Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan is expected to present his mid-term budget statement in the wake of declining government revenue and a pending court battle by the hawks. The finance minister is under pressure to walk a tight rope and demonstrate that government has been able to contain spending. Investors and rating agencies will also be keeping a close eye on his statement. Amina Accram reports ......

Police have opened a case of public violence after five vehicles were set alight at the Bellville campus of the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. No one was injured during the fires and police say no one has been arrested as yet. The owner of one of the vehicles says he suspects a third force involvement in the incident. Mlamli Maneli reports...

Two people have been killed in gang related violence in the townships of eTwatwa and Daveyton on Gauteng's East Rand. Community members says groups of young men believed to be linked to gangsters have been on a rampage without any police intervention. We caught up with two community members for more details, (Thamba and Castro)

DA Chief Whip John Steenhuisen has challenged ANC Chief Whip Jackson Mthembu and those ministers who are allegedly unhappy about the current state of the ANC, to support the DA's motion to remove President Jacob Zuma from office. This comes after Mthembu called on ANC NEC members to resign. Our Parliamentary Correspondent Mercedes Besent tells us more..........

The ANC says Party Chief Whip Jackson Mthembu will not be removed from his position despite calls that he be axed. This follows Mthembu's calls for the entire ANC's National Executive Committee to step down. Mthembu says the party's leadership has messed up and should therefore take a collective fall and its reduced support in the August local elections was proof of this. Mthembu is also concerned about the pending fraud prosecution of Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan which seems to be dividing the ANC. Senior Political Reporter Busi Chimombe reports...

The Helen Suzman Foundation and Freedom Under Law have filled an urgent application to have the recent criminal charges against Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan set aside. In a joint statement the two organisations say they have asked prosecuting boss Shaun Abrahams to give more information about the charges or to withdraw them voluntarily but he has failed to do so. The NPA has charged Gordhan and two former SARS officials for fraud. We are now joined on the line by legal researcher at the Helen Suzman Foundation, Piet Olivier

The ANC says Party Chief Whip Jackson Mthembu will not be removed from his position despite calls that he be axed. This follows Mthembu's calls for the entire ANC's National Executive Committee to step down. Mthembu says the party's leadership has messed up and should therefore take a collective fall and its reduced support in the August local elections was proof of this. Mthembu is also concerned about the pending fraud prosecution of Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan which seems to be dividing the ANC. Political Analyst Ebrahim Fakir says on the other hand says, what Mthembu is calling for has nothing to do with the ANC as a party, but ANC as government....

The controversial Annual National Assessment (ANA) which the teacher's union SADTU has been fighting against has been cancelled. The Union says although it is pleased that the ANA will be replaced by a new systematic assessment, there are other outstanding issues that still need to be ironed out. We caught up with both the General Secretary of SADTU, Mugwena Maluleke and Basic education spokesperson, Elijah Mhlanga....

The newly-appointed public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane says she is not in competition with her predecessor, Thuli Madonsela. This is in the wake of Mkhwebane's perceived public attacks on Madonsela during Wednesday's briefing in parliament when she was presenting her office's 2015/16 annual report. The report reveals donations from foreign NGOs to Madonsela's office which some MPs have perceived as controversial. Senior political journalist Amos Phago compiled this report.

Former Public Protector, Thuli Madonsela, has clarified issues around the use of consultants and accepting donor funding. This comes after her successor, Busisiwe Mkhwebane, said she would change the way things are done during her time in office. She told Parliament's Justice committee that she would not source donor funding to protect the sovereignty of the office and they would use little or no consultants. Zalene Merrington reports..