Decision to release Oscar suspended


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Johannesburg – The decision to release Paralympian Oscar Pistorius on parole on Friday has been suspended, eNCA reported on Wednesday.

Justice spokesperson Mthunzi Mhaga said the minister considered a petition to stop his release and he has referred the decision for review to the parole board.

For more http://www.news24.com

Most victims of taxi, train crash were young – KwaDukuza mayor


Picture: (Police Tape)

Picture: (Police Tape)

Durban – KwaDukuza Mayor Richardo Mthembu said on Wednesday that most of the people who died in a horrific taxi and train collision on Monday were young.

Sixteen people died when a taxi, reportedly carrying 20 people, plunged off a bridge and landed on a railway track before being hit by a train at Shaka’s Head, KwaDukuza.

For more http://www.news24.com

‘I can’t forget horror image’


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Durban – “When we got off the train, I saw two women in their forties and in a tight embrace. I couldn’t see their heads. They were dead. It must have been how they died, holding on to each other for life.”

Sihle Busane, 23, boarded the northbound Metro Rail 0263 at Durban Central at 15:00. He had been in Durban dropping off application forms at a police station. What he did not know was that he would soon witness a horror crash.

For more http://www.news24.com

Zuma sends condolences to India following death of first lady


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Johannesburg – President Jacob Zuma has sent condolences to his Indian counterpart, President Pranab Mukherjee, following the death of his wife, Suvra.

“First Lady Suvra Mukherjee was an outstanding person and a pillar of strength to her family and the people of India,” the president said in a statement on Wednesday.

For more http://www.news24.com

Home affairs trauma for Pretoria transgender


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Pretoria – A transgender woman has told of her trauma at being mistreated by department of home affairs officials in Centurion, who allegedly prevented her from applying for a gender change in her ID book on Wednesday.

Armed with the necessary medical reports, Juanita van Zyl, 36, went to the Centurion branch an hour before it opened on Wednesday. She wanted to apply to have her gender changed on her identity document.

For more http://www.news24.com

Flowers for Reeva as Steenkamps gather on a PE beach for her birthday


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Port Elizabeth – The Steenkamp family commemorated Reeva’s birthday in a private ceremony in Port Elizabeth on Wednesday morning.

Reeva would have turned 32.

Reeva’s parents Barry and June, her sister Simone and four other family members gathered at the Hobie Beach in Summerstrand where they placed flowers in the ocean.

The model and law student was shot and killed by her boyfriend Oscar Pistorius on Valentine’s Day of 2013. He claimed to have mistaken her for an intruder.

For more http://www.news24.com

Beerhouse stabbing not meant to be fatal, police told


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Cape Town – One of the men accused of fatally stabbing the doorman of a Cape Town pub told police the attack was intended to “draw blood”, not to kill.

This emerged in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday as Warrant Officer Jeremy Steyn elaborated on his investigation into the stabbing that took place in Long Street on June 20.

For more http://www.news24.com

Second time unlucky for pastor as train derails


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Johannesburg – Bekkie Mans woke up just before midnight on Tuesday to see sparks flying outside his carriage window as the new Afro4000 train he was travelling on derailed outside Kimberley.

For the pastor from the East Rand it was his second accident on a Shosholoza Meyl train in three years.

For more http://www.news24.com

TDN4

Vuyo Dabula to exit ‘Generations’


http://www.sowetanlive.co.za/incoming/2015/08/03/vuyo-dabula/RESIZED/bigResize/Vuyo+Dabula
Television actor Vuyo Dabula, who has become a fan-favourite on “Generations: The Legacy”, is leaving the popular show.

A statement released by the show this morning, confirmed the news that Dabula is set to exit his role as the villainous Gadaffi.

According to the statement, the actor asked to be released from his contract, so he can focus on other projects.

“This is the place where I blew up and I think now is the right time to move on and do other things with the exposure the show has given me,” Dabula said in the statement.
For more http://www.sowetan.co.za

Fireworks expected at Taung Cultural Calabash Festival


The future cream of South Africa’s creative talents will gather to reveal the 21st Taung Cultural Calabash on Mmabana Centre in Mafikeng, North West Province at a media launch on Saturday 29 August at 09:00 am.

Taung Cultural Calabash began as a one day cultural event taking place in Taung, (the area famous for the Taung Skull), in 1994 with a vision to stir the pride of the community in their heritage.

It has since grown into a great cultural spectacle uncovering and showcasing the finest talent on offer in the North-West Province.

Taung Cultural Calabash is a province wide annual arts festival with a unique focus to uncover the best budding creative talent the North West Province has to offer.

The festival comprises of a series of auditions and performances for amateurs and semi-professional artists in Dance, Drama, Music and Visual Arts. 

The auditions are held at venues across the provinces’ four districts: Bojanala District; Dr Ruth Segomtsi Mompati District; Ngaka Modiri Molema District and Dr Kenneth Kaunda District.

The auditions are followed by the grand finale event at Mmabana Taung Centre on 24 to 27 September 2015 where the districts auditions’ winners come head-on in a contest to determine the overall winners who will share the stage with some of the country’s biggest stars.

The Taung Cultural Calabash Festival is supported by the North West Department Culture, Arts and Traditional Affairs, Mmabana Arts, Culture & Sports Foundation and the Department of Arts and Culture.

Audition details are as follows:

District

Date

Venues

Dr. Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District

15-Aug-15

Mmabana Taung

Bojanala District

22-Aug-15

Mmabana Rustenburg

Ngaka Modiri Molema District

29-Aug-15

Mmabana Mahikeng

Dr. Kenneth Kaunda District

05-Sep-15

Klerksdorp Recreation Centre
-TDN
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