IOL News – Top Stories – Independent Online
IOL News – Top Stories – Independent Online
Independent Online, popularly known as IOL, is one of South Africa's leading news and information websites bringing millions of readers breaking news and updates on Politics, Current Affairs, Business, Lifestyle, Entertainment, Travel, Sport, Motoring and Technology.
IOL also hosts the digital offerings of some of the country's most prominent newspapers including The Star and Pretoria News in Gauteng, The Cape Times and Cape Argus in the Western Cape and The Mercury and Daily News in KwaZulu-Natal as well as national business publications Business Report and Personal Finance.
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Pretoria – The Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department (EMPD) has confiscated more municipal vehicles that were being misused by the municipality's staff for their personal business.Metro police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Kelebogile Thepa said one of the vehicles, a Ford Ranger, was being used to transport staff from a cleaning company.“On Wednesday May 24, 2023 between 6.30am and 7am, members of the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department's Security and Loss Control Unit impounded two municipal vehicles in Kempton Park and Tembisa following misuse by the City of Ekurhuleni employees,” said Thepa.“Upon receiving a tip-off from a reliable source about City of Ekurhuleni employees using […]
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Pretoria – Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, Ronald Lamola, has commended South Africa's law enforcement agencies for the arrest of Rwandan fugitive Fulgence Kayishema.He was nabbed after an Interpol Red Notice was issued at the request of the UN International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunal. The IRMCT wanted the fugitive in connection with the genocide and crimes against humanity in Rwanda.He has been at large since the early 2000s.Lamola said the arrest sent a message that South Africa would not be a refuge for fugitives.Minister of Justice Ronald Lamola. File Picture: Elmond Jiyane/GCIS“With this arrest, two emphatic statements cannot […]
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Red Square landing causes commotion; deadly cyclone; moves to end apartheid; Harambe shot; more protection for woman; and mass grave found1431 French liberation heroine Joan of Arc is falsely accused of relapsing into heresy by donning male clothing, giving her English captors an excuse to burn their enemy at the stake.1709 The Dutch East Indiaman Nagel catches fire and is wrecked at Saldanha Bay.1874 The first group of Dorsland trekkers leaves Pretoria for south-west Angola. (They had to traverse vast, arid areas which lent the trek its name). Of the 3 000 who started the trip, about 300 survive.1889 Édouard and […]
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Empangeni – The stand-off over the new Ingonyama Trust Board which is now chaired by Inkosi Thanduyise Mzimela – who replaced former Judge Jerome Ngwenya – has taken another turn after some traditional leaders rejected it.The group of some amakhosi (chiefs) from all over KwaZulu-Natal gathered in Empangeni on Friday for a meeting with Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi.The meeting was over matters related to the trust. Not all amakhosi attended the meeting because they are divided over the matter.During the meeting Buthelezi provided a history of the trust and why he feared the land it held would soon be sold.He also […]
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Johannesburg – The DA has launched an urgent oversight campaign to address the spiralling national water crisis.The launch comes after civil rights group Afriforum confirmed that water samples that were taken from the Vaal River at Parys in the Free State on Tuesday had tested positive for a deadly cholera disease.The DA said the confirmation of contaminated water samples in the Vaal River, including the presence of cholera and E coli was a clear indication of the dire state of our water infrastructure.“The detection of cholera in the Vaal River this week and the systematic collapse of water treatment facilities […]
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Pretoria – EFF in Limpopo has expressed “dismay” following the death of councillor Jonas Lebitsi Mpe, who was shot at his home by an unknown assailant.“Fighter Mpe was sworn in as a proportional representative councillor in the Ephraim Mogale Local Municipality in the Sekhukhune District after attaining the second position during the 2021 local government elections,” EFF Limpopo provincial chairperson Tshilidzi Maraga said.She said Mpe was “very much active” in the community.“He was the real ground force and used to transport pensioners to their pay points, especially during grants. Today (Saturday) he was supposed to have transported learners without IDs […]
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By Dr Sizo NkalaWe get it. The logic is compelling, isn't it? The Russia-Ukraine war has had a negative economic impact on Africa and undermined the continent's economic growth prospects. The disruption of critical supply chains, destabilisation of global food, energy, fertiliser, and other commodities' markets as a result of the war, has left Africa facing an uncertain economic future and plunged millions of Africans into extreme poverty while complicating the continent's recovery process from the Covid-19 pandemic. This is the rationale behind the recently announced peace mission which will see a contingent of African heads of state from six […]
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President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed a three-person panel to investigate the veracity of claims made by the US after its Ambassador Reuben Brigety said they were “confident" weapons and ammunition had been loaded onto a Russian freighter that docked at a Cape Town naval base in December.President Ramaphosa announced earlier in the month that he would establish an independent inquiry headed by a retired judge to enquire into the circumstances of the docking of the Russian vessel known as Lady R in Simon's Town in December 2022.Following the allegations, Russia denied allegations made by Brigety. The president has announced the […]
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By Mary de Haas Three government departments – Defence, Police and State Security – operate intelligence structures, which are linked by provincial and national co-ordinating bodies. From 1994 they have been staffed by former apartheid government employees and members of liberation movements. Given the apartheid experience of heavily politicised policing and intelligence services, new legislation aimed to provide sufficient civilian oversight of these bodies, especially those of the National Intelligence Agency and the SAPS, in line with the key democratic, constitutional principles of accountability and transparency. However, 2009 ushered in radical changes to these structures. A proclamation that year, followed […]
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By Professor Bheki MngomezuluWhen the ANC was formed in 1912 becoming the first liberation movement in Africa to fight white supremacy, it brought a glimmer of hope that the oppressed masses of this country would have a liberator. The organisation's decision to form Umkhonto we Sizwe on December 16 1961, after realising that the apartheid government was not willing to relinquish power or to share it with the black majority was a justifiable move. Those who died fighting for freedom did so with the hope for a better life for their contemporaries and future generations.The coming into power of the […]
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Pretoria – Police in Limpopo have established “a high-level task team” of investigators to track down perpetrators after a well-known community leader who was also an EFF councillor was fatally shot at his home in Ga-Botha village.Councillor Jonas Lebitsi Mpye, aged 46, was brutally murdered on Thursday night and his body was only discovered the following day, according to police spokesperson in Limpopo, Colonel Malesela Ledwaba.“The 46-year-old Jonas Lebitsi Mpye, was shot and killed on Thursday evening at his home and his body was discovered the following day at about 7am,” said Ledwaba.“Police were alerted about the incident by community […]
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Seoul – South Korea's Asiana Airlines has stopped selling some emergency seats following an accident in which a passenger opened an emergency exit mid-air, the carrier said Sunday.The incident took place onboard a A321-200 plane, which was carrying nearly 200 passengers as it approached the runway at Daegu International Airport, about 240 kilometres (149 miles) southeast of Seoul.The plane landed safely but several people were hospitalised. There were no serious injuries or damage.Starting Sunday, the 31A and 26A emergency seats on its 14 A321-200 jets would no longer be offered for sale, the carrier told AFP."As a safety precaution, this […]
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President Vladimir Putin has ordered stronger border security to ensure "fast" Russian military and civilian movement into Ukrainian regions now under Moscow control.Speaking in a congratulatory message to the border service, a branch of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), on their Border Guard Day holiday, Putin said their task was to "reliably cover" the lines in the vicinity of the combat zone.Attacks inside Russia have been growing in intensity in recent weeks, chiefly with drone strikes on regions along the border but increasingly also deep into the country, including on an oil pipeline north-west of Moscow on Saturday."It is necessary […]
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A passenger on an Asiana Airlines 020560.KS flight told police he opened a door on the plane minutes before it landed in Daegu, South Korea, on Friday because he was "uncomfortable", Yonhap News Agency reported.The man, in his thirties, told police that he opened the door because he "wanted to get off the plane quickly", Yonhap said, citing the Daegu Dongbu Police Station. He also told police he was stressed after losing his job recently.Reuters could not immediately reach police at the station.!function(e,t,r){let n;if(e.getElementById(r))return;const o=e.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];n=e.createElement("script"),n.id=r,n.defer=!0,n.type="module",n.src="https://playback.oovvuu.media/player/v2/index.js",o.parentNode.insertBefore(n,o)}(document,0,"oovvuu-player-sdk-v2");The man opened the door when the plane was about 700 feet (213m) above the ground, […]
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Seoul – A man who opened an emergency exit on an Asiana Airlines flight in mid-air felt "suffocated" and wanted to get off quickly, South Korean police said on Saturday.The plane was carrying nearly 200 passengers as it approached the runway on Friday at Daegu International Airport, about 240 kilometres (149 miles) southeast of Seoul, on a domestic flight.When the plane was around 200 meters (650 feet) above ground, the man who police said was in his 30s without providing further details, opened the exit door.!function(e,t,r){let n;if(e.getElementById(r))return;const o=e.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];n=e.createElement("script"),n.id=r,n.defer=!0,n.type="module",n.src="https://playback.oovvuu.media/player/v2/index.js",o.parentNode.insertBefore(n,o)}(document,0,"oovvuu-player-sdk-v2");The passenger was taken in by Daegu police for questioning and told officers […]
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Deputy President Paul Mashatile has reiterated that government would procure emergency power to mitigate the impact of load shedding.He said this would include the use of power ships.Transport Minister Sindi Chikunga has already approved that Karpowerships can dock in Richards Bay, Saldanha Bay and Ngqura in the Eastern Cape.Mashatile, who was visiting East London on Saturday, said officials would not decommission power stations.He said they will not transition in the dark and it was their intention to keep the lights on.Mashatile said South Africa must not be rushed to transition from coal to clean energy, saying that it would happen, […]
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The US Africa Command says it has carried out an air strike targeting militants from the al-Shabaab terrorist group."In support of the Federal Government of Somalia and the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia operations against al-Shabaab, US Africa Command conducted an air strike against militants in the vicinity of the Atmis (African Union Transition Mission) forward operating base, Bulo Marer, on May 26," the US Africa Command said on Saturday.The air strike destroyed weapons and equipment seized by the militants, it said."The command's initial assessment is that no civilians were injured or killed," the statement said.On Friday, the US […]
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Tripoli – Libya's Tripoli-based government carried out a fresh round of drone strikes in Zawiya, in the country's west on Saturday as part of an operation against smuggling networks, local media reported.The strikes come after the eastern-based parliament in the divided country accused the Tripoli-based government on Thursday of hitting the home of one of its legislators."Air strikes were carried out on Saturday by drones targeting and destroying tanker trucks carrying smuggled fuel," the Libya al-Ahrar television channel said.Another site was hit "near the Bir al-Ghanam bridge" in Zawiya, 45km west of Tripoli on the Mediterranean coast, the broadcaster added.Several […]
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LONDON – Passengers flying into Britain faced major delays after landing at airports on Saturday due to a nationwide issue affecting the automated border control gates that scan passports upon arrival.Images posted on social media showed long queues with hundreds of people at London's Heathrow and Gatwick airports with frustrated passengers complaining of having to wait several hours in line."We are aware of a nationwide border system issue affecting arrivals into the UK," said a spokesperson for the British government's interior ministry, which has oversight of border control."We are working to resolve the issue as soon as possible and are […]
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Durban – A Free State man who killed his ex-girlfriend's boyfriend was handed a life sentence. Thabo Jacob Ramantsane, 39, was convicted in the Free State High Court for the murder of 40-year-old Phako Moshoeu.According to the National Prosecuting Authority, Ramantsane had refused to accept that his ex-girlfriend Augustine Shai had ended their relationship. NPA spokesperson Phaladi Shuping, said Moshoeu and Shai had been sleeping in Shai's house in Wepener when Ramantsane barged into the house, went into their bedroom and started stabbing both of them.“Shai suffered several stab wounds but managed to escape. “Moshoeu suffered fatal injuries and died […]