In a daring prison break that shocked the nation, a convicted rapist who faked his own death is the target of a manhunt launched by police in South Africa, according to reports.
In May, Thabo Bester allegedly set himself on fire in a privately run prison in Bloemfontein, South Africa, according to authorities. However, at the weekend, police claimed DNA tests proved the charred remains found in the serial rapist’s cell belonged to someone else.
“At this point, our priority is to find this fugitive of justice and establish exactly how he faked his death,” police spokeswoman Athlenda Mathe told reporters on Monday.
Called the “Facebook rapist”, Bester allegedly lured victims on the social media platform before raping and robbing them. At least one victim was killed. In 2012, he was sentenced to life in prison for rape, robbery and murder.
On Sunday, police said an autopsy revealed the person found dead in Bester’s cell had died from blunt force trauma to the head before being set ablaze. A murder investigation has been opened.
The case has sparked outrage in South Africa, where women’s rights groups have long accused the government of not doing enough to tackle violence against women.
“The unfolding of this story has been like a movie and sent shivers down everyone’s spines. … I can imagine what it did to the victims,” said Bafana Khumalo, co-director of the NGO Sonke Gender Justice.
From October to December, police recorded more than 12,000 rapes across the country.
Doubts about Bester’s death were first raised by local media outlet GroundUp in November.
Photographs purportedly showing the convict grocery shopping in an affluent Johannesburg suburb have since surfaced. Some women have also come forward alleging the convict made contact with them on social media.
Before his escape, Bester also reportedly ran a scam media business from inside prison using a false name.
According to local outlet News24, he posed as head of 21st Century Media, a phantom event and production company that was a supposed subsidiary of the American company 21st Century Fox.
The media company promoted a 2018 event that advertised Hollywood superstars but turned out to be a scam, the paper said. A video of Bester addressing a company event via video call from behind bars while pretending to be in New York has gone viral.
“The escape of Bester … is testament to the incompetence of the Correctional Services system, and the endemic corruption in the sector,” the leftist Economic Freedom Fighters opposition party said in a statement.
Police have appealed to the public for any information relevant to the case.
“We want to find people who are directly involved in this matter as well as his accomplices,” Mathe said.
After the gunpoint robbery of his £70,000 watch, Amir Khan worried that his kids would grow up “without their dad.”
On April 18, 2017, the 36-year-old former world boxing champion and his wife Faryal Makhdoom, 31, were being followed as they left the Sahara Grill restaurant in Leyton, east London.
A court heard gunman Dante Campbell, 20, forced Khan to hand over his bespoke, rose gold, diamond-encrusted Franck Muller watch – a gift to him following a boxing match that was worth between £60,000 to £70,000.
Khan, a silver medallist at the 2004 Olympics, previously told the court the robber pointed a gun in his face and said: ‘Take off the watch.’
The Bolton-born boxer, who retired last year with a record of 34 wins from 40 fights, has now opened up about the ordeal.
‘In that moment, you think the worst … that the kids could be growing up without their dad, that Faryal would be raising them on her own,’ he told the Sun.
‘Your life flashes before your eyes. I leant my head to the right because I thought, if he is going to shoot me, he can shoot the side of my head. I don’t want to see the bullet coming.’
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Khan, who has been confirmed for the upcoming I’m A Celebrity in South Africa, added: ‘It was the first time I’ve ever seen a gun in my life. I could see down the barrel.
‘I remember looking back seeing where my wife was. She ran back on the road and screamed “help!”
Khan admitted that people told him he should have used his fighting skills against them.
But he said: ‘Are they stupid? I’ve got a family. It’s only a watch. My life means more to me.’
Campbell, of Hornsey, and getaway driver Ahmed Bana, 25, of Tottenham, both in north London, admitted conspiracy to commit robbery and possession of an imitation firearm during a trial.
They will be sentenced on a date to be fixed.
Ismail Mohamed, 24, of Edmonton, and Nurul Amin, 25, of Harringay, both in north London, were unanimously acquitted by a jury of conspiracy to rob Mr Khan.
Prosecutors had claimed Mohamed and Amin acted as ‘spotters’, dining in the restaurant to keep track of Khan’s movements and relay them by phone to Bana.
The Mission has also advised the Ghanaian Community to restrict their movements only to safe areas.
This directive is based on the Economic Freedom Fighters’ (EFF) nationwide protest.
The Commission in a circular said even inasmuch as the organisers have promised a peaceful event, previous ones have been violent.
“The Ghana High Commission in Pretoria presents its compliments to Ghanaians living in South Africa and wishes to advise that the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), a political party, has planned a ‘national shutdown’ scheduled for March 20, 2023”.
“While, the organisers have expressed their wish for a peaceful event, previous protests and demonstrations have had violent incidents.”
The Mission would, thus, like to advise members of the Ghanaian community to be vigilant to any such incidents, restrict their movements to safe areas, avoid mass gatherings and contact the police for assistance when required,” excerpts of the circular said.
Below is the full statement:
South Africans are anxiously expecting the outcome of the “national shutdown” today.
The radical opposition Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party, wants the country to come to a standstill due to a number of grievances.
Julius Malema, leader of the EFF, the third-largest party in Parliament, said South Africans are tired of rolling power cuts being implemented daily, corruption and unemployment among other issues.
TimesLIVE reported that sixty-year-old Judas Chiloane, a traffic chief, was allegedly gunned in the back seat of his Ford Ranger bakkie twice while his lover was unharmed.
The South African Police Service (SAPS) has confirmed the report and revealed two arrests have been made in connection with the murder.
The police spokesperson said “The two men told us that they would normally go to the spot [where Chiloane was shot dead] to rob couples who use the area to engage in sex in their cars.”
Sekgotodi added that the two suspected robbers ambushed Chiloane and his side chick and snatched away his gun before firing shots at his thigh and upper body.
The lady sought help, and when the police came, they declared their colleague dead at the scene.
A source in the police force revealed to TimesLIVE that Chiloane was found with no clothes, and his uniform was on the ground.
“They shot him in the leg. He tried [to] escape to the driver’s side, and he was shot again … The officer tried to speed off for about 124m but succumbed due to injuries sustained. It seemed like the suspect took his firearm and other items and [fled].”
Judas Chiloane’s brother Richard said they do not know this side chick he was with when he was murdered:
“We do not know that lady, I haven’t even seen her. What we know is that my brother was a good man who loved his family and was also a member of the Zion Christian Church (ZCC). He did not drink or was involved in anything wrong.”
He admitted that the father-of-three might have had lovers on the side, but the family only knew his live-in girlfriend.
South African security forces have said that 87 people had been arrested in the last 12 hours across the country over public violence ahead of planned protests by the Marxist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party.
The EFF has called for a national shutdown to protest crippling power cuts and demand the resignation of President Cyril Ramaphosa.
The party is demanding that President Cyril Ramaphosa step down because he is allegedly not running the country properly.
“On the 20th of March, we have to shut down this country to show the whole world that we are concerned about the state of affairs. We can’t fold our arms,” Julius Malema, leader of the EFF, said in a video message on the weekend.
He said the shutdown could be the beginning of an unstoppable revolution. The party has requested non-essential workers to remain home or join the protest.
The party’s main constituency are the poor and working class Black South Africans who feel left out of the country’s prosperity since the governing African National Congress (ANC) ended white minority rule in 1994.
Ramaphosa warned Thursday that the EFF’s planned protests were not a mere shutdown but an attempt to overthrow the government.
Of the eighty-seven arrested, 41 were in Gauteng, the province which includes the capital Pretoria and the main city Johannesburg, 29 in were in North West province, and 15 in Free State, National intelligence body NatJOINTS said in a statement, adding that there has been arrests in other provinces such as Mpumalanga and the Eastern Cape.
Parliament said in a statement on Sunday that the South African military would deploy 3,474 troops for a month until April 17 to prevent and combat crime in cooperation with the police.
“Law enforcement officers are on high alert and will continue to prevent and combat any acts of criminality,” NatJOINTS said.
No matter who you are, you cannot protect yourself from Hugo Broos’ criticism. This time, the Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder, Andile Jali, was the target of the Belgian coach of Bafana Bafana’scriticism.
Regarding the claims that he recently showed up to a practise drunk, he said to the Sunday World: “We have to improve, there are a lot of things that are still not professional – I was frustrated when I heard that a player like Andile Jali, who has to show the young players what and how to do things, was alleged to have arrived at the club training session drunk – come on.”
Broos was steadfast in his refusal to heed the clamour for Jali to be chosen for the national team based on his performances in the 2021–2022 Premier Soccer League season.
Chiefs and Pirates are criticised by Broos It goes without saying that Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates are currently subpar teams.
This is as Mamelodi Sundowns tightens its stranglehold on football in South Africa. Bafana Bafana coach, Hugo Broos has expressed his annoyance with the Soweto giants for their slide into near irrelevance, suggesting that it was undermining the national team’s ambition to return to the top.
Broos lays into Chiefs and Pirates
It is no secret that Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates are mediocre outfits at the moment. This is as Mamelodi Sundowns tightens its stranglehold on football in South Africa. Bafana Bafana coach, Hugo Broos has expressed his annoyance with the Soweto giants for their slide into near irrelevance, suggesting that it was undermining the national team’s ambition to return to the top.
Why Mudau slapped Motlohi
It remains the slap that was heard around South Africa and its impact still reverberates today. Mamelodi Sundowns legend Daniel ‘Mambush’ Mudau assaulted teammate Charles Motlohi following another crushing final defeat to Kaizer Chiefs, this time in the 2001 BP Top Eight decider. Former footballer Sipho Nunens has revealed what truly happened on that infamous day, according to The Citizen.
As the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) prepare to hold a nationwide protest, the Ghana High Commission in South Africahas urged members of the Ghanaian community to exercise caution and limit their movements.
In a circular, the High Commission warned Ghanaians to avoid mass gatherings and contact the police for assistance when required.
The High Commissionalso encouraged members of the Ghanaian community to contact the Mission in case of emergency or any occurrences that affect them directly.
South Africans are nervously awaiting a “national shutdown” Monday announced by the radical opposition Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party, which wants the country to come to a standstill due to a number of grievances.
Julius Malema, leader of the EFF, the third-largest party in Parliament, said South Africans are tired of rolling power cuts being implemented daily, corruption and unemployment among other issues.
The party is demanding that President Cyril Ramaphosa steps down because he is allegedly not running the country properly.
“On the 20th of March, we have to shut down this country to show the whole world that we are concerned about the state of affairs. We can’t fold our arms,” Malema said in a video message on the weekend.
He said the shutdown could be the beginning of an unstoppable revolution. The party has requested non-essential workers to remain home or join the protest.
Ramaphosa warned Thursday that the EFF’s planned protests were not a mere shutdown but an attempt to overthrow the government.
On Sunday, he informed parliament that 3,474 members of the South African National Defense Force have been deployed to support the police in the prevention and combating of crime and preservation of law and order.
South African police have taken down a video from Twitter that appears to urge violence against people who choose not to participate in protest marches planned for March 20.
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), an opposition party, have organized statewide marches to protest the nation’s electricity shortage and have demanded that President Cyril Ramaphosa step down.
The Film and Publication Board (FPB) issued a statement in which it said that the video warns that teachers, police officers, and students who are wearing school uniforms during the protests will all be physically assaulted.
The video was posted by a person claiming to be a member of EFF, it said.
“Internally, the FPB shall monitor the take-down by Twitter to ensure that no further dissemination or distribution by the public occurs,” the board said.
Members of the public have been advised not to share, re-post or distribute the said video and offenders could face prosecution for disseminating or distributing prohibited content.
Police have said they will be on high alert to avert any violence as the Julius Malema-led EFF party vowed to “shut down” the entire country on Monday.
Mr Malema insists the protests are not illegal and has warned that anyone who attempts to stop them would “meet their maker”, News24 reported.
South African Rapper, Costa Titch, who passed away over the weekend after collapsing while playing at a music festival in Johannesburg, continues to be remembered by South Africans.
The musician, Constantinos Tsobanoglou, was 28 years old. His family announced his passing on Instagram.
The rapper collapses twice on camera before falling off the stage, according to social media footage. Whether he passed away on stage or in a hospital is the subject of different claim
“It is with deep pain that we find ourselves having to acknowledge his passing at this time,” his family said.
“We are thankful for those emergency responders and all those present in his last hours.”
It did not not mention the cause of death
Costa Titch’s song Big Flexa made him a star across the continent.
His death comes a month after another popular South African rapper AKA was assassinated.
Police said the gunman had approached AKA from behind and shot him at close range in the side of the head.
South Africa, ranked as one of Africa’s “Big 5” wealth markets alongside Egypt, Nigeria, Morocco, and Kenya, collectively holds more than one half of the continent’s total wealth.
With a total private wealth exceeding $650 billion, South Africa maintains its position as Africa’s largest wealth market and most industrialized economy.
Many individuals within the country have seized the opportunities within and outside its economy to create wealth for themselves while simultaneously contributing value to society.
Johann Rupert is a prime example.
As a prominent luxury mogul and billionaire businessman, he holds the notable distinction of being South Africa’s wealthiest individual, and the second-richest man in all of Africa.
This is largely attributed to his diverse business interests, spanning from luxury ventures in Switzerland under Richemont, to private investments in South Africa through Remgro Limited.
With numerous other ultra-wealthy individuals vying for a spot on the coveted richest list, it has become increasingly crucial to keep an eye on the top seven wealthiest South African billionaires and track the growth of their fortunes since the beginning of the year.
This is especially vital as global equities undergo a rebound after a lackluster performance in 2022.
#1 Johann Rupert
Net worth: $12 billion
Source: Diversified
Johann Rupert is South Africa’s wealthiest man, with a net worth of $12 billion stemming from his investments in luxury goods companies Compagnie Financiere Richemont, Reinet Investments, and Remgro, a South Africa-based investment vehicle.
His net worth has risen by $1.04 billion from $10.9 billion at the start of the year to $12 billion due to the performance of his 9.14 percent stake in Richemont, a Swiss luxury goods company with a diverse portfolio of premium brands including Chloe, Dunhill, Alaa, Cartier, and Delvaux.
#2 Nicky Oppenheimer
Net worth: $8.5 billion
Source: Diversified
Nicky Oppenheimer is the second-richest South African billionaire and the third-richest billionaire in Africa, with a net worth estimated to be around $8.5 billion.
His fortune is held in private equity investments in Africa, Asia, the United States, and Europe through the London-based Stockdale Street and Johannesburg-based Tana Africa Capital.
In 2012, the billionaire sold his family’s 40-percent interest in De Beers to Anglo-American for $5.2 billion in cash, bringing his family’s 80-year ownership to an end.
Since the start of 2023, Oppenheimer’s net worth has increased by $475 million.
#3 Patrick Soon-Shiong
Net worth: $8.5 billion
Source: Healthcare
Patrick Soon-Shiong, the Chinese-South African transplant surgeon, bioscientist, and biopharma billionaire, is the 24th richest person in the world, with a reported net worth of $8.81 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
He became a billionaire through his development of the cancer treatment Abraxane and the subsequent sale of his pharmaceutical companies, APP Pharmaceuticals, and Abraxis BioScience, for a combined $7.5 billion.
He now holds a 76-percent stake in late-stage immunotherapy firm ImmunityBio, which has contributed an additional $811 million to his net worth.
#4 Patrice Motsepe
Net worth: $2.8 billion
Source: Mining, Investments
Patrice Motsepe, a South African billionaire mining tycoon and the founder of African Rainbow Minerals (ARM), is one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the country.
Established in 1997 as South Africa’s first Black-owned mining corporation, ARM has extensive holdings in iron, coal, copper, gold, platinum, and other precious metal mines.
Motsepe’s current ownership of ARM stands at 39.7 percent, and the company is now worth more than $1.3 billion.
Despite his net worth declining by $400 million since the start of 2023, from $3.2 billion to $2.8 billion, Motsepe continues to be a powerful force in the African mining industry.
#5 Koos Bekker
Net worth: $2.4 billion
Source: Media, Investments
Koos Bekker, a renowned entrepreneur whose smart investments and business acumen have propelled the success of companies like Naspers, a multinational holding company based in Cape Town, and Amsterdam-based Prosus N.V., an investment group, has established himself as one of Africa’s wealthiest individuals.
His impressive net worth of $2.4 billion is derived mainly from his stakes in Naspers (0.96 percent) and Prosus NV (0.89 percent), with his shareholding in Naspers alone being worth R13.53 billion ($740 million).
#6 Christoffel Wiese
Net worth: $1.1 billion
Source: Retail
Christoffel Wiese, a South African billionaire, built his fortune through his Pepkor retail empire, which expanded into other African countries.
After Steinhoff International acquired Pepkor in 2015, Wiese lost his billionaire status when the company disclosed accounting irregularities in 2017.
In 2022, Wiese regained his wealth through a settlement with Steinhoff, which included a five-percent stake in Pepkor. His main asset is Shoprite, along with holdings in Tradehold, Brait, and Invicta Holdings.
#7 Michiel Le Roux
Net worth: $1 billion
Source: Banking
Michiel Le Roux, who founded Capitec Bank, one of South Africa’s leading retail banks, roughly 21 years ago, derives the majority of his $1 billion net worth from his 11.41-percent shareholding in Capitec Bank, a Stellenbosch-based banking company.
His net worth has declined from $1.9 billion to $1 billion, mainly due to a $160-million surge in the market value of his equity position in Capitec Bank.
In order to save more animals from the Russian invasion, an animal rescuer who has evacuated 11 lions from the battle zone in Ukraine is scheduled to return there in a modified British ambulance.
While carrying out a quick operation to save a leopard and jaguar that are in danger of being kidnapped or killed by Kremlin forces, Lionel De Lange intends to provide aid to people.
The most recent expedition comes after his Warriors of Wildlife (WoW) group evacuated a pride of nine lions to the US, with the other two large animals coming to his beautiful refuge in South Africa, along with other groups and individuals.
The non-profit group has also rescued a bear, a wolf and cats and dogs since the full-scale attack began on February 24 last year.
Mr De Lange, 57, had been living in Kherson when war broke out and has since made five journeys back to the warzone, clocking up thousands of road miles in trips to dangerous frontline areas and temporary holding facilities in Romania.
He told Metro.co.uk that he is determined to continue showing ‘compassion’ to animals and humans, a year on from the start of the war
‘We have bought a retired British ambulance which is currently sitting just outside Kyiv and we are going to use it to take aid to where it’s needed,’ Mr De Lange said.
Lionel De Lange with friend Reon Human (centre) and Csaba Borsos, the mayor’s assistant in Targu Mures, Romania (Picture: Warriors of Wildlife/@wowukr)
‘It can carry three and a half tonnes, it’s not an awful lot compared to what other organisations are doing but it’s three and a half tonnes that a village might not have. Then we will rescue animals, and people if needs be, and take them to safer areas.
‘I’m going straight down south to my old city, Kherson, where they desperately need help as they’re basically being shelled nearly every day.
‘The animal shelters are struggling and the people are struggling, so we’ll take in whatever we can. When I lived there, I bought a trailer to move animals around in and I’m hoping it hasn’t been stolen or destroyed, because then we’ll be able to hook it up around the ambulance and tow stuff around the country.’
The lion relocation is thought to be the biggest ever rescue of the species by plane from a war zone. In a hugely complicated undertaking, the big cats were temporarily relocated to Romania before being flown to Doha in the hold of a Boeing Dreamliner.
The converted British ambulance that Warriors of Wildlife has bought to carry out humanitarian work and rescue animals (Picture: Warriors of Wildlife/@wowukr)
From there, the pride of seven adults and two cubs was transferred to the Wild Animal Sanctuary in Colorado while adult males Simba and Mir were taken to Mr De Lange’s Simbonga Game Reserve and Sanctuary in the Eastern Cape.
Aside from the obvious perils of bombs and bullets, the dangers faced by captive animals also include their keepers running out of money to feed and care for them and the risk of being stolen by occupying forces. Keepers who have stayed behind have also been in the firing line, including two workers found holding carrots and dog food after being allegedly being murdered by Russian troops in Kharkiv.
In November, video footage showed Russian lion park owner Oleg Zubkov stealing live creatures including a llama and a racoon from Kherson Zoo.
Other animals, including two camels, a kangaroo, a bison, some piglets, birds and wolves were slaughtered by the occupiers before the city was liberated, according to local authorities.
Eleven lions in Ukraine flying to US and South Africa after rescue effort
Zukov, who owns Taigan Lion Park in Crimea, was convicted of negligence last year after one of his tigers bit a one-year-old boy’s finger off.
The so-called ‘Lion Man’ claimed that he had been given permission to carry out a ‘temporary evacuation’ of the animals out of the warzone.
‘Zukov is a notorious animal trader and breeder with a big place full of lions in Sevastopol,’ Mr De Lange said.
‘He came in with a team and they stole all the animals. We are afraid that will happen in other places where we have worked in the past.’
While the Kherson trip will focus primarily on humanitarian aid and care for domestic and stray animals, Mr De Lange plans to use the ambulance to rescue a black leopard, which belongs to a critically endangered species, and a jaguar from another settlement.
He anticipates that the location, which lies to the south-east of Kharkiv, will be liberated by Ukrainian forces in coming weeks.
Simba in Romania ahead of his relocation to a haven in South Africa (Picture: Warriors of Wildlife/Facebook/@wowukr)
The sanctuary owner, who is due to set off in a fortnight, plans to be no farther than a three-day drive away as he carries out the relief work in areas heavily damaged by the Russians.
‘All the permits are in place but the town is occupied by the Russians, so we are waiting for the Ukrainians to push them back,’ he said.
‘As soon as that happens we are going to rush in and pick up those two animals along with three big Italian mastiffs and take them out.
‘I’ll be sitting there a couple of kilometres back from the frontline and when they get there we’ll go in to pick up the animals quickly and make a run for the west. My biggest concern is whether they are still alive, we have been told that they are, but the information is sketchy.
They are prized animals and as the Russians are, if they can’t have something by towing it away, they just destroy it.
Lionel De Lange, founder of Warriors of Wildlife, is shown on the left next to British vet Gemma Campling with animal rescuer Tom, of Breaking the Chains, on the front right (Picture: Nathan Lainé/Magnus News)
‘If you look at the places that have been liberated within 24 hours the Russians are shelling and bombing the place, which is why it is important to help in the places which are liberated as quickly as possible.’
Amid devastating loss of life and a refugee exodus unprecedented in modern Europe, international efforts to save animals have been a constant part of the war’s backdrop.
British humanitarian volunteers Tim Locks and Jonathan Weaving are among those who have carried out mercy missions, carrying out the initial rescue of Simba from a frontline area in eastern Ukraine and driving the big cat in a van to Romania.
The team involved in the final lion extraction effort pose with Lionel De Lange (centre left) ahead of the flight (Picture: Warriors of Wildlife/@wowukr)
‘It’s a compassion thing,’ Mr De Lange said. ‘I just love animals and I don’t think they should be abused in any way, shape or form.
‘They don’t ask to be there and a lot of owners have died staying in their homes and the animals have managed to survive. Other owners just ran for the border and left their animals behind, which I can understand as I was in the same situation waking up to shelling on the 24th.
‘Even for the animals which have shelter there’s very little food around and if there is it’s enormously expensive.
‘The people who are looking after animals in shelters and in the streets are some of the poorest people, so we will be doing all we can to help reduce the load.’
Simba looks alert as he settles into his new home at a wildlife reserve in South Africa after being repatriated (Picture: Warriors of Wildlife/@wowukr)Mir is getting used to an outdoor reserve that gives him the freedom to roam (Picture: Warriors of Wildlife/@wowukr)
A guiding principle of WoW is that animals should never be left in zoos, making the long-distance relocations necessary.
Mr De Lange said Simba and Mir were settling in well at his 14,000-square metre reserve where they have a more natural habitat and weather.
‘Before they arrived Simba was the big tough guy and Mir was very calm and just got on with staying alive,’ Mr De Lange said.
‘At first Simba was completely terrified of his surroundings being a big cat who had never walked on grass or heard wind howling through the trees, he’d always been on tarmac and cement and behind bars.
‘It took four weeks before he ventured out of his night shelter, which we used as safe spaces for the lions when they first arrive so they can get used to the sights, sounds and smells.
‘After about six and a half weeks he just blossomed and found his roar.
‘They have both been out exploring and are doing very well. The sanctuary is like heaven compared to what they were used to.’
Following a lioness escape from a container in North West province, the South African police department has issued warnings to nearby residents.
According to reports, the lioness escaped while being transported on the back of a vehicle by its owner.
It’s unclear precisely when or how the large cat broke out from the shipping container; the owner was only made aware of the situation upon arrival in Tlakgameng, according to local media.
The lioness is said to have escaped from a container while on transit
Workers at nature reserves and farmers are looking for the wild cat.
The officials in charge of wildlife protection have requested information from anyone who witnesses the lioness.
The struggling South African government has announced that it will assume nearly two-thirds of the $23 billion (£19 billion) total debt of the state power company.
This occurs at a time when malfunctions at Eskom’s power plants have caused unheard-of power outages that are harming the nation’s economy.
The national treasury’s decision should release funds for distribution, transmission, and maintenance.
This month,President Cyril Ramaphosa declared a state of disaster due to the energy crisis, enabling the government to take immediate action.
Eskom has been plagued by corruption and mismanagement. It has received more than $14 billion worth of bailouts since 2008.
The latest move by the government comes as the outgoing Eskom chief executive, who was due to exit the company next month, leaves with immediate effect.
The firm’s board resolved on Wednesday that Andre de Ruyter would not be required to serve the balance of his notice period.
In an interview with a local TV station on Monday, Mr De Ruyter questioned the government’s ability to deal with the corruption at the utility firm.
A municipality in South Africa says it will charge some of it staff for misconduct after pictures surfaced on social media showing them sitting and sleeping on top of graves.
The workers are from the municipal’s parks department – which is responsible for the cleaning of parks and public facilities, according to local media reports.
It is unclear when the pictures were taken.
In a statement, Msunduzi municipality, in Kwa-Zulu Natal province, said it was aware of what it termed “disturbing photographs”.
“The municipality will not condone such behaviour and can confirm that processes are in place for the implicated employees to be charged for misconduct and for putting the municipality in disrepute,” it said.
Twenty people have been killed and 61 others injured after a bus and a cash-in-transit armoured van collided in South Africa’s Limpopo province,
On Monday night, around 20:00, local media reported that a bus had fallen off a bridge and into a river below, landing on its side.
Apparently, being trapped inside the bus caused the majority of the victims to pass away.
There is currently an investigation into the accident’s cause.
There have been heavy rains in the area. Emergency services were still on the scene on Tuesday morning, with heavy downpours delaying their work.
TRAFFIC UPDATE🚨 Tuesday, 14 February 2023
20 people were tragically killed and 61 injured in an accident, where a cash-in-transit van lost control and collided head-on with an oncoming bus, yesterday on road N1- 29 Mashovhela, towards Musina in Vhembe District.🕯🙏 pic.twitter.com/I1j1Z4MjtQ
— Limpopo Department of Transport & Community Safety (@TransportLimCom) February 14, 2023
After seven of its nine provinces were submerged by flooding brought on by heavy rains,South Africa declared a national disaster on Monday. Farmers also suffered losses, and roads and bridges were destroyed.
The national weather service expects the heavy rains to continue, according to a White House statement.
According to the statement, the government “declared a national state of disaster to enable an intensive, coordinated response to the impact of floods,” but no details regarding casualties were provided.
It claimed that the La Nia global weather phenomenon, which happens in the Pacific Ocean, was to blame for the intense rains.
“These conditions demand the provision of temporary shelters, food, and blankets to homeless families and individuals and the large-scale, costly rehabilitation of infrastructure,” the statement added.
Prior to joint naval exercises with South Africa and China, a Russian military frigate made a port call in Cape Town’s harbour on Monday.
The Admiral Gorshkov battleship was pictured in the harbour in a tweet from the Russian consulate in Cape Town.
The drills will take place in Richards Bay and the port city of Durban for ten days starting on February 17th.
Cape Town hosts #Russian frigate “Admiral Gorshkov”. The battleship arrived in the Mother City on its way to Durban where it will take part in joint 🇿🇦-🇨🇳-🇷🇺 naval drills scheduled for February 17-27. pic.twitter.com/RrByExX9H8
There has been some criticism that the exercise is not appropriate, given that it coincides with the first anniversary ofRussia’s invasion of Ukraine.
But the defence ministry has defended the planned drills, saying that South Africa has in the past hosted similar exercises with France, the US and countries from the Western Nato military alliance.
An autopsy report has reveals that a former professional rugby player from South Africa who was killed by police months after arriving in Hawaii had a degenerative brain illness common in American football players and other athletes who frequently sustain head trauma.
The finding could help explain Lindani Myeni’s bizarre behavior before the deadly 2021 confrontation with Honolulu officers. It also offers another layer of detail about a shooting that gained international attention during heightened calls for police reform following the 2020 murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer.
An addendum to Myeni’s autopsy report obtained by The Associated Press shows his brain tissue was sent to the Boston University CTE Center, which found the 29-year-old father of two suffered from stage three chronic traumatic encephalopathy. Commonly known as CTE, the disease can only be diagnosed posthumously.
Stage four is the most severe level and experts say it’s alarming for someone as young as Myeni to have such a critical case of CTE.
Lindsay Myeni, who filed a wrongful death lawsuit alleging police shot her husband because he was Black, said she was shocked to learn of the CTE diagnosis.
“I had no clue. He had no clue,” she said from Richard’s Bay, South Africa, where she now lives. “So it was kind of devastating because it felt like … someone was telling me like, hey, he died from racism at 29, but he was going to be killed from his favorite sport at 50 or 51 anyway.”
Police were called to a Honolulu home about a stranger who had entered uninvited. He said, “I have videos of you,” claimed a cat at the home was his, and made other strange comments, according to Honolulu’s prosecuting attorney, who decided not to pursue charges against any of the officers.
Police officials have said officers weren’t reacting to his race, but rather his behavior, which put officers’ lives in jeopardy. Prosecutors found that deadly force was justified because Myeni physically attacked officers, leaving one with a concussion.
He had been emotional earlier that day about family issues and the couple had visited numerous spiritual sites around the island of Oahu, Lindsay Myeni said, but he showed no signs of CTE symptoms. Those include memory loss, confusion, impaired judgment, impulse control problems, aggression and depression.
Dr. Masahiko Kobayashi, the Honolulu medical examiner who autopsied Myeni and concluded he died from gunshot wounds, said he suspected CTE after hearing about Myeni’s behavior and his contact sports past.
“The case of Mr. Myeni was really simple when I just determined the cause and manner of death. But the circumstances were very complex, and the public was greatly impacted by this case,” he said.
Kobayashi said he hoped the CTE finding might provide a clearer picture of what led to Myeni’s death.
However, CTE doesn’t help Lindsay Myeni understand what happened that April 14, 2021, night.
“To me, it still doesn’t answer any questions as to why you would shoot him,” she said.
Myeni’s behavior sounded like “classic symptoms” related to CTE, “confusion, disorientation, acting out in a very different way,” said Paul Anderson, a lawyer in Kansas City, Missouri, who represents families of athletes with brain injuries, but is not involved in the Myeni case.
The youngest case of stage three CTE diagnosed in medical literature was Aaron Hernandez, 27, making Myeni “an example of pretty severe CTE for someone that age,” said Dr. Daniel Daneshvar, an expert on the condition and Harvard Medical School assistant professor.
Hernandez, a former New England Patriots football star, killed himself in 2017 in the prison cell where he was serving a life-without-parole sentence for murder.
While people with CTE tend to have problems with memory, thinking, impulsivity, and paranoia, there could be other explanations, Daneshvar said.
“We can’t say for sure whether or not CTE in anyone’s brain can cause them to do any particular action,” he said.
The investigation by Alm’s office found that two days before the shooting, Myeni told his kickboxing instructor that he was going through “crazy African spiritual stuff.”
About 30 minutes before the shooting, Myeni interjected himself in a situation where police were investigating a vehicle break-in and had to be told to go away by both the victim and officers, according to Alm’s investigation.
The frightened woman called 911.
Officer body camera videos showed Myeni punching responding officers, leaving one with facial fractures and a concussion. Myeni continued punching an officer even after he was shot once in the chest, Alm said.
Bridget Morgan-Bickerton, a Honolulu attorney representing Myeni’s wife, said he wasn’t aggressive, “until he was subjected to unjustified aggression, being yelled at, at gunpoint, in the dark to ‘get on the ground’ with no announcement of who was asking.”
Three months before the shooting, the Myenis moved to Hawaii, where Lindsay Myeni grew up, believing it would be safer for their two Black children than in another part of the U.S.
As a single mother of a 2- and 3-year-old, she doesn’t know if she can ever return to Hawaii, so they’re in South Africa, where the couple met while she was on a Christian mission trip. But it’s difficult there, too.
“It’s like I even moved out of our little township that he’s from and moved to the suburbs because … it’s hard to even be at the house,” she said. “I just went for a birthday party back to his home and I’m like, oh, this is so painful.”
In an effort to address an energy crisis, the president ofSouth Africa has declared a state of disaster.
The government now has more authority to address the crippling electricity shortages that have gotten worse recently thanks to Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement on Thursday.
He insisted that South Africa would have an energy network that was more effective.
The opposition repeatedly interrupted the president’s annual speech to the legislature.
There was chaos in the chamber before his speech. At one point members of the Economic Freedom Fighters stormed the podium, before being forced to leave.
Mr Ramaphosa also said access to the witness protection programme for whistle-blowers that exposed government corruption was under way.
But that brings little relief to those whose relatives were murdered for exposing maladministration.
To address the rising cost of living, Mr Ramaphosa extended the relief funding which is earned by more than eight million unemployedSouth Africans.
Gauteng, the center of South Africa’s economy, is suffering from water shortages brought on by declining reservoir levels as a result of increasing water use.
As taps are running dry, Dr Ferrial Adam, Water and Environment Manager for the Community Action Network (WaterCAN) believes the cause for the crisis are factors like ageing infrastructure and inequality.
“We cannot deny that there is an additional element that is affecting people’s access to water and that is, on a local government level and municipal level. You have infrastructure deterioration and that is also leading to people not having sufficient water. There’s also the element of the unequal distribution of water in South Africa. Less than 40% to 45% have taps in their homes.” said Adam
Innovative solutions
To solve the issue of water shortage, Boitumelo Nkatlo, BN-Aqua Solutions Founding Director, developed a plant that purifies acidicwaterdisposed by mines. And this purified water can be used for drinking and irrigation.
“We all know that water is life and is a scarce resource. Our take is that we do have water underground. Millions and millions that we are in a position to take and treat and treat it at an affordable price because we are using waste material to treat this to a drinking stage.” explains Nkatlo
Sizwe Mavuso, Colsto Founder, came up with a water tank reuse model that could see water being preserved by communities especially in instances where taps run dry easily.
“The innovation was conceptualised around a construction site I used to work at where people do not have water whatsoever and it boiled down to affordability. The great thing about this solution is that we want to harvest water that we already have and that is grey water.” said Mavuso
According to Greenpeace, water is a very unevenly distributed resource meaning that millions of South Africans already drink water that was captured in reservoirs in excess of 400km away. This water insecurity risk is worsened by increasing climate change.
Police in South Africa have launched an investigation and appealed for witnesses following the theft of a corpse from a grave in the northern province of Limpopo.
A relative made the discovery on Sunday when she went to the cemetery to clean the area in preparation of the upcoming unveiling of the tombstone.
To her shock she found a gapping hole by the grave and the body of Modike Philemon Masedi missing.
The suspects accessed the graveyard by cutting the fence then dug a hole next to the grave to gain access to the coffin and stole the corpse, the police said.
Mr Masedi reportedly died on 15 January and was buried seven days later.
“The motive for this incident is unknown at this stage,” Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo, a police spokesperson, said.
Provincial police boss Thembi Hadebe has urged people in the area to “desist from pointing fingers” to avoid any form of vigilantism.
The proposed three-year deal worth 900 million South African rand ($52.5 million; £42.5 million) had received conditional approval from the nation’s official tourism board.
However, detractors claimed that the money could be used more effectively in a nation where there are frequent power outages, water shortages, and high unemployment.
On Tuesday, the parliament’s tourism committee called for the deal to be stopped immediately.
This was after Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu had told it that she had no knowledge of the proposed deal.
“This deal ends here, today, now. because there is everything wrong with the deal itself. There must be an investigation on this matter with immediate effect,” committee chairperson Thandi Mahambehlala said.
South African billionaire Nicky Oppenheimer, whose wealth increased only modestly in 2022, is off to a terrific start this year after his private equity interests in Africa, Asia, the US, and Europe recently enjoyed a rise in market value of $800 million
Oppenheimer’s net worth has risen by $800 million since the start of the year, from $8.03 billion to $8.83 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which tracks and compares the fortunes of the world’s 500 wealthiest people.
The $800-million increase in his net worth, which surpassed the $75-million wealth gains he recorded in 2022, placed him among the African billionaires whose wealth has increased by more than $500 million since the year began, despite concerns about a global slowdown in corporate earnings.
Nicky Oppenheimer, South Africa’s second-richest man, after luxury goods magnate Johann Rupert, derives the majority of his $8.83-billion fortune from private equity investments, which he manages through Stockdale Street in London and Tana Africa Capital in Johannesburg.
For decades, the leading South African businessman has been a private equity investor, with many of his investments taking place after he sold his family’s 40-percent stake in De Beers, the world’s largest diamond producer, to mining conglomerate Anglo-American in a $5.2-billion deal in 2012.
His private equity investments span Africa, Asia, the United States, and Europe, and have proven to be a sound strategy for the billionaire, allowing him to profit from market fluctuations and generate significant wealth gains.
Aside from private equity investments, Oppenheimer, a supporter of wilderness conservation, co-owns Tswalu Kalahari, South Africa’s largest private game reserve, with his son Jonathan.
He is also the owner of the 65,000-hectare Shangani Ranch, which employs 400 people and has kept at least 8,000 cattle for beef export to the United Kingdom since 1937. It is known as a wildlife sanctuary because it serves as a migration route for animals.
Following the uproar, which saw sports federations and labour unions criticize the amount of money being spent on a club in Europe while they struggle to make ends meet at home, tourism minister Lindiwe Sisulu will meet with Ramaphosa this week.
South Africa Tourism (SAT) and Tottenham have tentatively agreed to a three-year shirt sponsorship agreement that will begin at the start of the 2023–24 season and run through the 2026–27 season.
SAT will gain kit branding, interview backdrop branding, match-day advertising, partnership announcements, training camps in South Africa, and more in exchange for the investment.
But on 3 February, Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said that Mr Ramaphosa “did not think spending so much money in the manner that is being suggested will be justified”.
Manchester United link
Cyril Ramaphosa is making efforts to relaunch his political agenda
The meeting is likely to be convened before the President’s annual State of the Nation address which takes place at the opening of Parliament on Thursday.
Sisulu met with SAT board members over the weekend to discuss the proposal – a proposal which she denies having seen before news of the controversial deal was leaked to the Daily Maverick website last week.
Since then, three SAT board members – Enver Duminy, Ravi Nadasen and Rosemary Anderson – resigned with immediate effect over the weekend, ostensibly because of their opposition to the proposed deal.
Themba Khumalo, acting Chief Executive of SAT, believes the deal would assist in bringing in large numbers of tourists into the country and would provide a good return on the investment given the large worldwide following of the Premier League.
Khumalo revealed that the north London club had been chosen because it was the only one of the Premier League’s top eight teams that was still available for such a sponsorship deal.
However, in a new twist, a tweet by UtdChronicles showed a video of an excited Khumalo opening a Manchester United branded box containing the Red Devils’ white away jersey with a large “Visit South Africa” emblazoned on the front of the shirt.
🚨🚨| BREAKING!!
A verified video confirms that #mufc sent ‘South African Tourism’ a proposal to sponsor their shirts. The package was received by their CEO, Themba Khumalo. pic.twitter.com/ZsMcz5E4Xs
“1.1 billion followers worldwide – if we convert just 1% there’s 110 million. So this is a proposal from Manchester United,” he is heard exclaiming on the video which has been verified, according to UtdChronicles.
The Old Trafford club is searching for a new shirt front sponsor “in a normalised market” following a decision to end a deal with TeamViewer which was done at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic for a sum believed to be $56.6 million per year.
This is much less than the $77 million per year deal it had until 2021 with American car manufacturer Chevrolet.
Shortly after news of the proposed Spurs sponsorship deal broke, many of the country’s national sports federations expressed outrage saying the money could be better spent on development projects and financing struggling athletes.
In a Sunday helicopter strike in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, a South African peacekeeper for the UN was killed and another was hurt.
The aircraft came under fire while en route to Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, according to the UN mission in the nation, Monusco. Fortunately, the helicopter managed to land.
In the incident, it was reported that a second peacekeeper was hurt.
“Monusco strongly condemns this cowardly attack against an aircraft bearing the United Nations emblem,” it said in a statement.
David Mabuza, the president’s deputy, has been asked to hold onto his position until the transition is complete.
According to reports, Mr. Mabuza informed mourners at a funeral on Saturday that the president had “accepted” his resignation and that a statement regarding it would be released soon.
He stated that he thought it made sense for him to make way for Paul Mashatile, who was chosen as the ANC party’s deputy president in December.
However, the president wanted Mr. Mabuza to stay until the transition process was complete, according to the presidency’s spokesman on Sunday.
Mr Mashatile is due to be sworn in as an MP on Monday. His entry into parliament will pave the way for the president to name him as the country’s deputy president.
Mr Ramaphosa is due to deliver his state of the nation address in Cape Town on Thursday.
South Africa‘s power shortage has intensified and the country’s health system is finding it difficult for the paramedics to perform their jobs.
“We got called to a hospital where the generators stopped working and then it was 18 paramedics and nine ICU ventilator patients. And so it was two paramedics per patient and then nine of us, we had to ventilate them manually for four hours, until their generators were fixed,” Nicole Morrison, a paramedic said.
Jeanette Mahlangu is one of the vulnerable persons hurt by government-enforced loadshedding. The Soweto resident has been forced to go without the oxygen concentrator helping her breathe.
Meanwhile her backup tank is empty, the 8 to 10 hours with no power have made it too expensive to refill. Her daughter feels distressed.
“When I look at my mum, she’s quiet and expecting this, I can’t say anything. But myself, I’m scared. Me, I’m scared like, I don’t like this.”
If Janette was in need of an ambulance during the blackout, there would be no way to call one, due to limited battery and no phone service.
Students in the Free State province of South Africa were captured on camera on Thursday overturning a police vehicle after going on the rampage over the alleged passing of a classmate.
According to a local police spokesperson quoted by the Times Live website, the child is believed to have committed suicide after being bullied by a teacher.
“It is reported that the child left a suicide note to say what caused the death and then the learners at the school picketed and it became violent,” Warrant Officer Peter Mabizela is quoted as saying.
Angry learners at a school in Ficksburg, Free State, went on the rampage and attacked a police vehicle. pic.twitter.com/JiIowOWBDX
According to Mr. Mabizela, students from neighboring schools gathered to Tlotlisong Secondary School, where they held two police officers and teachers hostage inside the building.
In front of applause, the students flipped a police car on its side. To get them out of the school, extra police units were required.
Five minors were arrested for public violence and will appear in court soon, police said.
Southern African countries dominated the continent’s growth markets and wealth in 2021, experiencing the fastest growth compared to 2020.
Total private wealth in Africa was $21 trillion between the first quarter of 2021 and the last quarter of 2022. This included 136,000 approximations of millionaires with net assets of at least $1 million each, 6,700 approximations of multi-millionaires with net assets of at least $10 million each, 305 approximations of cent-millionaires with net assets of at least $100 million each, and 18 approximations of billionaires with net assets of at least $1 billion each.
Nigeria’s total private wealth stood at $228 billion, with many multi-millionaires, cent-millionaires, and three billionaires. Morocco’s total private wealth stood at $125 billion, with many multi-millionaires, cent-millionaires, and two billionaires.
Algeria, Zimbabwe, and Tanzania have one billionaire each with many multi-millionaires and cent-millionaires, while Ghana, Kenya, and many other countries have many multi-millionaires and cent-millionaires. South Africa, Egypt, and Nigeria make up about 56% of Africa’s wealth (wealth of individuals).
As the wealth reports for 2023 are gradually emerging, let’s take a look at the top African countries with the highest number of billionaires.
According to official government data, 87 rhinos were killed in Namibia last year, an all-time high compared to the 45 rhinos killed in 2021.
The demand for rhino horn, which is valued in East Asia as a purported medicine and as jewellery despite being made of the same material as rhino hair and fingernails, has caused a decimation of the rhino population in Africa over the years.
On Monday, Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism spokesperson Romeo Muyunda said poachers killed 61 black and 26 white rhinos mainly in Namibia’s largest park, Etosha, where 46 rhinos were found dead.
“We note with serious concern that our flagship park, Etosha National Park, is a poaching hotspot,” Muyunda said, adding that the ministry and law enforcement officials have stepped up efforts against wildlife crime in the park to curb poaching.
The Southern African country is home to the only free-roaming black rhinos left in the world and also accounts for a third of the world’s remaining black rhinos.
Rhino poaching has plagued Southern Africa for decades, especially in neighbouring South Africa and Botswana, leading to anti-poaching programmes, including strict policing and dehorning, or removing horns from the rhinos as a way of discouraging poaching.
Namibia is also home to the second-largest white rhino population in the world after South Africa.
The Save the Rhino Trust estimates there are about 200 free-roamingblack rhinos in Namibia, mainly in the northeast.
Meanwhile, elephant poaching in Namibia has declined over the years, from a high of 101 in 2015 to a low of four elephants poached last year.
South Africa’s Foreign Minister, Naledi Pandor, has called on mobile operator MTN Group and the Ghana Revenue Authority to find a solution to a $773 million tax dispute.
Earlier this month, MTN said the Ghana Revenue Authority issued the company’s subsidiary MTN Ghana with a bill for back taxes after auditing it for the years 2014 to 2018 and inferring that it had under-declared its revenue by about 30% during the period.
MTN, which has a presence in 19 countries in Africa and the Middle East, said at the time that it disputed the “accuracy and basis” of the assessment and that it would fight it.
Minister Pandor was briefed on the issue this week and called “on the parties involved to do everything possible to find an amicable solution,” South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation said in a statement.
At a house party in Kwazakhele township, police claim that two unidentified gunmen “randomly shot at guests” who were dancing and mingling.
One of the victims was Vusumzi Sishuba, who would have turned 51 today.
Police have urged the public to share any information about the shooting despite the fact that no one has been arrested.
Mr Sishuba’s family is “in a state of shock and disbelief,” a relative told Reuters news agency.
Five men and three women, aged 20-64, have been identified as victims of Sunday night’s shooting.
“These victims were killed by criminals, and we will not rest until we find out what happened and who was responsible for [this] callous and cold-blooded attack on these unsuspecting victims,” said Eastern Cape Police Commissioner Nomthetheleli Lillian Mene.
The motive behind the attack is unknown.
Police Minister Bheki Cele visited the scene of the shooting on Monday and asked for patience while the investigation continued.
“We know everybody is angry and would love that we respond quickly, but we request a little bit of space so that we do the work thoroughly,” he told reporters in Gqeberha, formerly known as Port Elizabeth.
South Africa has one of the highest gun crime rates in the world but random mass shootings are uncommon.
On Monday morning, a second tiger escaped from a private farm, two weeks after the first one did.
Residents of Edenvale community in Gauteng spotted the tiger roaming the area on Monday morning, local media reported.
The National Council for the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA) was said to have confirmed the sighting of the animal. Authorities urged caution and asked residents to keep animals indoors.
An ex-teacher who is alleged to have mistreated students at boarding schools in Edinburgh has been detained in South Africa.
The 83-year-old — who can’t be named for legal reasons — attended a sexual offences office in Cape Town with his lawyer on Monday morning.
He is due to appear at the city’s Wynberg Magistrates Court later.
The man, known in a BBC documentary as “Edgar”, taught at Fettes College and Edinburgh Academy in the Scottish capital in the 1960s and 1970s.
The BBC presenter Nicky Campbell is one of several former pupils who have made allegations against “Edgar”, who is fighting extradition from South Africa to the UK.
“Edgar” admitted abusing young boys while teaching in Scotland, according to court documents seen by the BBC.
His legal team now insists that he denies the allegations.
He also denies molesting students after moving to South Africa to teach at a prestigious boys school in Cape Town.
The man is subject to an order at the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry preventing his identification.
BBC presenter Nicky Campbell – who has been fighting for Edgar’s extradition to the UK – said he witnessed incidents of both sexual and physical abuse at the Edinburgh Academy which had a “profound effect” on his life.
Edgar is fighting the extradition on compassionate grounds arguing that he is old, unwell, and remorseful.
South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has said there are no urgent plans to stop using coal-fired power plants as part of a transition to greener energy sources.
The country is one of the world’s most coal-dependent nations and is a significant polluter.
It is currently experiencing lengthy power cuts blamed on ageing infrastructure and corruption.
Since 2021 South Africa has secured several billion dollars in international loans and grants to support a switch to greener power.
Addressing colleagues from the governing African National Congress (ANC) party, Mr Ramaphosa suggested it would be unwise to reduce the country’s capacity as it made what he called a just energy transition.
The ANC has close links with the country’s mining unions.
As the mortality toll from a continuing heatwave in some parts of the country increases to eight, the South African government has encouraged citizens to exercise caution.
State broadcaster SABC quoted a state official as expressing concern over the impact of the hot weather that the country had been experiencing.
“We are extremely sad to hear about the passing of eight people that have died of heat stroke in the Northern Cape after a heatwave hit the province over the week. Government sends its deepest condolences to the bereaved families,” Michael Currin, the head of the government communication service (GCIS), is quoted as saying.
Some parts of the country have recently been experiencing temperatures of above 40C.
The government has urged people to take measures such as drinking water and wearing light clothing to avoid heat exhaustion.
Russia’s state-owned TASS news agency said, a warship outfitted with hypersonic cruise missiles will participate in joint exercises with the navies of China and South Africa in February.
The participation of the Russian frigate Admiral Gorshkov of the Fleet of the Soviet Union was first mentioned in an official report on Monday.
The frigate is equipped with Zircon missiles, which have a range of more than 1,000 km and can travel at nine times the speed of sound (620 miles).
The missiles and the Avangard glide vehicle, which entered combat service in 2019, are the centerpiece of Russia’s hypersonic arsenal.
“‘Admiral Gorshkov’ … will go to the logistic support point in Syria’s Tartus, and then take part in joint naval exercises with the Chinese and South African navies,” TASS said in its report, citing an unidentified defence source.
The South African National Defence Force has said the drills will run from February 17-26 near the port cities of Durban and Richards Bay on South Africa’s east coast.
It said on Thursday that the joint exercise aims “to strengthen the already flourishing relations between South Africa, Russia and China”.
The exercise will be the second involving the three countries in South Africa, after a drill in 2019, the defence force added.
The Gorshkov held exercises in the Norwegian Sea earlier this month after President Vladimir Putin sent it to the Atlantic Ocean in a signal to the West that Russia would not back down over the war in Ukraine.
Putin has previously said the frigate and its Zircon missiles have “no analogues in the world”.
The Russian president sees the weapons as a way to pierce the United States’s increasingly sophisticated missile defences.
Russia, the US and China are in a race to develop hypersonic weapons, seen as a way to gain an edge over any adversary because of their speed and their manoeuvrability, features which make them harder to detect.
A number of human rights activists, including opposition organizations, have vented their indignation online after the savage murder of a well-known pro-democracy activist in the southern African nation of Eswatini.
Thulani Maseko founded a coalition of parties and had been calling for reforms.
He was sitting in his living room at home with his family on Sunday in the town of Luyengo when gunmen shot him through a window.
The secretary general of Amnesty International, Agnès Callamard, said she was deeply saddened and angry, while Clement Voule, the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Association, called on the government to ensure a thorough investigation into the murder.
Eswatini government spokesperson Alpheous Nxumalo has rejected insinuations of the government’s involvement in the killing.
“That is a far-fetched reality and statement. The government takes every life very seriously including the life of Thulani Maseko… This insinuation is rejected as it is being projected by those who are actually jumping all investigative mechanism that we have put in place,” he told South African public broadcaster SABC.
Over the last two years there have been waves of pro-democracy protests in Eswatini – the continent’s last absolute monarchy.
Security forces in the country have frequently used excessive force to break up protests.
Just last week the opposition accused King Mswati III of hiring South African mercenaries to attack activists – which officials denied.
Foreign minister of Russia, Sergei Lavrov, is making his first trip to South Africa since the invasion of Ukraine 11 months ago, which Pretoria has refused to denounce.
While Russia is being shunned by the West, it has historic ties with Pretoria as well as close business links through the Brics bloc of emerging economies.
Mr Lavrov is due to hold talks with his South African counterpart, Naledi Pandor, in Pretoria.
A protest by anti-Russia demonstrators is planned outside the venue of the talks.
South Africa plans to hold joint naval exercises Operation Mosi with Russia and China next month.
Electricity has been restored at the Nigerian consulate in Johannesburg, South Africa, after city officials disconnected the power on Wednesday due to non-payment.
The consulate owes the power utility City Power over 400,000 rand ($23,000; £18,000).
Consulate staff refused City Power officials access to the property but the utility was able to disconnect the premises from the power grid remotely.
The last few days have seen revenue collection efforts by City Power to disconnect various businesses whose accounts are in arrears.
The utility is owed $232m in unpaid accounts overall.
Following the consulate’s disconnection, the Consul-general visited the City Power offices and arranged to pay a deposit of $7,000 promising that the balance of the outstanding account will be settled by the end of January.
The consulate’s power was then restored that same day.
City Power’s actions come in the midst of rolling scheduled national blackouts as Eskom, the beleaguered national power utility, struggles to keep the lights on.
The South African military has announced that it will conduct joint military exercises with China and Russia off its coast the following month.
The drills will run for 10 days from 17 February to 27 February in the port city of Durban and Richards Bay.
The aim is sharing operational skills and knowledge, the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) said.
South Africa was among African countries that abstained from taking sides in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The country assumed the chairmanship of the Brics group of nations – which brings together Brazil, Russia, India and China – last month.
This will be the second time such a military drill is taking place. The first was held in November 2019 in Cape Town.
“This year’s exercise will see over 350 SANDF personnel from various arms of services and divisions participating,” said SANDF.
A poultry organization has warned that South Africa (Sapa) may experience significant chicken shortages as a result of the power outage that is disrupting the slaughter of the hens.
The Association revealed that it has now reduced the number of chickens slaughtered with abattoirs unable to keep up because of the power cuts.
Local media quote Sapa as saying that it also had to cull 10 million chicks in the past weeks.
Some franchises such as KFC are reportedly already feeling the impact, with the situation likely to get worse.
It comes amid a warning that the issue could become a long-term problem, affecting retail and wholesale markets.
Over the weekend, a tiger in South Africa escaped from a private farm but it has been found and killed.
The tiger was the subject of a massive search after it escaped from a farm in Walkerville, south of Johannesburg. It attacked a person, two dogs and a pig while on the loose.
It was shot on Wednesday morning after it entered a farm where families live and killed a domestic animal, local media reported.
The local organisation Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) said the authorities were left with a “very difficult decision to make as the lives of more people and animals were at risk”.
“This case proves why wild animals should not be kept as pets. The SPCA is opposed to the keeping and breeding of wild and exotic animals as pets,” it said.
Authorities in South Africa are searching for a tiger that belongs to a private owner but escaped from a property in Walkerville, south of Johannesburg.
The female tiger escaped after the fence was cut on Saturday night, local media reported.
It is said to have attacked a person. It also killed a dog and mauled another.
Animal care authorities have urged people not to approach the tiger on the loose for their own safety, as it is dangerous.
According the president’s spokesman, his decision comes as a result of the ongoing energy crisis in his country.
The country is facing its biggest ever power crisis with people experiencing rolling blackouts of up to six hours a day.
Mr Ramaphosa was due to lead a government delegation to the event, the AFP news agency reports.
Due to the ongoing energy crisis, President @CyrilRamaphosa has cancelled his working visit to the World Economic Forum in Davos. Currently the President is convening a meeting with leaders of political parties represented in parliament,NECCOM and the Eskom board.
But he will instead hold talks with leaders of political parties and the state-run power company Eskom, said presidential spokesman Vincent Magwenya.
“President Cyril Ramaphosa has already engaged with the leadership of Eskom and National Energy Crisis Committee(NECCOM) and those meetings will continue,” he said.
The National Coronavirus Command Council will meet on Tuesday to discuss a new variation that has been found in the nation this week, according to President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa.
The new Covid sub-variant, known as XBB.1.5, has also been recorded in the US and UK.
It is an offshoot of the globally-dominant Omicron Covid variant and is highly transmissible.
President Ramaphosa confirmed Tuesday’s meeting to local journalists and urged South Africans not to panic.
“We are agile enough to want to have that meeting tomorrow, and thereafter there will be information that will be shared with the rest of the country,” he told Eyewitness News
on Monday.
““Some people have said ‘are we going to have restrictions, the lockdown and all that?’ — far from that. We just need to be informed about what’s happening with this variant,” he added, according to Business Day
news site.
South Africa recorded over three million Covid-19 infections at the height of the pandemic – the highest number of confirmed cases by any African country.
Interpol has apprehended a Mozambican man accused of masterminding kidnappings for ransom in South Africa.
Esmael Malude Ramos Nangy is suspected of masterminding kidnappings for ransom worth millions of dollars over the last two decades.
South African police said he was apprehended during a raid on an upscale housing estate in Centurion, near Pretoria.
Over the weekend, police in Mozambique confirmed the arrest of the wanted man.
The news of the arrest of the 50-year-old Mozambican citizen was first issued by the international police. It followed an international arrest warrant issued in July last year by the Mozambican authorities.
A statement by the South African police said among the items seized at the home were a firearm, cartridges, five mobile phones and banks cards.
He is due in court on Monday.
Mozambique is seeking his extradition. A Mozambican police source said Mr Nangy was a suspect in a kidnapping that took place last year in the capital, Maputo.
Kidnapping for ransom is common mainly in Mozambican major cities and towns and the key targets have been business people of Asian origin or their relatives.
According to Mozambique’s National Criminal Investigation Service (Sernic), the country recorded 13 kidnappings in 2022 and 33 arrests linked to the crimes.
New analysis reveals Singapore as the country most interested in stocks and trading in the past year.
India and Canada are the second and third most stock-obsessed countries worldwide.
The study, carried out by UK financial services provider CMC Markets, examined Google Trends data of search terms frequently used by people interested in stocks and trading. These terms were then combined to give each English-speaking country a ‘total search score’ to discover which countries have been the most interested in stocks in the past 12 months.
The study revealed that Singapore ranks highest as the country most interested in stocks and trading. With a total search score of 555 out of a possible 700, Singapore topped the list for its population, having the highest search levels for the phrases ‘stocks’, ‘buy stocks’, and ‘interest rate’ worldwide. Additionally, the population of Singapore’s search for the ‘stock market’ is the third most worldwide, behind the United States and India.
India is second on the list, with a total search score of 492. India has the second-highest proportion of its population, searching for the phrases ‘stock market’ and ‘swing trading’, placing the country second in the ranking.
Canada ranks as the third country most interested in stocks worldwide. The North American country has the second-highest level of searches for the term ‘invest in stocks’, in addition to being the country searching for ‘buy stocks’ the third most worldwide, giving Canada a total search score of 462.
The United States places fourth overall. With a total search score of 453 out of a possible 700, the USA has the highest level of searches for both terms ‘invest in stocks’ and ‘stock market’, and the fourth-highest level of searches for the term ‘buy stocks’.
The United Arab Emirates ranks fifth, with a total search score of 374. The study revealed that the UAE has the fourth-highest search levels for the term ‘swing trading’ and is the fifth country most interested in ‘day trading’.
Australia is sixth on the list, with a total search score of 338. Australia has the sixth-highest proportion of its population searching for the phrase ‘invest in stocks’ and is interestingly the country most interested in ‘day trading’ worldwide, meaning that they may like to hold their stocks for the shortest period of time!
The top ten is rounded out by South Africa ranking in seventh place and New Zealand in eighth, followed by the United Kingdom and Nigeria in ninth and tenth place, respectively.
