First Take SA

Umalusi has also given the thumbs up to the Independent Examinations Board National Senior Certificate 2016. The board which oversees exams written by pupils from private schools had a 98.3 percent pass rate. It will release the 2016 matric results at midnight.

As yr draws to a close , we reflect on one of the biggest events on the South African literary calendar, the inaugural Abantu Book Festival. It took place earlier this month and saw hundreds of book lovers flock toea Soweto. The event was the first of its kind in South Africa at its magnitude, with an exclusive focus on black writers. It featured authors, storytellers and poets. To reflect on this...

The Eastern Cape government has condemned the violent clashes that have claimed the lives of three inmates during in a brawl between prisoners and warders in St Albans Correctional Centre in Port Elizabeth yesterday. Over twenty others including five officials were injured. For more on this Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to Deputy Justice Minister Thabang Makwetla and Golden Miles Bhudu, president of the...

The Eastern Cape government has condemned the violent clashes that have claimed the lives of three inmates during in a brawl between prisoners and warders in St Albans Correctional Centre in Port Elizabeth yesterday. Over twenty others including five officials were injured. For more on this Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to Deputy Justice Minister Thabang Makwetla and Golden Miles Bhudu, president of the...

The Road Safety Action Campaign in Cape town has come out guns blazing against Transport Minister Dipuo Peters saying she should resign. This after the minister confirmed yesterday that nearly 850 people have died in car accidents since the beginning of December. This is a 17 precent increase from last year's figure of 725 recorded around the same time. The minister says eighty two percent of all...

Regarded as Russia's most-famous calling card, the Great Moscow Circus is coming to South Africa. With the funniest clowns, most-daring acrobats, death-defying daredevils, aerial artists, balancers, jugglers and much much more all under the mighty Great Moscow Circus Big Top tent.

Limpopo health officials are in the process of enrolling Vuwani teens who were recently found to be pregnant and HIV-positive on the Prevention of Mother-to- Child Transmission programme. The teen girls will also be put on anti-retro viral treatment. Health officials earlier said they had noted an increase in new HIV infections after the resumption of services in Vuwani.

The Road Safety Action Campaign in Cape town has come out guns blazing against Transport Minister Dipuo Peters saying she should resign. This after the minister confirmed yesterday that nearly 850 people have died in car accidents since the beginning of December. This is a 17 precent increase from last year's figure of 725 recorded around the same time. The minister says eighty two percent of all...

Congolese around the world have been mobilizing large-scale demonstrations against the country's long serving President Joseph Kabila whose mandate as a president expired yesterday. It seems Kabila is adamant to stay in power despite the expiration. For more on this SAfm presenter Ike Phaala spoke to Francois Tshimpuki, Director of The Voice of Congo In London.

Political parties across the board have welcomed the resignation of the Chairperson of the SABC Board Mbulaeni Maghuve. He was the only remaining member of the beleaguered SABC Board. President Jacob Zuma has accepted Maghuve's resignation and wished him well in his future endeavours.

Political parties across the board have welcomed the resignation of the Chairperson of the SABC Board Mbulaeni Maghuve. He was the only remaining member of the beleaguered SABC Board. President Jacob Zuma has accepted Maghuve's resignation and wished him well in his future endeavours.

African Union Chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma says the continent has to prioritise education. She was speaking during a State of the Continent media briefing in Durban earlier today. Dlamini-Zuma, whose tenure comes to end next month says five universities of excellence have been established to create diversity in the courses that African students study. She has also emphasized that attempts ar...

A round up of all the stories that made headlines not only in the news, but also on social media.

The Institute for Justice and Reconciliation says South Africans should not take the National Day of Reconciliation as lightly as they do. The organisation which is involved in reaserching matters around reconciliation says an atmosphere needs to be created that will allow people to contribute as equals in society.

President Jacob Zuma's reconciliation speech has been left blowing in the wind after the marquee tent he was speaking from at Zeerust in North West was blown over by a freak storm. The incident happened on the spot where Zuma was arrested by apartheid security forces in 1963. Zuma was whisked off by his bodyguards when the tent was ripped to pieces as the president was midway through his key-note...

The National Credit Regulator has warned consumers to be weary of “buy-now-pay-later” deals. The organisation says consumers need to be careful when entering into contracts especially now over the festive season and should not let excitement cloud their judgement. We spoke to Legal Advisor at the NCR Nosipho Zikishe and started by asking her what consumers should lookout for before signing contrac...

SABC's former Non Executive board member Rachel Kalidaas told Parliament that she only became aware of the contents of the Public Public Protector's report into the SABC for the first time on the Website of the Public Protector. She also confirmed to the Inquiry that Communications Minister Faith Muthambi allegedly suggested the permanent appointment of Hlaudi Motsoeneng as COO. Kalidaas was the l...

Private Investigator Paul O'Sullivan has rubbished allegations that he, IPID boss Robert McBride and former hawks' boss Shadrack Sibiya conspired to kill hawks head Berning Ntlemeza, Acting police commissioner Khomotso Phahlane and NPA head Shaun Abrahams. Head of the Hawks in Gauteng Prince Mokotedi earlier opened a case of conspiracy and treason among others against the three. PM Live host, Tsep...

Head of the Hawks in Gauteng, Prince Mokotedi has opened a criminal case against IPID boss Robert Mcbride and three others, claiming they're conspiring to have him assassinated. Others to be investigated include forensic investigator Paul O'Sullivan, former Gauteng Hawks boss Shadrack Sibiya, and police captain Candice Coetzee. Coetzee is on suspension after she allegedly leaked classified informa...

The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) in Bloemfontein has set aside the ruling by the Pretoria High Court which allowed doctors to perform euthanasia or assisted suicide on terminally ill patients. In May 2015 the high court in Pretoria gave 65-year-old Cape Town advocate Robin Stransham-Ford permission to be assisted in ending his life by a medical doctor. Stransham-Ford, who suffered from advanced p...

The South African Litigation Centre has argued in the high court in Pretoria that the decision to withdraw from the International Criminal Court was made to protect Sudan's leader Omar Al Bashir from arrest when he visited the country for the African Union summit in June 2015. SALC's advocate, Max du Plessis, says the Supreme Court of Appeal ruled that the hosting agreement for the summit did not...

The Nelson Mandela Foundation will mark the third anniversary of Nelson Mandela's passing at an event which will include guest speakers Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, Deputy Minister Ayanda Dlodlo and Dr Leon Wessels. Speakers will offer reflections on Madiba's legacy in relation both to what is happening in the world today. The event will take place at the Foundation's Houghton office.

Auditor General Kimi Makwetu says government's pharmaceutical, water infrastructure and urban renewal departments face serious skills shortages as well as lack of accountability problems and funding challenges. He was tabling three performance audits. He was tabling three performance audits dealing with the managements of the pharmaceuticals, water infrastructure and urban renewal projects.

The Fatuous State of Severity is a collection of short stories written by Phumani Pikoli. The book is full of diverse stories that vary from the very relatable experiences of young black millennials, to the profoundly absurd and jarring. The self-published work will be the author's debut. Phumlani is a former multimedia journalist, playwright aspiring filmmaker

A massive HIV vaccine trial is under way after the first participant was injected with the HVTN702 vaccine at Verulam north of Durban. The trial is also being formally launched at sites at Soshanguve and on the Cape Flats, but it' s not clear if injections will begin at the other two sites. Trials will be run over the next three years in the world's latest attempt to find a vaccine for HIV. More t...