Sunday round-up: SA back to Level 3 lockdown, and #Thembisa10 and ‘diamond rush’ latest
Have you seen this week’s headlines? Hot-potato issues include the authenticity of the #Thembisa10 reports and the debate over whether diamonds or quartz crystals have been found in KwaHlathi.
Shot police dog airlifted to Hilton for emergency surgery
Three police dogs were shot in Bishopstowe while chasing suspects linked to the murder of a policeman in Durban recently. Click here to read the full story.
Sanef criticises Rampedi for reportage of #Thembisa10
In what will be remembered as possibly one of the biggest media sagas in the country, the South African National Editors’ Forum (Sanef) criticised Piet Rampedi who first reported on the Thembisa decuplets and Independent Media for what the forum described as ‘the collapse of journalistic ethics and standards in reporting’. Click here to read the full report.
SA agriculture and food industry takes knocks
Botswana’s Department of Agricultural Development and Food Security announced that import restrictions were placed on the importation of live cloven-hoofed animals from SA. This followed large-scale testing of cattle in KwaZulu-Natal during the last week of May, confirming an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in the Mtubatuba area of Zululand.
In addition, a new report on the socio-economic impact of the Health Promotion Levy (or sugar tax), introduced in 2018, highlights the devastating impact the tax has had on the sugar industry, as well as the broader economy and jobs.
‘Diamond rush’ still up for debate
A team of inspectors delegated by KZN Premier Sihle Zikalala was deployed to the KwaHlathi ‘diamond rush’ site (outside Ladysmith) earlier this week to determine whether diamonds have in fact been found.
It remains to be seen if the stones locals have found will fetch a pretty penny on the market.
President Ramaphosa moves the country back to alert Level 3
The country was placed back on Covid-19 alert Level 3 earlier this week by the president, amid a third-wave of Covid-19 infections in the country.
Gauteng is currently the hotspot for infections and, as Pretoria Rekord reported, the province’s medical facilities are taking strain as cases continue to rise.
Read original story on albertonrecord.co.za
