March 19, 2013.
From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Motshabi Hoaeane.
Making headlines:

Congress of the People MP Juli Killian says the situation at the SABC is a disgrace.

Health agencies warn of a global multi drug-resistant TB threat as well as a funding gap.

And, Zimbabwean police defy a high court order to free a prominent human rights lawyer.

Congress of the People MP Juli Killian said on Monday that Communications Minister Dina Pule and Parliament's communications portfolio committee had contributed to problems at the SABC.

She said the mere fact that the committee wasn’t willing to intervene earlier and ensure that serious corporate governance transgressions were corrected, made the committee guilty of dereliction of duty.

In a news briefing, communications portfolio committee chairperson Sikhumbuzo Kholwane announced the likelihood that the SABC board would be dissolved and an interim five-member board would be appointed.

This follows the resignations of board chair Ben Ngubane and his deputy Thami ka Plaatjie, followed by another six resignations over the weekend. The board now consists of only three non-executive members, meaning it won’t be able to meet and approve key decisions at the broadcaster because it can’t muster a quorum. Minister Pule is expected to brief the committee on the matter on today.

Global health officials said on Monday that deadly strains of tuberculosis that are resistant to multiple drugs are spreading around the world, with authorities urgently needing another $1.6-billion a year to tackle them.

The World Health Organisation (or WHO) and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria said in a joint statement that donors should step up with "significant funding" to help experts track down all existing cases and treat the most serious ones.

TB is often seen as a disease of the past; however, the emergence of strains that can’t be treated by various drugs has turned it into one of the world's most pressing health problems over the past decade.

In 2011, 8.7-million people fell ill with TB and 1.4-million died of the disease. The WHO says as many as 2-million people may be suffering from drug-resistant strains by 2015.

Zimbabwean police have defied a high court order to release a prominent human rights lawyer arrested in a weekend raid, fanning fears of a crackdown on activists ahead of elections this year.

Police arrested Beatrice Mtetwa and four officials from Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change in one of the party's offices in the capital Harare on Sunday.

Local media reported that Mtetwa was charged with "obstructing the course of justice," and the MDC members were charged with "impersonating police."

It wasn’t immediately clear why the MDC officials were believed to have posed as members of the state security force and police didn’t respond to repeated requests for comment on Monday.

Tsvangirai hasn’t commented on the detentions yet, but they will likely put more strain on his fragile power-sharing agreement with President Robert Mugabe.

Also making headlines: 

The African National Congress has dissolved its Limpopo provincial leadership and the ANC Youth League’s National Executive Committee.

Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe reaffirms South Africa's "right to research, develop and use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes"

And, a report by the New Partnership for Africa’s Development energy programme says Africa needs at least $40bn/y to meet future power demand in the African power sector.

That's a roundup of news making headlines today.