News, facts, figures, interviews, views and analysis of the impact of the KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape floods

Ukraine's shelling killed and injured its own civilians in the southern region of Kherson, Russia said on Sunday, after pounding southern and eastern areas with missile strikes, while some civilians got away from a steel plant in besieged Mariupol.

The British Foreign Office said on Sunday Russia is using a troll factory to spread disinformation about the war in Ukraine on social media and target politicians across a number of countries including Britain and South Africa.

Ukraine updates.

KZN floods live updates

Police top management say there was nothing untoward about the dramatic arrest of the advocate representing Senzo Meyiwa’s alleged murderers inside the Pretoria high court on Thursday.

Dwindling memberships, inter-union rivalry and radical changes in the nature of work could render trade unions irrelevant, and Workers’ Day will allow them to reflect on their significance.

Northern Cape police recovered stolen cellphone tower batteries worth more than R480,000 on Friday.

A 35-year-old Intercape bus driver died in a Cape Town hospital on Thursday after being shot outside the company’s depot.

An Eastern Cape ANC bigwig accused of dipping into the Nelson Mandela funeral fund has failed to persuade the judge in his case to recuse herself.

A top Cape Town cop has been bust in a sting operation for allegedly escorting a drug trafficker who was actually a police intelligence agent.

Ukraine updates.

Ukraine and Russia traded accusations over shaky talks to end a war now in its third month as Russia pounded areas in the east of the country and U.S. lawmakers vowed a massive new weapons package for Kyiv.

A 31-year-old man from section A in Mamelodi East outside Pretoria on Friday appeared in the Mamelodi magistrate's court in connection with the attempted murder of an eight-year-old girl.

The National Institute for Communicable Diseases on Friday said Covid-19 infections were on the increase after 4,954 people tested positive for the virus in the past 24 hours.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has paid tribute to late former Kenyan president Mwai Kibaki, likening him to SA’s first president Nelson Mandela.

In this weekly segment of bite-sized chunks of useful information, consumer journalist Wendy Knowler summarises news you can use.

A South African woman leaving the country for Dubai was nabbed this week with 12 rhino horns in her luggage at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, says Sars.

A protest organised by the SA National Civic Organisation Kirkwood has resulted in the widespread destruction of agricultural property.

Measures have been taken to address the jet fuel shortage experienced at Johannesburg's OR Tambo International Airport, says transport minister Fikile Mbalula.

Advocate Malesela Teffo was arrested at the Pretoria high court on Thursday, apparently for failure to appear in court in Hillbrow for a separate matter.

Advocate Malesela Teffo was granted R10,000 bail on Friday after his dramatic arrest the day before in the Pretoria high court when the Senzo Meyiwa trial had adjourned.

Orders for Hilux, Fortuner, Corolla Cross and Quest vehicles will take longer to deliver due to the extensive flood damage Toyota SA Motors suffered at its Prospecton, Durban, plant.

South Africa is facing a dire shortage of veterinary professionals as only one tertiary institution in the country offers training, says the SA Veterinary Council.

The General Council of the Bar of SA says the arrest of advocate Malesela Teffo, representing some of the accused in the Senzo Meyiwa trial, showed a "profound disrespect" for the dignity of the court.

Eskom has set up a team to review the latest state capture report, which found that former president Jacob Zuma played a key role in helping the Gupta family capture the entity.

Advocate Malesela Teffo is appearing in the Hillbrow magistrate's court on Friday morning.

Public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane will release a number of investigation reports on Friday morning.

The government has also received donations from citizens and non-governmental organisations for relief efforts, says health minister Joe Phaahla.

According to some definitions, but not all, SA is officially entering the fifth wave of Covid-19 infections. Either way, two things have caught scientists by surprise: the timing of the wave and what’s driving it.