It’s Tuesday, 7 April 2026, and this is News Bite, your fast, reliable update on South Africa and the world, with Marcelle Gordon.
US President Donald Trump has sharply escalated tensions with Iran, threatening massive destruction if Tehran does not meet his ultimatum over the Strait of Hormuz.
The warning follows a barrage of inflammatory messages over the Easter weekend and fresh remarks from Trump suggesting the US could devastate Iranian infrastructure within hours.
That standoff is already feeding into fears of another fuel shock at home. South African motorists are likely to face a fresh fuel price increase in May, with early Central Energy Fund projections showing diesel hikes could outpace April’s increases.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has also raised concern over the economic damage being driven by the worsening conflict in the Middle East.
It has also been a bruising day for the SAPS. Tshwane Metro Police chief Yolande Faro says she was shocked and dismayed by evidence of alleged corruption and tender rigging within her department as she testified at the Madlanga Commission.
Meanwhile, suspended police sergeant Fannie Nkosi is now behind bars after police raided his Pretoria home and seized case dockets, ammunition and a hand grenade.
At the same time, a SAPS captain accused of defrauding the Protection Security Services unit has been granted R50,000 bail.
Elsewhere, police are investigating whether officers may have helped eight detainees escape from the Afsondering police station near Matatiele, with one inmate already rearrested.
The ANC will next week open nominations for metro mayoral candidates, even as questions hang over its alliance with the SACP ahead of local elections.
The Southern Hemisphere flu season has arrived earlier than usual, with the NICD urging high-risk groups to get vaccinated.
IN OTHER NEWS
- President Cyril Ramaphosa will receive Heads of Mission-Designate from 20 countries on Wednesday, including the United States.
- A pilot, two SAPS investigators and an environmental crime investigator have been found safe in the Kruger National Park after an overnight search when they were unable to find their way back to their helicopter in thick bush.
IN SPORT
- It is UEFA Champions League quarter-final week, with Arsenal travelling to Sporting Lisbon as they try to keep their European campaign on track, while Bayern Munich boss Vincent Kompany has described his side’s trip to Real Madrid as the toughest assignment in the competition.
And finally
- Artemis II has pushed human space travel to a new distance record, carrying astronauts further than any crew since Apollo 13 and delivering a lunar fly-by filled with eclipse views, radio silence behind the moon, and a deeply emotional tribute as a newly identified crater was named after mission commander Reid Wiseman’s late wife.
That’s your News Bite for 7 April 2026.
For developments on these stories and more, visit enca.com or watch eNCA on DStv Channel 403.