Newsbreak

By Newsbreak Producer Shanell Daniel - Five people including four teenagers between the ages of 13 and 16-years-old have burnt to death during a house fire at Ndwedwe, north of Durban. According to KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson, Colonel Thembeka Mbhele, a man believed to be 45-years-old together with the teenagers were in the house when it became engulfed in flames, however the circumstances s...

By Newsbreak Producer Tashlan Naidoo -Service delivery is once again hampered at the Addington Hospital in Durban, due to more than 500 staffers embarking on a go-slow. According to the Public Servants Association of South Africa, workers say they cannot do their jobs with only 1 of the 10 elevators in the 15 floor building in operation. Last week, workers took to the streets demanding that local...

By Newsbreak Producers Rachel Vadi and Tashlan Naidoo - As South Africans prepare to commemorate 160 years since the arrival of the 1860 Indian Indentured Labourers, Newsbreak canvasses the views of young people on what this commemoration means to them. Young Tashlan Naidoo took to the streets of Durban to find out what they had to say...

By Newsbreak Producer Rachel Vadi - A teenager arrested over the weekend, is now the fourth suspect arrested in relation to the murder of Tongaat businessman Ashveer Sukwa. According to KZN NPA spokesperson Natasha Kara Ramkisson - a 16-year-old boy appeared in the Verulam Magistrate's Court on Friday, for a prelim enquiry. Ramkisson says he was released into the custody of his guardian. Meanwhile...

By Newsbreak Producer Taliesha Naidoo - With the US elections dominating news worldwide, it's final outcome is set to have a direct impact on South Africa's economy. The past few days have seen the Rand make gains against the US dollar to some of its best levels since March - boosting investor confidence. This stands to also drastically affect US foreign policy towards developing nations in Africa...

By Newsbreak Producer Rachel Vadi - Last week local businessman and philanthropist Vivian Reddy handed over the title deeds of the home of the survivors of the Ntuli's - who lost family members in what's been described as one of the most violent shootings in South African history. It is believed that on the 21st of January 1987, several men armed with AK47 assault rifles killed 13 people - includi...

By #NewsbreakTalk Presenter and Producer, Taresh Harreepershad According to the most recent data, former Vice President Joe Biden is leading in the state of Georgia by more than 1,000, with 99% of votes counted. It still could still take days, however, to know which candidate will capture the state's 16 electoral votes. Even after all the mail ballots are counted, active military and overseas ball...

By Newsbreak Producer, Rachel Vadi A local bikers club based in Durban has expanded their annual Diwali Hamper Drive to other major cities in South Africa - bringing much needed relief to more than 2000 families. Now in its second year, the National Diwali Drive has seen biking enthusiasts from Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth and KwaZulu-Natal collect essential items to help families during the festi...

The world's largest vaccine-maker hopes a Covid vaccine developed by Oxford University would be ready for India by January next year. Serum Institute also said it was stockpiling millions of doses which would be supplied across Asia and Africa. Rana Senn reports...

By Newsbreak Producer Rachel Vadi - The 9th annual eThekwini Durban Diwali festival will not be taking place in the usual grand splendour this year - with a special Diwali Hawaan to be broadcast online - focusing on the COVID-19 pandemic. Spokesperson for the festival, Sham Maharaj says the special prayer will pay tribute to SA's front-line health care workers and remember those that have lost lov...

US President Donald Trump appeared before the media late on Thursday as his grip on the White House appeared to slowly slip away, presenting a litany of grievances while he accused Democrats of trying to steal and rig the election. He promised a lot of litigation over unsubstantiated claims of fraud across multiple states, with Joe Biden's ascendancy appearing increasingly assured as ballot return...

By Newsbreak Producer Taresh Harreeparshad - Public Works Minister Patricia de Lille says a anti-corruption forum has been modelled to ensure that potential fraud is identified when spending on infrastructure development. About 430 billion rand has been committed toward the "Infrastructure Investment Plan" that seeks to build South Africa to a more developed status. But there has been widespread c...

By Newsbreak Producer Shanell Daniel - Three people aged between 30 and 32 have appeared at the Umzimkhulu Magistrate's Court in KwaZulu-Natal, for the kidnapping and murder of a man who was killed after he received R1.3 million from the Road Accident Fund. According to KZN Hawks spokesperson, Captain Simphiwe Mhlongo, the victim was kidnapped in June. Mhlongo says one of the accused is related to...

By Newsbreak Producer Tashlan Naidoo - Over one-million learners are expected to sit for the matric examination today - the largest group in our country's history. The Department of Basic Education is administering a combined examination with both full-time and part-time learners. Over 616-thousand are full-time candidates writing their final examinations for the first time. Meanwhile, these matri...

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Three suspects have appeared in the Verulam Magistrate's Court north of Durban for the murder of 35-year-old Tongaat businessman, Ashver Sukwa. Sukwa was stabbed to death at his home on Saturday. Sukwa's father - who also suffered injuries in the attack - survived. Minoshni Pillay reports...

By Newsbreak's Hoosen Ebrahim - The arrival of spring, warmer temperatures and the wet weather brings with it the increase of indigenous wildlife, especially here in KwaZulu-Natal. This means that while bird species and other animals are more visible, snake activity is also set to increase. In this week's Greenscene, we speak to Curator at the Crocworld Conservation Centre - Ryne Ferguson - who ex...

By Newsbreak Producer Matthew Veeran - Marking the 160th anniversary of the arrival of Indians to South Africa, Rajesh Gopie's critically-acclaimed theatre production "The Coolie Odyssey" makes a triumphant return next week. The play, which was staged and recorded at the The Playhouse Theatre in Durban, covers various highlights in the history of South African Indians - from life and religion to e...

By Newsbreak Producer Tashlan Naidoo - Non-profit organisation, Corruption Watch say even though they welcome the news that police are investigating almost 400 corruption cases within their ranks, it's not a surprising statistic. This was in reaction to the SAPS telling Parliament that there are 397 corruption matters against its officials being investigated by several law enforcement agencies. Li...

By Newsbreak Producer Matthew Veeran - Durban jewelry designer Nehal Shah is once again making waves in his profession, after being selected as one of the finalists for the PlatAfrica 2020 awards. Shah is one of 10 professional designers chosen for their excellence in creativity from around South Africa. With the theme being "Men of Platinum", Shah's piece is a meticulously sculptured tie pin, tha...

By Newsbreak Producer Tashlan Naidoo - US Presidential candidate Joe Biden may be winning the election according to American polls, but if social media is anything to go by, Donald trump is going to hold office for another four years. Social media analyst Tonya Khoury says in a surprising turn of events, South Africans seem to be heavily invested in this year's election. She says some social media...

By Newsbreak Producer Shanell Daniel - Following on from the rain and storms over the past week or so, a fresh spell of rainy conditions are anticipated over a large part of the Southern African subcontinent in the days ahead. Starting this afternoon, scattered showers and thundershowers are expected over Gauteng, the North-West province, the Free State, and the Eastern Cape. Forecaster for the So...

By Newsbreak Producer Shanell Daniel - A 65-year-old fisherman has died allegedly from a heart attack at Durban View Park, in Umhlanga, north of Durban. According to spokesperson for local security company Reaction Unit South Africa, Prem Balram, witnesses noticed that the man had collapsed and was not breathing. Balram says despite efforts to resuscitate the man, there was nothing that could be d...

By Newsbreak Producer Tashlan Naidoo - After months of campaigning, discrediting each other and squaring of over the COVID19 pandemic, the final US voting day has arrived. US President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger, Joe Biden, have spent the final hours of the White House race delivering their closing pitch to voters in critical states. As millions of Americans have already cast their...

By Newsbreak Producer Shanell Daniel - Steady rainfall in KwaZulu-Natal over the weekend has resulted in increased water supply for parts of the province going into 2021. This according to spokesperson for Umgeni Water, Shami Harichunder. He says there is sufficient water to meet the full demands of Umgeni Water's customers - including the eThekwini Metro and the Msunduzi Local Municipality...