Johannesburg – The death toll in the multi-vehicle crash in Alberton has risen to four, the department of transport said on Tuesday.

“Two people were certified dead on the scene and now we have just received a report that two more died in hospital,” said spokesman Tiyani Rikhotso.

Earlier,a petrol tanker went out of control and crashed into over forty other vehicles.

Netcare 911 spokeswoman Santi Steinmann said around 45 cars and two trucks were involved in the crash which occurred on N12 East near Voortrekker Road.

ER24 spokesman Russel Meiring said paramedics found multiple vehicles and car parts spread across the road.

Paramedics began their assessment and found two people had been killed and dozens had been injured, some of them critically.

“Paramedics immediately began their treatment of the patients, providing them with advanced life support,” he said.

“Extra resources were called in by the emergency services to help treat the injured on scene.”

One critically injured patient was airlifted to Chris Hani Barawanath.

“The remaining patients were treated for their injuries and transported to nearby hospitals for further treatment,” Meiring said.

“The driver of the petrol tanker told paramedics that his brakes had apparently failed, causing him to collide with… multiple vehicles.”

Transport Minister Dipuo Peters said the driver had been arrested.

“The driver has been arrested and the preliminary report indicates that the accident was caused by brake failure of the truck,” Peters said.

Sapa

London – Kendall and Kylie Jenner have been named on Time magazine’s most influential teens of 2014.

The ‘Keeping Up with the Kardashians’ stars were listed alongside inspirational youngsters such as a 14-year-old transgender activist Jazz Jennings and Malala Yousafzai, 17, the youngest-ever recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.

The siblings’ achievements are described in the publication, which states: “Together, the ‘Keeping Up With the Kardashians’ co-stars hosted red-carpet events, released clothing and nail polish lines and even published a dystopian young-adult novel this past summer (though yes, they had some help).

“But they’ve had solo success too – Kendall with modelling (she’s walked the runway for designers like Marc Jacobs) and Kylie with pseudo-entrepreneurship (she’s launching a line of hair extensions and hopes to get into acting). Next up: a multimillion-dollar mobile game?”

The sisters were joined on the list by Kylie’s rumoured former fling Jaden Smith – the 16-year-old son of Will and Jada Pinkett-Smith – who is recognised partly for his “Twitter musings”.

The magazine states: “His real legacy may well be his Twitter musings, which are equal parts absurdist (‘Anything You See In Any Magazine Ever Is Fake.”) and insightful (‘Once You Witness A Cycle Enough Times You Step Out Of It.’), earning him more than five million followers and labels like, ‘Confucius for the Internet age.’

“One of Smith’s recent posts sums him up pretty well: ‘Hate Me Love Me Doesn’t Matter I’m Still Occupying Time Inside Of Your Psyche.’ (sic)”

Both the Jenner sisters and Jaden are in good company on the list as fellow stars including singer/songwriter Lorde, actress Chloë Grace Moretz – who is rumoured to be dating Brooklyn Beckham – and pop star Austin Mahone are also named as influential teens.

New Zealand-born Lorde, 17, is praised for being “a force in music and pop culture” and for winning two Grammy Awards so early in her career.

Time magazine’s 25 Most Influential Teens of 2014:

1. Mo’ne Davis, 13, Baseball player

2. Sasha Obama, 13, and Malia Obama, 16

3. Kiernan Shipka, 14, Mad Men actress

4. Jazz Jennings, 14, Transgender activist

5. Flynn McGarry, 15, chef du jour

6. Erik Finman, 15, Founder of Botangle.com

7. Nash Grier, 16, Social media king

8. Rico Rodriguez, 16, Modern Family actor

9. Ciara Judge, 16, Émer Hickey, 17, and Sophie Healy-Thow, 17, Google Science Fair winners

10. Shawn Mendes, 16, Social media musician

11. Jaden Smith, 16, Confucius for the Internet age

12. Becky G, 17, Youtube musician

13. Salma Kakar, 17, Cycling star

14. Lorde, 17, Singer-songwriter

15. Lydia Ko, 17, Golf champion

16. Chloë Grace Moretz, 17, Movie actress

17. Kylie Jenner, 17, and Kendall Jenner, 18

18. Malala Yousafzai, 17, Youngest-ever recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize

19. Rachel Fox, 18, Reality Star turned day trader

20. Bethany Mota, 18, Fashion and beauty blogger

21. Joshua Wong, 18, Leader of Hong Kong civil disobedience movement

22. Austin Mahone, 18, Pop star

23. Tavi Gevinson, 18, Publisher of online magazine for teenage girls

24. Megan Grassell, 19, Bra designer

25. Troye Sivan, 19, Actor turned musician

– BANG Showbiz

Pretoria – The ANC Women’s League will apply to be a friend of the court if an appeal in the Oscar Pistorius case went ahead, the league said on Tuesday.

“We will register as a friend of the court, if the NPA appeals,” said ANCWL spokeswoman Jacqui Mofokeng.

Sentencing procedures in the case against Pistorius are currently underway in the High Court in Pretoria.

Last month, Judge Thokozile Masipa found Pistorius not guilty of murder but convicted him of culpable homicide for the Valentine’s Day 2013 shooting of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in his Pretoria townhouse.

He has maintained throughout that he thought she was an intruder.

On Monday, the league’s president Angie Motshekga had a meeting with the National Prosecuting Authority to express her organisation’s desire for an appeal in the matter.

“We are requesting the NPA to look at an appeal. We are not even happy at the verdict… We never thought the judgment would go this way.”

Mofokeng said the NPA had requested that the ANCWL wait until the sentencing was over.

She said that, if, in a possible appeal, the ANCWL was granted the status of a friend of the court, it would collaborate with the Progressive Womens’ Movement, and even possibly the ANC Youth League, to appoint a legal representative.

In terms of the law, a person or group not directly connected to a case can apply for the position of amicus curiae – a friend of the court – if they feel their interests or knowledge are relevant to proceedings.

As a friend of the court, Mofokeng said the ANCWL’s unhappiness with the legal understanding of culpable homicide could be raised by its representative.

She said that the league believed that culpable homicide should be graded according to degrees of severity, as otherwise it covered such a broad range of actions, that “we don’t know where it stops”.

Mofokeng said ANCWL wanted to investigate the issues of law that had affected cases like the Pistorius one.

“These are a worry for all of us…If we are awarded the opportunity, we are lawmakers and in the ruling party, 1/8and can thus 3/8 question the issue of culpable homicide.”

In South African law, culpable homicide is considered to be the killing of a human being through negligence – as opposed to intention.

Sentencing options are broad, ranging from being fined, to receiving a suspended sentence or being placed under correctional supervision such as house arrest.

Imprisonment is not mandatory but jail time of up to 15 years can be stipulated in the sentence.

On Tuesday, the court heard argument for Pistorius’s defence that sending the paralympian to jail would “break” him – and for the prosecution, that his disability was not an excuse to avoid going to prison for killing Steenkamp.

Pistorius has also been found guilty of discharging a firearm in public during an incident at a Johannesburg restaurant.

Two other firearm-related charges were dismissed.

Sapa

Johannesburg – The owner of the truck which ploughed into dozens of cars in Alberton on Tuesday will face the wrath of the law if it is found that his truck was faulty, the department of transport said.

Transport Minister Dipuo Peters said it was sometimes found that truck owners neglected to check the roadworthiness of their vehicles and made drivers use faulty vehicles for long trips.

“I urge for the harshest possible punishment to be meted out against the offenders,” Peters said in a statement.

“The owner of the truck should be brought to book should it be absolutely ascertained that the truck was mechanically defective,” she said.

The truck driver has since been arrested.

He claimed his brakes failed, leading him to ram into 49 vehicles which were moving in steady traffic on the N12 east near Voortrekker Road.

Four people were killed in the crash.

“Two people were certified dead on the scene and now we have just received a report that two more died in hospital,” said transport department spokesman Tiyani Rikhotso.

Dozens more people were injured, some of them critically.

Peters visited the accident scene.

She sent her condolences to those who were killed in the crash and wished a speedy recovery to those who were injured.

She called for a thorough investigation to be conducted and for labour unions within the transport sector to defend truck drivers.

“Some 1/8truck drivers 3/8 often find themselves in vulnerable situations where their opinion regarding the wellness of a truck is of no significance to the owners,” said Peters.

She would engage provincial and municipal authorities concerned to investigate the possibility of introducing by-laws to regulate the movement of heavy duty vehicles on selected routes within Gauteng.

“This is more urgent than ever before. The cost to families and the economy is too high,” she said.

Meanwhile, her department said the Road Accident Fund would assist affected families with burial arrangements, hospitalisation and counselling.

Sapa

London – Whenever I mention to people that I have seen ghosts, I can depend on one of two opposite reactions.

Some people will be fascinated and want to know more. Others will vehemently pooh-pooh the possibility of ghosts — either I’m deluded or I’m lying. There can be no such thing as ghosts!
For more http://www.iol.co.za

Polokwane – Bafana Bafana find themselves on the verge of qualifying for a major international tournament for the first time in six years ahead of Wednesday’s 2015 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifier against Congo in Polokwane.
For more http://www.iol.co.za

Mark Shuttleworth’s “war chest” appears to be driven by revenge against the State, says Nelson Kgwete.

Pretoria – We are fortunate as South African citizens to live in a country where freedom of opinion is guaranteed in the constitution – the highest law in the land – and protected by competent institutions of the state, including the judiciary, Chapter 9 organs and the government.
For more http://www.iol.co.za

Cape Town – President Jacob Zuma has taken aim at the private sector, warning them that abuse of public funds will not be tolerated and that action will be taken against business that commits fraud or corruption.
For more http://www.iol.co.za