Update@Noon

Adriana Marais is preparing herself for a one-way trip to Mars. She has been short-listed for the Mars One project. If selected, she will see her dream of travelling to the Red Planet fulfilled in 2026. Marais, who is a theoretical physicist and member of the Quantum Research Group, says her fascination with living on another planet started at a young age. She joins us on the line now to tell us m...

Suspended Police Commissioner, Riya Phiyega, claims there's a high-level conspiracy to discredit her. She was responding to police watchdog-Independent Police Investigative Directorate's recommendation to Parliament, that she should be criminally charged. This for allegedly withholding information from the Farlam Commission probing the 2012 Marikana shootings. Phiyega says she will fight to clear...

Presidential spokesperson Bongani Majola says no steps will be taken agains Zille for leaking the confidential information.

The Presidency says it not impressed with Western Cape Premier Helen Zille for disclosing confidential information. Helen Zille speaks to Sakina Kamwendo about the alleged leak

1. Under the current economic climate, can government still maintain the role of creating jobs? 2. Often we think education is the life saver, but there are unemployed graduates. How does this happen and how can this be addressed?

Eskom's Chief Executive Officer Brian Molefe says no load sheding is expected this coming winter. He says even though the power utility will still continue with its planned maintenance, there won't be a need to implement electricity blackouts. Sakina Kamwendo speaks to Eskom CEO, Brian Molefe

Newly-formed Anti-Racism Action Forum says it will lay 22 criminal charges against the former president FW De Klerk and apartheid-era Law and Order minister Adriaan Vlok. Sakina Kamwendo speaks Anti-Racism Action Forum spokesperson Zandi Radebe.

Former President, FW de Klerk says he has have no fear about new human rights violations charges to be brought against him and former law and order minister Adriaan Vlok. The newly-formed Anti-Racism Action Forum (Araf) would open criminal charges at the Hillbrow police station in Johannesburg for "crimes committed against black people. : For more Sakina Kamwendo spoke to spokesperson for the Anti...

1. Asian stocks tumbled for a second day as Nomura Holdings Inc. reported disappointing earnings and oil's slump below $30 a barrel eroded investor confidence in global economic growth 2. Automakers reported the strongest U.S. January sales in a decade, topping analysts' estimates, however locally the industry is still under pressure 3. Germany's unemployment rate unexpectedly fell to a record low...

President Jacob Zuma agreed to pay back some of the money spent on the security upgrades at his home in Nkandla. In a statement released yesterday, the president says the Auditor General and the Minister of Finance should determine the amount he should repay. The announcement comes exactly a week before the Constitutional court is due to hear an application by the EFF on the matter. Sakina speaks...

Analysis with Professor Somadoda Fikeni

President Jacob Zuma wants a court settlement to finally end the long drawn out political and legal controversy around tax payer's money spent on his Nkandla home. He wants the constitutional court to order the finance minister and auditor general to determine how much he is liable to pay for non security installations at his private home. This comes as the court was due to hear the matter brought...

North West Education Department says drastic meassures are to be taken against the lady educator, who is accused of severely assaulted a nine year old learner in Rustenburg. The boy was taken to Job Shimankana Hospital in Rusterburg. Currently the boy's hand is swollen and in a bad state of health. Bobby Serame and Zebilon Maine visited the area and filed this report...

The Joshua Generation Church in Cape Town says it will not stop advocating spanking as a form of discipline. This comes after the South African Human Right's Commission (SAHRC) ordered the church to comply in a written undertaking that it will stop promoting corporal punishment within the church. For more Sakina Kamwendo spoke to Adv Nadene Badenhorst- Legal Counsel for Freedom of Religion South A...

1. The World Bank has joined the IMF in reducing the projected GDP growth for South Africa for this year and next year. What's the impact of the low growth environment? 2. Are there immediate medium to short term solutions to address this endemic unemployment?

President Jacob Zuma wants a court settlement to finally end the long drawn out political and legal controversy around tax payer's money spent on his Nkandla home. He wants the constitutional court to order the finance minister and auditor general to determine how much he is liable to pay for non security installations at his private home. This comes as the court was due to hear the matter brought...

1. Royal Dutch Shell Plc had its debt rating cut to the lowest since Standard & Poor's began coverage in 1990, and downgrades of several other major European oil and gas companies will probably follow in coming weeks 2. Google reported profit and sales that topped estimates, lifted by robust sales of online ads and tighter cost controls, putting parent Alphabet Inc. on track to overtake Apple Inc....

Thousands of pupils are still waiting for placement at Gauteng schools. Gauteng department of education had assured learners and parents that it would resolve the problem. MEANWHILE, a month into the new school year, texbooks remain undelivered to several schools in Johannesburg, Gauteng. It is believed that teachers and principals who were expected to collect the textbooks from a storage room in...

The National Mine Workers (NUM) says it looks forward to engaging Kumba Iron Ore at the CCMA to find ways to reduce the number of retrenchments. This follows an announcement by Kumba that about 4-thousand jobs will soon be lost. NUM's Chief Negotiator at Kumba Iron Ore, Lucas Phiri, says the union is concerned that the first casualties are always the workers not the executives.

Scores of passengers narrowly escaped death when angry protesters forced them out of a PUTCO bus before setting it alight in Soshanguve North of Pretoria. Residents of Marikana informal settlement have vowed to continue with protests if their demands for clean running water, roads and electricity are not met. They have threatened to disrupt the up-coming local government elections if government an...

Pregnant women are advised to take precautionary measures when travelling to countries where the Zika virus is endemic. The mosquito-borne virus, which is endemic to the Americas, has been linked to serious birth defects. An Advisor at NetCare Travel Clinics, Dr Pete Vincent says pregnant women should avoid travelling to affected countries or consult their doctor to discuss the risks of the virus...

1. The Barclays Purchasing Managers Index for January was released yesterday. Is there some good news? 2. February is a budget month, but this year's budget is even more critical for South Africa as we face a possible downgrade. Can this be avoided? Is our environment ripe for rethink on how we budget and spend the tax payers moneys 3. SAA cancelled its route between JHB and Abu Dhabi. This route...

Today marks 26 years since former president F.W de Klerk's historic announcement in parliament that he would release Nelson Mandela. Mandela had spent 27 years in jail. As part of the celebrations, the FW de Klerk Foundation says retired Constitutional Court Justice Albie Sachs and former ANC national treasurer Matthews Phosa will be among the speakers at its annual conference in Cape Town. Abongw...

Three members of the ANC's NEC will be deployed to stabilise the party in the Western Cape. This comes after provincial Chairperson, Marius Fransman and Secretary, Faiez Jacobs, were asked to step down. Fransman faces sexual harassment charges, while Jacobs is accused of assaulting a party researcher. Members of the ANC's top six met in Cape Town earlier today to discuss the matter. Zalene Merring...

United Democratic Movement Secretary General, Bongani Msomi, has confirmed that two structures have been disbanded in the Eastern Cape. They are the party's Provincial Executive Committee and the O R Tambo Regional Executive Committee. Nkululeko Nyembezi reports