Up To 25 Dead As Police Open Fire On Miners – The North West health department has confirmed 25 people were killed in Thursday’s shootings between miners and police at Lonmin mine in Marikana. [mail&guardian]

‘No Safe Passage Out Of UK For Assange’ – British Foreign Secretary William Hague has insisted that the Government would not allow Julian Assange safe passage out of the UK as the WikiLeaks founder promised to make his first public appearance for five months at the weekend. [skynews]

Times Media Group’s Avusa Bid Accepted – The Public Investment Corporation’s (PIC) disapproval was not enough to halt Times Media Group’s bid for Avusa, which was accepted by 78.54% of shareholders on Thursday. [businessday]

US Could Send Troops To Syria – The United States and its allies are discussing a worst-case scenario that could require tens of thousands of ground troops to go into Syria to secure chemical and biological weapons sites following the fall of President Bashar al-Assad’s government, according to U.S. and diplomatic officials. [reuters]

Britney Spears Sends Tweet To Mars Rover – We don’t necessarily expect our pop stars to be in the loop with current events, so we were pleasantly surprised to see Britney Spears tweeting at the Mars Curiosity rover. [huffers]

Facebook Shares Hit New Low – Facebook’s stock plunged to a new low Thursday as some of the social networking leader’s early backers got their first chance to sell their shares since the company’s initial public offering went awry. The share price went as low as $19.67, having started at $38. [associated]

eBay Bans The Sale Of Magic Curses, Potions And Spells – Looking a for a spell that will make your partner lust for you and only you? Or a black magic revenge incantation to curse your enemy? Come September, though, you’ll no longer find these quick fixes on eBay. [abcnews]

Apple, Samsung Speed Through Witnesses as Testimony Hours Tick Down – With mere hours of testimony time remaining on both sides, the lawyers involved in Apple v. Samsung are rushing to squeeze in as much information as possible, while the judge and jurors grow weary of the ongoing trial and its never-ending mountains of paperwork. [wired]

ZARA Store Opens in Cape Town – Girls and indeed boys lost their collective faces yesterday when the announcement was made that global fashion brand Zara was opening at the V&A Waterfront. Follow link for details. [popyacollar]

Did you know you can now listen to 2ov Radio on News24?
 

Golf Notebook: 67-year-old Gets 2 Aces In One Round – Some guys have all the luck – and perhaps a little skill as well. Such was the case for 67-year-old Rich Akin, who not only recorded his fifth career ace last weekend but his sixth, too, both in the same round. [chron]

Can Shark Lotion Prevent Skin Cancer? – Sharks who spend too much time in the sun get a tan, researchers have discovered. However, they do not appear to suffer from skin disease, raising hopes that shark skin could hold the key to beating skin cancer. [dailymail]

Megadeth Singer Blames Obama For Shootings – Megadeth leader Dave Mustaine has made no secret of his right-of-center political views, but the singer took an ugly conspiratorialist turn last week in Singapore when he said on stage during a concert August 7th that President Obama is behind recent shooting rampages near Denver and Milwaukee. [rollingstone]

One Person Has Won $337 Million Lottery – The winning ticket for the estimated $337 million Powerball jackpot was purchased at a Sunoco gas station in Lapeer, Michigan. The $337 million jackpot was the seventh-largest ever in America and the third-largest for Powerball. [cnn]

Rihanna Is Crying All Over the Place in this Clip Where Oprah Makes Her Talk About Chris Brown – Everybody’s going to be crying when Oprah’s new interview with Rihanna airs later this week. Rihanna’s going to be crying. Oprah’s going to be crying. The balmy Barbados breeze is going to be crying. We’re going to be crying. [gawker]

Rare Mel Gibson Interview: “Forgive Me For What”? – Mel Gibson may have his critics but he is, if nothing else, a born survivor. The American-born Australian-raised actor/filmmaker has been a part of the Australian and American film industries for some thirty years. [csoon]

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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]

Top Billing Winner And Runner Up In Studio – Jonathan Boynton-Lee, winner of My Top Billing Dream, started his career started in directing and writing for theatre before he decided to be in front of the camera. He has been described as having an infectious energy and being somewhat of an inpsiration. Runner up, Lynelle Kenned is no stranger to the stage. As an academically trained opera singer, everyone has seen her belting out the high notes on Top Billing but what’s really behind those effervescent curls. Tune in from 13h00-15h00 today! [2girls1mic]

Zaki Ibrahim Debuts Her Latest Single – Globally distinguished singer Zaki Ibrahim has just returned to SA after back to back overseas performances. For her, visuals must be as expressive as the music is. In this case, the visionary fusion of artistic disciplines is aimed at transporting the listener to the centre of the “semi-fictional”, apocalyptic world that her new collection of music evokes. Tune in from 15h00-17h00 for the Zaki experience. [2ovfm]

FRESH PODCAST 

Identifying A Ponzi Scheme – When the returns are too good to be true – they really are too good to be true. Starting point is to understand that a ponzi scheme is a system where the returns are payed from new investors coming into the fund, not the returns generated within that fund. When you stop getting new investors, the money dries up. There’s only one place where you’ll get a risk-free guaranteed return. [podcast]

What’s Happening In Cape Town This Weekend? – Find out exactly which new stores are opening it’s doors, Market On The Wharf, which will be the most sought after fresh and organic food destination, latest news with the Master Of The Trade Routes Culinary Challenge. They will also be awarding 5 people with a R1000 gift cards for the V&A to help kickstart Spring wardrobes. All you need to do is visit www.waterfront.co.za, click subscribe and voila! [podcast]