Newsbreak

By Newsbreak Producer Rachel Vadi - One of the oldest mosques in South Africa - the Jumu'ah Masjid or the Grey Street Mosque, has played a prominent role in shaping not just religious history, but also politics and social cohesion in Durban. In today's 1860 feature we speak to the Chief Trustee at the Mosque, AV Mohammed - who recalls the buildings storied history and how it correlated with the In...

By Newsbreak Producer Rachel Vadi - Today - the 19th of October - marks the anniversary of a brutal crackdown by the apartheid regime on the media and the Black Consciousness Movement in 1997. "Black Wednesday" as the day became known is commemorated to draw attention to the importance of media freedom. KZN Convener of the South African National Editor's Forum (SANEF) Judy Sandison, says with the...

By Newsbreak Producer Rachel Vadi - The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted religion in various ways, including the cancellation of services, pilgrimages, ceremonies and festivals. With restrictions having been eased in lockdown level one, the "Muruga Bhakti Foundation of South Africa" hosted a meeting yesterday in Durban to discuss the hosting of the annual Thai Poosam Kavady. Chairperson Kovilan Rams...

By Newsbreak Producer Taliesha Naidoo - A 35-year-old woman is expected to appear at the Durban Magistrate's court today for the murder of businessman Dhunpall Rajkumar. The body of 53-year-old Rajkoomar was found with his hands and legs bound with cable ties in an abandoned house at Mount Vernon Road in Bellair, south of Durban. His vehicle was found abandoned in Chatsworth. Rajkumar was reported...

By Newsbreak Producer Taliesha Naidoo - A popular Durban-based music group has again taken honours at the South African Traditional Music Awards. Flash Entertainers scooped the award for "Best Indian Album" once again at the awards roadshow held at Kwa Muhle Museum in Durban. The group won the award for their album "Flash 50". Founded in 1968, the group is famous for Nagara music - which is an anc...

By Newsbreak Talkshow host, Taresh Harreepershad and Producer, Rachel Vadi. A recent study has found that domestic workers suffer abuse and sexual harassment at the hands of their employers. The study - conducted during the lockdown in South Africa - found that the plight of domestic workers has been heightened during the pandemic although the sexual harassment they experienced has been ongoing. E...

By Newsbreak Talk Presenter and Producer, Taresh Harreepershad

Tensions are simmering at Senekal in the Free State where farmers and EFF Members have gathered on opposite ends. Police Minister Bheki Cele and EFF leader Julius Malema are at the Senekal Magistrate's Court where two murder accused are expected to apply for bail. Sekwetje Mahlamba and Sekola Matla-letsa are accused of the murder of 21-year-old farm manager Brendin Horner. They were arrested days...

by Newsbreak Executive Producer, Salma Patel - One person has died and three others injured when a fire ripped through house at Silver Oaks Drive in Mount Edgecombe, Durban. Gareth Naidoo - Spokesperson for a private security company - KZN VIP - explains what happened this morning......

by Newsbreak Executive Producer, Salma Patel - Private hospitals are stepping up infection control providing safety for patients and staff. One of the main concerns is that during the covid19 pandemic people were hesitant to seek healthcare at hospitals for fear of becoming infected with the coronavirus. Dr Stefan Smuts - the Chief Clinical Officer at MediClinic Southern Africa - says that COVID19...

by Newsbreak Producer, Matthew Veeran - Farmers and workers throughout the food system have been lauded for their efforts during the pandemic, as today marks World Food Day. The international celebration takes place every year on the 16th of October, honouring the formation of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation in 1945. The theme for 2020 is "Grow, Nourish, Sustain. Together." Group Execut...

by Newsbreak Executive Producer, Salma Patel - South Africa's word or phrase of the YEAR 2020 is LOCKDOWN! The PAN South African Language Board made the announcement today to commemorate international dictionary day. The reason LOCKDOWN was chosen is that it created quite a buzz in the country with people crowding outside bottlestores when the lockdown was announced, hosting virtual lockdown parti...

Opposition political parties say there is not much new in President Cyril Ramaphosa's economic recovery plan announced in parliament. Parties say he has expanded the same programmes he announced in his state of the Nation Address earlier this year. They have also questioned whether there is any capacity and willingness to implement the commitment. Joseph Mosia reports...

By Newsbreak Producer Tashlan Naidoo - With the promise of creating 800,000 job opportunities in the short term, labour analysts believe that better implementation strategies needs to be top of the agenda, rather than making more plans to create employment. This comes after President Ramaphosa addressed a joint sitting of Parliament, on government's plan to revive the economy. Ramaphosa also said...

By Newsbreak Producer Shanell Daniel - As hunger and a lack of basic daily needs remain an issue for millions of South Africans, the extension of the special COVID-19 grant by three months "is not enough to make a substantial change". This is according to spokesperson for Social Development at the IFP, Les Govender - following President's address on government's reconstruction and economic recover...

By Newsbreak Producer Tashlan Naidoo - The National Teachers Union (NATU) says it's disappointed that President Cyril Ramaphosa did not address the issue of infrastructure backlogs at schools in disadvantaged areas. The union says that there are many schools in rural and disadvantaged areas that are suffering because of this. The Department of Basic Education received seven billion rand from the t...

Selfless, passionate and the ultimate humanitarian. These were some of the words friends, family and colleagues used to describe renowned human rights lawyer, Priscilla Jana, at her funeral in Lenasia, south of Johannesburg yesterday. Jana who died on Saturday, was accorded a special provincial official funeral level two. She made a significant contribution to the struggle, defending many of those...

by Newsbreak Producer, Tashlan Naidoo - Expectations are high ahead of President Cyril Ramaphosas much awaited economic recovery plan this afternoon at a joint sitting of parliament. Some economists says that it's unlikely enough jobs are going to be created to reduce the unemployment rate, following the devastation caused to the economy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Stats SA announced that 2.2 mi...

by Newsbreak Producer, Shanell Daniel - The body of a 53-year-old businessman has been found bound and bruised at an abandoned building at Bellair, south of Durban. This follows a missing persons report that was opened with police after he failed to return home earlier this week. KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson, Captain Nqobile Gwala, says a search for the man led to the discovery of his body th...

By Newsbreak Producer Tashlan Naidoo - Economists says that it's unlikely enough jobs are going to be created to reduce the unemployment rate, following the devastation caused to the economy during the COVID-19 pandemic. This as President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to outline the country's economic reconstruction and recovery plan at a joint sitting in Parliament. Stats SA announced that 2.2 mill...

By Newsbreak Producer Matthew Veeran - A newly identified fish species from Tanzania's "Serengeti National Park" has been named in after veteran broadcaster Sir David Attenborough. The tiny "Nothobranchius Attenboroughi" - as it's known - is a stunning creature that is known to live fast and unfortunately, die young. It was discovered by a group of five scientists and fish enthusiasts from Canada,...

By Newsbreak Producer Shanell Daniel - With the pandemic making doctors visits difficult and regular health check-ups even harder, parents can now easily track their child's growth with the new "Growth Journey App". It's a free growth tracking app that uses your phone's camera to help you track growth in children regularly. The app automatically measures height and records it in a growth book - wh...

By Newsbreak Producer Shanell Daniel - A hijacking suspect was shot and arrested, alongside another suspect at Pinetown, west of Durban. The hijacking led to police chasing down the suspects - leading to shots being fired and a collision with three other vehicles. Provincial police spokesperson, Captain Nqobile Gwala, explains what transpired...

By Newsbreak Executive Producer Salma Patel - Is there a buzzword that one would associate with 2020? While words like "zoom" or "meetings" are being bandied around the corporate sector, on the ground there seems to be varied opinions. Newsbreak reports on the three words that made it to the short-list for "Word of the Year" 2020...

By Newsbreak Producer Matthew Veeran - A national survey compiled by a local pharmaceutical firm has revealed that stress levels in South Africa have shot up by a staggering 56% since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey assessed a broad range of psychosocial effects related to the pandemic, which found high levels of stress, depression and anxiety in the country. The survey coincides wi...