Update@Noon

Fadiel Adams, leader of the National Coloured Congress and MP, says he needed the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption to succeed. Adams told the Madlanga Commission he did not initially view a late-night visit to his home as seriously improper. He says officials wanted his affidavits changed. Adams admits he was willing to overlook some concerns to help secure cases before court, but says he later raised the matter.

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has formally withdrawn fraud and corruption charges against Crime Intelligence head Dumisani Khumalo, Brigadier Dineo Mokwele and five others in the Pretoria Magistrates’ Court. The group was arrested in June last year and charged over the alleged irregular appointment of Mokwele. The decision to withdraw the charges follows evidence and developments before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry that appeared to undermine the State’s case. Kaizer Kganyago is  NPA's National Spokesperson

Fadiel Adams, leader of the National Coloured Congress and an MP, has denied lying to investigators about when he reported matters to Parliament. Adams told the Madlanga Commission that he gave IDAC incorrect information because he struggles to remember dates and timelines. He also said he was frustrated that issues raised with Parliament often appeared to go nowhere. 

Fadiel Adams, leader of the National Coloured Congress and an MP, testifying before the Madlanga Commission says he became aware that the Inspector-General of Intelligence was investigating into Crime Intelligence because he was the complainant. Adams says he repeatedly sought updates and requested a copy of the completed report, but was refused. He says he then approached the Police Minister, asking that the report be brought before Parliament's Police Portfolio Committee, but received no response. Adams told the commission this silence made him suspect a cover-up.

Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson says investigations into several building collapses have uncovered unlawful construction, inadequate supervision, missing approvals, and weaknesses in municipal inspection and enforcement. He says the circumstances differed in each case. Seventeen people died and 24 were injured in building collapses between December last year and March this year. Macpherson has released the findings of investigations into the collapses in Verulam in KwaZulu-Natal, Doornkop in Soweto, Ormonde in Johannesburg, and Sea Point in Cape Town. Thato Letsaba reports.

A large group of Cape Peninsula University of Technology students staged a sit-in in front of the university's administration building, at the Bellville main campus in Cape Town. Earlier, university management gave the students a deadline of 4pm on Wednesday to vacate the university residences across all campuses, citing safety concerns. However, the students decided not to vacate, saying there was no consultation with them or the majority, who live outside of the Western Cape. 
The students say they don't have transport money to go home as they are NSFAS dependent. 
Our reporter, Yonda Magubudela has the details.... 

Some members of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) are calling for a forensic investigation into the Rustenburg Rapid Transport project in the North West, to probe corruption and malfeasance. They say making available additional funding to complete the project is a waste of taxpayers' money. This comes after the Rustenburg Local Municipality indicated that they have requested more funding from the Department of Transport to complete the project. Over three billion rand has been used already.  Members of the NCOP undertook oversight visits to key public infrastructure and service delivery projects in the Rustenburg area. Zebilon Maine reports. . .

The race to choose the next United Nations Secretary-General moves into another important phase tomorrow (Friday 21 August), when the Security Council holds its second informal straw poll. Eight candidates are now competing to succeed António Guterres, whose second term ends in December. The field has grown since the first poll at the end of July with the two latest entrants — Ugandan diplomat Olara Otunnu and Ecuadorian diplomat Ivonne A-Baki - having spent the past two days making their case to UN member states. Sherwin Bryce-Pease has this update for us.

President Cyril Ramaphosa says phase three of the Government-Business Partnership will focus on advancing economic growth to reach three percent, while aiming to create one million jobs by 2030. Addressing delegates in Sandton, the president underscored the success of the collaboration, which has resulted in the elimination of load-shedding, improved the logistics system and the country's removal from the Financial Action Task Forces' greylist, among others. Naledi Mabitsela-Ngcobo filed this report...

Western Cape serious violent crime detectives have launched a manhunt for gunman following a shooting that left two men dead in Knysna. Police say the victims, aged 47 and 48, were in a vehicle in Bongani at around nine last night when they came under fire. Detectives investigating another shooting involving a councillor on Wednesday have been reinforced. Police are probing whether the incidents are linked, while no arrests have been made.  Brigadier Novela Potelwa is Western Cape police spokesperson