TimesLIVE - In The News

Religious leaders plead for caution as places of worship reopen

Despite calls by church leaders to the SA government to allow religious gatherings again, several prominent religious leaders have expressed reservations. 

6 Jun 2020 5AM 7 min

Irrational regulations risk turning law-abiding citizens into criminals

In an interview with MultimediaLIVE, attorney Douw Breed, managing director of Barnard Inc Attorneys, warns that irrational and unconstitutional lockdown regulations run the risk of turning law-abiding South African citizens into criminals. While explaining the North Gauteng High Court judgment declaring the regulations "unconstitutional and invalid", Breed warns that the…

3 Jun 2020 8AM 3 min

Level 3: thirsty citizens stand in long queues to buy alcohol

From Monday, licensed liquor outlets across the country opened their doors for the first time in two months to allow South Africans to stock up on their choice of alcoholic beverages. Alcohol sales were banned under levels 4 and 5 of the lockdown to help slow  the spread of Covid-19…

1 Jun 2020 6AM 2 min

Revisiting Cyclone Idai one year later

We sit down with Emile Bosch and Alaister Russell, multimedia journalist and photojournalist respectively for the Sunday Times group shortly after they return from Mozambique. The two of them caught up with survivors of the decimated village Begaja, one year after Cyclone Idai completely destroyed their families and livelihoods. We…

29 May 2020 5AM 30 min

Malema slams government handling of Covid-19 and insists SA isn't ready for level 3

Julius Malema addressed the nation regarding the coronavirus pandemic on May 28 2020. Malema discussed health care, children returning to school and SA not being ready to exit the lockdown, among other issues.

28 May 2020 9AM 3 min

EFF vows to join the Khosa family's legal battle for justice

In a media briefing help on Thursday, the EFF vowed to aid the family of Collins Khosa in their search for justice. Khosa, 40, died on April 10, allegedly after an altercation with soldiers and members of Johannesburg metro police. Khosa's life partner, Nomsa Montsha, stated in an affidavit that…

28 May 2020 8AM 1 min

SA's salons await court's verdict on reopening

Since the implementation of the lockdown on March 27, many people have lost their jobs and sources of income. Among those affected are hairdressers who are self employed and owners of small informal businesses who solely depend on the money they receive from clients  With beauty treatment services still strictly…

28 May 2020 5AM 4 min

FULL ADDRESS | SA moves to lockdown level 3

President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Sunday evening that there were 22,583 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the country and 429 deaths. Ramaphosa was giving an update on the government's risk-adjusted strategy to manage the spread of Covid-19 in the country. He said the country would be placed on level 3…

24 May 2020 1PM 33 min

Miss SA organisation asked to challenge the stigma against trans women entering pageants

“I am not asking you to perform inclusion, I am asking you to challenge exclusion,” Rhodes University student Asonele Phiri said in an open letter to the Miss SA organisation as young women enter to become the newly crowned Miss SA. Identifying as a transgender woman, Phiri said it is…

22 May 2020 10AM 6 min

Is your immune system ready to face off with Covid-19?

Covid-19 has taken the world by storm, and with it there is a sense of helplessness. How do we fight off a virus that seems unavoidable and to date has no treatment or vaccine? As SA confronts the easing of lockdown restrictions and the reopening of schools, the question of…

21 May 2020 2AM 8 min

LOCKDOWN | Schools will reopen on June 1 for matrics and grade 7s

South African schools will reopen on June 1 — starting with grade 12 and 7 pupils. And when the doors are opened after a two-month hiatus due to the coronavirus lockdown in SA, pupils will return in a staggered fashion. This is according to basic education minister Angie Motshekga, who…

19 May 2020 12PM 2 min

FULL ADDRESS | Ramaphosa: Most of SA will be on level 3 by end of May

Most of South Africa will be placed in level 3 of the nationwide lockdown by the end of May, President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Wednesday. But high-risk areas will remain on level 4, he added. He said a consultation process on how the move to level 3 will work will…

13 May 2020 2PM 35 min

'Longest eight weeks of my life': green light to repatriate South Africans stuck in African states

A South African man stranded in Morocco for eight weeks cannot believe that he and other South Africans stuck in three other African countries will finally be repatriated on Thursday evening.

13 May 2020 8AM 2 min

A Mother's Day love letter

Mother’s day is a celebration that honours motherhood, maternal bonds and mother figures in society. It is usually characterised by breakfast in bed, fancy dinners, flowers and adorable home-made, school-made or bought vibrant cards with “Happy Mother’s Day” written boldly. This year, Mother's Day will be celebrated in lockdown as…

8 May 2020 6AM 5 min

LISTEN | Is your social media use becoming a problem?

The national lockdown has seen a marked increase in social media use among South Africans. The restrictions have led to people interacting and keeping themselves busy by tweeting, liking, commenting, sharing and being much more active on social media. Since the Covid-19 pandemic started, these social media platforms have also highlighted…

8 May 2020 5AM 7 min

#WeSaluteYouSA — celebrating Worker's Day in lockdown

The working class in SA has been at the forefront of many causes, from the struggle for a democracy to labour laws and gender policies. Once again they are at the front lines during the Covid-19 pandemic. May 1, also known as International Workers Day, pays homage to the working…

1 May 2020 5AM 3 min

What are we born free of? asks SA youth

The “rainbow nation” generation born after April 1994 say they are disillusioned at being considered “born frees”. Political science and international relations honours student at the University of Fort Hare, Nolwazi Mabindisa, 30, says that the concept of identifying as a born free triggers a lot of emotions.

28 Apr 2020 3AM 10 min

FULL ADDRESS | SA Lockdown due to be lifted, but barely

Ramaphosa said the government had been decided to start ending the lockdown in phases from Thursday, April 30. Ramaphosa said several levels of lockdown intensity have been defined by the government. At the moment, South Africa was in a level five lockdown. From Friday, May 1, South Africa will enter…

23 Apr 2020 2PM 26 min

SA will have a severe epidemic - Prof Salim Abdool Karim

Infectious disease specialist Professor Salim Abdool Karim, who chairs the government's advisory committee on Covid-19, has become a household name for being the man in the know about the coronavirus. In this interview Abdool Karim explains why SA’s lockdown was so important, what recommendations his committee has put to government…

23 Apr 2020 6AM 13 min

Voices from the Lockdown

As the lockdown enter its fourth week, Paul Ash speaks to South Africans at home and overseas about how they are coping and what they're misisng about their old lives.

22 Apr 2020 10AM 18 min