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By Citizen Reporter

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Daily news update: Covid-19 stats, Zuma’s court application dismissed and rare creature found in Plettenberg Bay

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Covid-19 update: 305 more deaths bring total to 9,909

As of today, South Africa has recorded a total of 545,476 confirmed Covid-19 cases, with 7,292 new cases identified.

The country has recorded 305 new Covid-19 related deaths: 57 from Eastern Cape, 136 from Gauteng, 76 from KwaZulu-Natal, 29 from Western Cape and 7 from Northern Cape. This brings the cumulative number of deaths to 9,909.

“We convey our condolences to the loved ones of the departed and thank the health care workers who treated the deceased. The number of recoveries currently stands at 394 759 which translates to a recovery rate of 72%,” said Health Minister Zweli Mkhize.

KwaZulu-Natal is set to have more Covid-19 infections than the Western Cape during its peak, Mkhize said on Thursday.

Zuma loses again in Derek Hanekom defamation matter, this time in ConCourt

Former president Jacob Zuma’s application for leave to appeal a KwaZulu-Natal High Court order about his defamatory remarks about former tourism minister Derek Hanekom, on Twitter in 2019, has been dismissed by the Constitutional Court.

The ConCourt said it “bears no reasonable prospects of success”.

In 2019, Zuma tweeted Hanekom was a well-known agent of the enemy. This came after it was revealed that Hanekom had met with the EFF to discuss a motion of no confidence in Zuma when he was president.

Hanekom sued Zuma for R500,000 for defamation following the tweet on 25 July 2019.

Dlamini-Zuma disputes Chefs Warehouse’s reasons to lift alcohol ban in restaurants

Minister of Cogta Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma. Picture: ANA reporter

Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma has disputed a claim by a group of restaurants that people are not frequenting restaurants solely because no alcohol can be sold with meals.

She said restaurant groups have not considered that there are risks associated with frequenting public places during the Covid-19 pandemic.

In her 103-page affidavit submitted to the Western Cape High Court, opposing the application led by Cape Town-based Chefs Warehouse restaurants, Dlamini-Zuma said the restriction on on-site consumption of alcohol was rational and lawful.

“It is denied that the eating-out experience would ‘be so absurd and unpleasant that nobody would actually want to do it’. The statement assumes, as a fact, that all people that frequent restaurants consume alcohol or go out for the alcohol, not the food,” Dlamini-Zuma said.

PICS: Rare creature washes up on Plettenberg Bay’s shore

A leopard seal, was spotted on Plettenberg Bay’s Robberg Beach. Photo: Danielle Conry

Marine biologist Dr Gwen Penry says she was alerted to reports of a seal on Robberg Beach, Plettenberg Bay on Monday morning, in which on closer inspection it was established that the animal was a leopard seal (hydrurga leptonyx).

According to Penry, spotting these creatures along the South African coastline is a truly rare occasion as their normal range is in the Antarctic and sub-Antarctic islands more than 4,000km away.

Last month the carcass of a juvenile leopard seal was found along Cape Recife beach in Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape.

Benoni brothers behind bars after human head found in septic tank

Some of the illegal firearms and ammunition found together with a severed head in Putfontein. Two brothers were arrested, 6 August 2020. Picture: Twitter / @stolencarRSA

Gauteng police are piecing together a possible link between two murders in Putfontein, Benoni, following the discovery of a human head in a septic tank on a smallholding in the area. Two brothers and a third man have been arrested and 19 firearms have been confiscated at several locations in the area this week.

According to police spokesperson Brigadier Mathapelo Peters, police opened an inquest docket in May this year after discovering a badly burnt body of an unknown man in Putfontein.

At the same time, a family reported a missing person at the police station and, working closely with the family, officers were able to confirm that the body was that of the missing person, with evidence of a gunshot wound. A murder case was then registered for further investigation.

Mkhwebane claims ‘good reason to probe Sars unit’s use of equipment’

Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane, left, and Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan, right.

Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s legal representative has said there were special circumstances to investigate complaints against Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan, despite the matter being more than two years old.

Day two of Gordhan and Mkhwebane’s legal battle took place on Friday virtually before judges Selby Baqwa, Leonie Windell and Annali Basson of the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria.

Gordhan is seeking to review a report by Mkhwebane which found he was complicit in the establishment of an allegedly unlawful investigation unit within Sars and that he misled parliament when he said he did not meet with members of the Gupta family.

DJ Black Coffee takes jab at woman’s albino child

DJ Black Coffee.

DJ Black Coffee in trending on social media today, and it’s for all the wrong reasons.

The internationally revered DJ, who currently living his best life jetting around the Greek isles, but it’s not all sunshine and parties for him.

He took to social media this to show he’s about had enough with social media followers sticking their noses into his personal life.

After instigating a conversation about who was currently minding which celebrity’s business, he attacked a woman for asking about his ex, Mbali.

“Let’s play Twister, who’s trending today, who’s falling, who are we trolling, who’s marriage are we having opinions on, who’s trash who’s not, who are we cancelling, like God who are we judging, whose relationship is falling apart while ours is perfect, who’s not perfect. Let’s all laugh at him,” he wrote on Twitter.

10 alternative dating apps to Tinder for those looking for love

Picture: iStock

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