Chinese Companies Scoop Shares In Independent News – Independent News & Media, one of SA’s biggest news publishers, is to become at least 45% owned by South African and Chinese state-owned companies. [mail&guardian]

NUM Says Marikana Commemoration Hijacked So They’re Out – Thirty-four people died in the koppies around Marikana mine in democratic South Africa’s darkest hour. The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) will not take part in the Marikana commemorations, it said on Thursday. [timeslive]

Obama Slams Egyptian Military’s Crackdown; Cairo Government Hits Back – President Barack Obama said the state of emergency should be lifted and a process of reconciliation must begin. He condemned the violence against civilians and announced the United States is canceling next month’s joint U.S.-Egyptian military exercises. [cnn]

Habana Bags R660k Per Month – Springbok wing Bryan Habana is the third highest earner in the French Top 14, reportedly earning around R660 000 per month. [sport24]

Weekend Sports Get Better – The Mental Weekend Sports Multiple Is Back! – It is that time of the year again folks, time for the 2oceansvibe Multiple. Last years series of 2ov multiples made a few people some serious cash, for one guy it even paid for a large portion of his wedding. This time around it is going to be no different! Get involved in this weekends action. [betflash]

Rockefeller Imposter Killer Jailed – A German man who pretended to be an heir to the Rockefeller oil fortune has been jailed for killing his California landlady’s adult son in 1985. Well done. [bbc]

James Bond Stunt Man From Olympics Opening Ceremony Dies – The British skydiver who parachuted into the 2012 Olympic Stadium dressed as James Bond has been killed in an accident. Mark Sutton, 41, died yesterday after crashing into a mountain near Martigny in the Swiss Alps. [sky]

Smartphones Finally Beat Feature Phone Sales Globally – It’s been about two years since Nielsen noted that smartphone sales overtook feature phone sales in the U.S. — now, it seems we’ve hit that milestone on the global level. [venbea]

Edward Snowden Says Media Being Misled ‘About My Situation’ – National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden wants to set the record straight after individuals associated with his father have, in his words, “misled” journalists into “printing false claims about my situation.” [huffpo]

Manenberg Teachers Often ‘Duck And Dive Bullets’ On Their Way To School – Manenberg pupils and teachers have been caught in the middle of wars between gangs, putting their education, jobs and lives at risk. [mail&guardian]

Warren Buffett Makes $3bn Bet On Banks – Billionaire investor Warren Buffett has made a big bet on a better outlook for banks, spending more than $3bn (£1.9bn) buying shares in some of America’s largest lenders, according to the latest buy celebrex filing by his Berkshire Hathaway investment vehicle. [telegraph]

Jennifer Lawrence: America’s Kick-Ass Sweetheart – How the ‘Hunger Games’ star became the coolest chick in Hollywood. She turned 23 yesterday. Read this article – you’ll love her if you don’t already. [rollingstone]

‘That 70s Show’ Actress Dies – Lisa Robin Kelly — who played Eric Forman’s older sister on “That ’70s Show” — has died. The 43-year-old actress passed away in her sleep Wednesday night at a rehab facility in California. [tmz]

Washington Post, CNN And Time Websites Hit By Pro-Assad Hackers – Websites belonging to the Washington Post, CNN, and Time magazine have been attacked by supporters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. [bbc]

Agliotti Wants To Take On SARS – Businessman Glenn Agliotti has discarded accusations by the South African Revenue Service (Sars) that he has money stashed in offshore accounts. [ewn]

Google Blocks Microsoft’s YouTube Windows Phone App Again – Earlier this week, Microsoft released its new YouTube application for Windows Phone after it was disabled in May by YouTube for failing to display ads. Though the new app displays ads, the app was blocked again today by Google. [forbes]

Microsoft Blasts Google Over YouTube Block, Claims Reasons Are ‘Manufactured’ – Microsoft claims that Google is purposely attempting to block a YouTube Windows Phone app, and that the search giant’s objections “are nothing other than excuses.” [verge]

Woman Loses Arm In Maui Shark Attack – A shark attack on Maui has left a woman fighting for her life after a shark bit off her arm. In a span of two weeks, two people have been bitten by sharks, and another had her kiteboard chomped on. [khon]

Obama Played Cards To Pass Time During Bin Laden Raid – The iconic photo from the night of May 1, 2011, showed President Obama and his national security team intently watching a video feed of the raid that killed Osama bin Laden. But as the president has previously disclosed, there were also “big chunks of time” where he and his team were “just waiting.” [cbs]

‘Land Grab’ By Church of England Fuels Fears Of Controversial Fracking – The Church of England is fighting to claim the rights to minerals beneath thousands of homes and farms, it emerged last night. Legal action has already begun, raising fears the Church could try to cash in on the controversial process of fracking. [dailymail]

Army Releases Photo of Wikileaker Bradley Manning in Wig and Makeup – A photograph of Wikileaks leaker Bradley Manning wearing makeup and a blonde wig was released yesterday by the army as part of documentation related to Manning’s trial. It’s the first such photo of Manning, who is transgender. [gawker]

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