Nelson Mandela Has Stopped Talking – South African leaders issued assurances about the health of former president Nelson Mandela on Sunday night after the 94 year-old was airlifted to hospital having reportedly stopped speaking amid a deterioration in his condition. [telegraph]

We Have A New Miss South Africa – Marilyn Ramos was crowned Miss South Africa 2012 at a glittering ceremony at Sun City. The crown has passed on from Melinda Bam who was unable to be at the show because she is competing in the Miss Universe pageant. [news24]

Australian Radio Station Fights Back Following Nurse Suicide – An Austereo spokeswoman has described the UK media’s backlash against 2DayFM’s British royal prank as a “witch hunt”. [9news]

Malema’s Spending Spree Exposed – A forensic report reveals that Julius Malema used the Ratanang Family Trust account as his personal piggy bank, splurging almost R380 000 on designer clothes and R11 500 at the five-star Twelve Apostles hotel. Some R5.7 million was deposited into the trust’s bank account through 166 cheques, and Malema was apparently the sole signatory. [iol]

Mugabe Promises ‘Wounded Beast’ fight In Zimbabwe Poll – Zimbabwe’s long-serving President Robert Mugabe vowed to fight like a wounded beast to retain power in elections due next year after his party formally endorsed him on Saturday as candidate despite his advanced age and reports of ill health. [bdlive]

Australians Crush 11,000 Toys In Classic Over-Policing Blitz – More than 11,000 dangerous children’s toys have been crushed to pieces following a pre-Christmas blitz on retailers by Consumer Affairs Victoria. The toys were seized after 987 traders across the state were inspected. [theage]

Facebook COO Sandberg Sells $26.2 Million In Stock – Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg has sold about $26.2 million in Facebook stock. Sandberg, a Facebook board member, sold the shares in two blocks on Wednesday. [forbes]

Virgin Atlantic Brand Will Vanish: Report – The Virgin Atlantic brand could soon be consigned to the history books, British Airways and Iberia boss Willie Walsh has suggested, with Sir Richard Branson’s U.K. carrier set to become the latest name to be swept up in the wave of aviation consolidation. [4traders]

FASHION: Popyacollar Online Shop Launches New Stock – Popyacollar online shop, stocking hand-picked items from boutique shops around South Africa and the world has reported a whole new shipment of stock, including clutches, scarves, dresses, baskets and shoes! Go, girls! [popyacollar]

Dropbox Pries Programming God From Clutches of Google – Online storage startup Dropbox has hired Guido van Rossum — creator of the massively popular Python programming language — prying him away from the language’s biggest backer: Google. [wired]

Google Kills Free Google Apps For Business, Now Charging $50 For Any Size Business – Google has announced a change to Google Apps for Business — ending the free version of the product, offering only its Premium version which costs $50 per user, per year, regardless of the size of the company. [techcrunch]

Rio Ferdinand Hurt By Thrown Coin – Manchester United’s Rio Ferdinand was left with a head wound after apparently being struck by a coin during his team’s match at Manchester City. He responded on Twitter stating disappoint at it being a 2p coin, and not £1. [bbc]

Chavez Says Cancer Is Back, Names Successor – Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez announced late Saturday that his cancer has returned and that he will go to Cuba to undergo surgery. He said that if his health were to worsen, Vice President Nicolas Maduro should replace him. [cnn]

Obama Orders Led Zeppelin To ‘Settle Down’ During Awards Ceremony – President Barack Obama has honoured the three remaining members of Led Zeppelin at the White House, joking he was relieved to have the Secret Service on hand to prevent any repeat of their infamous destruction of hotel rooms. [telegraph]

Kim Kardashian’s Obituary For Her Kitten, Annotated And Explained – There’s unfortunate news coming out of L.A. this morning. Kim Kardashian wrote a tearful goodbye post to her little, Mercy, who died of stomach cancer earlier this week. [gawker]

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COMING UP TODAY

Captain Kai’s World – This is the place where action sports are considered a real job, 9-5 is a memory and life is lived to the fullness it so richly deserves. All played out to a backtrack of underground rock, hip hop and beats. Your Monday night just got a whole lot better! Coming at you from 18h00-20h00 tonight! [captainkai]

Tones Of Note – Hosted by Rus Nerwich, SA saxophonist, composer, writer and actor, this show will wire you into the the musical mainframe. Exploring Jazz and all its branches, exploring modern neo-soul and hip hop, and its roots in blues, reggae and folk music. Tune in from 20h00-22h00. [tonesofnote]

FRESH PODCASTS

36 Man No-Fail Gifts For Every Man’s Wishlist – This time of year is maddening when it comes to buying gifts. Aside from the stressful dilemma of ‘what to give’, malls are jam-packed with screaming kids, men who would rather be braaing and frenzied women mauling for bargains. So what’s a guy (or girl) to do when unique gifts are needed pronto? The editors of 36man have made this really simple and have selected 36 no-fail gifts for every man. You’re guaranteed to find something in their gifting boutique filled with carefully curated and unique gifts. Click through for the podcast where Josie chats to Neil Doveton about what one can find on this list, how to go about choosing the perfect gift, and why you should take the route of shopping in the comfort of your own home, from your PC or phone…well, that kind of explains itself. [podcast]