Monday, July 30 2018

Zimbabwe's former president Robert Mugabe, who was ousted in November, suggested on Sunday he could vote for opposition leader Nelson Chamisa rather than Emmerson Mnangagwa of the ruling Zanu-PF in the presidential election. "I can't vote for ZANU-PF … what is left? I think it is just Chamisa," Mugabe said in Harare on the eve of the historic vote. "For the first time ever we have now a long list of aspirants to power," he said. "I cannot vote for those who tormented me … I will make my choice among the other 22 (candidates), but it is a long list."

Fugitive Bobroffs living large in Oz

A wealthy lawyer and his son who allegedly fleeced Road Accident Fund victims out of millions of rand are living it up in Australia, despite international arrest warrants issued for them. Ronald Bobroff and his son Darren live in upmarket homes in the Sydney suburb of St Ives, with Darren’s house estimated at R25-million. The Bobroffs fled to Australia in March 2016, days before they were to hand themselves over to the Hawks to be arrested. Shortly afterwards, Interpol issued Red Notices for their arrests. Their victims, who suffered life-changing injuries in car crashes, lodged complaints against Bobroff alleging he had conned them by charging exorbitant contingency fees.

Furniture, chefs shipped in for Brics bigwigs

Johannesburg’s five-star hotels played host to the world’s powerful leaders during the Brics summit this week. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his delegation made the Westcliff Hotel their home, where waiters said the Russians guzzled craft beer. The Chinese took over the Michelangelo at the Sandton Mandela Square. President Xi Jinping is said to have brought his own furniture. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stayed in the Rosebank Hyatt Hotel’s 190m² presidential suite, where police set up body scanners at two entrances, and the only people allowed access to Erdogan were his Turkish catering and security teams. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had the run of the 246-room Palazzo at Montecasino, where the presidential suite costs at least R48,000 a night. President Michel Temer of Brazil and his entourage stayed at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Sandton. Most of the heads of state are said to have shipped their own chefs, food and drinks.

Two arrested for death of off-duty cop

Two people have been arrested within hours of the killing of an off-duty policeman in Mount Frere in the Eastern Cape in the early hours of Sunday. Sergeant Siyabulela Mtati‚ 42‚ was shot dead at around midnight in the Dangwana Administration Area (Toleni Location) after responding to loud noises outside his yard. “He noticed a vehicle with male occupants arguing outside his yard. In an attempt to intervene‚ one of the occupants in the vehicle withdrew a firearm and fatally wounded the officer. The suspects fled‚” Eastern Cape police said. Members of the Mount Frere Detectives and Visible Policing had “worked around the clock to bring the perpetrators to book within 24 hours”.

Tusker family moved to Addo to save them

A family of 27 elephants will be moved to an isolated part of the Addo Elephant National Park on Monday‚ in an area where the animals were once hunted to extinction. The move is to keep the elephants safe as ivory poaching increases in Africa. The park near Port Elizabeth is the third-largest game reserve in South Africa. The elephants are currently living in a busy part of the park accessible by rail and road. The move is organised by SA National Parks and the charity Network for Animals (NFA). David Barritt‚ NFA’s campaign director, said the United Nations estimates that 100 elephants are killed in Africa by poachers every day. Many poachers in South Africa escape across the border to Mozambique. The Addo Park is about 1‚320 km from Mozambique.

Three nabbed in Cape with abalone worth R2m

Three suspects have been arrested in Plumstead‚ Cape Town‚ after being found in possession of abalone worth R2-million. Members of the police Tactical Response Team (TRT) and from local security followed up on a tip-off, Western Cape police said. “Three men‚ aged 24‚ 28 and 39 years‚ were found in possession of the abalone at an address in Plumstead on Thursday at 10pm.” The residence had been searched and 19‚097 units of abalone‚ along with processing machinery‚ with an estimated street value of R2-million were seized. “Once they are charged the suspects will appear in Wynberg Magistrate’s Court.”

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Top travel firm snubs sea parks with orcas

UK holiday firm Thomas Cook will stop selling trips to animal parks that keep captive killer whales, including SeaWorld in Florida and Loro Parque in Tenerife. CEO Peter Fankhauser said the decision came after an introduction of a new Thomas Cook animal welfare policy which recognises ‘that customer expectations were changing when it comes to animal attractions’ and ‘the important role tourism has to play during the transition to ending practices that are known to harm animals’. - AFP

Israel slaps cuffs on pro-Palestine muralists

Israeli forces have arrested two Italians for drawing a giant mural of a Palestinian teenager seen as a symbol of resistance on the separation wall in the occupied West Bank. The four-metre image near Bethlehem depicts Ahed Tamimi, 17, who was released from prison on Sunday after an eight-month sentence for slapping two Israeli soldiers, an episode captured on video. - AFP

Mary Berry, 83, rocks with 1980s icon

Mary Berry embraced her inner rock star as she played the drums on stage during a Rick Astley performance. The former ‘Great British Bake Off’ judge, 83, showed off her drumming skills during Astley's Camp Bestival gig in the UK on Friday night. A video posted on social media shows Berry keeping the beat while Astley croons the chorus to his song ‘Beautiful Life’. – The Daily Telegraph

Polar bear killed for nonfatal attack on guard

Norwegian authorities said a polar bear on Saturday attacked and injured a polar bear guard who was leading tourists off a cruise ship on an Arctic archipelago. The polar bear was shot dead by another employee ‘in an act of self-defence’, a spokesperson said. The human victim was not in a life-threatening condition. – The Daily Telegraph

Top author: Feel free to wolf-whistle me

Jilly Cooper has said that the #MeToo movement has left men and women unable to flirt with each other, adding that she loves to be wolf-whistled. The author, famous for frankly discussing sex and romance in her work, lamented that her womanising character Rupert Campbell-Black would be ‘locked up in prison’ in the age of #MeToo. ‘You can't flirt any more. We used to have so much more fun!’ The 81-year-old is also unperturbed by wolf-whistling and cat-calling: ‘I love being wolf-whistled. I know men shouldn't jump on everybody. But I do think men have stronger libidos than women.’– The Daily Telegraph

Prince Harry to fight knife crime

The Duke of Sussex is to turn his sights on tackling knife crime, pledging to work on the ‘root causes’ behind ‘sky-rocketing’ violence. The Duke, who already has a project aimed at tackling violence and, is expected to launch a new scheme specifically combating knife crime later this year. ‘Go and speak to the young people, which is what we’re doing. Speak to those communities and listen to what they think the problems are and then rewind it all the way back to go what is the root cause of all of this,’ he said. - The Daily Telegraph