab is expected to begin either today or tomorrow. Studies show that the jab was 85% effective in preventing severe disease in people who were 18 years and older in all the countries that were trialled. Newsbreak spoke to the Chairpers...

By Newsbreak Producer Tashlan Naidoo - The Ahmed Kathrada Foundation says they fully support Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo's decision to recommended to the Constitutional Court that former President Jacob Zuma be imprisoned. This is in light of Zuma's decision to not appear before the State Capture Commission for the duration of this week, even though the ConCourt compelled him to do so. Exec...

By Newsbreak Producer Shanell Daniel - According to Statistics South Africa, fatal drownings is the fifth leading cause of unintentional death - with an estimated 600 children who die by drowning in each year. CEO of the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI), Cleeve Roberston says drowning is quick and silent - and knowing how to swim can turn out to be a life-saver...

By Newsbreak Producer Shanell Daniel - The Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) in KwaZulu-Natal has so far recorded 10 deaths following weather-related incidents in the province. To add to this, searches are now underway for two missing persons. Drowning has been identified as the most common reason for the recorded deaths, reported to have taken place between Jan...

China has withdrawn battle tanks and was dismantling military structures as part of an agreement with India to ease military tensions along their disputed front lines in the Ladakh region. Tensions peaked in June when soldiers from the rival armies clashed in a Himalayan valley which left several dead on both sides. Rana Senn reports...

By Newsbreak Producer Tashlan Naidoo - An expert in online education says children of this generation have dealt much better with the mental issues associated with isolation brought upon them by the COVID-19 pandemic. Colin Northmore, Principal at Evolve Online School, says this is due to the amount of time youngsters spend on social media and digital devices. Northmore however says institutions o...

By Newsbreak's South Asian Correspondent Rana Senn - An Indian probe has gathered momentum into an action plan promoted by Swedish climate change campaigner, Greta Thunberg, which police say led to violence in Delhi last month. 22-year-old climate activist, Disha Ravi, is in custody and a hunt is on for two others, also accused of drafting or circulating the so-called tool-kit on social media. Ran...

By Newsbreak Producer Tashlan Naidoo - Reports suggest that South Africa will take arrival of 80-thousand doses of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine later today. South Africa's drugs regulator SAHPRA said it has approved an implementation study of Johnston & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine but was still reviewing its full market application. The vaccine which will arrive from Belgium will be rolled out t...