South Africa

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'Routine' Mandela Hospitalization Spawns Frenzy

Former South African president receiving many bedside visits

(Newser) - Nelson Mandela is in the hospital for the second day for what his office claims are routine tests—but his unusually long stay has sparked a media frenzy, especially after news that he’s had numerous visitors, including his ex-wife. The 92-year-old former South African president has rarely been seen...

South Africa Floods Kill 39
South Africa Floods Kill 39
Jan 17, 2011 9:25 AM CST

South Africa Floods Kill 39

Thousands of homes in neighboring Mozambique decimated

(Newser) - Floods in South Africa have left 39 dead or missing after downpours this weekend followed heavy rains that began last month. The army is on standby to lead evacuations and “all disaster management structures in the country have been put on high alert,” authorities said. Farming officials expressed...

Zuma Sues Newspaper for $730K Over Rape Cartoon

He's just getting cartoon more publicity, argues newspaper lawyer

(Newser) - South African President Jacob Zuma is suing a political cartoonist, the former editor-in-chief of the Johannesburg Sunday Times, and Avusa Media for showing him about to rape a blindfolded woman representing justice. The husband of multiple wives is seeking $730,000 for humiliation, degradation, and damage to his reputation. The...

Hubby Accused of Killing New Bride Linked to 2nd Hit: Cops

Driver: he boasted of setting up earlier job

(Newser) - The British groom charged with hiring hitmen to murder his wife during a fake carjacking during their honeymoon in South Africa has been linked to a second killing. Wealthy businessman Shrien Dewani, 30, allegedly offered his driver $2,100 to murder his wife, and boasted he had once arranged a...

Husband Busted in Wife's Honeymoon Murder

Shrien Dewani accused of ordering hit on his wife, Anni

(Newser) - A British businessman is facing extradition after being arrested on suspicion of conspiring to murder his bride on their South African honeymoon, the Telegraph reports. Shrien and Anni Dewani had been married just two weeks when their taxi was carjacked Nov. 13. Shrien and the driver were forced out of...

1 of 3 South African Men Admit to Rape

More than a quarter of women are victims, finds survey

(Newser) - More than 1 out of every 3 South African men admitted to rape in a recent survey, and 3 of every 4 said they had been violent with a woman. More than a quarter of the women surveyed said they had been raped, reports the Guardian . The survey also found...

Beloved TV Star Giraffe Killed by Lightning

He's found dead at South African game preserve

(Newser) - A beloved TV star giraffe has been killed by lightning on his South African reserve. Hamley, 7, has been a feature for the last 5 years in the popular ITV British series Young at Heart about a veterinarian and his family moving to Africa to start a game park. "...

To Help World's Poor, Hand Them Cash

Government 'cash-transfer' programs prove successful

(Newser) - It might seem counter-intuitive, but in some 45 countries across the globe, it’s working: Governments are handing cash to the poor to use at their own discretion, writes Christopher Werth in Newsweek . Some 110 million families are getting aid, and the World Bank has spent $5.5 billion on...

School Matron Acquitted of Abuse; Oprah Slams Verdict

'Forever proud of 9 girls who testified' against academy matron

(Newser) - Oprah Winfrey lashed out today after a South African court acquitted a former dorm matron at her elite girls school on charges of molestation, reports TMZ. "We began this child molestation trial in 2008," she said in a statement. "More than two years later, I am profoundly...

Letters Show Jailed Mandela's Anguish

Leader's writings released in new memoir

(Newser) - Nelson Mandela sat in a prison cell for 27 years, alone and separated from his family, with not much more to do than write—waves of words documenting his anguish that are now being released in a new memoir, Conversations With Myself. Some excerpts, as per the BBC:
  • To wife
...

Retiring Desmond Tutu: 'Justice Will Prevail'

He says God is 'biased in favor of the weak'

(Newser) - South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu turns 79 today and is retiring from public life to spend more time with family and friends. In an interview with Time , he shares some of what he's learned: On good and evil, he's found "that in spite of all the horror of injustice...

'PigSpotter' Tweeter Angers South African Police

He tweets locations of radar traps, traffic stops

(Newser) - Police in South Africa are searching for the person behind the user name PigSpotter, a Twitter feed that alerts drivers to speed traps and roadblocks on the streets of Johannesburg. PigSpotter, who has attracted nearly 14,000 followers since June, tweets frequent warnings using terms such as "pigs" and...

5 Doctors Charged in Organ Trafficking Scheme

Surgeons in South Africa accused of illegal operations for profit

(Newser) - New charges have been filed in an alleged organ trafficking conspiracy first exposed five years ago. Poor Brazilians and Romanians were reportedly paid an average of $6,000 for their kidneys, which were then illegally transplanted into rich Israelis by South African doctors at plush private hospitals. Israelis who gave...

'Warning Shot' Kills Teen Protester in South Africa

Students were protesting final exams

(Newser) - A warning shot fired by South African police ricocheted and killed a 17-year-old female student who was among a group protesting that a recent teachers strike had given them insufficient time to prepare for exams, an investigator said today. Students marching in the Free State region allegedly threw stones at...

Drunk Baboons Ravage Suburbia

Marauders plague South Africa vineyards

(Newser) - The vineyards and houses of one of South Africa's poshest suburbs are under siege—by groups of marauding Cape Baboons, who feast on sauvignon blanc grapes fermenting in the sun and terrorize locals. One troop of baboons recently broke into a family home in the Cape Town suburb and traumatized...

Runners Furious Over Caster Semenya's Return

Complain of 'literally running against a man'

(Newser) - Though she's only been training seriously for a month, Caster Semenya sailed to victory in the 800m yesterday in Berlin, prompting resentment among her female competitors. "Even if she is a female, she's on the very fringe of the normal athlete female biological composition from what I understand of...

Miners Shot Dead in South African Mine

(Newser) - An incident at a mine owned by Nelson Mandela's grandson and current President Jacob Zuma's nephew left 20 illegal miners dead, apparently gunned down underground by security guards, a Sowetan newspaper reports. Other media accounts (like this one by Bloomberg ) have the death toll at 4. Police at first...

Rancher Poisoning Rhinos' Horns to Stop Poaching

Lethal plan seeks to stem demand from China

(Newser) - The owner of a game reserve in South Africa is planning to poison the horns of his rhinos in a bid to deter their slaughter by poachers who've killed more than 150 this year alone. Ed Hern is hoping that by making the horns deadly to humans when consumed, he...

Whale Crashes Into Yacht, but All Ends Well

Neither the boaters nor the whale came out injured

(Newser) - A couple from South Africa was out for a relaxing Sunday sail when they got much more than they bargained for—in the form of a 40-ton whale. They were admiring the whale flipping its tail around the boat when it briefly disappeared. The woman's boyfriend then told her to...

Caster Semenya Wins in Return to Track

South African teen missed 11 months while undergoing gender testing

(Newser) - Caster Semenya won the 800m at a minor meet tonight in Finland, her first competition since the IAAF cleared the South African teen to compete as a woman . Looking happy and relaxed, she comfortably dealt with a larger-than-usual crowd and massive media contingent, the Guardian reports . "I felt more...

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