Update@Noon

The CRL Rights Commission today holds investigative hearings on alleged abuse at the Inter Heaven Fellowship Church. The hearings are as a result of allegations and abuses that are said to have taken place at the Church. The alleged victims are scheduled to give testimony over two days from today. We spoke to our reporter Maageketla Mohlabe who is currently attending the hearings…

A harmful algal bloom, better known as a red tide, has been building up at Elands Bay on the West Coast, about 220km north of Cape Town, and has resulted in several marine species washing up on the beach. The washed up marine species include, rock lobsters, octopus, white mussels and some fish species. Poisoning may either take place through the consumption of contaminated seafood or by toxic aero...

Voting is under way in Uganda, in a tense presidential election pitting long-time President Yoweri Museveni against opposition frontrunner Bobi Wine. The run-up to today's vote has been plagued by the worst political violence in years, with more than 50 people killed by security forces amid crackdowns on opposition rallies, as well as the repeated intimidation and arrest of opposition figures. Int...

A Northern Cape mother is struggling to enroll her grade 3 daughter in a public school because she is currently in a private school. The Northern Cape Department of Education is allegedly refusing to accept former private school children to public schools this year. They say this school hopping. The department says they will only consider it if a child comes from another Province or parents reloca...

Rights groups have warned that the Home Affairs Department's plans to photograph and fingerprint every baby born in South Africa for a digital register could lead to data leaks and identity theft without robust safeguards. The department's new draft policy aims to capture detailed biometrics - unique physical traits - of every child born in South Africa. It will link this data to parents' identity...

South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) says it has now reviewed again, the available data from clinical studies. The authority says it encourages the submission of clinical trial applications designed to establish the safety and efficacy of ivermectin in the management of Covid-19 infections for both treatment and prophylaxis and commits to expediting their review….We spoke to...

The Limpopo Health Department says 104 travellers have tested positive for the Coronavirus at the Beitbridge border post between South Africa and Zimbabwe in the past four days. This comes as scores of Zimbabweans including those who are considered to be economic migrants make their way back to South Africa following the festive season holidays. We spoke to Limpopo Health MEC Dr Phophi Ramathuba.....

The United States Congress has today certified US President-elect Joe Biden's win. This after Pro-Trump supporters stormed Capitol Hill yesterday while Congress was in session confirming the November election votes. Biden, has appealed for an end to the violence on Capitol Hill - At least four people have died in the protest - with over 50 arrested. Biden says the chaos does not represent the enti...

Education departments are scrambling to find replacements for hundreds of matric exam markers who've pulled out at the last minute. The second wave of the corona virus pandemic has resulted in markers withdrawing because they're ill, have been exposed to a positive person or have cited fear of exposure. In Gauteng alone, close to 900 markers didn't show up and it's estimated that the figure for th...

A male suspect in his 40s has been arrested at the King Shaka International Airport in Durban after he was found in possession of Ivermectin drug earlier today. He was found in possession of over 2 100 tablets of Ivermectin. The Pakistan national is appearing in court today. South African Health Products Regulatory Authority communications manager Yuven Gounden says they have established that the...

The National Freedom Party has served Health Minister Zweli Mkhize and the SA Health Products Regulatory Authority, with a legal letter which threatens court action if they do not approve the use and manufacture of the drug Ivermectin for the treatment of COVID19. NFP member of Parliament, Ahmed Shaik-Emam, says they have given government by the close of business today ( Wednesday 6 Jan) to respon...

Thousands of Zimbabweans continue to queue at the Beitbridge border post in the hope of crossing back to South Africa. Home Affairs Minister has warned of a humanitarian crisis as numbers on South African border posts increase daily. We spoke to our reporter Pimani Baloi and Home Affairs Spokesperson Siya Qoza

Basic Education Department has warned all personnel employed to mark the Matric Examinations not to conceal information on testing positive for the Coronavirus or face charges of misconduct. The department has compiled a list of reserve markers who would be used in case any markers test positive. The marking starts today and strict screening and hygiene protocols have reportedly been implemented a...

Government has been widely criticized for its approach in the race to procure a vaccine. Health Minister Zweli Mkhize says structures have been set up to expedite procurement of the COVID-19 vaccine. More than 40 million South Africans, are targeted to receive the COVID-19 vaccine by the end of the year. He further says so far government has only secured enough dosages to immunise 10% of the popul...

History is made today as the first goods begin to flow under Africa-wide free-trade pact, the culmination of more than five years of negotiations on cutting cross-border tariffs. Africa could be the world's biggest free-trade zone by area when its treaty becomes fully operational by 2030. In his New year's message, President Cyril Ramaphosa in his capacity as African Union Chairperson said the agr...

Adjusted Level 3 lockdown regulations have again outlawed alcohol, extended curfew, and made listening to law enforcement orders to put on a mask mandatory. Breaking any of these decrees could result in a fine or term of imprisonment not exceeding six months, or both…but are South Africans complying with these regulations? We spoke to Brigadier Vish Naidoo, the national South African Police Servic...

Funeral parlous in the Eastern Cape are struggling to keep up with the demand for coffins as the number of Covid related deaths continues to rise amid the second wave. The new, more infectious variant of coronavirus is driving the second wave of the pandemic. The Eastern Cape now accounts for over 50 percent of new Covid 19 related deaths, and funeral parlours in the province are running out of co...

The Department of Health says traffic congestion at the Beitbridge border post that recently led to the death of eight people waiting to cross, was caused by travellers arriving at the border without negative Covid-19 test certificates and opting to do the test at the border. Health MEC Doctor Phophi Ramathuba and the Human Rights Commission conducted a fact-finding mission at the border post. Rud...

South Africa expects the first delivery of Covid-19 vaccines only after March 2021, while Discovery Health says funding has been set aside for 2- million of its members to get the vaccine as it throws its weight behind a national effort to source a cost-effective supplier. We spoke to Dr Ronald Whelan- Chief Commercial Officer at Discovery Health.

The latest lockdown regulations are irresponsible and unacceptable, when considering the balance of risks to life and livelihoods in South Africa. It focuses all the country's depleted resources into dubious measures combating one relatively small contributor to death rates in South Africa, Covid-19, at the expense of all other causes of death and risk, so says Legal analyst at Sakeliga Daniel du...

Queues of vehicles at the congested Beitbridge border post into Zimbabwe now stretch to the town of Musina about 14 kilometres from the border post. Chairperson of the Beitbridge Transport and Clearing Agency Association, Eugene Khoza, attributes the congestion to the curfew to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus as many travellers arrive at the border at almost the same time. The Zimbabwean sid...

A Cape Town health doctor on Covid-19 frontline has written a moving open letter to Cape Town residents pleading with them to help support health workers at the coalface of the coronavirus pandemic. In the letter, Dr Andrea Mendelsohn (Senior medical officer - Western Cape community health centre) shares the challenges she and her colleagues are facing during the current second wave....she spoke t...

We continue with the conversation that we started yesterday here on the show where some students at the University of South Africa (Unisa) are unhappy with their final year marks, citing that the online exams and marking systems put in place by the university were not properly organised. Unisa students wrote online examinations due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Among other grievances the students say...

There is traffic disruption and congestion at the Beitbridge border and outside on the N1 in Musina, Limpopo, as travellers head to various destinations for the festive season holidays. Traffic volumes started increasing on Sunday 20 and continued today. Traffic officials appear unable to control traffic as trucks and small vehicles heading north towards Zimbabwe occupy both lanes. Some motorists...

Some students at the University of South Africa (Unisa) have voiced out their frustration over their final year marks. Unisa students wrote online examinations due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Among other grievances the students say the university has withheld their exams marks, however they were only allocated year marks which were too low. We spoke to a current CTA programme student at Unisa (whose...