Two 19th-century rhino horns stolen from a South African museum could be deadly if sold as a popular aphrodisiac because they are drenched in poison, a museum official said on Monday. The ”priceless” horns were snatched from a display at the historic mammal gallery in Cape Town on Saturday evening, said Jatti Bredekamp, chief executive of Iziko Museums.
Erasmus commission chairperson Judge Nathan Erasmus on Monday dismissed an application by the City of Cape Town for the commission’s suspension. The commission was set up by Western Cape Premier Ebrahim Rasool last year to probe the city’s own investigation of renegade councillor Badih Chaaban.
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) warned on Monday of riots as it launched a protest campaign against soaring food prices. Rice prices on world markets have climbed about 75% in just two months, and the cost of wheat has rocketed by 120% in the past year. The price of maize has more than doubled since the beginning of 2006.
Murder accused Najwa Petersen not only hired hit men to kill her husband, Taliep, she even arranged to let them into the family home to do the deed, the Cape High Court heard on Monday. Fahiem Hendricks, who is in witness protection, was testifying in the trial of Najwa and three men charged with Taliep’s execution-style shooting.
Staff at Le Monde, France’s newspaper of record, went on strike on Monday to protest plans to axe a quarter of its journalists and sell off several magazines. It is only the second time that journalists at the loss-making newspaper, founded in 1944, have walked off the job.
Zimbabwe’s post-election crisis intensified on Monday after a high court judge threw out an opposition demand for the immediate release of results from the March 29 presidential polls. The opposition reacted angrily to the ruling, urging Zimbabweans to show their disgust at the hold-up by launching a general strike from Tuesday.
The fate of the Scorpions will be discussed at a meeting between African National Congress (ANC) general secretary Gwede Mantashe and Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Helen Zille, the DA said on Monday. The opposition leader called for a meeting with the ANC after a decision was taken to ”dissolve” the Scorpions and incorporate them into the police.
People searching the internet for information about suicide methods are more likely to find sites encouraging suicide than those offering help or support, according to a study released on Friday. The same set of search terms were fed into Google, Yahoo!, MSN and Ask.
The deadline for applicants to apply for presidential pardons for politically motivated offences has been extended until May 31, pardon committee chairperson Tertius Delport said on Monday. ”Some time ago we knew that we were going to run out of time for people to put in applications.”
Worldwide urban populations are expected to double within 10 to 15 years, presenting threats and opportunities, city planners said at the Planning Africa conference on Monday. Urban planners from 26 commonwealth countries met in Sandton to debate three global challenges facing all cities — urbanisation, poverty and climate change.