Update@Noon

President Jacob Zuma has arrived in the Botswana capital, Gaborone, ahead of the SADC leaders summit which will start this morning. Botswana President Ian Khama is set to become the next regional economic bloc leader when Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe vacates the position tomorrow. Regional economic integration and energy security including peace and security will be the main issues that the...

Mohammed Nalla, Strategic Research at Nedbank Capital talks; China remains a key focal point for emerging markets but we are seeing some yuan stability now, rand remains on the backfoot as EM currencies stay pressured with Malaysia quite hard hit and Oil developments remains to the downside for now

Guinea-Bissau's President Jose Mario Vaz has dismissed the government following weeks of tension with Prime Minister Domingos Pereira. The two are said to be disagreeing about many issues including the use of aid money and the return of a former army chief of staff to Guinea-Bissau. sakina Kamwendo spoke to Senior research fellow at the Institute for Security Studies in South Africa David Zounmeno...

There was palpable anger late yesterday afternoon in Boksburg on the East Rand among members of the AMCU and the National Union of Mineworkers after the Chamber of Mines remained entrenched in its final offer of one thousand rands on the last day of independent mediation. This led to the total collapse of the talks and means that the Chamber's orginal offer of up to seven hundred and fifty rands f...

Opposition parties in parliament have called on government to provide financial compensation for the families of the mine workers who died in Marikana in 2012. During the debate on the report by the Farlam Commission of Inquiry, opposition MPS also called for certain government ministers to be brought to book for their role in the killings. The parties argue that despite the findings of the report...

1. Yesterday you told us that there was a sale on at the JSE (so to speak), and to move quickly if we wanted to snap up some bargains. And it seems that those who got in on the action made some good gains on the day. But the JSE also released their interim results yesterday. Talk us through some of the notable issues. 2. Unfortunately the news from Glencore, in the form of their half year producti...

The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) says it has begun a major clean-up campaign to put its house in order. This includes a broad skills and qualifications audit across the entire company. Chairperson of the Prasa board, Popo Molefe, says this follows a report by the Auditor General which highlighted maladministration of funds as one of many other problems facing the agency. Sakina Ka...

The Democratic Alliance has refuted claims by Sanral that their opposition to the e-tolling project in the province is a political strategy to disrupt the process. The City of Cape Town this week approached the Cape Town High Court to have Sanral's decision to toll sections of the N1 and N2 set aside. The DA's provincial deputy leader Bonginkosi Madikizela says they will be picketing outside the c...

1. Asian currencies stabilized after the biggest two-day selloff in four years as the yuan's tumble eased. Emerging-market stocks rose after record earnings at Tencent Holdings Ltd. boosted technology companies 2. China's central bank said it will keep the yuan stable at a reasonable, equilibrium level as the currency fell for a third day after Tuesday's devaluation 3. Google Inc. continues to ris...

Government has informed education authorities that Mandarin will be taught in schools from January. Sakina kamwendo spoke to Elijah Mhlanga at the Department of Basic Education

The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) says it has begun a major clean-up campaign to put its house in order. This includes a broad skills and qualifications audit across the entire company. Chairperson of the Prasa board, Popo Molefe, says this follows a report by the Auditor General which highlighted maladministration of funds as one of many other problems facing the agency. Sakina Ka...

1. Oil has fallen faster than the rand has depreciated 2. Gold and gold shares bounced strongly 3. The JSE is on sale

Provincial Police commissioners have been grilled by the Parliament's Police committee and forced to apologise, after they pledged their support to the National Police Commissioner in a media statement. Their statement, two weeks ago, followed a recommendation by the Farlam Commission on Marikana that there should be an inquiry into Phiyega's fitness for office. The committee hauled them over the...

Communications Minister Faith Muthambi says the country is ready for digital migration and good progress has been made so far. Muthambi was giving a status report to parliamentarians on the Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) project. This is despite criticism about financing to carry out the project as well as the analogue switch-off deadline. The international deadline for migration to DTT was...

1. Why it was a positive move for the President to do the unprecedented move and talk " Economy " !! 2. China's currency tumbled for a second day, sending Asian stocks and commodities lower amid concern that financial-market volatility in the world's second-largest economy will curb global growth 3. Google Inc. rose after reorganizing into a holding company called Alphabet Inc.

The Khoisan community have formed their own chamber of commerce and industry. Ruben Richards, first president of the chamber says this is a significant moment in the life of the indigenous people of South Africa because up until now the Khoisan's contribution to the country's economy had not been recognised.

Families of the 37 Marikana mine workers killed in 2012 have filed civil claims against the minister of police in the High Court in Pretoria. The Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa says the majority of the deceased workers were the sole breadwinners of their families and supported large extended families on their meagre income. Sakina Kamwendo spoke to Kathleen Hardy, Attorney at The...

The country's manufacturing production fell by 0.4 % year-on-year in June due to sharp declines in the production of basic metals and chemicals. In May, the sector recorded a 1.6 percent revised contraction. According to Statistics South Africa on a month-on-month basis, factory output was up 0.9 %. Tshepo Mongoai reports.

Sterkspruit Civic Association in the small town of Sterkspruit in the Eastern Cape says it's no longer demanding a stand-alone municipality but has decided to contest next year's local government election in the Senqu Local Municipality. Reporter Nkululeko Nyembezi reports

1. So we started the local week yesterday with news that China had devalued its currency by the most in more than 20 years. How did markets react to this surprise move? 2. For the last two weeks there has been this growing spat between Eskom and Glencore, owner of Optimum Coal. What is this all about? 3. Another topic you and I seem unable to avoid is that of Greece. Yesterday we got news that a G...

Continued disruption of schooling yesterday at the Roodepoort Primary School on the West Rand may force the Education MEC to close down the school for safety reasons. On Monday, Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi warned that he will close the school if there are further disruptions this week. The school has seen two petrol bombing incidents - one involved the principal's car last week. At least 15 teach...

The City of Cape Town is approaching the Western Cape High Court * today to have Sanral's decision to toll sections of the N1 and N2 set aside. The Democratic Alliance provincial deputy leader, Bonginkosi Madikizela, says they will be picketing outside the court building in opposition to the proposed e toll project. .

1. Asian stocks opened stronger as commodity prices rebound 2. Chinese stocks rally as the PBOC slashes Yuan reference rate by 1.9% 3. Warren Buffet signs into a Chinese airline and Alibaba strengthens its electronics network

Five children have died in a shack fire in Orange Farm, south of Johannesburg, in the early hours of Monday. Sakina Kamwendo spoke to MEC of Human Settlements , Jacob Mamabolo

Relatives and colleagues of 15 workers, who were burned to death at the Sasol Secunda plant in 1997, can finally find closure in what happened to their loved ones. This follows a ruling by the Gauteng High Court on Friday that the ministry of labour must avail the report about the investigations into the catastrophe. Sakina Kamwendo spoke to Community Legal Representative, Richard Spoor