Three killed, ten others injured head-on accident near Potchefstroom

A horrendous accident near Potchefstroom claimed the lives of three people and injured ten others. 

THE FATAL HEAD-ON COLLISION HAPPENED ON SATURDAY

According to the Department of Community Safety and Transport Management spokesperson Boitshoko Moremi, the accident happened on Saturday. 

“Three people were confirmed dead at the scene of the accident that happened in the afternoon of Saturday, 20km from Potchefstroom to Ventersdorp.”

ALSO READ: Police and emergency services attacked and shot at while attending to an accident scene

Moremi said one passenger was airlifted and nine taken by ambulances to the hospital after a Quantum taxi collided head-on with a Kia Sedan.

The North West MEC for Community Safety and Transport Management, Sello Lehari, said he was saddened by the number of people who lost their lives.

“We are saddened by the loss of life on our roads while we are doing so much to increase our visibility and continuously engaging with our motorists to comply on the road.

“We are doing all these to avoid unnecessary incidents and fatalities. The accident is an unfortunate incident and we really regret the loss of lives of our beloved ones.”

Police are investigating a case of culpable homicide.

ALSO READ: Boy died after jumping onto moving cane truck in KwaZulu-Natal

Meanwhile, a manhunt has been launched for five armed men who attacked and shot police officers and emergency services who were busy attending to a scene in the early hours of Sunday.

According to police spokesperson Brigadier Selvy Mohlala, members of the South African Police Service and a Fire Brigade official were attending to an accident scene on the R40 Road at Ga-Bereta near Bushbuckridge.

“Police in Mpumalanga have launched a manhunt for suspects who shot at members of the South African Police Service as well as a Fire Brigade official that attended to an accident scene on the R40 Road at Ga-Bereta near Bushbuckridge.”

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COVID-19 latest: Numbers remain low- SA reports 230 new reported cases, 14 deaths

South Africa recorded 230 new cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) has said on Sunday. 

A TOTAL OF 14 DEATHS HAVE BEEN RECORDED IN THE LAST 24 HOURS

This brings the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases to 2 922 116. 

This increase of 230 new COVID-19 cases represents a 1.2 % positivity rate. 

A further 14 COVID-19 related deaths have been reported, bringing total fatalities to 89 177 to date.

“The cumulative number of recoveries is 2 814 264, which is 96.3% recovery rate.” 

The majority of new cases is in Mpumalanga: 45, followed by KwaZulu-Natal with 42 new cases, the Gauteng with 36, and the Western Cape with 31 new cases provinces. 

For more detailed information, visit the GIS Dashboard.

18 544 880 tests have been conducted in both the public and private sectors.

ALSO READ: Do you qualify for the Covid-19 grant? Here are the eligibility criteria

Oramed Pharmaceuticals confirmed on Friday that the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority had given permission for the trial to go ahead.

The trial will be run in Johannesburg and see just 24 volunteers take the company pill vaccine. Oramed told the Sunday Times that results from the trial are expected halfway through next year.

Meanwhile, scientists are now sounding the alarm over a new variant of COVID-19 known unofficially as “Delta-Plus.”

For now, this new variant isn’t a cause for concern for South Africa as it currently accounts for about 6% of all analysed COVID-19 cases in the United Kingdom (UK).

UK scientists are now hard at work trying to determine the extent of the Delta Plus variant’s spread. The variant contains mutations that might give the virus survival advantages. 

It is scientifically referred to as AY.4.2, and there isn’t yet evidence that suggests that this particular variant makes people even sicker. AY.4.2 has two spike mutations found in other coronavirus variants and was first sequenced in April 2020.

READ: COVID-19: Delta variant has a NEW mutation – here’s what we know

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Test your knowledge: Play our ELECTIONS quiz and WIN R1000 data

South Africa has had a short but proud history of elections, since 1994. Our first elections on 27 April were unforgettable and made headlines around the world. Since 2011, South Africa has conducted municipal elections to allow better governance and delivery of services to all South Africans.

This year’s municipal elections will be hotly contested in wards and metros across the country and is bound to stir some strong reactions.

If you think you know all there is to know about elections in South Africa, put your knowledge to the test and you could win R1000 in cellphone data.

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Observers act as ‘auditors’ during elections, says IEMSA’s Tselane

Institute of Election Management Services Africa (IEMSA) executive chair, Terry Tselane says Election observers are very important in an election process as they almost act like auditors.

Tselane says observers’ role is to check whether the electoral commission has followed generally accepted protocols and practices in order to come to a determination of whether the election was free and fair.

He further explains that the observers do not have power over the Electoral Commission but can serve as advisors.  “Nobody can interfere with the role of the electoral commission. As observers serve an advisory role, so the commission can take their report into account but is not obliged to take the report because it is just an advisory structure.”

IEC Head of Commission services, Mlungisi Kelembe says amongst the many local observer bodies present for the November 1 local government elections, they have one international observer body – the Electoral Commissions Forum of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region.

“It consists of 18 members from the SADC countries.”

Kelembe says they do not deploy observers and have no idea where they will be stationed, but they only receive that information when they submit their reports. He says the SADC Observers will remain in the country until the third of November.

For more on the story, listen to the audio links below: 

1- Observers’ role during elections

2- Free and fair election 

 

The post Observers act as ‘auditors’ during elections, says IEMSA’s Tselane appeared first on SABC News - Breaking news, special reports, world, business, sport coverage of all South African current events. Africa's news leader..

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‘Big thighs and all’: DJ Lamiez celebrates SAFW runway debut [watch]

Lamiez Holworthy has had the last laugh at cruel Twitter trolls, after she made her runway debut at SA Fashion Week…

The DJ and Metro FM presenter has been the subject of cyberbullying – and in particular body shaming taunts in recent weeks.

Now the star is smiling after walking the Maxhosa Africa runway after modelling their showstopper piece.

LAMIEZ IS A REAL SHOWSTOPPER

The female DJ – and wife of muso Khuli Chana – celebrated her fashion feat after being chosen by exclusive label Maxhosa Africa to model their showstopper piece.

The emotional star tweeted: “Tonight I walked the ramp at the @MaXhosaAfrica show as their SHOWSTOPPER.

“A show full of professional SUPER MODELS and here I was. Big thighs and all.

Lamiez – who was recently mocked by tweeps for wearing “short shorts” – dedicated the moment to empowering and encouraging other women to know their worth.

“This moment belonged to every woman told she’s not enough. I cried throughout.”

Tonight I walked the ramp at the @MaXhosaAfrica show as their SHOWSTOPPER.

A show full of professional SUPER MODELS and here I was. Big thighs and all.

This moment belonged to every woman told she’s not enough. I cried throughout. pic.twitter.com/TmyW3I1ZQM

— 𝔻𝕁 𝕃𝕒𝕞𝕚𝕖𝕫 ℍ𝕠𝕝𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕥𝕙𝕪 (@LamiezHolworthy) October 30, 2021

MORE CELEBS SPOTTED SAFW RUNWAY DEBUT

Lamiez wasn’t the only curvy celeb on the catwalk – fellow radio presenter Penny Lebyane also turned heads on the African Fashion International runway.

Penny Lebyane #SAFW21 pic.twitter.com/Hch2UvxWgL

— Musa Khawula (@khawula_musa) October 30, 2021

And there were plenty more stars in attendance too.

Former beauty pageant winners SA Tansey Coetzee (Miss SA), Margo Fargo (Miss Earth SA) and Candice Abrahams (Mrs SA) made a stunning appearance at the opening night.

Tansey captioned the pic of the trio: “Pretty brown girl…This one is for you. The confident, powerful, beautiful, smart, inspirational, caring, juggling life with grace, supportive sister, interesting, talented, crazy, nurturing, educated, living on purpose, badass, successful, empowered, funny, uplifting, blessed and highly favored, taking up space, game changer, loving, know your worth kinda queen. I see you”.

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Percy Tau’s Al Ahly win AGAIN as bitter Zamalek clash looms

Al Ahly made it two wins from as many matches in the Egyptian Premier League after defeating National Bank 1-0 on Sunday.

PICTURE | ANDILE MPISANE SHOWS OFF R16 000 PINK SNEAKERS!

Following his dream debut in midweek against Ismaily, Percy Tau was handed another start by coach Pitso Mosimane.

Tau scored twice in Al Ahly’s opening round 4-0 victory.

READ | MAMELODI SUNDOWNS WIN A 20TH DOMESTIC TITLE IN PSL ERA WITH MTN8 WIN

This time around however, Tau wasn’t able to find the back of the net, but did see his team-mate Mohamed Sherif score the only goal of the match in the 62nd minute.

Percy Tau was substituted a minute later as Al Ahly hung on for the victory to move to the top of the table with a perfect six points from two matches.

Al Ahly will next be in action in a humdinger of a Cairo derby against bitter rivals Zamalek on Friday, 5 November.

Kick-off is at 20:00 SA time.

Zamalek are the defending Egyptian Premier League champions and have kicked off the defence of their title with back-to-back victories as well this campaign.

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Graphic video of ostriches killed by hail investigated by NSPCA [Watch]

A graphic video showing dozens of ostriches killed by hail on a farm in Aberdeen, in the Eastern Cape, has been circulating on social media and has caught the attention of the National Council of SPCAs (NSPCA).

THE RECENT HAIL STORMS CAUSED DAMAGED ACROSS THE COUNTRY

The NSPCA said it was trying to trace the farm where the video was taken.

“The NSPCA is trying to trace on which farm in Aberdeen this cruelty took place. If you have any information about where this farm is, please contact 0795007416 urgently.”

ALSO READ: Warning: More SEVERE thunderstorms with hail, strong winds and excessive lighting expected

It said Aberdeen experienced adverse weather conditions, which included a heavy hail storm on 28th October 2021.

“When most people think of hail, what comes to mind is the fear of damage to their vehicles, which is unfortunate because, for us, our main concern is all the animals that are left without shelter.

“This video emphasizes why shelter is non-negotiable for animals that are expected to brave adverse weather conditions. These ostriches clearly did not have sufficient shelter under which to protect themselves, which resulted in so many of them dying or being left severely injured from the hail.”

The NSPCA furthermore urged the public to please report animals being kept outdoors without any shelter to your local SPCA.

“If you are unable to keep your pet indoors, please ensure that you have provided adequate shelter for your pet to protect themselves from the elements.”

ALSO READ: Weather warning issued for severe storms with flooding, hail, and winds

Earlier this week, an Edenville farmer, Heinz Theron suffered major losses on Monday after 300 of his sheep perished following a severe hailstorm in the area.

On Monday, the small township situated in the northern Free State experienced hail rain of 100 millimeters, which elevated to 1021 millibar pressure.

The Vrystaat Landbou’s Dr. Jack Armour told the media, the calculated loss of the herd is close to R500 000 to R600 000.

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