Newsbreak

By Newsbreak Producer Tashlan Naidoo - Colourful saris and a scrumptious beans curry, are just some of the fond memories that colleagues at the South African Human Rights Commission have of the late human rights lawyer and Deputy Chairperson of the Commission, Priscilla Jana. She will be laid to rest today in Lenasia , south of Johannesburg. She passed away at the age of 76. Commissioner Chris Nis...

By Newsbreak Producer Tashlan Naidoo - The National State of Disaster comes to an end tomorrow - and speculation is rife as to whether or not president Cyril Ramaphosa is going to address the nation in the coming days. Tomorrow, President Ramaphosa is expected to present an economic recovery plan to a joint sitting of Parliament. Some South Africans are calling for the country to become "unlocked"...

By Newsbreak Producer Hoosen Ebrahim - As the country continues to face issues relating to human trafficking, activist Grizelda Grootboom has looked back at her harrowing story of being lured by a friend and trafficked. Human trafficking cases have been on a rise in the country - with victims claiming that police efforts have not been adequate enough. Statistics revealed at a trafficking Indaba la...

By Newsbreak Producer Tashlan Naidoo - With Black Friday around the corner and with more people choosing to buy online, a local cyber security expert says this is the opportune time for hackers and scammers to take advantage. CEO of Snode Technologies, Nithen Naidoo says he has noticed an increase of cyber criminals working in partnership with common crime syndicates. Naidoo estimates that a globa...

By Newsbreak Producer Tashlan Naidoo - With the youth unemployment figure standing at 59% in the 1st quarter of 2020 in South Africa, it is believed that more leadership qualities need to be instilled within graduates in order to make them more attractive when it comes to employability. That's according to academic and supply chain management lecturer at MANCOSA, Nikita Reddy. The advent of techno...

By Newsbreak Producer Shanell Daniel - The legal representative for the Mpianzi family, Wikus Steyl, says although the family welcomes the dismissal of the principal of Parktown Boys in Johannesburg, they still believe the truth remains elusive about what happened to their son, Enoch. This during his final days leading to his tragic death at a school camp at Nyathi Bush River Break, at Brits, in J...

By Newsbreak Producer Shanell Daniel - Ethekwini Municipality officials together with disgruntled members of the public are set to meet today to discuss a way forward following volatile protest action which led into the night on the M19 at Reservoir Hills, in Durban, yesterday. Eighteen people have been arrested, multiple police attacked and several vehicles burnt during the protest action. Protes...

By Newsbreak Producer Tashlan Naidoo - The assault trial against EFF leader Julius Malema and MP Mbuyiseni Ndlozi has been delayed. The trial was supposed to begin in the Randburg Magistrates Court in Johannesburg, with the testimony of the alleged victim of the assault. Johannes Venter, who opened a case against the two, after they allegedly assaulting him during the funeral of struggle icon Winn...

By Newsbreak Producer Shanell Daniel - 160 years since the arrival of the Indian-origin indentured labourers - a call is being made for today's generation to submit videos in commemoration of the milestone event. Social media manager for the South African Indian's group, Avish Bhogal, encourages people to share short videos wishing fellow Indian-origin South Africans on their achievements and also...

By Newsbreak Producer Hoosen Ebrahim - Banking giant First National Bank (FNB) have announced that customers and institutional investors in the country can now buy and own shares in big international companies for as little as R10, via their mobile app. The companies include Amazon, Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, Netflix, Tesla, Coca Cola and Alphabet which owns Google. The bank says this will enable...

By Newsbreak Producers Matthew Veeran and Hoosen Ebrahim - Ten protesters were arrested by police on the M19 highway near Reservoir Hills in Durban yesterday. The angry demonstrators barricaded roads with burning tyres demanding better service delivery from the eThekwini Municipality. The protesters allegedly torched a municipal bus and a private vehicle, before looting a number of items from near...

By Newsbreak Producer Tashlan Naidoo - The Funeral Service of the late Human Rights Lawyer and former MP, Priscilla Jana will take place tomorrow in Lenasia, south of Johannesburg. She died at the weekend at the age of 76. Her role has always been that of defending those who were unfairly prosecuted under the Apartheid regime. She also represented Solomon Mahlangu in 1978 and played a pivotal role...

By Newsbreak Producer Rachel Vadi - Religion has always been a focal point when it comes to South Africans of Indian heritage. In today's 1860 Feature, we speak to Sociologist at the University of Johannesburg - Professor Ashwin Desai about how religion became a gateway into other fields such as education and community outreach...

Family members of the 13 victims of Saturday's fatal minibus taxi crash at Kilmun between Bulwer and Underberg in southern KwaZulu-Natal have been left devastated. The victims were all members of the Mngadi family. It's believed the driver lost control of the taxi after failing to negotiate a bend before it crashed down an embankment. Five people were killed in two separate crashes at Ladysmith, b...

By Newsbreak Producer Taliesha Naidoo - South Africans are still expressing their sadness and condolences over the passing of acclaimed human rights activist, Priscilla Jana, who passed away on Saturday at the age of 76. Jana served as Deputy Chair of the Human Rights Commission, she was a former Member of Parliament and South African Ambassador to the Netherlands and Ireland. The anti-apartheid s...

By Newsbreak Producer Rachel Vadi - Betrayal is how the family of the late anti-apartheid activist Ahmed Timol describe how they feel about the time lapse since 12 October 2017. Today marks three years since Judge Billy Mothle overruled a 1972 inquest finding that Ahmed Timol had committed suicide by jumping to his death from the 10th floor of John Vorster Square Police Station. Timol's nephew, Im...

By Newsbreak Producer and Presenter, Taresh Harreepershad With COVID-19 restrictions easing under lockdown level one, 96 municipal ward by-elections are scheduled to take place in 56 municipalities, across South Africa on Wednesday, 11 November 2020. Ward 32, which comprises of Clairwood is one of the local eThekwini by-elections expected to take place. Newsbreak uncovers some of the issues facing...

By Newsbreak Talk Presenter, Taresh Harreepershad It's World Mental Health Day and the KZN Mental Health Advocacy Group is asking you to step up the pace of awareness on this serious global problem. On Newsbreak Talk, Suntosh Pillay and Chantelle Booysen explain why mental health needs to be on everybodys agenda

By Newsbreak Producer, Rachel Vadi A 47 year old businesswoman from the Mtititi community outside Malamulele in Limpopo has been arrested by the Hawks Serious Corruption Investigation for allegedly claiming R3.2 million in COVID-19 social relief funds from the UIF on behalf of her 242 former employees. According to the Hawks spokesperson in Limpopo, Captain Matimba Maluleke the suspect made the cl...

By Newsbreak Producer, Taliesha Naidoo A school in Chatsworth, south of Durban are planting their roots firmly into the ground to mark the 160th anniversary of the first Indian indenture in November. The Depot Road Memorial Primary School, at Bayview in Chatworth, in partnership with the Magazine Barracks Remembrance Association, the Durban Book Fair and Made in Chatsworth, will plant 160 banana t...

By Newsbreak Producer, Rachel Vadi Her tough, no nonsense stance may have earned her the title of "the Iron Lady" but it is her dedication to her community that has earned Councillor Govindammal "Dolly" Govender the position of Mayor of Kwadukuza. Her Worship, Councillor Dolly Govender was elected to the position of Mayor of KwaDukuza Municipality on a full-time basis - making her the first female...

By Newsbreak Producer Tashlan Naidoo - A suspect has been arrested at Verulam, north of Durban for the alleged rape of his 12-year-old neighbour. The alleged incident took place late last month, but only came to the fore this week when her mother found the girl in possession of the suspects cell-phone. The child claimed that he lent her the phone to watch pornographic videos. The grade six learner...

By Newsbreak Producer Rachel Vadi - Deputy Minister in the Presidency, Thembi Siweya, will be visiting various companies in the KwaDukuza Municipality this morning - as part of the ongoing assessment on the impact of COVID-19. One of the companies that the Deputy Minister will be visiting is The Stanger Textile Industry - a business that has been manufacturing shoe laces for over 50 years. Directo...

By Newsbreak Producer Rachel Vadi - Internationally renowned artist, Sivani Chinappan has created a home-based programme for studies and research relating to Tamil language, performing arts and culture. According to Chinappan, it aims to serve the community, teachers and schools promoting all aspects of Tamil in South Africa. She says they hope to soon create a network to ensure the longevity of T...

By Newsbreak Producer, Tashlan Naidoo Trade union COSATU in KwaZulu-Natal say they will continue to embark on mass protest action if government does not address and meet their demands raised in yesterdays strike. The union has given government 14 day to address them on issues relayed through a memorandum that was delivered to KZN Premier, Sihle Zikalala. Thousands of COSATU and affiliated unions t...