Kenny Kunene’s Eda Rose Put On Blast

Kenny Kunene’s SO WHAT reality show premiered on Saturday night and set twitter and Facebook alight with comments about Kenny’s lifestyle. Through everything that was said as feedback, one message was clear: We will ALL be tuning in again next week to see what Kenny gets up to. He’s a man with nothing to lose, he does what he wants, says what he wants and lives his life. That’s what makes a reality show interesting. In my eyes.

When people spottted Eda Rose (YFM Traffic girl and breakfast show co-host) as Kenny’s date for Dudu Zuma’s wedding they reacted with shock. I wasn’t shocked because we had already posted this picture of them together back in May. Read HERE.

What shocked me though, was hearing Gayton refer to Eda as Kenny’s girlfriend. That made me go TJO! She must be around 21 -22! This shocked most of the people who were watching as well so the next day Eda Rose went on Bonang’s YFM show and denied that she was dating Kenny, saying they were friends or whatever… Her co-host Sol tweeted “Girl friend” implying that she was just his friend but to me it meant he was embarassed on her behalf. Understandably so.

One of the Sunday papers also mentioned that Eda had tried to get her role in the reality show edited out as she wasn’t with Kenny anymore.. .something along those lines.

Gayton McKenzie, Kenny’s friend, business partner and So What Co-star went to twitter this morning to set the record straight about the relationship between Kenny and Eda Rose.[Justcurious]

Lil Wayne’s Durban Venue Announced

Canoc Productions together with media partner, Channel O announced the Wavehouse as the venue for Lil Wayne’s Durban concert on the 11th December at 20h00. Tickets go on sale tomorrow, Saturday, 1 October 2011

.

Concert Details:
Cape Town: Bellville Velodrome, Wednesday, 7 December 2011, 20h00
Ticket prices: R 350, R 600
Johannesburg: Coca-Cola Dome, Friday, 9 December 2011, 20h00
Ticket prices: R 400, R 600, R 750
Durban: Wavehouse, Sunday, 11 December 20h00
Ticket prices: R 400 and R 750
Tickets available from Computicket, www.computicket.com, 0861 915 8000

Millionaires Club Advocates Struck Off Roll For Fleecing RAF

Remember the Millionaires Club of advocates, who were under investigation for sucking the Road Accident Fund dry? Well those 13 naughty members of the Pretoria bar have been punished for ill-gotten gains. The case, which commenced exactly a month ago in the Pretoria High Court, closed today with six of the lawyers being struck off the roll, and a further seven receiving suspensions.
The court ruled that the greedy bunch will also have to pay back millions to the RAF, with one of the advocates being ordered to refund as much as R6 million.
All of the lawyers – two of whom are Silks (senior counsel) no less – were found guilty of radically over-billing and charging massive fees to the beleaguered RAF.
Presiding Judge Kees van Dijkhorst said it was not pleasant to have to impose sanction on such renowned advocates, described as “men of good standing”.
It’s not very pleasant at all for the greater legal fraternity either. This is the biggest scandal ever to affect the SA legal industry.
[Source: IOL]

Khanyi Mbau Naked Pictures Leaked Onto Internet – If You Care

Self-proclaimed gold-digger and ‘socialite,’ Khanyi Mbau, has hit the online headlines for something new besides her shopping habits and lack of taste. Yes folks, it’s time for the inevitable naked picture leak! There are two main pics, one of her on her back and one explicit photo of Khanyi on all-fours with her bum to the camera and an expression on her face that says, “oh you like that, do you?”
Umm, no… We don’t.

Channel24 reports:

A Twitter account for the domain name Boobsafrica.com has leaked naked photos of Khanyi Mbau and has threatened to post naked pictures of other local celebrities online. Tweeting with Khanyi Mbau’s picture as their profile photo, Boobsafrica has also threatened to post naked pictures of Nonhle Thema, Dineo Ranaka and Pam Andrews. [more here]

Boobsafrica? Brilliant name. I tell you, it is only a matter of time before this chick’s sex-tape hits. Only then can we truly call ourselves first world.


CLICK HERE TO SEE THE KHANYI MBAU LEAKED PHOTOS

Two SABC Officials Allegedly Arrested After Not Paying Prostitutes

Please notice the “allegedly” up there. Reports claim that two senior officials at the SABC have been arrested in London after refusing to pay two prostitutes for their services; the two men were in the UK for a business school initiative set up between South African and British academic boards.

To be fair, I don’t pay my TV license either.

An SABC boardmember had to intervene to keep the two men out of jail – both of whom have been deported back to South Africa, cutting their London trip short, but before they managed to burn through their R400 000 allowance.

Given that most of these claims are coming in from The Sowetan without much reporting from other news sources, throw in a pinch of salt here, but I’m inclined to take it at face value. Which is to say, great job, SABC.

[Source: The Sowetan]

Prime Suspect For Lolly Jackson’s Lawyer’s Murder Also Found Dead

In another pretty sensational twist in the Lolly Jackson murder tale, the man identified as the prime suspect for killing the late Jackson’s lawyer was found dead this morning.  Ian Jordaan, lawyer of the slain Teazers owner, disappeared last week, and the body of suspect Mark Andrews was found in the East Rand earlier today with a gun shot wound evident.
Police had been searching for Andrews to question him in connection with the suspected kidnapping and murder of the lawyer.  Jordaan’s car, containing an as yet unidentified charred body was discovered last week.  Since then, a sum to the tune of R1.8 million had been transferred into Andrews’ offshore bank account.
While it’s unclear whether Andrews committed suicide or was killed, there is speculation that he may have shot himself in light of the police’s sudden interest in his possible involvement with the Jordaan murder.
[Source: EWN ]

Shark Attack At Fish hoek Beach, Victim In Critical Condition

An unidentified male has survived attack by a shark at Fish Hoek beach, South of Cape Town, the National Sea Rescue Institute reports.

Tweets by journalists Paula Chowles and Dan Calders indicate that the man is in a critical condition, and is being treated at the scene. The victim was swimming at the time of the attack, and has lost his leg. He will be airlifted to hospital.

The following video was filmed by residents of Highhway Road, in Fish Hoek, and was lifted from News24.

A shark is clearly visible in the water off the beach, making the likelihood the self-same shark is responsible for the attack, very high. Surfers and bathers are advised to stay out of the water along the whole of the False Bay coast.
Unconfirmed reports are that the advanced warning sirens usually used to warn of shark activity could not be sounded, due to an extended power failure earlier in the day. 
[Update: Authorities have refuted these reports, stating that the sirens are battery powered, and that due warning of the shark's presence was given.]

More details to follow.

Rhodes, Tyson And Shakira Are To Share A House On Reality Show

The Indian show, Bigg Boss, is comprised of celebrity contestants, and uses roughly the same mechanic as Big Brother. You know, with the “Wizard of OZ pay-no-attention-the-man-behind-the-curtain” voice. Because that happens in reality. Jonty is reportedly pretty keen, because his stint in the 5th show in the series might mean he gets to see model, Poonam Pandey.
Just in case you forgot, she was the girl that said she’d strip if the Indian cricket team won the Cricket World Cup earlier this year, and never kept her promise.
Jonty joked about it saying, “Let’s hope I get to see Poonam Pandey, but by all accounts she is still in hiding from the Indian cricket team.”
He reportedly also said, “If Mr Tyson (I think that’s what I will call him if I have to share space with him – much safer) and Shakira are in the house, it will be interesting to get their impressions of India, as I don’t think either of them has spent nearly as much time as me in this amazing country.”
He also mentioned that he is keen to see former cricketer Navjot Singh Siddhu’s, who will be joining him on the show. Rhodes is hopeful his time on the show will help him with his Hindi, or as he refers to it, “that stuff”.
He is still in discussions as to how long he will be on the show, which is to start on airing on the 2nd of October, on a channel by the name of Colours.
Whatever that is.
[Source: news24]

Dewani Extradition Confirmed

The extradition from Britain to South Africa of widower and murder suspect, Shrien Dewani, has been confirmed by British authorities.

Dewani now has 14 days to lodge an appeal against the finding.

Should Dewani be refused the right of appeal, he will be passed into the custody of South African authorities, where he will await trial in the Cape High Court for conspiracy to murder his newly-married wife, Anni Dewani.

[Source : EWN]

Lil Wayne and Drake to perform in South Africa in December 2011!!!

Two of the world’s biggest hip hop stars are headed to Mzansi this December 2011 for a serie of concerts!!!

Lil Wayne is bringing his worldwide “I Am Still Music Tour” to South Africa this December.

This Grammy Award-winning, multi-platinum artist will perform in Cape Town on December 7 at the Bellville Velodrome, followed by a performance at the Coca-Cola Dome, Johannesburg on the December 9 and ending in Durban on December 11 2011. Tickets are on sale now at Computicket. Durban venue to be announced soon, watch the press for details.

Meanwhile his protege Drake will also perform in an exclusive and intimate show for a few thousand fans@ the Castle Lite Feel the Beat of Sub-zero experience on 9th of December 2011 and apparently tickets to this event are already sold out. The tickets were released on the morning of 23 September and sold out in less than 5 hours.

As Lil’ Wayne is  performing in Joburg on the same night  Drake would probably make a surprise appearance at his “young money” colleague concert !!! Watch out…

Here’s Weezy SA tour schedule below!!!

Cape Town:

• Wednesday, 7 December 2011, 20h00
• Bellville Velodrome,
• Ticket prices: R 350, R 600

Johannesburg:

• Friday, 9 December 2011, 20h00
• Coca-Cola Dome,
• Ticket prices: R 400, R 600, R 750

Durban:

• Sunday, 11 December 20h00
• Venue, etc to be announced soon.

XXXPOSED!!! Khanyi Mbau Naked Pics Leak online

It was just a matter of time before naked pics of socialite Khanyi Mbau appeared online, since there’s isn’t much to talk about her these days now that troubled and has-been TV presenter Nonhle Thema has stolen all the headlines in SA!!!

Nude pics of the babe surfaced on twitter a few days ago showing Khanyi in all her glory!!!
Words on the street is one of her fame whoring ex-sugar daddies leaked the pics but we wouldn’t be surprised if Khanyi did this herself as she is the biggest attention whore of SA!!!

Enjoy Khanyi Mbau’s Nude pics below!!!

Great Body though!!!

The Quickest Route From OR Tambo To Melrose Arch

Durbanites, Capetonians and Joburgers alike struggle to get around the metropolis of Johannesburg. There are a number of significant shortcuts that can make your life easier, and will allow you to decide where to have that meeting. LikeMelrose Arch, for example. THAT’S where you should have all your future meetings. And I’ll show you how to get from the airport to Melrose Arch with the least amount of traffic. And go!

Choosy Tuesday

Winnie Mandela Gets Top Award – Convicted kidnapper, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela has become the first woman recipient of the National Heritage Council’s Ubuntu Award. The award is given to those who have “contributed selflessly to the benefit of humankind”. [timeslive]

Michael Jackson’s Doctor’s Murder Trial Begins Today - Michael Jackson’s personal physician, Dr Conrad Murray, is to stand trial over the singer’s death. He is charged with involuntary manslaughter. Prosecutors say he caused the pop star’s death by administering a powerful anaesthetic, propofol. [bbc]

Nirvana Baby Turns 20 – The unwitting star of Nirvana’s breakthrough Nevermind album – one that would catapult them to super-stardom – wasn’t old enough to be aware of his role in the birth of grunge music. Spencer Elden, now 20, is still introduced as the ‘Nirvana baby’ two decades after the release of the album and has learned to cope with the extra attention his brush with fame generates. [dailymail]

Buffett’s Berhshire Hathaway To Buyback Shares – Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK/A), which has shunned buybacks for four decades, will repurchase shares for as much as 110 percent of their book value, saying the stock is undervalued after falling 17 percent this year. Berkshire jumped in New York trading. [bloomberg]

Hell’s Angel Leader Dead In Casino Shooting – A Hells Angels leader was shot dead and two members of the rival Vagos motorcycle club were injured, in a shooting at Nevada casino, authorities said. Jeffrey “Jethro” Pettigrew, 51, the president of the San Jose chapter of the Hell’s Angels motorcycle club, was killed at John Ascuaga’s Nugget hotel-casino in Sparks, Nev. late Friday. [abcnews]

London Government Asks Britney To Apologise For Gun Vibe – Britney Spears has drawn ire from British officials after brandishing a fake gun in a music video shoot near London. Local politicians want an apology from the pop star for “promoting gun violence,” reports MTV. In the video for her upcoming single “Criminal,” Spears runs out of a convenience store waving a fake pistol, accompanied by fiance Jason Trawick, who totes a duffel bag. [cnn]

Charges Against Wouter Basson Dropped – Apartheid government chemical and biological warfare chief Dr Wouter Basson has scored another victory when the Health Professions’ Council withdrew two of the six charges of unethical conduct against him. [timeslive]

Paul McCartney’s Ballet Gets Punished - Paul McCartney’s ballet debut writing an orchestral score and tale of love about an ocean dwelling princess received poor, early reviews on Friday that called his music agreeable but the story and staging bland. [reuters]

Doritos Creator Dead – To Be Buried With Chips – Arch West, a former Frito-Lay executive and creator of Doritos, will be buried with the chips that made him famous. During a graveside service scheduled for 10:30 a.m. this Saturday at the Restland Memorial Park, his family has plans to toss Doritos chips in “before they put the dirt over the urn,” West’s daughter Jana Hacker said. [ibtimes]

Mad Men’s Betty Leaves Name Of Father Off Birth Certificate – The January Jones baby daddy mystery continues … because the actress left a blank spot on her son’s birth certificate in the space where she’s supposed to name the father. TMZ obtained the document, filed Friday with the L.A. County Dept. of Public Health, which shows January’s son, Xander Dane Jones, was born on Sept. 13, 2011. [tmz]

Samsung Seeks iPad/iPhone Netherlands Ban – Samsung Electronics has hit Apple with four patent cases in district court in The Hague, Netherlands, demanding a sales ban and a retail recall of all Apple products that use 3G technology. The first hearing in the case is scheduled for Monday. [computerworld]

Why Are R.E.M. Breaking Up? – “It’s not because we have to or we can’t stand each other or we suck,” R.E.M. bassist Mike Mills contends. “We’re happy. But we’re done.” “A wise man once said, ‘The skill in attending a party is knowing when it’s time to leave,’ ” Stipe wrote. “We built something extraordinary together. . . . Now we’re going to walk away from it.” [rollingstone]

New Stelios Airline Sparks Battle With Easyjet – Airline easyJet has come out fighting following news that founder and major shareholder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou is to launch his own airline, Fastjet. Sir Stelios has a 38% stake in easyJet and will net £72m from a special dividend the company agreed to pay following strong pressure from its founder. [digilook]

Brad Pitt Lion King Upset – Brad Pitt has been unable to put the cat out of first place at the weekend box office. Studio estimates Sunday put Walt Disney’s “The Lion King” reissue at No. 1 again with $22.1 million. That puts it just ahead of Pitt’s baseball drama “Moneyball,” a Sony Pictures release that opened at No. 2 with $20.6 million. [huffpo]

Freaky Friday

Kenny Kunene Launches Reality TV Show – There was plenty of sushi – in fact, too much of it – but there were no naked women lying on their backs last night as Kenny Kunene hosted a preview of his reality TV show So What, premiering on e.tv tomorrow night. Wow. This is going to be something to behold. [timeslive]

Facebook Makeover Reveals New Vision For Sharing – Facebook announced a slew of new products at its f8 developer conference in San Francisco on Thursday, aiming to fully integrate users’ lives through a series of major media and lifestyle-centric application integrations with its social network. [wired]

Does Facebook Really Care About You? – “The boardroom discussions at Facebook are not about how to help little Johnny make more and better friendships online; they are about how Facebook can monetize Johnny’s “social graph” — the accumulated data about how Johnny makes friends, shares links and makes consumer decisions.” [cnn]

SA Gets UFO Conference - South Africa will experience its first ever conference on Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) in November. ”Millions of people in SA have had their own personal experience with ETs and UFOs – but most have in the past been too nervous to raise the subject, afraid of ridicule,” conference host Michael Tellinger said on Thursday. [news24]

Elton John Biopic In Development - Elton John may be the next musician to follow Ray Charles, John Lennon and, er, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart into silver-screen immortality. The singer is working with Billy Elliot writer Lee Hall on a musical biopic of his “surreal” life. ”I’d just like to make a really great film about my life story,” John told Chris Evans on BBC Radio 2. [guardian]

Speed Of Light ‘Broken’ By Scientists - The science world was left in shock when workers at the world’s largest physics lab announced they had recorded subatomic particles travelling faster than the speed of light. If the findings are proven to be accurate, they would overturn one of the pillars of the Standard Model of physics, which explains the way the universe and everything within it works. [telegraph]

Avusa’s CEO Desai Cashes In – It was only a matter of hours after the news came that Mvelaphanda’s Mikki Xayiya had officially been appointed as interim non-executive chairman of Avusa, that a SENS announcement revealed that embattled Avusa CEO Prakash Desai was R3,694,752 richer. [dailymav]

Springboks Punish Namibia 87-0 – In a beautiful display of running rugby the Springboks demolished Namibia 87-0 in their Rugby World Cup Group D encounter on Thursday. Twelve tries were run in as Namibia cut the figure of a troop of deer caught in the headlights. [mail&guardian]

Brad Backtracks On Jen Comments Again And Again – Brad Pitt is trying to promote Moneyball, his film coming out tomorrow, but everyone keeps insisting on asking him about his Jennifer Aniston non-slam from last week. The whole thing was made into something it wasn’t by the tabloid press, Pitt tells Matt Lauer. [newser]

No More Last Meal Requests On Death Row - Houston State Senator John Whitmire, who wields great influence on prison issues, says he wants to do away with granting last meal requests for inmates about to be executed. The over-the-top meal of Lawrence Brewer, executed last night for the dragging death of James Byrd, was the last straw. [houstonpress]

Troy Davis’ Last Words: “I Am Innocent” – Strapped to the lethal-injection gurney, Davis lifted his head and looked at the MacPhail family, and said, “The incident that night was not my fault, I did not have a gun. … I did not personally kill your son, father and brother. I am innocent.” He then said for “those about to take my life, may God have mercy on your souls, may God bless your souls.” [ajc]

Family Feud Over Lotto Cash – A lucky Lotto ticket set in motion a train of events that has led to a brother and sister slugging it out in the Port Elizabeth High Court over the R7.5-million win. The dispute relates to a July 2006 lottery windfall, which came into the formerly close-knit Groener family when there were only two winning tickets for the R15-million jackpot. [tlive]

ICASA Conerned SA Not Ready For Digital TV – The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) has recently indicated that South Africa’s switch over to digital terrestrial television (DTT) will be delayed until at least 2013. This is over a year and a half later than cabinet had initially envisaged. [mybb]

U.S Diplomats Walkout On Iran’s Ahmadinejad [Video] - On the day after Iran released two Americans it had held for more than two years on spy charges, U.S. diplomats have walked out of the U.N. General Assembly during a speech by Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. [washpo]

Global Markets Buckle On Fears Of New Financial Meltdown - The strain of deteriorating economic conditions and the failure of governments to contain the damage are raising fears that a new financial market meltdown may be unavoidable. [latimes]

Praying In The Streets Of Paris Is Now Illegal

Starting today, praying in the streets of Paris is against the law. The French interior minister warned that police will use force if anybody disobeys the new rule to keep the French capital’s public spaces secular. However, people have been defying the law all morning.
The undertone of this is that the French are still unhappy with their five million strong Muslim population.
The minister, Claude Guéant, said that the ban could later be extended to the rest of France, in particular to the Mediterranean cities of Nice and Marseilles, where “the problem persists.”
He explained to Le Figaro newspaper:

My vigilance will be unflinching for the law to be applied. Praying in the street is not dignified for religious practice and violates the principles of secularism. All Muslim leaders are in agreement.

He also promised that the new legislation would be strictly adhered to because it “hurts the sensitivities of many of our fellow citizens,” and a countrywide ban may come “within months”, because the “street is for driving in, not praying.”
Yesterday, Mr Guéant claimed the prayer problem was limited to two roads in the Goutte d’Or district of Paris’s eastern 19th arrondissement, where masses of people flow onto the street every Friday because the mosque they attend is too small to accommodate all the worshipers.
For the time being, the premises of a nearby fire station will be used to help alleviate the problem, though, Sheikh Mohamed salah Hamza is not impressed and said, “We are not cattle.”
Reports out of Paris earlier indicated that mosques are still overflowing today.
[Source: Telegraph]

Facebook Employee Accidentally Reveals Upcoming ‘Listen With Friends’ Feature

Look, it’s nice to know Apple isn’t the only company that knows how to create buzz by accidentally leaking information. Ji Lee, Facebook’s creative director, tweeted about Facebook Music, which is set to launch tomorrow. The post was quickly deleted, but not before the Internet had time to get all excited about it.
Granted, Ji Lee only has about 5,000 followers, but you know what the Internet’s like; as soon as he mentioned that. “The “Listen with your friend” feature in ticker is blowing my mind. Listen to what your friends are listening. LIVE,” some kid took  a screenshot and started posting that thing everywhere.
We figure this means that music you’re listening to will pop up on the right-side window of your Facebook screen, and that there’ll be a link that lets your friends listen to the same song at the same time. If that’s what you’re into.
Last.fm won’t be happy.
[Source: TechCrunch]

BREAKING: World Of Avatar Snaps Up MXit

“Going… going… SOLD to the man with the successful start up!”

No, not the Disney-fied Avatar park we reported on yesterday, but another media juggernaut altogether. Stellenbosch-based start-up investment firm, World of Avatar, headed by South African online media up-and-comer, Alan Knott-Craig Jnr, has reportedly bought MXit for an undisclosed amount (that some are speculating could be as much as R500 million).
South African tech-media hawks, Memeburn broke the story this morning, quoting an exclusive interview with MXit’s new big cheese, Knott-Craig Jnr, who will take over from incumbent CEO, Herman Heunis.
To put some scale on the deal, Knott-Craig Jnr clarifies why MXit is no lightweight in South Africa’s social media landscape:

Twitter does 8 billion messages a month, MXit does 22 billion a month. Your average Facebook user spends 15 hours a month on Facebook, your average MXit user spends 45 hours month on MXit, people don’t know this. It is a massively engaged, massively active audience.

Never fear, MXit users, the new boss is not planning any drastic changes to the wildly successful home-grown platform. MXit is available in 128 countries and reports an active population of almost 43 million users, which is a hell of a lot of emoticons.
[Source: Memeburn]

Wild Wednesday

Proof That SA Sold Sniper Rifles To Gaddafi – A document released by Human Rights Watch proves that South African arms manufacturer Truvelo Armoury exported sniper rifles to the Gaddafi regime in 2009, the DA said on Tuesday. ”This provides clear evidence that sniper rifles were exported to Muammar Gaddafi’s regime in Libya,” he said. ”We cannot sit back and allow conventional weapons such as sniper rifles to be exported to rogue regimes.” [news24]

SA Recognises NTC As Libya’s Legitimate Leaders – South Africa joined the African Union in recognising the National Transitional Council as Libya’s de facto government on Tuesday, after its concerns over representation and the safety of African workers were addressed. The move further strips away diplomatic support from ousted Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. [mail&guardian]

Sick Miners Take On Anglo American – South Africa’s highest court on March 3 ruled that ex- miners can seek redress from companies that operated under an apartheid-era system to use cheap black labor in the world’s deepest mines. While the ultimate number of claims and their size is impossible to determine, mining companies may face a liability of as much as $100 billion. [bloomberg]

22 Americans Get $500,000 ‘Genius Grants’ – Twenty-two Americans ranging from a radio journalist to a sports trainer received no-strings-attached “genius” grants worth $500,000 each, a charitable foundation announced on Tuesday. Hating that! [reuters]

Facebook To Launch New Buttons – Kids, keep writing your letters to Santa, because you won’t be getting that Dislike button from Facebook anytime soon. You can, however, look forward to a handful of new buttons rolling out at Facebook’s f8 developers’ conference this week, according to TechCrunch sources. Read, Listened and watched.. [msnbc]

Is Nicolas Cage A Vampire From The 1800′s? [Photo]- Nicolas Cage is a vampire, according to one eBay user who attempted to sell a photo from the 1800′s of a man with an uncanny resemblance to Cage. The photo was listed on eBay, though the link has been removed, for a whopping $1 million, sold by Jack Mord from Seattle-based Thanatos Archive. According to Mord, the photo, taken in 1870, is definitely Nicolas Cage. [ibtimes]

West Hollywood First In US To Ban Fur Sales – The city of West Hollywood has approved a ban on the sale of fur clothing, making it the first fur-free city in the nation. City Council unanimously approved the ban after a late-night meeting Monday. Animal rights activists argued for the ban, saying animals are being used solely for profit and vanity. [ktla]

Google+ Public Launch Takes Battle To Facebook And Twitter – Google has opened its ambitious social networking site Google+ to the public, having attracted more than 20 million users for aits 12-week invitation-only trial. The public launch marks a significant moment in the search giant’s challenge to Facebook and Twitter. [guardian]

Buzz Aldrin Sex Scandal – 81-year-old former astronaut and Dancing with the Stars geezer Buzz Aldrin is having a sex scandal. After 23 years of marriage, he left third wife Lois Driggs Cannon to be with 51-year-old marketer Michelle Sucillon, whom he met while signing books. Though not yet divorced, Buzz and Michelle have reportedly been “making out like teenagers” in public. [gawker]

Gangs Dump 35 Bodies In Mexico – The bodies of at least 35 members of “a criminal organization” have been found in two trucks in Veracruz, eastern Mexico, most of whom had convictions, justice officials said. The cadavers were located inside trucks at an underpass and that those so far identified had criminal records for murder, kidnapping and drug-peddling. [afp]

US Assembling Secret Drone Bases In Africa – The Obama administration is assembling a constellation of secret drone bases for counterterrorism operations in the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula as part of a newly aggressive campaign to attack al-Qaeda affiliates in Somalia and Yemen, U.S. officials said. [washpo]

1 000 Israelis Pose Naked In Dead Sea

As you know, two naked people together in a photograph (okay, sometimes three or four) is called pornography. But 1 000 naked people snapped together equates to “art”. And Spencer Tunick has made an entire career out of doing just that. His latest picture feature 1 000 naked Israelis posing in the Dead Sea – the ocean where everything floats…

It was his first Middle East mass shoot and Israeli tourism officials hope the project will help draw attention to the Dead Sea in a competition to find the new Seven Wonders of the World. The Dead Sea is competing against 27 other natural sites around the world (including Table Mountain) in the finals of the New7Wonders of Nature online global campaign after beating 440 other nominees.

[Source: Independent]

Tuesday Treats

James Murdoch To Pay Milly’s Family Millions – James Murdoch, the chairman of News International, has reportedly agreed to cough up about £3-million ($4.7-million) in damages to the family of Milly Dowler, the 13-year-old English murder victim whose phone and voicemails were hacked by reporters of the now-defunct News of the World tabloid. [ibtimes]

Avusa Chair And Directors Quit - The annual meeting of media group Avusa was marked by the surprise resignation of its chairperson, advocate Dumisa Ntsebeza and two other directors on Monday. Two non-executive independent directors, Tom Wixley and Babalwa Ngonyama also resigned. [news24]

Sarah Ferguson Is Moving To LA - Sarah Ferguson is moving permanently to Los Angeles. The ex wife of Britain’s Prince Andrew has told friends she is sick of how she is portrayed in Britain and is hoping for a fresh start in America, where she believes she isn’t judged for her past transgressions, including her attempt to sell access to her former spouse for cash. [femalefirst]

Loeries: Stop Me If You’ve Seen This One Before - “The weekend has come and gone down here in the fairest of Capes and the terrified people of Cape Town are slowly emerging from hiding in the tentative hope that they are finally safe from the orgiastic deluge of booze, cocaine and backslapping that was the 2011 Loerie Awards” – Rob Van Vuuren gets a few things off his chest..[mail&guardian]

Apple Stocks Hit Highest Level Ever - Apple Inc. stock reached its highest level ever Monday, hitting $413.23 in intraday trading even as the broader market declined. That price was 3.2 percent higher than Friday’s close and brought the company’s market capitalization to $383 billion, albeit briefly. [smh]

S&P Reduces Italy’s Rating – Italy has had its sovereign debt rating cut by Standard & Poor’s, the latest move in a deepening European debt crisis. S&P cut its rating one level to A/A-1 from A+/A-1+, adding that the outlook for the country was “negative”. It cited fears over Italy’s ability to cut state spending and bring its finances in order. [bbc]

Virgin Galactic Space Launch Within 12 Months – British business magnate Richard Branson hopes to launch a vessel into space within the next 12 months, kicking off an era of commercial space travel. “The mother ship is finished… The rocket tests are going extremely well, and so I think that we’re now on track for a launch within 12 months of today.” [luxuo]

Australian Foreign Minister In Sandwich Spread Drama – Kevin Rudd, the Australian foreign minister, has been forced use all of his powers of diplomacy to convince dubious members of the US Customs service to allow him to take a jar of Vegemite, his nation’s favourite spread, onto a plane. [telegraph]

“Party Rock Anthem” North Korea Edition – YouTube user error606 uploaded a mash-up on Friday, titled “North Korea Party Rock Anthem ft. Kim John II,” that puts the official song of the summer in a crazy new light. The video matches up LMFAO’s “Party Rock Anthem” with scenes from military parades in North Korea, bringing house beats and militarized marching together like never before. [huffpo]

Whites Love Mandela More Than Jesus - Controversial anti-apartheid activist Dr Allan Boesak has accused white South Africans of loving Nelson Mandela more than Jesus because, according to him, even Jesus took a stronger stance on social justice than the former president. “Jesus was far too radical and Mandela didn’t want to go that far because he understood our people in this country,” said Boesak yesterday. [timeslive]

Pressure On Info Bill Is Working – The delay of Parliament’s vote on the Protection of State Information Bill proves that pressure on the government is working, the National Press Club said on Tuesday. “We remain of the view that the Bill is unconstitutional. All clauses that infringe on our rights need to be withdrawn,” club chairman Yusuf Abramjee said in a statement. [timeslive]

Drones Of The Future Will Have Automated Killing – One afternoon last fall at Fort Benning, Ga., two model-size planes took off, climbed to 800 and 1,000 feet, and began criss-crossing the military base in search of an orange, green and blue tarp. The automated, unpiloted planes worked on their own, with no human guidance, no hand on any control. [washpo]