Daily news update: Freak wave at Durban beach, ANC membership declines, Croatia beats Morocco 

Here’s your morning news update: An easy-to-read selection of our top stories. Stay up to date with The Citizen – More News, Your Way.

Daily news update – 18 December 2022

Three dead, 17 in hospital after freak wave at Durban beach

Three people have died and 17 others have been transported to hospital to have their injuries attended to after a freak wave at the eThekwini beachfront in Durban swept them out to sea on Saturday.

Army set to be deployed to several Eskom power stations

President Cyril Ramaphosa has requested Minister of Defence and Military Veterans Thandi Modise to deploy the army to several Eskom power stations.

This is according to a number of sources. 

News24 reports that Brigadier Andries Mahapa confirmed that the SANDF has already been deployed to some power stations to protect against the theft of essential components.

ANC: membership declines by 50% in 5 years

The ANC’s organisational report shows that its membership declined from a peak of 1.2 million in 2017 to 600 000.

According to the report presented by Deputy President David Mabuza, although the governing party has one million members “at any time,” weaknesses encroached on the proper management of its system.

LOOK: Rihanna shares cute TikTok video of her baby boy

Social media users are debating which parent Rihanna and A$ap Rocky’s son look like after the musician and businesswoman shared a video of her son on her TikTok account. 

The video shows him smiling while buckled into a car seat as the Fenty mogul let him reach for her phone and attempt to hold it. 

Croatia beat Morocco to finish third at World Cup

Croatia defeated Morocco 2-1 in the World Cup third-place play-off on Saturday, with Mislav Orsic curling home the winner.

Josko Gvardiol, one of the stars of the tournament in Qatar, headed Croatia into the lead in the seventh minute at the Khalifa International Stadium but Achraf Dari brought Morocco level right away.

Ramaphosa gives Zuma until Monday to withdraw private prosecution

President Cyril Ramaphosa has given his predecessor, former president Jacob Zuma, until Monday to withdraw his private prosecution against him.

The Presidency rejected Zuma’s private prosecution as an abuse of legal processes, saying in accordance with the Criminal Procedure Act, a private prosecution could only be instituted after Zuma had obtained a certificate of non-prosecution from the NPA.

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