Friday, September 21 2018

Kessie Nair, the former Durban councillor and ex-convict who posted a video of himself calling President Cyril Ramaphosa the k-word appeared relaxed and smiled often during his first court appearance in Verulam Magistrate court on Thursday. Nair - who has served six years in prison for corruption - was arrested by the Hawks on Wednesday night. He has been charged with seven counts of crimen injuria and two counts of incitement for his widely circulated racist rant on video and social media posts. Nair told his attorney Chris Gounden that he didn't want to be in isolation at Westville Prison pending his bail application on September 26. Nair was earlier taken to a district surgeon who recommended that he be sent to Fort Napier Hospital for observation. Nair's family issued a statement claiming that he had several chronic illnesses and suggested that he was mentally unstable.

Dodgy churches put cash in sacks, zip over border

There are more than 140,000 unregistered places of worship in the country that siphon money from congregants and dodge paying tax. This is according to Rhema Bible Church leader Pastor Ray McCauley, who was speaking at the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural‚ Religious and Linguistic Communities (CRL) presentation of a proposed code of conduct designed to regulate churches. "When I talk about non-registered [it means] they don't exist. The problem is there are over 140,000 non-registered organisations and many of them come from across the border. They come in and in a day or two, they start a group of people coming together. They take the money and put it in sacks and take it out of the country," McCauley said. He said it was important that religious organisations work closely with the SA Revenue Service. The code of conduct proposed by the CRL calls for religious leaders to lead "ethically and effectively".

Pupil arrested after ‘humiliating’ teacher

A Grade 12 teacher in Limpopo is traumatised after an 18-year-old pupil assaulted her for confiscating his cellphone‚ say education authorities. “The Limpopo department of education has learnt with shock and disappointment the humiliation suffered by an educator‚” said spokesperson Sam Makondo. The teacher was assaulted and water was poured on her face and body. Makondo said an investigation of the circumstances of the incident was under way‚ adding that having a cellphone in class was against school rules. The boy allegedly fled the scene after other teachers intervened to help their colleague. Police were called and the boy was later arrested. SA has had a number of recent incidents where pupils have used violence against teachers‚ prompting calls for the government to do more to protect them.

Another cop arrested in rhino horn crackdown

A 33-year-old police constable was arrested on Thursday by a Hawks team leading an investigation into a rhino horn syndicate. Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi said the woman was from the Acornhoek Stock Theft Unit. She will appear in court in Hazyview soon. Six other suspects were arrested in Mpumalanga on Tuesday. Four are either former or current police officials‚ including from Skukuza and White River. Mulaudzi said they will reappear at the White River Magistrate’s Court on September 27 after being charged with theft‚ conspiracy to commit a crime‚ illegal buying and selling of rhino horns‚ corruption and money laundering during a brief court appearance on Wednesday. At the time of their arrests‚ Mulaudzi said, officers found and seized luxury vehicles and motorbikes‚ trucks‚ cash‚ animal skins‚ properties and allegedly stolen items estimated to be worth millions of rand. The operation continues.

Babies still in unit where six died of Klebsiella

The SA Human Rights Commission was shocked to discover that 52 babies are still in the neonatal unit of a hospital where an outbreak of Klebsiella has killed six infants. Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said on Sunday babies would be relocated to provide an “opportunity to scrub down and decontaminate the environment” in the neonatal unit at Thelle Mogoerane Hospital in Vosloorus‚ east of Johannesburg. “Fifty-two babies were in the ward receiving medical care. We were a bit shocked to see this because we were under the impression that they were moved following the outbreak‚” said Buang Jones‚ the commission’s Gauteng manager. The commission conducted an inspection at the hospital on Wednesday. Gauteng head of hospital services‚ Dr Medupi Modisane‚ said on Thursday the babies were kept in the ward after “careful consideration of risks versus benefits inherent in the process of moving babies”.

Case against ‘serial killers’ postponed

The case against two men Krugersdorp men suspected of targeting elderly women and robbing and killing them was postponed at the Palms Ridge Magistrate’s Court on Thursday to allow the state to continue with its investigation. Johnny du Plooy, 26, and Shaun Oosthuizen, 38, appeared before senior magistrate Martin Kroukamp. Prosecutor Madelé Ferreira asked the court to postpone the case because there were outstanding investigations. The men face two counts of murder after being positively linked to two killings on Gauteng’s East Rand. They were also being linked to other cases. The case has been postponed to October 31 and they remain in custody.

World

Dating show star and his lover ‘drugged and raped women’

Pair used their good looks to lure victims to their home from bars and restaurants before drugging and raping them

By Ben Riley-Smith

3 min read

World

Britain's Schindler: the quiet spy who saved 10,000 Jews

Statue unveiled by the Duke of Cambridge belies a remarkable tale of wartime heroism

By Guy Kelly

6 min read

World

Act of gods: how Egypt’s ancient temples were rescued 50 years ago

For four years about 800 labourers and 100 technicians worked to achieve a remarkable archaeological feat

By AFP

3 min read

World

Allergic boy dies after cheese was thrown down his T-shirt

London 13-year-old was severely allergic to wheat, gluten, all dairy products, eggs and all nuts

By Gareth Davies

2 min read

Now that’s a reel incentive for gender parity

France is to give a major cash bonus to films made by women in a bid to try to bring gender parity to the film industry, its culture minister said on Wednesday. Francoise Nyssen, who helped persuade the Cannes film festival to sign the 50/50 charter on gender equality earlier this year, said productions that are “exemplary” on equality will get an extra 15% subsidy. The new bonus will work on a points system, Nyssen said, with a production seeking a subsidy from the French film council, the CNC, given one point for a female director, scriptwriter or chief technician. A film will have to get eight points to qualify for the extra cash. The measures are specifically targeted at opening up technical positions to women, which have remained an almost exclusively male preserve. - AFP

Pray, or else, bureaucrats told

An Indonesian city has ordered its top civil servants to visit their local mosque for dawn prayers or risk being sacked, underscoring the growing influence of religion across the world’s biggest Muslim majority country. Senior bureaucrats in Palembang have been warned that a smartphone app was in the works to sniff out the less-than-devout. The order, which may be a first for Indonesia, is aimed at helping bureaucrats better relate to residents’ concerns while the early wake-up call could also boost productivity, city spokesman Amiruddin Sandy said. “By praying together at dawn with regular people, we get a chance to hear from them directly,” he said, adding that common complaints ranged from water not running to broken street lights. The edict comes as Indonesian society’s lurch toward religious conservatism has challenged its long-held reputation for having a tolerant brand of Islam. - AFP

Kitty serial killer is actually a foxy opportunist

For years, pet owners around and inside the M25 have lived in fear of a mysterious cat murderer, as more and more animals were found maimed on doorsteps. Finally, the case of the Croydon cat killer has been closed by Scotland Yard, who say the cause of the deaths is probably vehicles and foxes. They believe many of the feline victims were hit by cars, before being mutilated by wildlife. At one point, 15 police officers were put on the case, as the killer, who was suspected of bludgeoning animals to death and mutilating their corpses, was likened to Jack the Ripper. Animal charities Peta and Outpaced even put up a bounty of £10,000 on the suspected serial killer's head. However, the Metropolitan Police announced that after reviewing the evidence, there is nothing to prove any human involvement. - © The Daily Telegraph

No desert too big for a wall: Trump

Donald Trump told the Spanish foreign minister he had a foolproof way to deal with the Mediterranean migration crisis: build a wall across the Sahara. Josep Borrell, a former president of the European Parliament, revealed the conversation this week, explaining how Trump shrugged off his scepticism about building a wall through 5,000km of desert. “The Sahara border can’t be bigger than our border with Mexico,” he reportedly said, apparently unaware of the size of the desert. Borrell told the story at a lunch in Madrid this week, in comments widely reported by Spanish media. “We can confirm that’s what the minister said, but we won’t be making any further comment on the minister’s remarks,” a spokesman for the foreign ministry told The Guardian. Trump won election in 2016 promising to build a wall along America’s southern border with Mexico. - © The Daily Telegraph

Home ssssssweet home

In an unassuming house on France’s River Loire, a cobra lives on the coffee table, a 50kg tortoise roams the garden and a 2m alligator sleeps in the owner’s bed while another keeps watch at the door. Over two decades, 67-year-old reptile enthusiast Philippe Gillet has amassed a collection of more than 400 phobia-inducing animals, including rattlesnakes, tarantulas and lizards, in his home in western France near the city of Nantes. Gillet says the alligators, named Ali and Gator, were rescued from a leather farm but most of the animals are pets that outstayed their welcome elsewhere and have been abandoned or donated. “I think it’s unfair to treat these animals the way we do because we don’t understand them,” he said after feeding chicken to his alligators. - Reuters

Horse-eating gator gets his ‘gran’ comeuppance

It took three years, but tireless Texas mayor and great-grandmother Judy Cochran has tracked down and shot the alligator she says ate her miniature horse. The new mayor of Livingston, Texas, says she killed the 3.6m, 263kg gator with one shot after luring it to her family ranch with a hook baited with a raccoon carcass, reports Time.com. All it took was “one shot in the head and he went under”, WLS-TV reported. Cochran said the miniature horse disappeared from her property three years ago, and was taken by the gator. Hunting it down was one thing, but Cochran faced another challenge: because the alligator-hunting season in Polk County lasts for only 20 days in September, she was pressed for time to catch the huge reptile. - Staff reporter