The man mauled to death by a pride of lions at the Krugersdorp Game Reserve on the West Rand on Friday is the owner of the reserve, police said. Captain Joseph Mogoai identified the victim as Dirk Brink (58). Brink died after the lions attacked him shortly after 12.30pm. Police were baffled by the incident.
Miloon Kothari, United Nations special rapporteur for adequate housing, was appalled at the living conditions of Johannesburg’s poor. "These are emergency conditions … it’s worse than I expected," he said on Tuesday, walking through San Jose, a dilapidated, 16-storey building in Berea.
The destruction of a Great Trek memorial stone in Standerton should be condemned, the Afrikanerbond said on Friday. The destruction was apparently ordered by the mayor of Standerton and approved by the African National Congress in Mpumalanga, which told the Mail & Guardian Online on Friday there was ”nothing wrong” with the destruction.
A new identity-theft scam that uses "phone spoofing" will be hitting South Africa soon, Visa International announced last week. Through the scam, con artists are able to tap into the phone books and caller identities on users’ cellphones and change or modify information to suit their needs. Not only can they alter the details of existing contacts, but they can also create new caller IDs.
On Wednesday, the Gauteng department of economic development hosted a seminar for prospective Johannesburg shareholders — targeted specifically at black, female investors — to promote public participation in inner-city regeneration. One focus of the seminar was a tax incentive for renovators looking to invest in the city.
Charismatic Pentecostal churches like AFM Shekinah have sprung up all over the country, their brand of worship attracting a growing number of people. Savious Kwinika attends services at a Nigerian church, Mountain of Fire. He says he goes there because they “cast out demons” — church-speak for exorcism — and they also “speak in other tongues”.
”As Muslims we are taught that Allah is closer to us than our jugular vein. Our relationship with him is very intense as there is no intermediary between Allah and us. Praying is a one-on-one with God. Constant remembrance of Allah protects us from worshipping modern-day idols like materialism,” says Shabnam Mayet.
This week saw the official launch and installation of Parliament’s new emblem, a design created by the people as a cornerstone for South Africa’s new democracy. ”A new emblem was an important step in establishing an identity for Parliament, one that represents its values, vision and mission,” Parliament said in a statement.
A national strike planned for Wednesday by bus workers’ unions was prevented by the Labour Court in Cape Town on Tuesday when it granted an interdict to the South African Bus Employers’ Association. The strike action would have put additional strain on Johannesburg’s public-transport system, which is already chaotic due to strike action by Metrobus employees.
The Supreme Court of Appeal has upheld an appeal by the City of Johannesburg, which wants to remove about 300 people from buildings in its inner city due to health reasons and other dangers. The residents of two of the buildings have one month to vacate the buildings, otherwise the sheriff will be permitted to remove all persons from the properties.