The National Pulse

World News: A surge in boats carrying migrants from Africa remains a major challenge for some European countries like Spain. Just this past weekend, authorities in Spain reported a record number of illegal migrant entries. The country’s latest data shows that 23, 537 migrants reached the Canaries Island between the first of January and the fifteenth of October this year. So what informs Spain’s ma...

The Minister of Electricity Dr Kgosientso Ramokgopa says the country is beginning to show some signs of improvement in relation to electricity crisis. But he has also warned that South Africa is not out of the woods yet as more work still needs to be done. Ramokgopa was briefing the media earlier today on the Ministerial Action Plan in Pretoria. According to him, the grid is beginning to show sust...

There is a big sporting weekend ahead of us which sees the Springboks and Proteas in action. On Saturday, the Proteas (cricket) and Springboks (rugby) face England in their respective sporting codes. A doubleheader that has not taken place since 1998. In our bonding session, our co-host Kuhle Sonkosi (aka @Kuhle_Kooks) asks our listeners: What kind of Sporting fan are you? What are the traditions...

16-year-old learner from Ndzondelelo High School in Gqebera, Mpho Mketo has achieved a remarkable feat at the Eskom Expo International Science Fair, after he was selected to receive a highly sought-after 12-month mentorship and incubation programme that is sponsored by the Durban University of Technology. GUEST: Mpho Mketo, learner from Ndzondelelo High School in Gqebera

Ten political parties will not be able to stand for elections in 2024. This is due to these political parties not complying with the provisions of the Electoral Commission Act of 1996. This could be due to identifiers such as the logo. According to a 2018 report compiled by the IEC on the ballot paper design, the voter views the logo as the primary identifier for political parties. What are the ot...

The IFP has announced that it has decided to postpone its policy conference to December 12 and 13 due to logistical arrangements. Party leader Velenkosini Hlabisa announced during the press briefing this afternoon that the party’s full extended National Council will meet in Empangeni, in KwaZulu-Natal, this weekend to finalise the details. Hlabisa joins us now to elaborate further on this…. GUEST:...

The EFF has welcomed its newly sworn-in Members of Parliament, namely; former Public Protector Advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane and former president of the Plaaslike Besorgde Inwoners (PBI), Virgil Gericke. Joining us to talk about this and also to give us more details in terms of what these two members bring to the party is…. GUEST: Sinawo Tambo, EFF National spokesperson  

President Cyril Ramaphosa has been invited to attend the Cairo Summit for Peace which is due to take place tomorrow in Egypt. The Summit will discuss the ongoing escalation of the conflict in Israel and the Gaza strip. Given South Africa’s position in relation to this ongoing war – how will his contribution be received? For more on this, we are joined by….. GUEST: Sophie Mokoena, SABC News Interna...

The High court in Pretoria has ruled that the audio recording with an alleged confession by accused Number Two in the Senzo Meyiwa trial will not be admissible as evidence in court. Bongani Ntanzi was recorded by magistrate Vivian Cronje in 2020 while she was taking down his alleged confession. However, his defence argued that the recording was infringing on Ntanzi's constitutional rights as it wa...

THE INNERVIEW: What is the state of the newsroom in South Africa? As part of commemorating ‘Black Wednesday’ we look at South Africa's state of the media and the contribution of the then editor of ‘The World’, Percy Qoboza. On this day in 1977, the apartheid government banned independent media in an attempt to silence the media from reporting about the brutal acts of the apartheid regime.   GUEST:...

Lawyer for one of the accused in the Senzo Meyiwa trial says his client was not informed that his alleged confession was being recorded and therefore was an infringement of his rights. Thulani Mngomezulu was arguing during a trial within a trial where his client - accused number 2 - is alleged to  have made a confession. The high court in Pretoria has been listening to arguments in relation to the...

The National Assembly is currently voting on the recommendation that deputy public protector Advocate Kholeka Gcaleka be appointed as the country’s next Public Protector. However, the Democratic Alliance caucus decided to walk out during the proceedings as the party disagreed with a ruling by National Assembly speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, which resulted in DA MP Glynnis Breytenbach being chase...

The Constitutional Court has dismissed the leave to appeal application made by Road Accident Fund. Last October, the Pretoria High Court ruling declared that it was unlawful for the fund to implement a directive that barred claimants from applying for funding if the medical aid had already covered their medical expenses. To help us understand how this ruling shifts the relationship between medical...

Netherlands King Willem-Alexander says South Africa has become a leading voice in Africa and around the world. The Dutch King was speaking at the Union Buildings as part of his three-day state visit. The visit will focus on the partnership between the two countries and several cooperation agreements are expected to be signed in the areas of education, culture, and science. Meanwhile, President Cyr...

As regional tensions continue to rise in the Middle East, following a deadly hospital blast. The Israeli Defence Force has released a new video of airstrike on Gaza strip, claiming to have killed terror operatives. In doing so, the army has maintained that it is following international law and strikes only legitimate military targets as it seeks to root out Hamas fighters. However, in carrying out...

EFF leader Julius Malema has lost his court bid to have his firearm trial struck off the court roll. Malema is accused of firing a rifle which was handed to him by his co-accused, Adriaan Snyman, during the EFF's birthday celebrations at Mdantsane's Sisa Dukashe Stadium in 2018. So what are his legal options following today’s court ruling?   GUEST: Ulrich Roux, who is the founder and managing dire...

In a new report published by WeProtect Global Threat Assessment, there has been a marked increase (87%) in reported child sexual abuse content online and unpacks the rise of financial sexual extortion. The report also speaks about the role of technology and social media in exacerbating the spread of this content. To help us understand how this impacts our communities in SA and how we can protect c...

Limpopo Health MEC, Dr Phophi Ramathuba says African leaders must stop seeking medical attention abroad while leaving their own healthcare systems in a state of disrepair. Ramathuba made these remarks while addressing the Africa Health Indaba conference that is currently taking place in Midrand. Should government officials be allowed to get medical attention outside their countries borders? To exp...

A dedicated team of Operation Smile medical volunteers from across South Africa will converge at Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital in Mthatha, to transform the lives of 30 people with cleft lip or cleft palates with corrective surgeries this coming weekend. GUEST: Sarah Scarth, the Executive Director for Operation Smile SA

The National Institute for Communicable Diseases has issued an alert as an outbreak of Rubella (German measles) has been picked up in Cape Town. Cases of German measles have been concentrated in Khayelitsha thus far with reported cases on the rise in the past month. To tell us more about what communities need to know about the disease and when to seek medical help, we are joined by...     Guest: P...

As the war between Israel and Hamas is said to be pushing the region to the brink. The Gaza health ministry says at least 500 people were killed last night in what it said was an Israeli airstrike on al-Ahli al-Arabi, also known as the Baptist hospital. However, the Israeli army has disputed this, saying the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group was responsible for the explosion in Gaza. Meanwhile, Pres...

The International Monetary Fund says South Africa’s economy is likely to overtake Nigeria and Egypt as the continent’s largest economy next year. They say this is largely due to the shrinking of Nigeria and Egypt’s GDP in dollar terms following sharp currency devaluations. For more clarity on this, we are joined by…..   GUEST: Tatenda Zingoni, Development Economist  

The National Consumer Commission says they welcome the decision by the National Consumer Tribunal to impose an administrative fine of one million rand against Vodacom. The Tribunal found that Vodacom’s conduct was unconscionable by imposing terms and conditions that negated the consumers’ rights to cancel their fixed-term contracts. Between last year and 2021, the National Consumer Commission rece...

A family in Cala, in the Eastern Cape, recently hosted a posthumous initiation and homecoming ceremony for their son who died more than 10 years ago. However, this has drawn mixed reactions on social media as there are those who have applauded the family and some who totally opposed the move as they felt that it was unusual in the Xhosa culture to do something like this.   Guest: Nkosi Lukholo Dal...

With the month of October being recognised as Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Today we chat to Tshepang Lutshaba about her upcoming Wellness Walk Against Cancer which is due to take place next week (28 October). Tshepang founded an organisation called SA United Against Cancer (Sauac) as she wanted to support people living with cancer and cancer survivors. This was motivated by the fact that a numbe...