Update@Noon

A 16-year-old teenager has been arrested in Roodepoort, Gauteng, for possession and distribution of explosives. National Intervention Unit officers and Gauteng Crime Intelligence have seized 50 blasting cartridges, 25 safety fuse connectors, and detonating cords from the suspect. Police say intelligence-led information on suspects selling explosives in and around Motlhakeng. Police say Investigations remain ongoing to identify the criminal networks behind the illegal possession and distribution of explosives. Police spokesperson Lt. Col. Amanda van Wyk explains 

Limpopo's Department of Transport reports a bus carrying 31 passengers from Gauteng veered off the N1 near Ingwe Lodge, outside Makhado, and plunged into a ditch. Multiple fatalities and injuries are reported. The department says at least 4 passengers are confirmed to have died. The department says the exact cause of the accident remains unknown. However, it is clear that there are multiple fatalities and injuries. The bus was travelling from Gauteng to Zimbabwe, and it has not yet been established whether all passengers were bound for Zimbabwe. The vehicle remains in the ditch, making it difficult to determine the exact number of occupants at the time of the incident. Limpopo Transport Spokesperson, Matome Moremi-Taueatsoala, explains

The TRC Cases Inquiry public hearings continue today and  veteran investigative journalist Michael Schmidt and author of DEATH FLIGHT, apartheid's secret doctrine of disappearance,  is on witness stand. Schmidt says that Senior SADF Officer Dirk Marais told him that seven years of meetings aimed at dealing with prosecutions related to TRC Cases, fell apart in 2003 after reaching a stalemate. The inquiry was established by President Cyril Ramaphosa to determine whether attempts were made to prevent the investigation and prosecution of apartheid-era crimes. 

The South African Police Service has condemned the brutal killing of three people, including an infant, in a shooting incident on Tuesday. The police say at approximately 22:00, police responded to reports of a shooting at Sunbird Court in Athlone. Upon arrival, officers found the bodies of two women aged 25 and 36, as well as a nine-month-old baby, who had sustained fatal gunshot wounds. Two adult males were also shot and injured during the incident and were transported to a medical facility for treatment. The Athlone police in Western Cape say preliminary information indicates that three unknown suspects fled the scene and have not yet been arrested. The motive for the attack is still under investigation. Western Cape police spokesperson Colonel Andrè Traut explains. 

U.S. President Donald Trump's pick for ambassador to South Africa, Leo Brent Bozell III, has arrived in the country. He is expected to improve fraught ties between the two states. Bozell III is  expected to present his credentials to President Cyril Ramaphosa before officially taking up his post. Relations between Washington and Pretoria have deteriorated in the last year as Trump has accused South Africa of persecuting its white minority, criticised its ties with Russia and China, imposed a steep tariffs on its exports and cut all aid. Sakina Kamwendo spoke to Former US diplomat & Associate Editor at Daily Maverick Brooks Spector

Civil rights leader Jesse Jackson, an eloquent Baptist minister raised in the segregated South who became a close associate of Martin Luther King Jr and twice ran for the Democratic presidential nomination, has died at age 84. Sakina Kamwendo spoke to SABC specialist correspondent Sophie Mokoena  

The official unemployment rate decreased by 0,5-percentage points from 31,9-percent in the third quarter of 2025, to 31,4-percent in the fourth quarter of 2025. That's according to the Quarterly Labour Force Survey released by Statistics South Africa today. Sakina Kamwendo spoke to independent economist Duma Gqubule

Search and rescue operations are continuing at the Ekapa Minerals in Northern Cape Kimberley, after the mine has confirmed a mud rush a inflow of mud which struck the underground operations early this morning. The company reports that several employees remain unaccounted for following the event. The mines says Management has activated a full search and rescue operation to locate and extract the trapped workers, with specialized teams now working underground to clear debris and reach the affected section. Sakina Kamwendo spoke to Lerato Mohatlane NUMSA union official in Northern Cape Kimberley. 

The Democratic Alliance is leading a protest rally today in Nelson Mandela Bay's Northern Areas, outside Gelvandale Police Station, The party says it demands urgent priority action against what they call rampant gang violence and drug-dealing gangs that have turned communities into war zones. DA Northern Areas Constituency Leader Yusuf Cassim says residents feel abandoned after President Cyril Ramaphosa announced in his State of the Nation Address the deployment of the military to support police in fighting gang violence but only in the Western Cape and Gauteng, snubbing the Eastern Cape despite years of DA calls and parliamentary resolutions for intervention.  Bongiwe Zwane spoke to DA Northern Areas Constituency Leader Yusuf Cassim  

Three suspects in the e‑hailing murder case have abandoned bail and are due back in court next week. Police say the driver was hijacked and overpowered inside his vehicle after picking up two passengers a man and a woman who had requested the ride. The hijacked vehicle and the driver’s body were later found in Atteridgeville on the same day. Bongiwe Zwane spoke to SABC reporter Nonhlanhla Mthabela