Breakfast Edition: 21 August 2015
NO WORD FROM PISTORIUS: Paralympian sprinter Oscar Pistorius has not yet decided how to respond to the decision to suspend his planned release from prison, his spokeswoman said on Thursday. ”Despite what is being reported in the press, no decisions have been taken, and the family will take their time to calmly consider the way forward,” said Anneliese Burgess. Justice Minister Michael Masutha announced on Wednesday that he had requested the Correctional Supervision and Parole Review Board to review a decision to release Pistorius from Kgosi Mampuru II Correctional Centre on correctional supervision after serving one sixth of his five-year jail term. Today would have been Oscar Pistorius' first day of freedom after spending 10 months in prison. Pieter van der Merwe reports.
ARMSDEALER TO APPEAR IN COURT: An alleged arms dealer from Gauteng is to appearing the Belville Magistrates court this morning after he was arrested by the Western Cape Operation Combat - the province’s anti-gang strategy unit. The police's André Traut has more on the arrest.
DA TABLES MOTION OF IMPEACHMENT AGINST ZUMA: The DA will spend the next week or so canvassing support for its motion of impeachment against President Jacob Zuma which has been placed on the parliamentary diary for 1 September. The DA believes the president should be impeached for his decision to give Sudanese President, Omar al-Bashir free passage from South Africa, after the African Union summit in Johannesburg in June. DA chief whip, John Steenhuizen says they need a one third yes vote for a committee to be set up, to deal with the impeachment process. The ANC's Moloto Mothapo maintains its nothing other than a waste of time.
NELSON MANDELA'S GRANDSON IN COURT: One of the grandsons of former president Nelson Mandela is expected to apply for bail in the Jo'burg magistrates Court this morning. He was arrested earlier this week on a charge of rape.
TRAIN DRIVER RECEIVING COUNCELING: Passenger rail agency PRASA says the train driver who was working at the time of the taxi accident at Shaka's Head on the north coast is receiving counselling. The taxi which had been transporting 20 people landed on the railway track after plunging down an embankment on Monday. The wreckage was then struck by a train. 16 people were killed. Transport officials have confirmed that the taxi did not stop at a stop street. Speaking at a memorial service in Groutville yesterday, Prasa's Zama Nomnganga urged motorists to be alert and respect the rules of the road.
BEST NEWS OF THE WEEK: A Canadian couple has recreated the iconic cartoon kitchen from The Simpsons in their own home, copying every aspect of the much-loved TV family’s own space, from the blue and yellow tiled floor to the corn-on-the-cob curtains. Upon deciding to renovate their home, they couldn’t resist paying tribute to their favourite show.
WORST NEWS OF THE WEEK: The Ashley Madison data leak. Hackers released a second batch of data from the affair-seeking website yesterday and according to the Times newspaper, South Africans have been looking for something on the site, as well. The Times reports this morning that SA government officials, vets and thousands of other cheating spouses have spent more than 250 thousand-rand - looking for action on the site. Someone has some explaining to do.
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