Update@Noon

The National Prosecuting Authority  says the court's decision to deny former Deputy National Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Shadrack Sibiya bail sends a strong message that gender-based violence and femicide will not be tolerated.The 59-year-old Sibiya was arrested on the 21st of last month and faces multiple charges, including human trafficking, the alleged sexual grooming of a 16-year-old girl, and the rape of an 18-year-old woman. NPA spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago says the ruling is the outcome the state had hoped for.

The Cape Town Magistrate's Court has heard further evidence in the inquest into Anele Tembe's death. Forensic simulations suggest a forceful push could explain her fall, but this remains inconclusive. The court also heard evidence about drugs found on Tembe's body and a doctor's examination of rapper AKA. The inquest is examining the circumstances surrounding her fatal fall from the 10th floor of the Pepperclub Hotel in April 2021. Tembe was engaged to rapper AKA at the time. SABC NEWS reporter Yonda Magubudela

While Bayanda Walaza and a new generation of stars deliver on the track, Athletics South Africa is facing the threat of international suspension over governance failures. World Athletics has demanded the removal of suspended president James Moloi and sweeping reforms — warning that failure to act could shut South African athletes out of the 2027 World Championships and jeopardise their Olympic dreams in Los Angeles in 2028. SAfm sports anchor Jon Gericke has more 

Legal practitioners employed by Legal Aid South Africa are today marching to the Justice Department's offices in Pretoria to hand over a memorandum of grievances to the Minister and senior officials. The practitioners are raising concerns about long-standing vacant posts, which they say increase workloads and compromise the quality of their work. They previously marched in June, but say their concerns remain unresolved. For more on this Sakina Kamwendo spoke to South African Lawyers and Allied Workers Union spokesperson, Michael Motaung

Five police officers accused of corruption and defeating the ends of justice have been granted a thousand rand bail each by the Polokwane magistrate's court in Limpopo. The officers, stationed at the Polokwane International Airport, allegedly assisted undocumented immigrants to evade arrest in April last year. The accused Emmanuel Manamela, Joyce Matlala, Johannes Thole, Kwena Mothiba and Benjamin Choeke were arrested Monday evening and in the morning today. Magistrate Rodgers Machovani has postponed the matter to the 30th of November this year for the state to obtain the last outstanding statements. Sakina Kamwendo spoke to SABC News reporter Vutivi Maluleke 

The IEC has partnered with digital platforms such as Google, Meta, Microsoft, TikTok and non- profit organisation Moxii Africa, to combat disinformation and protect the integrity of the local government elections. Briefing the media in Centurion, the various stakeholders pledged that voters will have access to credible information to make informed political decisions. Zara Groenewald reports….

Lesotho's Labour and Employment Minister, Tšeliso Mokhosi, has launched a joint outreach programme to help current and former mine workers access their social security benefits. The initiative aims to raise awareness and simplify access to benefits across selected districts. Botlhale Phele has more...

Analysts say Finance Minister, Enoch Godongwana, will aim to strike a sustainable balance between spending priorities against collected revenue, while seeking to narrow the budget deficit and contain debt when he tables the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement in Parliament on tomorrow. Government data shows that revenue improved at 39-percent of the budget, supported by a commodity price boom recorded this year. Naledi Mabitsela-Ngcobo filed this report. 

Residents of Zithobeni, Bronkhorstspruit, Dark City, Rethabiseng and Sokhulumi in Tshwane's Region 7 are being urged to avoid using municipal tap water for domestic purposes, except for flushing toilets, amid concerns about possible contamination. This comes as 408 cases of gastro-intestinal illness were reported between the 7th and 18th of October, mostly affecting children under the age of four. No deaths have been reported. At a joint government briefing in Pretoria, national, provincial and municipal leaders outlined measures including further water-quality testing, alternative safe-water supplies,  nd increased monitoring of patients. Musa Mhlongo reports…

The Committee to Protect Journalists - an international New York based press-freedom organisation - has warned that the Trump administration's restrictions on the media are emboldening authoritarian governments around the world. Speaking to SABC News as South Africa marks Black Wednesday, CPJ's Americas director, José Zamora accused Washington of making independent reporting more dangerous and costly through restrictions on access, legal pressure and immigration measures targeting journalists. Zamora says the consequences extend beyond newsrooms, weakening the public's ability to expose abuses and hold those in power accountable. Sherwin Bryce-Pease reports on the state of press freedom in the United States.