Chairperson of the Nkandla ad hoc committee Cedrick Frolick has acknowledged that the much talked about "firepool" at President Jacob Zuma's Nkandla home is also a recreational facility. He made the remark after inspecting Zuma's private home. He quickly added that it could also be utilised to fight fires. Government has been at pains to explain why the firepool should be seen as a security feature meant to extinguish fires. Frolick has described today's visit by parliamentarians to Nkandla as an eye opener, which confirms that there was a gross inflation of prices in the construction of buildings at Nkandla.

A national flag bearing the colours blue, white and red will be raised in Washington later today and it's not the American flag. Cuba's 'standard' will for the first time in 54 years again fly outside the country's stately embassy in the U.S. capital to formally reflect the re-establishment of diplomatic ties between Havana and Washington. Some 500 guests including South Africa's Ambassador have been invited to Monday's event that will be followed by a historic joint press conference between the countries' two chief diplomats at the State Department. Sherwin Bryce-Pease is in Washington for the historic moment,

It's all systems go for tomorrow's controversial presidential elections in Burundi. Opposition politicians have accused President Pierre Nkurunziza of violating the constitution by running for a third term and are boycotting the vote. Last minute peace talks called to solve Burundi's political crisis were derailed yesterday following a boycott by the Burundi government. Dozens of people have already died in protests.

The Railway Safety Regulator has just released its preliminary report into Friday's train accident in Booysens this afternoon. About 200 people were injured in that crash. The regulator has raised concern about the lack of maintance of ageing equipment. Metrorail is also expected to release details about it's investigation into the accident.

The City of Johannesburg's Emergency Services says striking fire-fighters are not affecting their services. The fire-fighters have vowed to continue clocking in at 8am and knocking off at 4pm, leaving stations understaffed for three hours until management takes their overtime grievances seriously. Joburg EMS's spokesperson, Robert Mulaudzi, says they are using reservists to cover the three hours per day during which their fire-fighters are striking.

Protesting residents of Vuwani in Limpopo have handed a memorandum of their demands to the MEC for Health Dr Phophi Ramathuba in the area today. Ramathuba received the memorandum on behalf of premier Stan Mathabatha. Residents blockaded main roads demanding that the Municipal Demarcation Board reverse its decision to merge their area with Malamulele to form a new municipality.Ramathuba promised that she will deliver the petition to Mathabatha and the demarcation board.

In our Arts and Culture section this week.....Number 43, Trelawney Park, a modest house in a suburb of Manzini, Swaziland, was for many years a vital base of operations for the ANC. Told in the first person, Elias Masilela's book puts a tragic, and in some ways nostalgic, human face life in exile during the apartheid years. The book tells the stories of the ANC and PAC cadres who passed through Number 43, revealing their hopes and fears, and highlighting the high price that was paid for liberation.Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to the Author, Elias Masilela and started by asking how the conception of the project came about..

Numsa says Cosatu unions opposed to the expulsion of Numsa and former general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi are meeting today to chart a way forward after suffering massive losses at the Cosatu special national congress currently underway in Midrand, north of Johannesburg. They failed to push for the agenda of congress to include debate on the expulsions

Negotiations are continuing between the embassies of South Africa and Britain and Chinese authorities over the arrests of 20 people - ten of them South Africans - in Inner Mongolia. Chinese authorities have accused them of having links to a terror organisation, but have since released eleven people. Five South Africans remain under arrest. According to the Gift of the Givers group the group was on a 47-day tour of ancient China when they were arrested.

COSATU president Sdumo Dlamini says expelled affiliate NUMSA wants to destroy the federation. Dlamini called on affiliates supporting NUMSA to come back to the Central Executive Committee - they have been boycotting since NUMSA was booted out in November last year. But disgruntled unions also hit back during the open debate