The National Pulse

Professor Petra Bester from the North West University shares some exciting news, following some promising first results from preclinical trials on a new Covid-19 vaccine candidate. Guest: Professor Petra Bester, Director of the Africa Unit for Transdisciplinary Health Research at the North West University

Yesterday, the UN Security Council gave its unanimous backing for Secretary General Antonio Guterres to continue for a second term, hailing him as a bridge builder who has proven worthy of the post during his first term in office. Guterres was elected by the UN General Assembly to succeed Ban Ki-moon after a hotly contested election in October 2016 that initially included 13 candidates. But how mu...

President Cyril Ramaphosa has placed Health minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize on special leave pending an investigation against him. The Minister is also currently preparing himself to appear in front of the integrity committee. Dr. Mkhize is implicated in the R100-million in the issuing of a digital vibe contract… GUEST: Professor Lesiba Teffo, Political Analyst Attached To Unisa

A Gauteng woman has given birth to 10 babies, breaking the current Guinness World Record. Thirty-seven-year-old Gosiame Thamara Sithole gave birth to her decuplets at a Pretoria hospital. Gosiame Thamara Sithole broke the Guinness World Record held by Malian Halima Cissé who gave birth to nine children in Morocco last month. Gosiame Thamara Sithole also has twins. So how is this even possible? To...

Former politician Lindiwe Mazibuko has called for a National Baby shower to support a Gauteng woman who gave birth to 10 babies, breaking the current Guinness World Record. Thirty-seven-year-old Gosiame Thamara Sithole gave birth to her decuplets at a Pretoria hospital. Gosiame Thamara Sithole broke the Guinness World Record held by Malian Halima Cissé who gave birth to nine children in Morocco la...

Clover is closing South Africa's largest cheese factory in Lichtenburg due to "ongoing poor service delivery" by the local municipality. The company says it is moving production to eThekwini, Durban where the municipality is more supportive. So how does poor governance affect businesses? To answer this, we're joined on the line by... GUEST: Business Leadership SA chief executive officer, Busisiwe...

The bail application of a 42 year-old mother and two Bangladesh nationals who are accused of sexual exploitation and rape has been postponed to the 11th of June at the Keiskammahoek Magistrates Court in the Eastern Cape. It's alleged that the mother sold her 13 year daughter and her 16 year-old niece off to the men in exchange for drugs and alcohol. They were arrested last month following an inves...

KwaZulu-Natal police have found a link between a gang that has been terrorising communities in Pietermaritzburg and politicians in the province. Something that is very disturbing indeed – so how did the law enforcement managed to crack this one? For more on this, we are joined by… Guest: Col Thembeka Mbhele, KZN Police spokesperson

We unlock the battle for the throne of the Zulu Kingdom as things have been heating up lately since the passing of King Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu and Queen Mantfombi Dlamini-Zulu as rival claimants to the crown battle it out. Guest: Shalo Mbatha, the Royal Zulu Historian & Lecturer at the University of Zululand

World News: Burkina Faso is facing a deepening security crisis after armed men killed at least 160 people in an attack on a village in northern part of the country over the weekend. What is even more worrying is that the violence in the country has displaced close to two million people in just over two years. But what informs these attacks? We find out from… Guest: Corinne Dufka, West Africa direc...

One of South Africa's most loved actresses, the legendary Shaleen Surtie-Richards, has died. Surtie-Richards, who turned 66 last month, was best known for her roles as Fiela in Fiela se Kind and Nenna in Egoli. GUEST: Generations: The Legacy creator and executive producer, Mr Mfundi Vundla GUEST: Rolan Browers, a close friend to legendary actresses Ms Shaleen Surtie-Richards, for over 35 years and...

Nigerian telecoms firms blocked access to Twitter on Saturday following a regulatory directive aimed at suspending the US social media giant indefinitely, a move criticised by rights campaigners and diplomats as a gag on free speech. GUEST: Arthur Goldstuck, Founder and Managing Director at World Wide Worx

Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula says the new Road Accident Fund operating model is showing encouraging signs of efficacy. This after the RAF managed to reduce a liability of over R200 billion, to only R20 billion this year. Mbalula attributed this partly to doing away with a litigation-based claims process and inhouse claiming process GUEST: Road Accident Fund CEO, Collins Letsoalo

Brian Shivambu has reportedly signed an agreement to pay back R4.5 million that he allegedly received from the looting of VBS Mutual Bank. According to the Daily Maverick, Brian - the brother of Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) deputy president Floyd Shivambu, has signed a secret contract admitting to having received the VBS money gratuitously GUEST: Pauli van Wyk, an Investigative Journalist from...

We examine the State of the ANC in the Free State province: In conversation with the newly appointed interim Provincial Convener, Mxolisi Dukwana. Guest: Mxolisi Dukwana, Provincial Convener of the IPC in the Free State province

Kirsten Nematendani remembers Nigerian pastor TB Joshua, the founder of the Synagogue Church of All Nations - who was one of Africa's most prominent evangelists. Guest Kirsten Nematendani, Spokesperson of the Synagogue Church of All Nations

Word News: We discuss and dissect Nigeria’s decision to suspend Twitter indefinitely, asking – Is this a wise move? On Saturday, some western countries, issued a joint statement condemning Nigeria's government for banning the platform. But how will this decision affect the country’s relationship with the rest of the world? Guest: Dr Ayo Sogunro, Doctoral fellow at the Centre for Human Rights at th...

Rand Water says it will be laying criminal charges against residents who hurled insults at its Customer Service Centre via email during water shortages. Surely this matter is not just water under the bridge as some residents used profanities and abusive language to express their frustrations. Well to discuss the ripple effects, we're joined on the line by... GUEST: Justice Mohale, Spokesperson for...

The high court in Bloemfontein has granted the NPA's Investigating Directorate a restraint order to freeze assets of Iqbal Sharma, his company Nulane Investments and Islandsite Investments, which belongs to Atul and Rajesh Gupta and their wives. Sharma appeared in the Bloemfontein Magistrates court for fraud, corruption and money laundering relating to the 24-point nine million rand which was paid...

Eskom responds to Ted Blom’s accusations, including the assertion that some parts of the country are already on stage 6. Guest: Sikhonati Mantshantsha, Eskom spokesperson

The Gauteng Provincial Command Council says they have increased the number of contact tracing and testing teams to meet the current demand of Covid infections. Briefing the media earlier today, the Council says the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Gauteng as at 03 June 2021 sits at 465 668 with 434 452 recoveries and 11 339 deaths. Recent coronavirus statistics show that the province is...

The Director General in the Health Department, Sandile Buthelezi has confirmed that their forensic investigation into the awarding of 150-million Rand Digital Vibes contract has found that it was irregular. Buthelezi has told Parliament's Portfolio Committee of Health that the report has been handed over to the SIU for further investigation. He's added that as the department, they cannot act on th...

Given the complexity of challenges facing the vulnerable groups - as the world continues to battle the Covid19. Eastern Cape MEC for Social Development joins us to outline the objectives of the Sisonke Sizophumelela campaign that is aimed at mitigating the impact of Covid19. The O.R Tambo district for instance has been identified as a hot spot of child malnutrition. Children between birth and five...

In conversation with energy expert, Ted Blom who is arguing that Eskom is not entirely telling the truth about stage 2 load-shedding. He says we are already beyond stage 2 and that some areas in Sandton were already subjected to stage 6 load shedding schedules Guest: Ted Blom, energy expert

Word News: US President, Joe Biden has signed an executive order, expanding a Trump-era ban on Americans investing in Chinese companies with purported ties to China’s military. The order increases the number of restricted Chinese companies from 48 to 59. It also rewrites a previous order issued by former President Donald Trump to include companies that create and deploy surveillance technology. Gu...