Appeal tribunal declassifies The Spear – The Film and Publication Appeal Tribunal has set aside the “16N” classification of Brett Murray’s controversial painting of President Jacob Zuma, The Spear. The declassification is relevant to the painting, which was displayed in the Goodman Gallery in Johannesburg, the image published on the gallery’s website and other websites as well as other electronic images. [citypress]

Lance Armstrong’s 1999 Tour de France Triumph Takes a Dark Turn – Just before the 1999 Tour de France, a teammate pointed out that Lance Armstrong had a bruise on his upper arm caused by a syringe. According to a doping investigation, Armstrong cursed and said, “That’s not good.” A public weigh-in of the riders was to be attended by the news media. A team masseuse found some makeup, and Armstrong’s bruise, and the doping that investigators assert caused it, was ultimately concealed. [nytimes]

Malema throws his toys out over Madonsela’s report – Expelled ANC Youth League president Julius Malema accused public protector Thuli Madonsela of finding him “guilty in absentia” on Wednesday. “You can’t find a man guilty in absentia,” Malema said at Slovo Park informal settlement, west of Johannesburg, according to a SABC report. “You cannot say to a man in absentia: ‘You are guilty and therefore we are going to take everything you have and let you walk naked’.” [mg]

Turkey forces Syrian passenger plane to land in Turkey – Turkish fighter jets have forced a Syrian passenger plane suspected of carrying weapons to land in Ankara. Military communications devices were reportedly confiscated before the plane was allowed to leave hours later. The Airbus A320 airliner was travelling from Moscow to Damascus with 35 passengers – far fewer than its 180 passenger capacity – and two crew. Turkey’s foreign minister said Ankara was determined to stop any transfer of weapons to Syria through its airspace. [bbc]

EADS, BAE Systems call off world’s biggest arms merger – EADS and BAE Systems will not extend their merger talks later on Wednesday, calling an end — for now — to a plan to create the world’s largest defence and aerospace group. In a statement, BAE said it had become clear that the interests of the French, British and German governments could not be adequately reconciled with each other or with the objectives that BAE and EADS established for the merger. [bdlive]

Service-delivery protests getting uglier – report – Protest activity rose dramatically in the first eight months of this year, according to a report by the Multi-Level Government Initiative. About 80% of the protests were violent. The Multi-Level Government Initiative, which tracked protests between February 2007 and August 2012, released its protests barometer in Cape Town yesterday. The research corroborates the findings of local governments and data collated by intelligence service Municipal IQ. [timeslive]

Nkandla roads finalised in 2006 – The KwaZulu-Natal Transport Department on Wednesday said plans to build two new roads through Nkandla were finalised in 2006. The department denied claims that the roads are linked to President Jacob Zuma’s rural homestead, which is the subject of investigations. [ewn]

SA an Irish-coffee society, Mantashe says – South Africa is an Irish-coffee society, African National Congress secretary general Gwede Mantashe said on Wednesday. “The black is at the bottom and white on top with a sprinkling of chocolate,” Mantashe said in Newtown, Johannesburg. “We can’t have a society that is described as equal when it is not.” He said things were improving, but there were still problems when it came to unity and nation-building. [news24]

Maarohanye awaits judgment – Magistrate Brian Nemavhidi will continue handing down judgment in the murder trial of hip-hop star Molemo “Jub Jub” Maarohanye and his co-accused Themba Tshabalala on Thursday. Nemavhidi started handing down judgment in a packed Protea Magistrate’s Court in Soweto on Wednesday. He recounted the evidence given in the trial, which started in 2010, quoting from the testimony of specialists, analysts, witnesses and police officers. [iol]

Russia says it will not renew arms agreement with U.S. – Russia will not renew a decades-old agreement with Washington on dismantling nuclear and chemical weapons when it expires next year, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov was quoted as saying on Wednesday. The death of the 1991 agreement, which had been renewed twice, is the latest in a series of hitches in relations between the United States and Russia and casts doubt on the future of the much-vaunted “reset” in relations between the Cold War-era foes. [reuters]

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Spain Downgraded to One Level Above Junk by S&P on Risks – Spain’s debt rating was cut to one level above junk by Standard & Poor’s, which cited mounting economic and political risks as the government considers a second bailout. The country was lowered two levels to BBB- from BBB+, New York-based S&P said in a statement yesterday. S&P assigned a negative outlook to the nation’s long-term rating and lowered the short-term sovereign level to A-3 from A-2. [bloomberg]

Costa Concordia Captain To Sue After Sacking – The captain of the Costa Concordia is suing for wrongful dismissal, his lawyer has revealed. Some 32 people were killed after the vessel ran into a rock and capsized off the Tuscany coast in January. Italian skipper Francesco Schettino was sacked by Costa Cruises, but he is appealing against the decision. “It is the right of every worker to appeal against his dismissal and Captain Schettino has done no more than exercise that right,” lawyer Bruno Leporatti said. [sky]

Toyota recalls 7.43 million cars – Toyota Motors announced a global recall Wednesday of 7.43 million cars due to a power window problem that poses a fire risk. The automaker said that the driver’s side power window switch on some models may feel “notchy” or sticky during operation. The problem is caused by an uneven application of grease during the switch assembly process, and if commonly available lubricants are applied, a fire could result under some circumstances. [cnn]

PC passwords exposed by flaw in Apple-owned fingerprint software – A security flaw in fingerprint reading software, now owned by Apple, which has the potential to leave millions of Windows PC users’ passwords exposed, has been independently verified by security researchers. Any hacker with physical control of a person’s computer can skim Windows account passwords out of the system, reports Ars Technica. [zdnet]

Eric Schmidt Can’t Wait for Self-Driving Cars, Won’t Predict When Google Maps Come Back to Apple – You wanted new news from Eric Schmidt about the state of the Apple-Google war? So did all of us. But the Google chairman was mostly mum on that subject. He was happy, however, to tell Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher about how “life changing” it was to ride in a Google-built self-driving car. [allthingsd]

RIM Opens Door to BlackBerry 10 Apps – RIM is lining up high-quality apps for its BlackBerry 10 OS launch, which looks to be coming sometime after Jan. 21. That’s the deadline for developers to be eligible for the company’s “10K commitment,” a promotion where they’re guaranteed at least $10,000 each if their app passes quality standards and makes $1,000 on its own. App World opened for BlackBerry 10 submissions yesterday. [pcmag]

Supercars on SA ‘road trip’ – South African supercar owners must be revving their V10s in anticipation of the Rogue Rally, just announced for June 2013, and set to cover 2 500km of SA’s best roads. The inaugural Rogue Rally will be a road trip that is being planned in SA for supercar owners from June 16-22, 2013. In true rally style, the drivers will be challenged with special stages, including track events, high-speed runs on the proposed land speed record track at Hakskeenpan and a closed mountain stage. [wheels24]

How Much Would a Real James Bond Cost Taxpayers? [INFOGRAPHIC] – Special agent James Bond relies on high-tech gadgets, as much as his vodka martinis, to save the world. But because he’s a Secret Intelligence Service agent on behalf of the Queen of England’s government, he would technically be funded by UK taxpayers if a real-life person and the bill would certainly add up. [mashable]

Tom Cruise Spanked By Drag Queen At Matt Damon Bash – Tom Cruise was left with a sore behind last weekend in London. The Top Gun actor took an unexpected spanking from a drag queen at the risqué Box club while celebrating pal Matt Damon’s 42nd birthday. And the famous birthday boy didn’t get off lightly either at the rowdy bash. An insider revealed: “It was a celeb-packed night, with stars including Emily Blunt, Chris Hemsworth and Bill Paxton turning out for Matt. [dailystar]

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COMING UP TODAY

Fashion Capital Of Summer – Following Rocking The Daisies this past weekend, the Fashion Capital Of Summer Feature, brought to you by 36Boutiques.com will focus on festival fashion. We compare our local SA fashion to that of overseas festivals such as Coachella that are well known for their fashionable patrons. They also cover the benefits of online shopping. Tune in to the Just Josie show at 12h30. [36boutiques]

Bailey interviews hosts of The A-List – Today, Bailey chats to The Gossip Guy, Jared Orlin, and his co-ho/former FHM’s sexiest woman in SA Charne Jade, ahead of their first ever show on 2oceansvibe Radio, The A-List. Their show kicks off this Sunday from 10h00-12h00 and features celebrity news, views and screws, guaranteed to make you the most informed person around the water cooler come Monday morning. Tune in from 14h00-15h00 today where Bailey catches up with them. [baileyschneider]

FRESH PODCASTS

Biz Innovate With Cookbook Author, Bern Le Roux – Editor of Condé Nast H&G Gourmet, cookbook author, café owner and urban farmer, Bern Le Roux joined Bob and Dan in studio for the Biz Innovate feature, brought to you by Itec Innovate. She chatted about her new cookbook, ‘Roots, Shoots & Leaves‘, and gave a sneak peak about what’s inside, how it started and the cheeky story behind it’s name. They also swap quick recipes perfect for a hangover cure. [podcast]

Hip Hop On The Decks With Rolling Stone – The music magazine duo was back in studio to play the top 5 local Hip Hop tunes which hit the October Rolling Stone Magazine. These top 5 will definitely get your feet moving and your body grooving. Listen in for the body moving tunes featuring the likes of Youngsta, AKA and Cream! [podcast]