Update@Noon

The Coal-Face with Martin Creamer, publishing editor of Engineering News and Mining Weekly. 1. Namibia's $10-billion green hydrogen project is being boosted by gaining special German government status.  2. Southern African scientists are going abroad to gain greater insight into green hydrogen development in our region. 3. The introduction of mechanical cutting in mining is bringing about a quicke...

Eskom is set to increase its electricity tariff on Monday by a whooping 12.74 per cent across the board. This was after the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) approved the electricity tariff hike for the 2024/25 financial year in January 2023. The  South African Federation of Trade Unions has lambasted that this increase is above the inflation rate and will ultimately widen energy p...

Condolences continue to pour in for the deceased of the crash that happened on the Mamatlakala mountain pass between Mokopane and Marken last night. The passengers were travelling from Gaborone in Botswana to an Easter conference at the St Engenas Zion Christian Church in Moria outside Polokwane. Sakina Kamwendo spoke to reporter Koketso Moatu, Limpopo Provincial Government Spokesperson Ndavhe Ram...

The National Assembly has approved the Expropriation Bill as amended by the National Council of Provinces, by 205 votes to 108. Although not yet signed into law, the bill would allow for, in certain instances, 'nil compensation.' Head of Policy Reseach at the Institute of Race Relations, Dr Anthea Jeffrey has however sounded the alarm on the Bill insisting that the bill's provisions are at odds wi...

A shooting incident in KwaZulu-Natal's uMhlathuze Local Municipality has left two bodyguards dead. Police say the incident happened this morning at the municipal head office in Richards Bay. It has been reported that the two shot each other while officials were inside the building. For more on this we are joined on the line by uMhlathuze Local Municipality spokesperson, Bongani Gina.

In an effort to drive voter education ahead of the 2024 general elections, SABC News has partnered with the Independent Electoral Commission to bring you a new feature called Election Matters, where we will delve deeper into the processes you, as the voter, need to be know in the build up to the 29th of May 2024. Join the Elections Matter conversation every Wednesday from today, until the 22nd of...

The Gauteng Provincial Office of the South African Human Rights Commission has today updated the public on some of the investigations it has recently conducted. The Commission has also received a memorandum from protesting members of the South African Communist Party (SACP) in Gauteng. They are today picketing outside the Constitutional Hill in Johannesburg, against comments made by the DA leader...

The African National Congress argued, through its legal counsel, that the Electoral Court does not have the jurisdiction to hear the matter relating to the infringement of the Trade Mark Act. Advocate Tshidiso Ramogale relied on the Electoral Commission Act in assessing the jurisdiction that the Electoral Court and the IEC have. The ANC has hauled the UmkhontoWesizwe party to court accusing it of...

The Information Regulator of South Africa (IRSA) says it plans to finalise its probe into the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) investigation before the national elections on 29 May 2024. Speaking to members of the media on Tuesday morning, the Information Regulator's Executive for the Protection of Personal Information, Advocate Tshepo Boikanyo revealed that the investigation is at an advanc...

The Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, Dr Blade Nzimande has confirmed the de-registering of four Educor Colleges. The department cancelled the registrations of Damelin, City-Varsity, Lyceum College and ICESA City Campus, for failure to submit annual financial reports, among other things. Nzimande addressed the media on the matter a short while ago.

Its been jubilation and ululations outside the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg as Mkhonto weSizwe Party supporters celebrate the news that the party will be allowed to contest in the upcoming May 29 national and provincial elections. This comes after the Electoral Court dismissed an application by the African National Congress to have the party, led by former president Jacob Zuma, removed...

The Democratic Alliance has announced its list of candidates for parliament ahead of the much anticipated 2024 general elections. The party says the candidates have successfully completed what it calls a rigorous 10-month process, which has led to those handpicked to represent the official opposition in parliament and legislatures across the the country. In announcing the candidates, DA leader, Jo...

Former head of legal at now collapsed Steinhoff International Holdings, Stéhan Grobler has been granted R150 000 bail by the Pretoria Specialised Crime Court, where he appeared today. Grobler spent the weekend behind bars, a day after his  former colleague and former Steinhoff International Holdings CEO, Markus Jooste was reported to have taken his own life. The case is expected to resume again on...

The urgent application launched by National Assembly Speaker, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula has been adjourned until 15:00 today. This, after Judge Sulet Potterill said she had no sight of the answering affidavit from the respondents. The Speaker's legal counsel is expected to respond to the affidavit when the case resumes. Mapisa-Nqakula launched the application seeking to interdict her arrest. She is...

The case involving the fourth suspect in the disappearance of 6-year-old Joslin Smith has been postponed to the 13th of May to allow for further investigations. The Grade One learner from Middlepos Informal Settlement in Saldanha, on the Western Cape West Coast, has been missing for over a month. Thirty two-year-old Lourentia Lombard made a brief appearance at the Vredenburg Magistrate's Court on...

An 83-year-old man was brutally killed during a robbery at his homestead in Maphephethe in Inanda, north of Durban. Africa Khumalo lived with his visually impaired 82-year-old wife, who survived the attack unharmed. Member of the community of Maphephethe are pleading with authorities for assistance as they say the elderly have become soft targets for brutal criminals in the area. SABC reporter, No...

The Manzini Magistrate's court in the Kingdom of eSwatini has postponed the case against Siyabonga and Malusi Ndimande arrested in connection with the murder of Kiernan AKA Forbes and Tebello Motsoane. During their brief appearance, the prosecutor, Macebo Nxumalo confirmed that they have received the official extradition application from their South African counterpart. Meanwhile, the defense requ...

The fight against the spread of Tuberculosis (TB) has been thrust back into the spotlight following a march by more than 600 Gauteng-based TB activists affiliated with the NPO, Rural Health Advocacy Project. The group has called for better co-ordination and greater political priority if government aims to eradicate TB by the year 2030. The march comes a just days after the Bill & Melinda Gates...

The South African Council for Educators (SACE) says there has been an increase in reported cases of corporal punishment and sexual misconduct in schools. SACE is hosting roundtable discussions on the regulation of teacher behaviour in the education sector at the Protea Hotel in Kempton Park, Ekurhuleni. The discussions are aimed at addressing challenges related to the regulation of educator behavi...

Opposition parties have once again called on National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula to resign. This follows a raid at her residence by the Hawks following corruption allegations against her.  An SANDF contractor alleges Mapisa-Nqakula solicited bribes to the tune of two-point-three million rand from her, while she was Minister of Defence. The parties say the Speaker should step aside to...

The High Court in Pietermaritzburg has dismissed former president Jacob Zuma's application to have lead prosecutor Advocate Billy Downer removed from Zuma's arms deal corruption case. Judge Nkosinathi Chili says he will give the reasons for his ruling at the end of the trial. Zuma suffered setbacks in both the Supreme Court of Appeal and the Constitutional Court in his bid to continue his private...

Parliament's Public Enterprises Portfolio Committee has recommended that the transaction that saw Takatso Consortium appointed as the preferred bidder to acquire 51 percent of South African Airways be referred to the Special Investigating Unit. The committee says the department has not been able to successfully dispute the former Director-General KgathatsoTlhakudiallegation that Takatso was not pa...

The Bureau for Economic Research says inflation for the first quarter of 2024 has dropped, spelling good news for potential interest rates cuts. The Bureau notes that the average headline CPI inflation expectations of analysts, business people and trade union officials receded by 0.3% points for both 2024 and 2025. The respondents now expect inflation to average 5.4% this year, 5.3% next year and...

The Judicial Conduct Tribunal inquiry into the conduct of Gauteng high court Judge Tshifhiwa Maumela has been postponed to May, after his legal team notified the tribunal that the judge has been hospitalised. The Tribunal is chaired by retired Constitutional Court Justice Chris Jafta as it investigates complaints lodged against Maumela by Gauteng Judge President Dunstan Mlambo regarding alleged ex...

Counsel for the African National Congress ( ANC) has argued that there are only three grounds upon which the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC)  can entertain appeals by parties aggrieved with the registration of a political party. The ANC is at the Electoral Court in Bloemfontein today, challenging the registration of the UmkhontoWesizwe party. The MK party was registered in September last ye...