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News24 brings you the top 7 stories of the day.
Graphic: Sharlene Rood/News24
News24 brings you the top stories of the day, summarised into neat little packages. Read through quickly or listen to the articles via our customised text-to-speech feature.
International flights temporarily suspended after Cape Town airport fire
- A fire broke out at Cape Town International Airport near the international terminal on Tuesday morning.
- The building filled with smoke, leading to the evacuation of parts of the airport.
- An electrical fire is suspected, and employees witnessed sparks as attempts were made to extinguish the flames.
Two people sought in connection with a cash-in-transit robbery in Verulam on Monday have been killed in a shootout with KwaZulu-Natal police in Edenvale.
Two cash-in-transit robbery suspects killed in shootout with KZN cops
- Two suspects linked to a Verulam cash-in-transit robbery were killed in a shootout with police in Edenvale.
- The police chase and shootout occurred on Tuesday morning, according to a police spokesperson.
- The cash van was intercepted by two vehicles carrying around 10 armed men, who blew up the vehicle and stole an undisclosed amount of cash.
The National Health Insurance Act has been provisionally halted by a High Court ruling.
Brian A Jackson/Getty Images
NHI halted until ConCourt rules on Ramaphosa’s decision to sign it into law
- An in-principle agreement was reached to halt litigation challenging the NHI’s constitutionality, contingent on the NHI Act being provisionally stopped.
- The agreement is valid until the Constitutional Court rules on a separate procedural challenge to the NHI, scheduled for May.
- The Presidency confirmed the delay in proclaiming any sections of the NHI Act until the Constitutional Court ruling, while reaffirming its commitment to universal health coverage.
Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen faced scrutiny from MPs over the mandate and composition of the foot-and-mouth disease task team.
Steenhuisen grilled over foot-and-mouth task team’s mandate, NDAs
- Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen faced scrutiny from MPs regarding the mandate and composition of the foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) task team.
- MPs raised concerns about nondisclosure agreements, lack of farmer support, and coordination of FMD disaster funds across provinces.
- Steenhuisen clarified the task team’s advisory role, its focus on technical expertise, and the sensitivity of vaccine-related information.
Trade unions are threatening mass action over contribution increases by the Government Employees’ Medical Scheme.
Gallo Images/Sharon Seretlo
Unions protest GEMS hike, want govt workers to choose own schemes
- Public sector unions are protesting against a GEMS membership hike of over 9% and are demanding more freedom for civil servants to join other medical schemes.
- Cosatu-affiliated unions are calling for a forensic audit into GEMS’ governance, finances, and procurement, and want the scheme to be exempt from holding 25% of its reserves as solvency capital.
- Fedusa is backing a review of the resolution that grants GEMS a monopoly in the public service and is seeking legal opinion on the legality of the recent increases.
Jean-Luc du Preez in action for the Springboks against the Barbarians in Cape Town on 28 June 2025. The Boks won 54-7.
Rassie v Razor reunited as Springboks confirm another home clash against Barbarians
- The Springboks will face the Barbarians in Gqeberha on 20 June 2026, to kick off their season.
- The Barbarians will be coached by Scott Robertson and Felipe Contepomi, while Rassie Erasmus sees the match as vital prep for the Nations Championship.
- Tickets for the match go on sale on 25 February, with prices starting at R250.
John Davidson attends the 2026 EE BAFTA Film Awards at The Royal Festival Hall on 22 February 2026.
Max Cisotti/Dave Benett/Getty Images
BAFTA, BBC issue apologies after racial slur outburst by ‘mortified’ Tourette’s advocate
- John Davidson, the inspiration for the BAFTA-winning film “I Swear,” apologised for shouting a racial slur at the BAFTA ceremony, attributing it to involuntary tics caused by Tourette’s syndrome.
- BAFTA and the BBC issued apologies for the offensive language broadcast during the ceremony, with the BBC editing it out of the streaming version.
- Tourettes Action emphasised that tics are involuntary and not reflective of a person’s beliefs, while expressing pride in Davidson and the film.
*These summaries were written with the support of Gemini Pro AI.
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