Afternoon Drive with John Maytham

There has been talk of more bad weather hitting Cape Town from this evening.

To find out more, we speak to the spokesperson for the Cape Town Disaster Risk Management Centre, Charlotte Powell.

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India continues to deal with the consequences of the most powerful cyclone in more than two decades which has battered the county's west coast since Monday.

 Cyclone Tauktae unleashed waves of up to 7 and a half metres offshore before it hit the states of Maharashtra and Gujarat, leaving a trail of destruction.

The powerful cyclone has increased pressure on Indian authorities who are struggling to deal with a huge increase in Covid-19 cases and the shortage of both beds and oxygen. Yes, it recorded its deadliest day of the pandemic with 4,329 deaths ... and it surpassed 25 million cases.

We speak to Prof Philip Menon, the Mellon Chair in Indian Studies at the University of Witwatersrand.

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We speak to EWN's Kevin Brandt to get an update on the second phase of the Covid-19 vaccination drive which got underway on Monday, and news that the City of Cape Town has opened 10 additional sites.

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Security firm, Kaspersky, has reportedly found that South Africa ranks third in the world for the number of users experiencing targeted ransomware attacks.

And it appears that nearly half of the victims paid the ransom or fee being demanded, in the hope of getting their data back. That's according to an article in today's Business Maverick, by Toby Shapshak, publisher of the tech news site, Stuff.

And he says that last week's ransomware attack on Virgin Active is the wake-up call we all need to realise that this global phenomenon is gaining momentum.

He joins us on the line.

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Philip de Wet writes in Business Insider today that after much secrecy about contracts, and debate around subsidies, we finally know exactly how much medical aids will pay to vaccinate its members against Covid-19.

He says they are facing a maximum theoretical cost of R7.56 billion, although this could be several billion less, depending on the vaccine used, Pfizer vs Johnson & Johnson. The department of health has apparently also given private healthcare providers details on how much they may charge per vaccination.

To find out more, we speak to Philip de Wet.

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Auto & General Insurance says a review of data from March this year compared to March 2020, shows that there has been a 30% decline in alcohol-related claims received by the company.

But, it says it thinks people may have forgotten how to drive during the lockdown.

More than half of the accident claims it received involved just one vehicle, and more than 50% were for minor damages.

We speak to Ricardo Coetzee, head of Auto & General Insurance.

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A study by scientists in Australia suggests that there are about 50 billion individual birds in the world, 6 times as many as there are humans. However, it also found that there are relatively few common bird species, but a large number of rare ones.

Four types of birds belong to what the researchers called “the billion club”, with estimated populations greater than 1 billion, the house sparrow, the European starling, the ring-billed gull, and the barn swallow.

To find out what the situation is here in Southern Africa, we speak to Mark Anderson, the CEO of Birdlife SA.

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Israel has continued to bombard Gaza today with airstrikes while Palestinian militants resumed cross-border rocket fire after an overnight lull. This continuing conflict comes amid calls by the United States and other world leaders for an end to the conflict.

But Israel says it will not back down now but continue with its offensive to destroy the capabilities of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad. Hamas began firing rockets eight days ago in retaliation for what it said were Israeli rights abuses against Palestinians in Jerusalem. 

Medical officials in Gaza say 213 Palestinians have been killed in the airstrikes including 61 children, while Israeli authorities say, 10 people, of which 2 were children, have died in Israel.

We speak to London-based Palestinian political analyst, Yousef Al-Helou, who is head of GazaTV News.

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Mogamat Cassiem, known affectionately by the public as Boeta Cassiem, has been selling ice creams at sports venues like Newlands Cricket Stadium in Cape Town for more than 55 years. Last year, fans and strangers came to his rescue when he had to have a cataract operation.  Lockdown meant no live sport and therefore no way for him to supplement his old age grant.

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Guest: Recardo Collins | Western Cape Director: Land Transport Contract.

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