Motlanthe book launch fires off ANC leadership race – Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe’s book launch turned into a rowdy pro-change rally favouring the enigmatic leader, despite his attempts otherwise. Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe, honourable ministers Tokyo Sexwale and Trevor Manuel, ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe …” There was a pause as the audience waited for the introductory speaker, Sunday Times editor Ray Hartley, to do the requisite welcome. Instead he burst out with: “Can’t you all just lock yourselves in a room and sort out this Mangaung thing?” [mg]

Biden Delivers the Needed Shot in the Arm – Joe Biden won the debate. Not nearly as decisively as Mitt Romney won last week’s obviously. Paul Ryan had some good moments, and he at least arrived prepared. I guess the snap CNN poll says he won narrowly, 48-44. But a CBS snap poll gave it to Biden by a much wider 50-31. The CBS people are right. The pressure here was much greater on Biden than Ryan. If Biden had flubbed this the way Obama did, this race might have been done. But he didn’t, and he did all the things he needed to do. [dailybeast]

Nigeria floods a ‘national disaster’ – Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan on Thursday visited some of the hundreds of thousands of people made homeless by the country’s worst flooding in at least five decades, calling it a ‘national disaster’. Vast stretches of Africa’s most populous nation have been submerged by floods in the past few weeks, as major rivers like the Niger, the continent’s third longest, burst their banks. At least 140 people have been killed, hundreds of thousands uprooted and tens of thousands of hectares of farmland have been submerged since the start of July, raising concerns about food security, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said. [ewn]

Armstrong unfazed by doping maelstorm – Unrepentant and seemingly unconcerned, Lance Armstrong was going about his business as usual on Thursday as the cycling world was left reeling by the revelations about his alleged role as a doping ringleader. Five of his former team mates who confessed to using performance enhancing drugs were formally banned by USA Cycling on Thursday while Spanish authorities were reviewing the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) documentation after three of their nationals were implicated. [reuters]

Zuma calls summit in bid to end strike wave – Jacob Zuma has summoned business, labour and civil society leaders to a meeting in Pretoria on Friday in a bid to find solutions to the wave of violent strikes that threatens to drive economic growth lower and destroy thousands of jobs. The meeting is an indication of the seriousness with which the government has begun to view the economy’ s decline which, aside from strikes on gold and platinum mines, has also been harmed by a ratings downgrade by Moody’s Investor Services two weeks ago. [bdlive]

No need for panic: Toyota SA – There is no need for local car owners to panic because of Toyota’s worldwide vehicle recall, the car manufacturer said on Thursday. “It’s not a case where motorists must stop driving and bring in their vehicle immediately,” Toyota SA spokesman Leo Kok said in Johannesburg. “We are currently going through our database and running a check to match vehicle identity numbers, and should have a better idea of numbers later today. “All affected vehicle owners will be contacted and there is definitely no cause for panic.” [timeslive]

Spear move sets ‘crucial precedent’ – A decision by the Film and Publications Board’s (FPB) Appeal Tribunal to overturn the classification of The Spear artwork was welcomed by the Goodman Gallery on Thursday. “This victory has cemented the gallery’s mission to uphold its status as an activist space, dedicated to nurturing freedom of creative expression in South Africa,” it said in a statement. “It has also set a crucial precedent for the future of visual art in this country. We believe that it was extremely important to legally challenge the principle of censorship of the arts.” [news24]

Samsung Galaxy Nexus ban overturned by US appeals court – The US Court of Appeals has overturned a ban on sales of Samsung’s Galaxy Nexus phone, in a blow to Apple in the ongoing battle between the two rivals. It said the district court in California, which had issued the ban in June, had “abused its discretion in entering an injunction”. Earlier this month, a sales ban on Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet computer in the US was also lifted. [bbc]

France’s Hollande promises pupils ‘no more homework’ – French President François Hollande pledged to ditch homework on Tuesday as part of wide-ranging reforms aimed at improving standards for over-worked French pupils, especially those in disadvantaged areas. French President François Hollande potentially won the hearts of millions of future voters on Tuesday when he announced plans to abolish homework and reduce the number of pupils forced to repeat school years. [france24]

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

Google hits back at Apple with ‘biggest ever update’ of its Street View maps, viewable on iPhone – Google has hit back at Apple in the war of the map apps with the biggest ever update of its street view service, adding over 250,000 miles of roads around the world the the service. It comes days after Google made Street View available to iPhone owners via a web browser, after Apple dumped Google’s map app for its own. Experts say the move is the latest round in the ‘maps battle’ between the two tech giants. [dailymail]

New ‘spy cars’ nail dodgy drivers – New hi-tech “spy cars” have slipped onto Cape Town’s streets and are already out nabbing unsuspecting motorists who break the law. First, Capetonian motorists were warned about the new closed-circuit TV camera network which monitors streets in the central business district and subsequently many freeways. Then came news of the City of Cape Town’s fleet of unmarked vehicles in the “Ghost Squad”. Later, special cameras were mounted on the roofs of certain vehicles, which could “read” number plates. [iol]

Apple Has Quietly Started Tracking iPhone Users Again, And It’s Tricky To Opt Out – Apple’s launch of the iPhone 5 in September came with a bunch of new commercials to promote the device. But Apple didn’t shout quite so loud about an enhancement to its new mobile operating system, iOS 6, which also occurred in September: The company has started tracking users so that advertisers can target them again, through a new tracking technology called IFA or IDFA. [bizinsider]

New Fathers ‘To Get Months Of Parental Leave’ – Fathers will be able to take most of the first year of a baby’s life off work if the mother goes back to work under new coalition proposals, it has been reported. If a mother is the main breadwinner, she will be able to go back to work after two weeks and the father can claim under “flexible parental leave”. Implementation of the scheme will not take place until October 2015 following a disagreement in Cabinet over the impact on business, the Daily Telegraph said. [sky]

Retailers gearing up for Apple’s ‘iPad mini’ with plans for accessory displays – AppleInsider was provided with the image on Thursday showing instructions for standalone displays designed to sell iPad mini accessories. The instruction manual comes from a large box that apparently includes parts from which the future displays will be assembled. The tipster indicated that the pages labeled “Amazon/Apple Tablet Display Parts List” came from a box with a note attached, telling employees not to look inside. They said the papers fell out of the box, revealing the contents of the recently delivered package. [appleinsider]

Record-Setting Supersonic Skydive Scheduled for Sunday – The latest installment of Red Bull’s supersonic soap opera is slated for Sunday, when extreme athlete Felix Baumgartner hopes to make his second attempt at a record-setting skydive from 120,000 feet. And you’ll be able to watch it live — again. The Austrian athlete has been cooling his jets in Roswell, New Mexico, all week. His jump, originally scheduled for Monday, was bumped a day by weather, then aborted at the last minute Tuesday due to high wind at the launch site. [wired]

Frenchwoman’s alarm at trillion-euro phone bill – A Frenchwoman who received a telephone bill for an amount equivalent to nearly 6,000 times the country’s annual economic output has had the real amount she owed waived — after finally convincing the company they must have made a mistake. Solenne San Jose, from Pessac in the Bordeaux region of southwestern France, could not believe her eyes when she opened the bill to discover she was being asked to pay 11,721,000,000,000,000 euros to close her account. [afp]

Squirrel Dinner Prep Maybe Sparked Michigan Fire – Authorities say a blaze that displaced dozens of people from a southwest Michigan apartment complex may have been sparked by a resident trying to cook a squirrel with a propane torch. Fire Chief Jim Kohsel tells MLive.com that the resident apparently planned to eat the animal and was burning off its fur on a third-floor deck at the building in Ottawa County’s Holland Township when the fire broke out Wednesday. Flames spread to the roof. Kohsel says eight apartments are destroyed and others damaged. [ap]

Xzibit to perform in South Africa – Alvin Nathaniel Joiner, better known by his stage name Xzibit, is set to perform in Johannesburg. The American rapper, actor and television host of MTV show Pimp my Ride which brought him mainstream success, will wow fans with just one performance in Johannesburg during the first week of December 2012. The venue and the exact date where the concert will be taking place, is yet to be confirmed. Ticket prices for the concert will range between R250 and R750. [channel24]

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COMING UP TODAY

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

Sox And The City – From 15h00-17h00 today, DJ Sox will be banging out the best dance floor mixes. King of Castle Caprice, 31 and Trinity, Dj Sox is as consistently hot as a night out in Ibizia. Tune in from 15h00 and allow Sox to get you ready for the weekend! [soxandthecity]

FRESH PODCASTS

Some Festival Style Notes Following RTD 2012 – Taking a look at what the cool girls were wearing at the Glastonbury Festival, which definitely wasn’t the festival uniform (cut-off denim hot pants and wellington boots), the best look was indeed the adored floral or patterned dress. Cute little short ones. Lovely long maxis. And all those in between. Listen to the podcast to find out which are cute, feminine and practical outfits for festival fashions, worst crimes, which surprisingly weren’t the girls with the hot pants and cellulite, and guy fashion! [podcast]

Sports Illustrated Swimwear Cover Launch – Josie caught up with models from the Sports Illustrated Swimwear edition that was shot in Thailand earlier in the year. The event, which takes place at The Reserve tonight, will be inundated with VIP guests and all the models, plus the cover girl will be revealed! The models chat about how The Captain interrupted and gatecrashed the shoot, bringing his own brand of irreverence to the girls and crew, and also more details about the party at The Reserve! [podcast]