KwaZulu-Natal premier, Sihle Zikalala says there's a lack of trust between farm dwellers and government in Newcastle, north of the province. Zikalala was speaking during a visit to the Normandien farming community in Newcastle. The area has been in the spotlight, following an escalation of tension between farmers and farm dwellers.

Covid-19 has ravaged the Eastern Cape, claiming more than 11-thousand lives in the province. At the same time, tuberculosis remains a huge problem. The TB survey conducted in 2018 found the disease present in 737 out of every 100-thousand people. Statistics from 2015 showed the Eastern Cape to be the province with the highest prevalence of TB. Currently, there's concern about the sharp increase in infections in the Ntabankulu area of the province.

Nature conservationist in the Eastern Cape have raised an alarm on the amount of birds which continue to drop dead from the sky. More than a 150 birds have been reported to have died without any explanation in parts of the Nelson Mandela Bay and King William's Town, also known as Qonce. A well-known snake handler and owner of Sandula Conservation, Mark Marshall, together with the provincial state veterinary services have initiated a process of collecting samples for testing in order to trace the cause of death. The public has also been urged to refrain from picking up the birds or rather use protective gear if they come across any carcasses.

A Judicial Conduct Tribunal has unanimously found that Western Cape judge president John Hlophe improperly attempted to influence two judges of the Constitutional Court. The report has now been submitted to the chairperson of the Judicial Services Commission which will determine his fate. The complaint against Hlophe was lodged by eleven Constitutional Court judges thirteen years ago, after judges Bess Nkabinda and Chris Jafta complained that he had improperly attempted to influence the outcome of a matter in favour of former president Jacob Zuma

South Africa has secured more than fifty-million doses of COVID-19 vaccines and delivery is expected to start later this month. Health Minister Zweli Mkhize made the announcement at the Soweto Home for the Aged in Gauteng. Mkhize conducted a visit of the facility as well as the Charlotte Maxeke Academic Hospital in Parktown, Johannesburg, to access the readiness for the roll out of phase two of the vaccination programme. The vaccines have been secured from pharmaceutical giants Pfizer and Johnson and Johnson, as well as the COVAX facility.

Free State artists have joined other provinces and embarked on a month-long sit-in protest at the offices of the Performing Arts Centre of the Free State, PACOFS, in Bloemfontein. They demand action against officials who have been implicated in a forensic report into allegations of corruption. Meanwhile Arts organisation ASSITEJ SA has launched legal action against the National Arts Council (NAC) over what it says is the maladministration of the government's promised stimulus fund.

Immediate technical deployment will be directed to Mozambique to aid it's fight against the insurgency in it's northern region of Cabo Delgado. This is a resolution for the SADC's Double Troika Summit held in Maputo, Mozambique, YESTERDAY. The meeting which was convened to discuss the ongoing security challenges also expressed concern on the impact the terrorism is having on the people of that region. Last month, dozens were killed where IS-linked miltants attacked a hotel in the coastal town of Palma.

The Southern African Development Community - SADC, will TODAY hold an extraordinary Troika Summit meeting in Maputo, Mozambique, to deliberate on measures to address terrorism in the host country. The meeting comes after insurgents attacked the strategic town of Palma late last month. The country has seen continued terrorist attacks in Cabo Delgado Province over the past few weeks, leaving many people dead or injured.

The Competition Commission says there is a lack of integration in the country's public transport system and this is worsened by the inequality between transport modes. The commission released its public transport market inquiry report YESTERDAY (Wednesday 7 April). Commissioner Tembinkosi Bonakele says they also received many complaints from the public about the sector

Former SABC Parliamentary journalist, Manelisi Dubase, says one of the stories he covered before he was retrenched was the very touching candlelight ceremony to commemorate the coronavirus victims that President Cyril Ramaphosa attended on New Year's eve last year. Dubase and another Parliamentary Journalist Mkhokeli Tanda are among the 621 employees who were affected by the SABC's Section 189 retrenchment process. The process was concluded a week ago.