A man who had 1 300 rats removed from his home by animal-control officers said that he originally bought several as pets, but that they were ”a force of nature” that soon bred out of control. Roger Dier said depression and loneliness kept him from controlling his fast-breeding population of pet rats.
Officers who went to a Cleveland, Ohio, home to serve a search warrant found a skeleton in the bed where an 80-year-old woman said her mother was sleeping. Police believe the remains belong to the woman’s 98-year-old mother, who had not been seen in at least three years.
Osama bin Laden has defended attacks by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi against civilians, saying in a taped web message on Friday that the Jordanian militant was acting under al-Qaeda orders to kill anyone who backs the Americans in Iraq. Bin Laden paid tribute to the slain leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq in the 19-minute videotape.
The attractive three-storey flats, with their landscaped gardens and paved walkways, stand empty almost two months after completion. They stand in stark relief against thousands of tin and wood shanties. The strange contrast on view in Cape Town’s Joe Slovo settlement epitomises the controversy that has beset the N2 Gateway housing project.
Consumers who ease their consciences by eating hake instead of endangered, fish species need to think again. Fishing industry experts warn that unless drastic action is taken hake will soon be the size of a sardine — if you can find it at all. Over-exploitation of hake, mostly by fishing trawlers, has seen catch rates reduced by about 30% in the past few years.
South Africa’s 2010 head, Danny Jordaan, has called for dramatic changes to the way the game is run, if the continent hopes to host its first World Cup successfully. Jordaan was unequivocal about what African teams need to do to perform better in South Africa in 2010: ”Improvements are needed in all areas.”
The stranded Safmarine Agulhas moved a few metres in a salvage attempt at high tide on Thursday afternoon, said the National Ports Authority (NPA). Two tugs attached to the bow and stern of the 16 800-tonne container ship would keep a steady line overnight.
Some HIV/Aids and tuberculosis (TB) patients in the Eastern Cape are refusing treatment because they fear losing their disability grants, the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) in the province said on Thursday. TAC coordinator Philip Mokoena said the number of people refusing treatment is growing.
The pension-funds adjudicator wants answers on how certain provisions in the Income-Tax Act affect approved retirement annuity-fund rules. He has given the Competition Commission and the South African Revenue Service until July 26 to respond to his questions in writing.
Western Cape education minister Cameron Dugmore has suspended a Delft school principal after his arrest on charges of indecent assault and possession of child pornography, media reports said on Thursday. Three parents laid indecent assault charges against the 57-year-old man who appeared in court on Wednesday.