Update@Noon

Prime Ministerial candidate Gadi Eisenkot has called for the swift formation of a broad-based national emergency government, as efforts to establish a new administration get underway in Israel. Israeli President Isaac Herzog has tasked the former military chief with forming the country's next government, following consultations with political parties in the 120-seat Knesset. Herzog says the incoming administration should prioritise national unity and reconciliation amid divisions within Israeli society. Bonolo Maribe compiled this report.

Former President, Kgalema Motlanthe, has called for evidence based, holistic responses to deal with drug users or those in possession of small quanties - other than incarceration. Motlanthe was one of the main speakers at a meeting of the Eastern and Southern Africa Commission on Drugs in Cape Town, of which he is the chairperson. In a report the commission released in Nairobi last year, it expressed concern that this part of the continent is increasingly becoming a market for illicit drug trading. Whereas in the past, the region has been a route, it has now become a place of manufacturing and distribution. One of the biggest challenges of this is the incarceration of low level drug related offenders - causing overcrowding of up to 400-percent in some facilities. Zalene Merrington reports...

The U.S. Congress reconvenes this week after a sweeping midterm defeat for Republicans, who lost control of both the House and Senate. Democrats take over in January, leaving President Donald Trump facing an opposition-led Congress for the final two years of his term. Trump has named immigration hardliner, Stephen Miller, as his new White House Chief of Staff, and a possible Republican-led vote this week to impeach Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth over the Iran war could test the GOP's unity. Sherwin Bryce-Pease reports.

With over 130 hung councils emerging following the 2026 local government elections, President Cyril Ramphosa has urged political parties to approach their coalition talks with maturity and to be guided by what will best serve the people. He was speaking at the IEC Results Operations Centre in Midrand, east of Johannesburg last night. The president said parties must rise above their differences and work together for their communities. Ntebo Mokobo has more.

KwaZulu-Natal has 34 hung municipalities, with no party securing an outright majority, according to IEC. The results show that the uMkhontoweSizwe Party is leading in the province in terms of the overall share of valid votes, but its performance has not translated into outright control of most municipalities. The MKP secured 34-point-31 percent of the valid votes, winning 584 seats and leading in 18 councils. The IFP is leading in 19 councils, the highest number in the province, with 20-point-18 percent of the valid votes and 458 seats. The ANC has received 20-point-28 percent of the valid votes, securing 353 seats and leading in three councils.