First Take SA

The Albinism Society of South Africa, ASSA, has expressed outrage over the brutal killing of a 20-year old albino woman in Kwazulu-Natal. Thandazile Mpunzi's body was found in a shallow grave on Sunday after she was reported missing by her family early this month. A preacher and a traditional healer are amongst the four men charged for Mpunzi's murder. The community refuses to allow her body to be...

The NGOs Sonke Gender Justice, the TAC and Section 27 say they are confident that the South Gauteng High Court will accept their application to be friends of the court in the class action against the entire mining industry. The lawsuit pertains to the mine workers who are suffering from silicosis and tubercolosis as a result of working in the mines.

As a wise man once said, “Existing customers are a goldmine to your business.” This is the reason why Manneko Nkabinde from Gauteng felt disappointed when, after four years of loyalty to Altech Autopage, they wouldn’t resolve a query she had.

The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa has defended its action of issuing some of its senior managers notices of suspension. The managers held a press conference yesterday calling for among others the reinstatement of former CEO Lucky Montana. The employees also protested outside Prasa's offices in Pretoria - claiming the company is in chaos since Montana's dismissal.

It seems there is no legal justification for the Justice and Correctional Services minister, Michael Masutha, to postpone the release of Oscar Pistorius on correctional supervision. Masutha indicated he will get legal opinion after the Progressive Women's Movement of South Africa handed a petition to him asking him to postpone Pistorius' release until the end of August, which is women's month. Pis...

At least 14 people have been killed in an accident involving a minibus taxi and a train at Shakaskraal near KwaDukuza on the Kwazulu-Natal north coast. It's believed that the taxi lost control and veered off the R102 onto the adjacent railway line, where it was hit by a moving train. EMRS spokesperson Robert Mackenzie says police are investigating

Two of South Sudan's warring factions have signed a peace agreement in the Ethiopian Capital Addis Ababa, hours before the expiry of a deadline for them to do so. Lead mediator Seyoum Mesfin says only the rebels and the SPLM, part of South Sudan's opposition signed the agreement. The government declined to sign, citing reservations to some of the clauses, but said it would sign in the next 15 days...

At least 27 people, including foreigners, are reported to have died after a bomb exploded close to the Erawan shrine in the centre of Thailand's capital, Bangkok. Reports say a second bomb has been found in the area and made safe. The Thai government says the attack was aimed at foreigners due to the Hindu shrine being a popular tourist destination. One of the witnesses, Richard Srikurecha, was ne...

The World Bank's report on South Africa's economy says the country should address its current power crisis and labour relations as a matter of urgency. The report has also warned that South Africa will need to do a lot more to achieve the five percent annual growth envisioned in the National Development Plan. The report recommends that the country train the majority of its unemployed working age p...

ESKOM's profits fell from 7.1 billion Rands the previous year to 3.6 billion Rands this financial year. The company says the losses were as a result of debt owed by municipalities, loss of industrial customers and delays in commissioning of the power plants. The utility also plans to borrow 20-billion Rand from the domestic market and international bond markets.

Filling stations in Gauteng will continue to run dry in the next few days, while the rest of the country remains unaffected by the fuel shortage. Fuel Retailers Association CEO Reggie Sibiya says unleaded petrol and diesel are affected. He says over 100 service stations have reported running dry. Sibiya says over and above the planned shutdown at the Engen Refinery in Durban, disruptions have occu...

World Breastfeeding Week is celebrated every year from 1 to 7 August in more than 170 countries to encourage breastfeeding and improve the health of babies around the world. Unicef has found that breastfed babies have a six times greater chance of survival in the early months than formula-fed children. However, many women around the world face prejudice and stigma in public and work places in a bi...

The government is meeting with labour unions and mining companies in Pretoria to find a way of saving jobs. Mining minister Ngoako Ramatlhodi says the meeting will carry on until something is committed on paper. Ramatlhodi says he hopes to lift the suspension imposed this week on Glencore's Optimum coalmine if the mining giant meets government directives over jobcuts. The talks come as the Nationa...

Economic Freedom Fighter leader Julius Malema is a free man for now. This after his fraud and corruption charges were struck off the roll in the high court in Polokwane. Judge Billy Motlhe ruled tha the case has dragged on for too long and rejected an application for another postponement by accused number five Kagiso Dichabe.

Public Protector Advocate Thuli Madonsela has denied that she has allowed herself and her office to become a political football in the battle against the ANC and some opposition parties. She was responding to questions at a media briefing called to clarify what she says is the confusion regarding whether or not in her remedial action she requested President Zuma to ask Police Minister Nathi Nhleko...

Many people do not think that a verbal agreement is binding. However, the laws of our country state very clearly that both oral and written agreements are legally binding. Thembikhaya Zama from Lady Frere in the Eastern Cape found this out the hard way after he spoke to a sales consultant from Standard Bank.

Gauteng Community Safety MEC Sizakele Nkosi-Malobane says the re-introduction of specialised police units will help in fighting violent crimes in the province. Gauteng has recently experienced a spate of violent crimes and at times communities have been forced to take the law into their own hands. Nkosi-Malobane has condemned the murder of two officers in Gauteng in just 24-hours, saying this may...

Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu has been re-admitted to a Cape Town hospital after compaining of discomfort. His family says the 83-year-old popular cleric has been put on bed rest while doctors obeserve his condition. Chris Mabuya reports...

National Police Commissioner Riah Phiyega strongly disagrees with some of the findings of the Marikana report released by President Jacob Zuma last month. Phiyega has released a detailed statement in reaction to the findings and recommendations of the report. She says the insinuation that police management went to work on August 16, 2012 with murderous intent has no substance. For more on this we...

Bobbi Kristina Brown, 22-year-old daughter of the late Whitney Houston, has died six months after suffering brain damage in an incident at her home. Aphiwe Honono and Nkensani Hlangwane filed this report.

Lonmin is set to shed six-thousand jobs, including contractors, as it's planning to close or mothball several mine shafts in South Africa. The platinum producer is reported to have told a union in a letter that four-thousand-500 members of the Lonmin workforce could be laid off. The union hasn't been named. Lonmin shares on the London Stock Exchange have fallen by more than seven percent to an all...

Lonmin is set to shed six-thousand jobs, including contractors, as it's planning to close or mothball several mine shafts in South Africa. The platinum producer is reported to have told a union in a letter that four-thousand-500 members of the Lonmin workforce could be laid off. The union hasn't been named. Lonmin shares on the London Stock Exchange have fallen by more than seven percent to an all...

The Department of Health recently suspended two doctors after they performed a Caesarean section on a teenager in a general ward at Evander Hospital in Mpumalanga. Ordinarily, this would have been performed in a theatre. Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi opened a criminal case against the two doctors, saying they had "a tendency to disregard instructions with impunity". However, health union the So...

Chairperson of the Nkandla ad hoc committee Cedrick Frolick has acknowledged that the much talked about "firepool" at President Jacob Zuma's Nkandla home is also a recreational facility. He made the remark after inspecting Zuma's private home. He quickly added that it could also be utilised to fight fires. Government has been at pains to explain why the firepool should be seen as a security featur...

A national flag bearing the colours blue, white and red will be raised in Washington later today and it's not the American flag. Cuba's 'standard' will for the first time in 54 years again fly outside the country's stately embassy in the U.S. capital to formally reflect the re-establishment of diplomatic ties between Havana and Washington. Some 500 guests including South Africa's Ambassador have b...