Breakfast Edition: 8 February 2016

THERE IS HOPE FOR MINE WORKERS: Lily mine management on Monday morning confirmed that there is evidence that three trapped workers could still be alive. Rescue workers have been working around the clock since Friday morning after the underground collapse at the gold mine, just outside Baberton in Mpumalanga. Since the underground collapse that saw a lamp room container drop deeper underground, 87 workers were brought to safety. The families of the two women and one man still trapped underground, are refusing to leave without news while a church service was held outside the premises on Sunday. Jacaranda FM news reporter, Maryke Vermaak spent the weekend at the site and filed this report.

CONCERN OVER MINE WORKER SAFETY: Working in a mine had become unacceptably dangerous. That is according to the chairman of parliament's portfolio committee on Mineral Resources, Sahlulele Luzipo. Reacting to the Lily mine disaster he compared working in a mine to soldiers fighting on the front line. 

RAMAPHOSA SPEAKS AT ANC 104 CELEBRATIONS: The new pension tax bill cast a dark cloud over this weekend's celebration of the ANC's 104th anniversary in Limpopo. Deputy President, Cyril Ramaphosa tried to convince the crowd in Polokwane that the ruling party's alliance with COSATU was as strong as ever, by lashing out at a new trade union federation by 9 Cosatu break-away unions. 

NO DROUGHT DISASTER, SAYS MINISTER: There will be no national drought disaster declaration in South Africa. Despite many provinces experiencing the driest summer in decades, the Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Bheki Cele said government has downgraded the original planned import of six million tons of maize to four million tons. 

SUPER BOWL PERFORMANCE: British rockers Coldplay said Thursday they were overjoyed to headline the prestigious Super Bowl halftime show but admitted they knew little about American football. Frontman Chris Martin said the group had studied past Super Bowl performances and hoped to put on "a show as memorable as some of our favorites." But while describing their selection for Super Bowl 50 as an honor, the band members admitted they were unlikely to understand the game between the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers.

"ROYAL" WEDDINGS IN SA: The past weekend saw two high-profile weddings take place. The grandson of former president Nelson Mandela, 'Mandla' Mandela announced his marriage to his bride, Rabia Clarke on Sunday. Social media was abuzz this weekend after the surprise news that Mandla Mandela tied the knot in a Muslim ceremony in Cape Town. Meanwhile former Miss World, Rolene Strauss looked like a queen as she walked down the aisle. She got married to businessman, D'Niel Strauss, in a ceremony that resembled a fairy tale.

YEAR OF THE MONKEY: It is the Chinese New Year and it is the year of the monkey. The new year, also known as the Spring Festival, is marked by the lunisolar Chinese calendar, so the date changes from year to year. The festivities usually start the day before the New Year and continue until the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the new year. Each Chinese New Year is characterised by one of 12 animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac. The Chinese zodiac is divided into 12 blocks (or houses) just like its western counterpart, but with the major difference being that each house has a time-length of one year instead of one month. This year it's the Year of the Monkey, the ninth animal in the cycle. The next Year of the Monkey will be in 2028.

FINANCIAL INDICATORS:

For more breaking news follow us on twitter @JacaNews