ANC Angry Over Zuma ‘Penis Painting’ – South Africa’s ruling ANC has demanded the removal of a painting from an exhibition by one of the nation’s best-known artists that it said ridiculed the party and the president. [guardian]

The Pirate Bay Hit By Hack Attack – File-sharing website The Pirate Bay (TPB) has been hit by a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack. The site has been largely inaccessible for the last 24 hours, and the service is intermittent in the UK. [bbc]

Is Pinterest Worth $1.5 Billion? – Silicon Valley startup Pinterest raised $100 million from a group led by Japanese online retailer Rakuten Inc, valuing the company at about $1.5 billion and underscoring the huge investor appetite for social-networking companies. [msnmoney]

Russian Opposition Leader Put In Jail – A prominent Russian opposition leader was sentenced to 10 days in prison, a day after being arrested at a rally as activists try to keep up the pressure on President Vladimir Putin and his government. [nzherald]

Facebook To Debut At $104 Billion – The world’s definitive online social network said Thursday that it raised $16 billion for itself and its early investors in an initial public stock offering that values Facebook at $104 billion. That’s more than Amazon.com and other well-known companies such as Kraft, Walt Disney and McDonald’s. [csm]

Donna Summers Dies – Donna Summer, the singer who came to be known as the “Queen of Disco” during her 1970s heyday, died at her Naples, Fla. home yesterday after battling lung cancer. The “Hot Stuff” singer was 63. [abcnews]

Controversial Facebook Co-Founder Breaks Silence Over Taxes – Denounced as a tax-dodger for renouncing his U.S. citizenship, Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin said Thursday he was grateful to the country and will end up paying hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes as required under current law. [latimes]

South Africa Ramps Up Rhino Response – The arrest this week of a rhino horn smuggler shows SA’s battle to protect the animal is paying off, as syndicates’ methods come into clearer focus. [mail&guardian]

Former Times Editor Fights Back Against Rupert Murdoch – One of Rupert Murdoch’s longest-standing critics got his chance to fight back against the mogul today, providing an inside account of Murdoch’s influence over his U.K. newspapers in his early days on the British media scene and launching the latest volley in a 30-year feud. [dailybeast]

Kennedy Wife Hanged Herself – The Kennedy family, so practiced at public mourning, is grieving again after the estranged wife of Robert Kennedy Jr hanged herself at her home in suburban New York. [stuff]

New Property Record For New York – A mystery buyer has agreed to pay a record price in New York of more than $90 million for the duplex penthouse at a Midtown tower, the building’s developer said Thursday. [nytimes]

Simon Cowell Reckons ‘The Voice’ Is A Ripoff Of his Show – Simon Cowell thinks The Voice copies the same format as The X Factor. The 52-year-old music mogul thinks the BBC1 singing contest is “the same” as his ITV1 talent show. He said: “That show puzzles me because it starts off and ‘it’s all about the voice’. [channel24]

Australia Has Hottest 60 Years Ever – The last 60 years have been the hottest in Australasia for a millennium and cannot be explained by natural causes, according to a new report by scientists that supports the case for a reduction in manmade carbon emissions. Sexual. [guardian]

Horse Swims 3km Out To Sea – It was a sea rescue made for Hollywood: A horse in a photo shoot on a Southern California beach gets spooked and runs into the water, only to be rescued after swimming more than two miles offshore. [cnn]

The People Who Still Haven’t Joined Facebook – More than 900 million people worldwide check their Facebook accounts at least once a month, but millions more are Facebook holdouts. They say they don’t want Facebook. They insist they don’t need Facebook. They say they’re living life just fine without the long-forgotten acquaintances that the world’s largest social network sometimes resurrects. [huffpo]

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COMING UP TODAY

The Premier Show With Seth And Bruce 10h00 to 13h00 – Easing you into your Friday, Seth and Bruce discuss the topics of the day, with a smattering of sport, entertainment and finance. Powered by Jack Daniels! [2ovfm]

Bass Instinct – Ryan Vermaak aka DOGSTARR will be joining Candice Heyns from 19h00-21h00. Topics up for discussion are his style of music, the art of playing live off ableton as well as the challenges and advantages of playing as a trio act. Secrets of the brilliant live act, Digital Rockers will all be revealed. [bassinstinct]

FRESH PODCASTS

Maya On Money, Brought To You By 10X – The National Treasury issued a paper called Strengthening Retirement Savings. This effects your retirement savings and you need to know how and why. [podcast]

The Rolling Stone Chart Show – The Rolling Stone Chart Show – 2ov Radio has teamed up with Rolling Stone magazine to bring you the weekly charts – live to your radio / car / mobile phone! This week featured the local hip hop chart. [podcast]