JOHANNESBURG – The Tshwane University of Technology has suspended all classes at its Pretoria, Ga-Rankuwa and Soshanguve campuses in the wake of violent protests at the institution.

Students clashed with police at the entrances of the Pretoria campus this week and this morning they plan to continue with their demonstrations.

The protests are related to free education and have intensified since last week’s march to the Union Buildings by thousands of people.

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The trial was set to start today but was delayed after the accused’s lawyer excused himself.

JOHANNESBURG – The case against the man accused of causing the accident in which former Top Billing presenter Simba Mhere and a friend died has been postponed in Johannesburg, with a stern warning from Magistrate Ndivhuwo Setusha.

Preshalin Naidoo has been charged with culpable homicide as well as reckless and negligent driving that led to the death of Mhere and his passenger Kady-Shay O’bryan in January.

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Pretoria – A school has obtained an urgent interdict against a father who staged a protest with a huge banner and fliers outside the school because he believed they had done nothing about his daughter being bullied.

The father was forbidden by the High Court in Pretoria to enter the school without prior arrangement.

He may also not state by means of a banner, placard, pamphlet, social or news media that the principal of his daughter’s school was doing nothing to stop bullying and should be fired.

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Johannesburg – A little girl watched as four men stabbed her parents multiple times during a home invasion in Benoni, east of Johannesburg, killing her father.

“The poor child. She cried while she watched her mother and father being stabbed,” police spokesperson Lieutenant Nomsa Sekele told News24 on Thursday.

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Cape Town -Trade union federation, Cosatu, has on Thursday morning welcomed the commitment made by UCT to end outsourcing of workers at the university.

The statement by Cosatu, the National Education Health and Allied Workers Union, reportedly signed an agreement with the university following a years-long campaign by students for an end to outsourcing of workers there.

Students have long argued that outsourced workers at UCT should be entitled to the same benefits as academic staff, including dispensations for their children to study at discounted rates at the university.

On Wednesday UCT announced it would begin a process to determine the modalities, framework and timeframes of the implementation of its decision to insource workers.

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Rustenburg – A man died and two others were admitted to hospital with serious injuries after they were allegedly tortured over a period of 12 hours by a farmer, his wife, and eight others in Stella near Vryburg, North West police said on Wednesday.

“Ten suspect were arrested on Wednesday, for murder, two counts of attempted murder and kidnapping,” Captain Paul Ramaloko said.

“This comes after a farm owner, his wife, his friends and four farmworkers at Soutpanfontein near Stella allegedly assaulted three men with knobkerries and pouring them with hot water over their bodies on Tuesday, between 11:00 23:00.”

He said the four farm workers accosted the three victims while they walking in the veld and accused them of stock theft. The victims were then allegedly dragged to the farm house.

The farmer was not at home and on his arrival he allegedly joined the farmworkers and his wife in assaulting the three men.

“One of the three victims died from the injuries later at home and the two were admitted at the hospital with serious injuries. The ten suspects will appear in the Vryburg Magistrates Court soon. Investigations continue,” Ramaloko said.

African News Agency

Picture: (Fury as NWU up in smoke)

Rustenburg – An enormous quantity of petrol and a large number of petrol bombs were found at the Mahikeng Campus of the North West University (NWU), Vice Chancellor Professor Dan Kgwadi said on Thursday.

“If the university did not react on time, it was possible that the university would have been burned down.”

He said the campus would remain closed until order was restored.

“Our approach has been to take the campus from the students and establish authority. We had a meeting with parents to explain the situation. We felt that the best thing was to close the campus so that sanity must prevail,” said Kgwadi.

He said there were damages at the campus and it was still risky for staff and students.

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Singapore – A 35-year-old father of five sustained fatal burns last week when his aromatherapy diffuser caused an explosion and fire in Singapore, a media report said on Thursday.

The family had been using the diffuser every night since haze from forest fires in Indonesia has been blanketing the city-state.

Mohammed Rizalludin Hassan was topping up the diffuser’s essential oil from a 5-litre container in the bathroom when the family heard a loud sound and saw him running out of covered in flames.

“When I saw my husband in flames, I was so shocked, I didn’t know what to do,” his wife Nurul Asyikin Norman told local tabloid The New Paper.

“I completely forgot all fire safety procedures in my panic.”

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