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The Constitutional Court judgement sentencing former President Jacob Zuma to 15 months imprinsonment has been met with mixed reaction. The court found Zuma of being in contempt of the constitutional court and disrespecting the rule of law for refusing to obey its directive that he appear before the State Capture Commission. Zuma has 5 days to hand himself over to a correctional facility.

The government of Eswatini has expressed concern about the on-going pro-democracy protests. The kingdom has also dismissed as false reports that King Mswati III has fled the country. It re-assured the nation that the king was in the country and working with government to advance the kingdom's goals. Protesters are demanding electoral reforms. And, schools and government institutions have been closed.

Former ANC Youth League leader and former member of the Nelson Mandela Bay Council in Gqeberha, Andile Lungisa says he will write to President Cyril Ramaphosa asking him to grant his predecessor and former president Jacob Zuma a presidential pardon. Lungisa was reacting to the constitutional court judgement which found president Zuma in contempt of court and sentenced him tofifteen months imprisonment. This as hundreds of Zuma supporters are TODAY expected to converge on his homestead in Nkandla to protest the sentence.

The Commission of Inquiry into State Capture has heard that Zizi Kodwa, Deputy Minister of State Security and former ANC spokesperson, is a friend of former EOH Executive, Jehan Mackay, from 2013. Kodwa made an appearance before Commission chairperson, Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo YESTERDAY. He says he received loans from Mackay at a time when he had financial difficulties.

The Moseneke Inquiry on Free and Fair Election Local Government Elections during Covid 19 will kick off its public hearings TODAY (28/06). The Inquiry will hear oral submissions from the Electoral Commission as well as representatives from the Health Department and health NGO's. It has so far recieved about three-thousand written submissions and voice notes from the general public. The Inquiry, headed by retired Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke was appointed last month by the Electoral Commission to explore the feasibility of free and fair local government elections amidst the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

South Africa will be on an Adjusted Alert Level Four of the national lockdown for the next fourteen days. All social gatherings including political, religious and cultural events are prohibited with the exception of funerals which will only be limited to 50 people. President Cyril Ramaphosa made this announcement in his address to the nation last night. This as the country grapples with new Delta variant of the Coronavirus which has hit the country leading to South Africa recording the highest number of daily infections in the past few days.

The Beer Association of South Africa says businesses cannot be expected to pay for the failures in the vaccine rollout program. The beer industry maintains that it will only support regulations focused on restricting large gatherings as this is the main driver of new covid 19 infections. Previous alcohol bans have resulted in the loss of thousands of jobs, billions in taxes and excise duties and further crippled the economy

Gauteng Premier, David Makhura, says that law enforcement will be stepped up in the coming days to enforce lockdown regulations, especially in Covid-19 hotspots. He's also announced the re-opening of parts of the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg hospital which were not affected by the fire in April. Makhura and the Gauteng Covid Command Council addressed the media in Johannesburg. Gauteng accounts for 60% of the Covid-19 cases in the country with the test positivity rate standing at 37%, the highest since the outbreak of the pandemic. The province has also recommended a move to a hybrid mix of level 3 and 4 lockdown restrictions.

Turkish owned company, Karpowerships SA, says it will appeal the decision by the Forestry, Fisheries and Environmental Affairs department to reject it's bid of providing floating gas-fired power ships at three of the country's ports. This after the department rejected the potential deal with the company, citing insufficient public participation and the potential impact on the environment of the project. The Karpowerships, which are estimated to cost over 200-Billion Rands over a 20 year period, were expected to assist the power-grid by bringing in gas-burning ships at Richards Bay, Saldanha Bay and the Ngqura harbours to generate electricity.

The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) says it has NOW received documentation for the Sinopharm vaccine developed by the China National Pharmaceutical Group in China and will now commence evaluating the data in order to assess the efficacy of the vaccine. The organisation says it is also in the process of reviewing the Russian Sputnik V vaccine. This as the Economic Freedom Fighters will TODAY march on SAHPRA offices in Pretoria, to demand that the Russian and Chinanese vaccines be approved for use in South Africa.

The constitutionality of the ANC's step aside rule will be tested in the Johannesburg High Court later THIS MORNING. Suspended ANC Secretary General Ace Magashule is taking his party to court to challenge his suspension in May for failing to step aside over the corruption allegations against him. The matter will sit virtually for two days until Friday.

Chaos errupted at a vaccination site in Bloemfontein YESTERDAY (wednesday 23 June) as hundreds of teachers and non-teaching staff turned up at the Gonyane primary school to be vaccinated. The departments of education and health aimed to vaccinate 500 teachers on the first day.

The SABC will TODAY (Thursday) launch it's new sports channel. This follows an agreement earlier this year with eMedia Holdings allowing its Openview service to broadcast three new SABC channels in addition to the public broadcaster's radio stations. The companies say that this agreement is intended to make the SABC's content accessible to a wider audience.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced that the National Port Authority will become an independent subsidiary of Transnet with its own board. He says this reform will enable re-investment in port infrastructure and also ensure that terminal operators are treated fairly and equally. Ramaphosa says the move will also enable greater private sector participation in terminal operations. He was visiting the Port of Cape Town where he also toured operations.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has indicated that there's a likelihood of further stricter measures, especially in Gauteng, where Covid-19 infections are rising. However, he says there's a need to strike a balance between saving lives and maintaining the economy. Some citizens and businesses in Gauteng are still not adhering to safety measures.

The vaccination drive targeting over half a million teachers and support staff is expected to rollout from TODAY. The Department of Basic Education is aiming to innoculate 582-thousand teachers including administrative staff, volunteer food handlers and cleaners in both the public and private education sector. Its goal is to complete the exercise by 8th July as more vaccines are expected to be available this week. The rollout program for teachers has however come as the call to shutdown schools has been joined by COSAS, the Educators Union of South Africa and the EFF which has threatened to forcefully shutdown down schools by Friday.

The National Prosecuting Authority's Investigating Directorate currently has 16 cases involving billions of rands lost due to corruption, in several courts across the country. It also has restraint orders for over two billion rands on assets belonging to some of the accused. In the case against former Transnet Board member and Gupta family associate, Iqbal Sharma, the restraint order for assets is unlimited. Spokesperson for the ID, Sindisiwe Seboka, says the directorate is making progress in prosecuting people allegedly responsible for the plundering of State Owned Enterprises as well as rampant corruption.

Military medics have been deployed to Gauteng as the province's hospitals buckle under pressure due to rising Corona virus cases. The number of new Covid-19 infections has already breached the cases recorded during the second wave by over 2000 . An interim 60-member SANDF team of medics has been brought in to help with staff shortages in hospitals.

The World Health Organization (WHO) YESTERDAY announced that South Africa will be the first location to establish a mRNA technology transfer hub for COVID 19 vaccines. The WHO says South Africa could be producing vaccines in nine to 12 months. Two local companies will work together, Biovac as a developer and Afrigen as the manufacturer. Technology transfer hubs are training facilities where the technology is established at industrial scale and clinical development performed.

Parents have ambivalent views on the announcement that schools are to remain open. The Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga made announcement at the weekend. Pressure was mounting for schools to close as the country experiences a third wave of Covid-19 infections

Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu, YESTRDAY hosted a webinar on the rights of fathers in the protection of children. The event was in line with fathers day. It also sought to encourage fathers to be part of their children's lives and upbringing.

Although there are laws in place for the rehabilitation of mines, many mine operators still leave their non-operational shafts unattended. This has led to an increase in illegal mining activities. Billions of rand have been set aside to ensure that proper close-out procedures are followed, yet the shafts remain open.

Zambia's founding father and former President, Kenneth Kaunda, has died in the capital Lusaka at the age of 97. He was hospitalised last week with pneumonia. Kaunda led Zambia to independence from Britain - ruling the country from 1964 until 1991. He was also instrumental in assisting other Southern African countries gain independence from minority rule.

Labour Federation, COSATU, says it will continue to put pressure on both the National Treasury and Parliament to speed up the processing of amendments to the Pension Act to allow workers in financial distress limited access to their pensions. COSATU says it made this call last year after witnessing the devastating impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the economy, especially on workers

Some political parties say there is nothing to celebrate this Youth Day if more than 60 percent of young people are unemployed and trapped in poverty. South Africa commemorated the day when thousands of young people rose up against the apartheid government, 45 years ago. Until 1994, many of them were killed in the struggle while hundreds of others left the country to join liberation armies of the ANC, PAC and AZAPO. But decades later, some political parties say life is still tough for young people even in democracy.

The situation remains tense in Harrismith in the Free State following a violent protest YESTERDAY. A truck was set alight on the N3 during the protest leading to a temporary closure of the busy highway. Residents are calling for president Cyril Ramaphosa to intervene as they want to be removed from Maluti-A-Phofung municipality due to lack of service delivery.

Concerns over keeping to COVID-19 regulations under level 3 continue to rise as thousands of people flock to the KwaHlathi area in LadySmith, KwaZulu-Natal. This follows a visit by the province's Economic Development MEC, Ravi Pillay who called on people to stop the digging of what they believe to be diamonds. Pillay was leading a fact finding visit with a team of national government officials, the local traditional leader and geological and mineral experts in the area. One of the aims is to find out if the stones being dug up are indeed diamonds as claimed by locals.

Political parties have given mixed reactions to President Cyril Ramaphosa's announcement that government will be amending Schedule 2 of the Electricity Regulation Act for the energy sector. This means that private companies have permission to generate up to one hundred megawatts of electricity and sell it, without a license. The announcement comes as the country is currently experiencing rolling blackouts.

EFF leader Julius Malema has given the Basic Education Department seven days to close down all schools or face a forceful total shutdown. He was briefing the media in Johannesburg earlier YESTERDAY (thursday 10 June). Malema also condemned the fact that the IEC has decided to go ahead with the 2021 local elections while former Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke is still evaluating the impact of COVID-19 on conditions conducive for free and fair elections.

Public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane says the decision by President Cyril Ramaphosa to ease red tape for independent power producers to generate power will not benefit the poor. Ramaphosa has announced the amendment of schedule 2 of the electricity regulation to increase Nersa's licensing threshold for embedded generation projects up to 100 megawatts.

The private health care sector is also feeling pressure on its bed capacity due to rising Covid-19 infections. In one Gauteng private hospital, fifty percent of the beds are occupied by Covid patients. Patients in a less severe condition, are sent home with oxygen tanks to create bed space. Gauteng accounts for over 50-percent of the total cases reported in the country.

The South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SACCI) says the current load shedding crisis facing the country will have a huge impact on economic recovery. Eskom this afternoon announced it will be implementing stage four load shedding because of additional breakdowns of a unit in Medupi and high winter demand. The Chamber which represents more than 20 thousand small and medium sized business warns that businesses are struggling with the current power cuts and this will led to additional job losses.

Former Transnet board member and Gupta family associate, Iqbal Sharma, will remain in custody after the Bloemfontein Magistrate's Court turned down his bail application. The state opposed bail citing that Sharma presents an overwhelming flight risk and that he has the means and incentive to flee the country. And that he failed to disclose 265-million rand held in his United Arab Emirates' Issar Global account. Sharma is amongst several accused facing charges of fraud, corruption and money laundering relating to the 24-point- 9 million rand deal paid by the Free State Department of Agriculture for a feasibility study.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has placed beleaguered Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize on special leave. The news broke while the Minister was visiting the Northern Cape YESTERDAY (Tuesday), to assess progress in the vaccination roll-out in the province. The Minister, who is facing allegations of involvement in the irregular issuing of tenders by his department, visited two vaccination sites in Kimberley. The Northern Cape is facing growing COVID-19 infections in schools, which have led to the closure of eleven schools.

Foods and beverages group, Clover South Africa, has cited the lack of service delivery as a reason behind the decision to relocate its biggest cheese production plant from Lichtenburg in the North West province, to Queensburgh in Durban. Clover says the Lichtenburg factory has been experiencing water and power outages, and the surrounding infrastructure has not been maintained by the municipality which has impacted on production. The company says despite several engagements with the municipality on these matters, the issues have not been resolved. The move will result in more than 300 employees losing their jobs.

The case brought by Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane against National Assembly Speaker Thandi Modise and others entered its second day YESTERDAY in the Western Cape High Court. Modise's legal representative, Advocate Andrew Breitenbach sought to counter arguments made by Mkhwebane's counsel Advocate Dali Mpofu. These included the suggestion that parliament was not entitled to add details to the grounds for the removal of the Public Protector and should have stuck to what is contained in the constitution. Mpofu also argued that it was unfair that the rules do not allow Mkhwebane's legal representative to take part in the meetings of the panel that will determine whether she is fit to hold office.

The ANC says its National Working Committee will decide on the future of MKMVA and the MK National Council. This follows reports that the two bodies representing ex-combatants of the ANC's armed wing have been disbanded and collapsed into a single entity representing all former ANC soldiers. This has angered MKMVA members who say the decision hasn't been communicated with them.

The Tshwane University of Technology --TUT -- has suspended all contact classes after another student died of COVID-19. The student, who lived on campus, died last week. She is the second TUT student to succumb to the deadly COVID-19 pandemic

Workers in South Africa's education sector will not receive their vaccines this week. That's because the United States medicines regulator, the Food and Drug Administration or FDA", has not yet given the go ahead for the Johnson&Johnson jabs to be released. J&J has offered South Africa 480-thousand doses of the vaccine -- a batch with a shelf life of three weeks. The government made a decision to accept the offer and roll out the batch to workers in the education sector. The FDA needs to determine whether the J&J vaccine was contaminated with ingredients of AstraZeneca's COVID shot.

The Gauteng traffic police are asking the public for help to identify the syndicate responsible for the spiking of vehicles on Gauteng's roads. This comes after a shoot-out with vehicle spiking suspects over the weekend. One suspect was shot and killed, while two others escaped into the bushes next to the N1 highway, close to the Stormvoël offramp in Pretoria.

Followers of Nigeria's popular televangelist, Prophet T.B Joshua, have continued to pay their tributes following his sudden death on Saturday night. TB Joshua was 57 and would have celebrated his 58th birthday this month. The circumstances of his death are not yet clear.

The South African Municipal Worker's Union, SAMWU has threatened to bring all municipal services countrywide to a halt as wage negotiations with the employer body,SALGA continue TODAY. The union, which represents 160-thousand workers, is demanding a one-year wage increase of four 4000 rands per month, housing allowance including six months' paid maternity leave and one month paid paternity leave. SALGA has tabled a proposal of a 2.8 percent salary increment across the board, citing the Covid-19 pandemic as a reason for the below inflation wage offer.

The much awaited case of the ANC's suspended Secretary General, Ace Magashule is expected to be heard before the end of the month. A full bench of the High Court is expected to hear the matter where Magashule is challenging his suspension. Magashule who has sought the service of the Senior Council, Advocate Dali Mpofu wants his suspension to be nullified by a court of law. Meanwhile, some have questioned Mpofu's decision to represent Magashule and former President, Jacob Zuma in his corruption case. EFF Leader Julius Malema says Mpofu has a right to discharge his professional duties without fear and the EFF will not interfere in his private responsibilities.

Allegations of tender corruption against Health Minister Zweli Mkhize featured strongly during the Presidency's budget vote debate in Parliament on Wednesday. President Ramaphosa told the House that he's dealing with the matter, while some opposition political parties accused him of failing to fight corruption head-on.

Load-shedding could potentially prove fatal for patients who are on oxygen in their homes. With the Covid-19 pandemic and hospitals under pressure, many patients have opted for home care. But with load-shedding seemingly part of life now, concerns are growing. Most of these patients don't have a back-up power supply to run their oxygen machines during outages.

More job seekers have given up hope of finding employment under the current economic environment. Stats SA data shows the number of discouraged job seekers jumped by 201-thousand or nearly seven percent. The latest figures increase the official unemployment rate to 32.6 percent in the first quarter, from 32.5 percent in the last quarter of last year.

Record high unemployment statistics in South Africa, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic have forced children to become bread winners. As Youth Month kicks off in the country -- Childline South Africa -- says young girls are resorting to sex work in order to feed their families, as the pandemic has rendered their parents jobless. Through the Grow, Learn and Own programme, the organisation empowers teenagers with entrepreneurial skills to become economically independent and self-sufficient.

The Pan African Parliament was abruptly suspened after MPs plunge the house in chaos into a third consecutive day of chaos. The members clashed yet again over the electoral system with the southern Caucus pushing for the change to rotational leadership similar to the African Union process. The Eastern and Western Caucauses adamant that there is no authority, which allows the impromptu change. The matter was worsened when a Southern MP attempted to read an apparent response from the AU

Some Pan-African Parliament members resorted to physical attacks as contention over the leadership voting process continued today. On Monday, the chamber in Midrand - north of Johannesburg erupted in chaos as caucus fought over whether the Presidency should be on a rotational basis versus the current direct elections system. The Southern caucus is leading the call to for rotation while the East and West heavily oppose the notion.

If a person is captured in a famous photograph..does it afford them any right or any sort of recognition or compensation? This question came up during an interview with Antoinette Sithole, the sister to the late Hector Pieterson - who died during the 1976 Soweto student uprisings. Sithole is featured in the iconic photograph taken by the late legendary photographer Sam Nzima. In the image, she is shown running alongside fellow student Mbuyisa Makhubo who is carrying the bloodied and wounded 13-year old Pieterson.