ANC Youth League president Collen Maine says South Africa’s intelligence agencies should probe the #FeesMustFall movement, claiming it is part of a “counter-revolutionary” movement bent on overthrowing government.

Speaking just a week after he and leaders of the Young Communist League and the SA Students’ Congress called on students to call off their protests, Maine accused the #FeesMustFall body of having ulterior agendas. He told City Press that #FeesMustFall, which has been driving the four-month-old nationwide university protests, was meant to be a campaign and not a movement. He called on the State Security Agency to do its job and look into who was supporting the “highly funded” movement.
For more http://www.citypress.co.za

BY REGINALD KANYANE

A newborn baby was found in a plastic bag yesterday outside a house in Stilfontein, North West.

At approximately 6.30pm paramedics from ER24 was alerted to the incident. Upon their arrival they found the owners of the house with the newborn boy.

  “They (the homeowners) explained that they came back from work and when they got out of their vehicle they heard cries coming from nearby long grass. Upon further inspection they found the little boy tied in a plastic bag crying,” Er24 spokesperson said.

Paramedics assessed the little boy and found that he could not have been more than a few hours old. He appeared to be in a healthy condition.

He was later transported to Klerksdorp General Hospital for further observations.

The circumstances surrounding the incident is not yet known. It is also not clear when the newborn was placed in the grass.
-TDN
Follow us on Twitter@Taung_DailyNews or @IceT_

The North West Education and Sport Development MEC, Wendy Matsemela expressed with confidence that there is “No problem at Mphe-Bana Secondary School” after an outcry about the situation of the school. Teaching and learning resumed on Tuesday, 26 January 2016 after chairs and tables were delivered.
During the reopening of schools Mphe-Bana experienced a high influx of learners who came from the two local primary schools. The secondary school admitted learners beyond its capacity, classrooms and the school furniture could not be enough to cater for all the learners.
MEC Matsemela said last Friday the department delivered a set of 100 chairs and tables to curb the shortage of furniture.
The school needed eight mobile classrooms and so far two mobile classrooms were delivered on Monday with the remaining to be delivered during the month of February.
Regarding rest rooms at the school, a plumber is on site to fix any broken or leaking toilets while the department arranged ten mobile toilets to cater the high capacity of learners.
“There is no problem at Mphe-Bana, the only classes which experienced overcrowding were in Grade 10 but the rest of other grades did not have any problems. The new mobile classes will accommodate the Grade 10 learners while waiting for the other delivery”, said MEC Matsemela.
MEC Matsemela further indicated that, the school has a full complement of teachers according to the departmental Post Provisioning Model.
Rueben Motlhampe the school principal was excited after being given the keys of the two mobile classrooms, said “the departmental intervention has eased the situation and now everything will be back to normal. Since 2013 we have always obtained over 80% in the matric results and we will continue to work hard”.
Another delivery of 50 chairs was delivered on Thursday, 28 January 2016.

Study among more than 700 South African women – all involved in committed relationships – found that a lack of sexual intimacy led to elevated symptoms of depression.

The survey, which was conducted by anti-depressant pharmaceutical firm, Pharma Dynamics, polled women of various walks of life, between the ages of 18 and 55 on the effects that sex – or the lack thereof – have on their mental well-being.

While eight in one women considered themselves to have a healthy sex drive, 15% cited their partner’s disinterest, as one of the primary reasons for not having sex as often as they would like to.

Here are some tips on dealing with sexual rejection:

• Don’t take it personally – remind yourself that your partner’s lack of interest in sex may not be about you
• Try a new approach. Don’t initiate sex for a while and see what happens
• Examine your relationship and ask yourself what was different about the times when your partner was more interested in sex and try to somehow recreate those conditions
• Focus on what makes you happy, for example, spending time with friends, starting a new hobby, joining a sport or dance club etc. If he sees you focusing on yourself rather than your sex life, he might want to become more involved in ‘every’ aspect of your life

“Never lose sight of the importance of putting constant effort into a relationship. You need to be inventive, surprising and work at it in order for it to remain exciting and for you both to enjoy a strong emotional and physical bond.

• Another study found mood-boosting compounds in semen
• Women are 70% more likely to suffer from depression than men
• While sex within a loving relationship contributes to mental well-being, other studies say casual sex makes you depressed and anxious.
• For more http://www.drum.co.za

BY KEDIBONE MOLAETSI

Banyana Banyana’s preparations for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games are in full swing at the Nike Football Training Centre in Pimville, Soweto.

The South African Women’s Senior National team is holding regular training camps to ensure the players are ready when the tournament kicks off in August.

“We have fallen behind in terms of fitness if you compare to when we played against Equatorial Guinea in October last year. Our main priority is to keep the fitness levels up. I am glad we are back early in the year so we can get those levels to the highest intensity and to grow even further so we can be fitter and stronger and be able to compete,” said Banyana Banyana head coach Vera Pauw.

On Tuesday, the players underwent tests conducted by the University of Pretoria.

“We are conducting these tests, which will be regular so we can ensure that we keep track and monitor the recovery rate of the players so that we know how much work load we need to put.

“When you don’t recover well, it affects your performance. So it is crucial that we get it right,” added Pauw.

On the playing personnel, goalkeeper Roxanne Barker has left her Iceland club to focus her attention on the preparations for the Olympics. The training programme is jam-packed and will require players to be available all the time.

“It’s nice to see such commitment and players willing to sacrifice so much to be part of the final squad. We have others who have taken leave at work and school and it gives one pleasure to see so much enthusiasm from the players. Many know that this is a once-in-a-life time opportunity,” said the coach.

Meanwhile midfielder Amanda Dlamini has missed the two camps in the new year due to family commitments.

“We would have loved her to be here with us but in this case, family comes first. We have given her a training programme that she is following so she can be active and is not left behind too much. But obviously, we would love her to be with us so that she is on par with the other players. She can only do that once she is ready, and we understand her situation,”concluded Pauw.
Banyana Banyana will break from camp on Friday, 29 January and return on Monday, 1 February.

NB: Only 18 (eighteen) players will be registered to play for the tournament. An additional 4 (four) will be accredited but will only feature in the competition if there is an injury to any of the 18. The four will travel, stay and train with the team during the tournament.

-TDN

Follow us on Twitter@Taung_DailyNews or @IceT_

Pic: Minster Lindiwe Zulu addressing business persons in Taung

The highly successful national stakeholder consultation sessions that are currently underway across the country, are now entering the second leg. The department seeks to solicit inputs from its stakeholders on the review of the National Small Business Act, 1996 (Act Number 102 of 1996), read with the National Small Business Amendment Act, Number 26, 2004 as well as engage stakeholders on the proposed National Minimum Wage.

The stakeholder consultations started on Monday, the 25^th of January and will be concluded on the 5^th of February 2016. Already two-day sessions have been held in Durban, East London and Kimberley. The department is satisfied with the quality of inputs received over the last two days as well as the quality of participation. The department is confident that the views expressed and inputs received will contribute to the formulation of a position on the review of the National Small Business Act and the National Minimum Wage.

The venues and dates for the remaining stakeholder sessions are as follows:

DATES:  (Thursday and Friday, 28-29 JANUARY 2016)

·         Rustenburg (North West): Hunters Rest Resort, Rustenburg, Rustenburg/Krugersdorp Road, 12 km outside, 24th Ave, Rustenburg.

·         Umtata (Eastern Cape)-Venue: Hotel Savoy; Address: 912 Nelson Mandela Drive, Mthatha

·         Ladysmith (KZN)- Venue:  Royal Hotel, 140 Murchison Street,Ladysmith

·         Upington (Northern Cape)– Desert Palace Casino, 1 Olifantshoek Road, Keidebees, South Africa, Upington

DATES: (Monday and Tuesday, 1-2 FEBRUARY 2016)

·         Polokwane (Limpopo): Bolivia Lodge: Road R81, 600m From Mall of the North, Polokwane.

DATES: (Tuesday and Wednesday, 2-3 FEBRUARY 2016

·         Nelspruit (Mpumalanga): The Hotel Promenade CBD, Samora Machel Dr & Henshall Street

·         Cape Town (Western Cape): River Club in Observatory, Address: Observatory Rd, Observatory

·         Boksburg (Gauteng): Birchwood Hotel & OR Tambo; No 14 View Point Road

DATES: (Thursday and Friday, 4-5 FEBRUARY 2016)

·         Bloemfontein (Free State): President Hotel & Conference Venue, 1 Union Avenue, Naval Hill

Registration in all sessions will start at 8:30.

The provincial consultations will culminate into a National Stakeholder Indaba on the review of National Small Business Amendment Act.     

Each consultation session takes place over two days. The first day is dedicated to the review of the National Small Business Act and the second day will focus on the National Minimum Wage.

The Eastern Cape, Northern Cape and KZN provinces have been allocated two sessions of two days each, given their sizes. This is meant to ensure that all the stakeholders are fully consulted. The rest of the other provinces will have a single session.

The review of the Act is aimed at ensuring that legislation relating to small businesses is developmental in its orientation and that it is in line with the current realities that confront small business. With regards to the proposed National Minimum Wage, the department seeks to give stakeholders an opportunity to make inputs on the proposed National Minimum Wage.

The following stakeholders are amongst those expected to attend: Micro businesses; Small businesses; Cooperatives enterprises; Small business chambers; Cooperative associations; Cooperative members; Labour; Academia; NGOs supporting cooperatives and small businesses; local and provincial government officials.

-TDN

Follow us on Twitter@Taung_DailyNews or @IceT_

Last week, the uThekela municipality in KwaZulu-Natal announced that sixteen scholarships would be made available for sexually inactive students, as part of a programme called Maiden’s Bursary Awards.

Understandably, women’s rights groups have freaked the flip out, pointing out that there’s a whole host of stuff wrong with this notion.

They have raised the issue that there is no particular link between sexual activity and academic ability, that it silences dialogue around safe sex in a country with a severe HIV infection problem among teenage girls, that it targets only girls and allows boys to do whatever they like, and that it shames girls who legally engage in physical intimacy.

It is patriarchal tosh of the highest order.

For more http://www.enca.com

George Lebese of Kaizer Chiefs celebrates his goal during the 2015 MTN8 semifinal, second leg football match between Kaizer Chiefs and Bloemfontein Celtic at Soccer City in Johannesburg, South Africa on August 29, 2015 ©Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix

JOHANNESBURG – Former Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates captain caught the wrong end of the stick on Twitter after his fiancé, Sizakele Manonga, broke up with him.

The retired footballer, who now works as a soccer commentator on Supersport, is alleged to have ended his relationship with Manonga after paying R200 000 lobola for her last year in July.

Manonga is formet Tau’s Kaizer Chiefs teammate George Lebese’s ex-girlfriend, who started seeing Tau after a public and violent break-up with Lebese. She is now rumoured to be dating one of the Major League DJ twins.

For more http://www.enca.com