The Independent on Saturday
Public spaces under f ire
BULLETS, gangs and fear have overrun South Africa’s public institutions, leaving citizens terrified in the very spaces where they should be safe. This week, gunfire erupted in broad daylight outside the Booysens Magistrate’s Court in Gauteng, leaving...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Students ‘locked out’ of varsities
THE euphoria following one of the country’s best-ever matric pass rates has been tempered by the harsh reality that high marks do not guarantee a place at university. As the new academic year looms, tens of thousands risk unemployment unless they...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Too many cars, too few cops in SA
THOUSANDS of traffic officers versus millions of vehicles. South Africa just doesn't have enough boots on the ground to keep our roads safe. Collen Msibi from the Department of Transport says the numbers are simply inadequate, mainly because of...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Beach woes as Durban welcomes tourists
TOURISM bosses are confident Durban is heading for a record-breaking festive season, even though some visitors arriving for their seaside holiday may have to stay on dry land after four of the city’s beaches were closed due to pollution. Blue Lagoon,...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
DStv losing 12 channels in 2026
THE countdown to 2026 has become a countdown to a blackout as millions of South African households are staring down the barrel of a New Year’s Eve deadline that could see 12 of the country’s most popular channels vanish from their screens at the stroke...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
There’s nowhere to hide from f ines
BAD drivers won’t be able to hide, some might have their licences scrapped and others compelled to undergo “rehab” when a slew of traffic rule changes come into effect next year. Traffic authorities say that under the new system, any infringements...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Final call over new number plates
YOU could be fined, have your car impounded or face needless court appearances if you haven’t yet switched to KwaZulu-Natal’s new number plate system with the deadline for registration tomorrow. Transport and Human Settlements MEC Siboniso Duma...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Guterres: Time to respect Africa
UNITED Nations (UN) SecretaryGeneral António Guterres yesterday warned that conflicts, climate chaos, economic uncertainty, mounting debt, inequality and a collapse in global aid were inflicting massive suffering around the world. Speaking ahead of...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Stolen weapons fuel SA’s violence
THE smoking gun behind SA’s bloodsoaked streets may be closer to home than many realise. Stolen police firearms, missing civilian guns and smuggled weapons from neighbouring countries such as Namibia are fuelling a hidden trade that runs from Cape...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
PROTEAS IN FINAL PUSH TO VICTORY
WHEN Proteas all-rounder Chloe Tryon takes to the field against India tomorrow, she won’t just be playing for her team; she’ll be carrying the hopes of 600 Scottburgh High School pupils and an entire nation. Tryon and her teammates have driven South...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Suicide crisis for SA’s first responders
EVERY week, a South African police officer dies by suicide, and almost no one is talking about it. Experts warn that the mental health crisis among first responders, including police, paramedics, emergency room nurses and doctors, and firefighters, has...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Call to end deadly matric parties
WITH matric finals just days away, the thrill of end-of-year “pens-down” parties is clouded by fear. Authorities warn that past celebrations have turned deadly, leaving families to mourn young lives lost. The Departments of Basic Education and Social...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Hospital ICUs are on life support
DON'T hold your breath if you need an ICU bed; South Africa's intensive care system is buckling under severe strain. Experts are sounding the alarm, warning that shortages of beds and trained staff could lead to preventable deaths. The situation is...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Landmark ruling for SA parents
THE Constitutional Court yesterday handed down a landmark judgment, effectively equalising parental leave rights in South Africa by granting all parents equal entitlements, regardless of gender, sex, colour, or circumstances. The court declared that...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
SA teachers are leaving in droves
PARENTAL aggression has pushed already-stretched teachers past their limits, forcing many to leave the profession, and in some cases, the country. Experts warn that schools are becoming battlegrounds, where parents lash out at staff, use verbal and...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Middle class squeezed mercilessly
SOUTH Africa’s middle class is under attack with rising food prices, rates and taxes and ever-increasing municipal levies that are forcing middle-income households to the brink. While Stats SA revealed that the gross domestic product (GDP) grew by...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
KZN hospitals stressed by staff shortages
AMID a dire shortage of medical healthcare workers, many nurses in KwaZuluNatal are forced to start their shift with cleaning duties and clerical work, as many healthcare facilities in the province do not have the staff to do it. This was revealed by...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
SA descends into ‘lawlessness’
EXPERTS warn that South Africa might have lost its grip on law and order and may even have entered a state of lawlessness, with violent crime levels reaching alarming heights. Many cases brought before courts are withdrawn or dismissed, further...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Alarming rise in school violence
SCHOOL pupils across South Africa have been wreaking havoc all week, with the latest incident occurring on Thursday at a school in the Eastern Cape. A Grade 9 pupil from Enkwenkwezini Senior Secondary School in Alice, in the Amathole West Education...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Prof fights ‘lawlessness’ at hospital gates
WORLD-renowned scientist Prof Salim Abdool Karim has slammed police inaction at Durban’s Addington Hospital, calling it “lawlessness” after witnessing vigilantes illegally block foreign nationals from accessing medical care, in full view of...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Kidnap crisis as top CEOs nailed
SOUTH Africa's captains of industry are under siege. Experts say an increasing number of CEOs and high-net-worth individuals are being kidnapped by sophisticated criminal enterprises who see them as lucrative targets. Initially, those in the...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Cachalia vows cops will deliver
WITH all eyes on newly appointed Acting Minister of Police Professor Firoz Cachalia, crime experts and analysts are cautiously optimistic about what his appointment could mean for policing reform and national security in South Africa. Cachalia was...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Anti-migrant group hits Addington Hospital
HOSPITALS today, schools and spaza shops are next. That’s the warning from a group of illegal enforcers determined to drive foreigners out of the country. As anti-foreigner sentiment sweeps across Durban and Johannesburg, they’ve warned that their...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
BUSINESSES URGED TO CREATE EMOJI POLICY
A SINGLE peach can ruin a career. The roll of the eyes, a friendship. Emojis are now globally accepted as part of everyday language, a go-to tool when words fail us. But what happens when they say far more than was intended? This week a group of...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Fake AI case law plagues courts
LAWYERS who mislead the court with fake, AI-generated citations face being struck off the roll, the Law Society of South Africa (LSSA) has warned. The professional body says submitting bogus AI-produced information, even by mistake, is serious...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
‘Marvels of Mzansi’ under starters orders
AS THE anticipation builds for the Hollywoodbets Durban July, this year’s affair is expected to showcase a blend of tradition, innovation, and unmissable fashion flair under the theme “Marvels of Mzansi”, cementing its status as a highlight on Africa’s...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Springboks bank on ‘Cape Town energy’
CAPE Town is one of the best places for the Springboks to play in and promises to give locals a good showing in their first match of the 2025 international season. Over 40 000 tickets have been sold for the duel in the DHL Stadium, and it is expected...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Rising oil prices spell hardship
AS THE conflict between Israel and Iran intensifies thousands of kilometres away, South African consumers are bracing for increased financial pressure stemming from a surge in global oil prices. With the Israeli bombardment of Iranian military targets...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Fears for SA dairy farmers
SUPPLIES of milk, butter and cheese could be at risk as the country’s dairy industry faces an escalating crisis, with foot and mouth disease (FMD) spreading “like a veld fire” across KwaZuluNatal. Earlier this week, the broader livestock industry,...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Meet the Comrades superheroes
THEY’RE the best of frenemies in a very different but just as competitive Comrades race. Dean Wight, 56, a veteran of 31 marathons, has won it six times. For Mahesh Ratanjee this will be his fourth Comrades and he stands as last year’s winner. The...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Anger at detective shortage crisis
SOUTH Africa’s investigative ability is facing a serious crisis with 1.9 million case dockets and detectives sitting with 300 to 500 dockets each. On top of it is a growing concern about the experience of detectives with more and more younger police...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Johann Rupert’s inf luence on Musk’s Starlink in SA
JUST days after a high-stakes White House meeting reportedly attended by South African billionaire Johann Rupert and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, South Africa appears to be easing regulations for Musk’s Starlink satellite venture. The move has ignited...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
From homeless to hopeful for Durban’s women
DURBAN'S homeless women are learning the skills they need to regain their pride, earn a living, and take back control of their futures. A local non-profit, Bringing Acceptance & Trust to Humanity (BATH), has set up its operations on the ground floor...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Get ready for the Nedbank Cup final
DURBAN is ready to host thousands of fans from across the country for the Nedbank Cup Soweto Derby final between Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs at Moses Mabhida Stadium today. The highly anticipated final between the arch-rivals kicks off at...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Guilty! But Joshlin’s still missing
IT’S the cry that echoed beyond the courtroom walls, past the fences and streets of Saldanha Bay, and into the hearts of a nation gripped by the disappearance of a child. As Judge Nathan Erasmus delivered a verdict of guilt against Racquel “Kelly”...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Russian sax man Igor Butman will ‘touch your soul’
RUSSIAN saxophone player Igor Butman is thrilled to be serenading festinos at the Cape Town International Jazz Festival (CTIJF). Together with his quintet, which includes Nick Levinovsky (piano), Evgeny Pobozhiy (guitar), Sergey Korchagin (double...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Teen lifeguard honoured for saving tourist from rip current
CHANNAH van Coller, an 18-year-old National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) lifeguard was formally recognised this week for her courageous rescue of a UK tourist at Wilderness Beach in the Western Cape along the Garden Route earlier this year. In January,...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Durban ready to welcome global sailors
SAILORS from across the globe have gathered in Durban for the renowned Mirror Worlds, an esteemed international sailing regatta renowned for changing locations each year. This year’s event promises excitement and camaraderie, with 33 boats and 66...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
SA HIV trial offers hope for drug-free remission
A SCIENTIFIC breakthrough that could transform the fight against HIV has emerged from KwaZulu-Natal. For the first time in Africa, a clinical trial aimed at achieving long-term HIV remission – without lifelong antiretroviral therapy (ART) – has been...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
SA turns to gambling for survival
AS SOUTH Africa faces turbulent economic challenges, a troubling trend has emerged with many citizens increasingly turning to gambling, not as a form of entertainment but as a desperate means of survival. What was once considered a leisure activity...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Goodbye, Kaden
EMOTIONS ran high during the funeral service of Glenwood High pupil Kaden Moodley at the Clare Estate Crematorium yesterday. Kaden, 15, who was in Grade 10, collapsed on the school’s sports field on Tuesday while training for a hockey...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Rabies cases rise in KZN
THERE has been a troubling uptick in rabies cases across KwaZulu-Natal, one of the deadliest infectious diseases known to humans, and some of it could be attributed to crime. In the past two years, at least nine people have died of rabies in the...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Minister mulls levy on streaming
MINISTER of Communications and Digital Technologies Solly Malatsi has revealed that a streaming levy is being considered as one of the potential solutions to buoy the financially struggling SABC. In a written response to a parliamentary question from...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Jail time for moms who dump babies
BABYSAVERSA has taken the Department of Social Development (DSD) to the High Court, seeking to have a section of the Children's Act declared invalid. At the heart of their challenge is a push for a legal alternative to child abandonment, specifically...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
‘Don’t drop the ball on HIV/Aids’
A GLOBAL pledge to end the Aids pandemic as a public health threat by 2030 could hang in the balance, partly due to US politics. Renowned Aids scientist Professor Quarraisha Abdool Karim says the world is definitely “off track” as the latest figures...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Viral infection hits schools
HEALTH authorities have called on Durban residents to follow Covid-19 hygiene protocols as an outbreak of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) sweeps across the city. Umhlanga, Phoenix and Greenwood Park all had confirmed cases this week, and the...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Filthy and fed up, residents threaten action
FILTHY and fuming Durban residents say they've had enough of the water shortages and are gearing up for protest action. As the mercury soared past 30°C this week and with it the accompanying humidity, thousands were left without a drop of water and no...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Durban mother free after Saudi ordeal
AFTER 200 harrowing days in Saudi Arabia, a Durban mom returned home this week – with her dream of providing a better life for her family shattered. Tears flowed freely as a relieved Naadia Sheik Hameed arrived on Sunday with family and friends...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
City water woes will last years
ETHEKWINI municipality has called on residents to “reduce” their water usage but angry members of the public have hit back saying that they first need access to water before they can actually cut back the amount they use. At 4am this morning residents...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Big stink over dumping claims
DURBAN residents are pooped out by the constant emergence of “human faeces” in public areas and municipal officials have been challenged to “roll” in the “raw sewage” which was allegedly dumped in the Mount Moreland Conservancy at uMdloti earlier this...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Our kids are addicted to porn
CHILDREN as young as nine are already addicted to pornography and even sixyear-olds are taking nude pictures of themselves. Research by the non-profit National Centre for Child Protection (NCCP) shows that the unsupervised use of cell phones plays a...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
KZN splurges R1bn on food, travel
WAS it caviar and 6-star hotels or imported linen and the services of the next Masterchef? Finance MEC Francois Rodgers is battling to understand how senior public servants in KwaZulu-Natal ran up a food and accommodation tab of more than R1 billion in...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Call to hit drunk drivers hard
DRUNK driving should be declared a national disaster so that the government takes firm and swift action against those who drive under the influence of alcohol. The call was made by road safety advocacy group South Africans Against Drunk Driving (SADD)...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Chris Hani’s killer to be deported to Poland
THE government has announced that it will be deporting Janusz Walus, who was convicted of killing South African Communist Party (SACP) leader Chris Hani. This was announced by Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, at a media briefing in...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
MECs to lead raids on spaza shops
KZN'S top politicians are going undercover and will lead the charge against spaza shops which flout health and safety regulations. As the country grapples with a fatal food poisoning crisis, Premier Thami Ntuli yesterday vowed that every spaza shop in...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Boks: no time for mercy
THE 2024 international rugby season ends this weekend with the Springbok juggernaut marching inexorably towards their defence of the World Cup in Australia in 2027. It is early days but one year after their Webb Ellis Cup triumph in Paris, the rugby...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Church refuses SA abuse inquiry
A REVIEW inquiry into the abuse by Church of England lay minister John Smyth that led to the resignation of the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby this week has called for a similar inquiry into his abuse while Smyth lived in Zimbabwe and South...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
R900bn spaza trade under scrutiny
THE government has been urged to shut all spaza shops, forcing owners to re-register, after a spate of deaths caused by poisoned snacks. ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula, who said 12 children had died, called for immediate action, urging the...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Deaf Durban man is a sewing sensation
A DEAF man has become a sewing sensation in Durban, making many of the clothes sold at flea markets in the city. Zaba Ngcobo initially attended a sewing machine technician course through the KZN Blind and Deaf Society (KZNBDS), but his creative side...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Husbands can take wives’ surnames
THE Constitutional Court will have precedents when it makes its final determination about whether husbands have the right to take the surnames of their wives. A groundbreaking decision by the Bloemfontein High Court overturned legal conventions that...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Alert over SA’s fake medicines
ORGANISED crime networks are doing a roaring trade in counterfeit pharmaceutical products smuggled into the country and into the hands of desperate or unsuspecting consumers whose lives could be at risk. This trade came into sharp focus in research by...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Calm the order of play today
THE Proteas women take on Bangladesh today at Dubai International Cricket Stadium in a must-win match as they aim to qualify for the semi-final stage of the 2024 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates. Though the Bangladesh women are...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Fury at two-pot fraud
THE two-pot system has exposed thousands of employers who have left workers with no pensions because they have “stolen” fund money. The non-compliance only came to light when people were allowed to access a portion of their pension funds, but found...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Boks to play out of their socks
THE Springboks are well placed to add yet another cup to their groaning trophy cabinet when they host Argentina this evening at the Mbombela Stadium in what amounts to a final of the Rugby Championship. The Boks need one log point out of the game in...
Read Full Story (Page 1)
SA WORKERS WANT TO LOG OFF
SOUTH Africans are saying no to hustle culture and demanding their right to switch off from work when they are no longer officially on duty. As the “right to disconnect” movement sweeps across the world, workers here are increasingly asserting their...
Read Full Story (Page 1)