The ashes of Janice Linden, the South African woman who was executed in China for drug smuggling, have finally been returned to local shores. Her family was devastated to receive a plain brown cardboard box containing the remains of their daughter from Chinese authorities. The South African powers-that-be have been criticised for not doing enough to stop the execution.
Following hot on the heels of South African tourist Nobanda Nolubabalo’s dreadlock cocaine bust in Thailand, reports today reveal that at least three other SA citizens have been busted for drug trafficking in the last week. So if you’re travelling internationally this holiday, don’t drop dead with surprise if you’re searched at customs, particularly if you’re a young female.
Shell has just alerted Nigerian coastal communities that up to 40 000 barrels of crude oil was spilled on Wednesday off the coast of the Niger delta while it was being transferred to a tanker about 120 kilometres off the coast. The spill is likely to be the biggest in a decade.
One would assume that when one blacklists a phone, one could take it for granted that the phone is, in fact, blacklisted. Mobile phone networks also like to offer their assurance that when one blacklists a phone, that’s actually what happens. However, this isn’t the case for a BlackBerry user who’s found out this chap is now using it.
Miami taxidermist, Enrique Gomez De Molina, is facing five years of jail time and a quarter million US$ in fines for importing body parts of rare and exotic animals to build a series of bizarre hybrid taxidermy sculptures.
National Geographic announced yesterday that we have lost a staggering 443 rhinos to poaching this year – a number that seems to climb exorbitantly on a daily basis. It’s with open arms that the country welcomes the sentencing of Hsu Hsien Lung to six years imprisonment for his part in rhino horn smuggling.
The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association has compiled an infographic showing the penalties targeting gays and lesbians in Africa. Parts of the continent are known to discriminate against gays and lesbians, but did you know that more than half the countries on our continent carry at least a prison sentence for the “crime”?
By now you must have heard of Nobanda Nolubabalo, the 23 year-old South African who was arrested in Bangkok on Monday. She is accused of being a drug mule and was allegedly carrying 1.5kg of cocaine, hidden in her dreadlocks. Photos of customs officers searching her hair have since appeared online. See them after the jump.
Australia’s military is becoming notorious for its culture of drinking and sexism. Which is probably not much fun if you’re a woman. A senior naval officer has just been convicted of no fewer than seven counts of indecency without consent. He’d been engaging in some pretty questionable behaviour in the workplace, including spanking a female sailor’s bare buttocks to “test her discipline and compliance”.
Police in Britain will soon be testing a shoulder-mounted laser that is capable of emitting a blinding wall of light from up to 500 metres away. It’s hoped the laser will help repel rioters and other troublemakers in an effort to prevent a repeat of the rioting that took place there earlier this year.
Vandalism on Western Cape Metrorail coaches has gotten so bad that the rail company is enlisting the services of more police officers as a last resort. Yesterday, somebody set fire to a Pinelands train, leading to the arrest of at least 14 rail workers.
There’s a Red Cross committee presently debating whether or not people playing war video games should be subject to the same humanitarian laws as people involved in real wars with real people and real weapons. So far as I can tell they’re doing this entirely seriously.
Rhea Page from London was viciously attacked by four other girls last year. They dragged her to the ground by her hair then beat her with kicks and punches. During the act they kept screaming, “kill the white slag”. However, they won’t be punished after a judge heard that the Muslim girls “were not used to drinking alcohol”.
Lots of discussions are taking place on social networks regarding the portrayal of women, and their role in society. We are also towards the end of 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children. Regardless of your personal opinions, this advert for People Opposing Women Abuse (POWA) by Ogilvy Johannesburg gives the issue a different perspective and is essential viewing.
A former KwaZulu-Natal cop is going to have to spend a long time on the wrong side of the bars, having been sentenced to life imprisonment today for killing three people. The 28-year-old ex-cop, Judea Ntuli, went on an insane shooting spree in 2009, during which he killed two SAPS colleagues and a schoolboy.
On the back of the dreadful statistics that poachers have killed a new record of 405 rhino’s in South Africa since the beginning of the year, comes the news that the Kruger National Park will immediately halt the posting of rhino sightings on its notice boards.
The old saying goes that you shouldn’t bring a gun to an Ultimate Fighting match. Anthony Miranda, the guy in the picture, learned that lesson the hard way over the weekend when he tried to rob the wrong guy.
In the wake of a worrying shift towards censorship of the internet, this is sort of comforting. A recent study conducted by the Swiss government has found that illegal downloading doesn’t necessarily negatively impact copyright holders, as many downloaders end up purchasing the products anyway – and “illegal” downloading is therefore remaining legal in Switzerland.
BREAKING NEWS: Former Police Commissioner Jackie Selebi has lost his appeal against a conviction for receiving benefits from convicted drug trafficker Glenn Agliotti, and has to report to jail within 48 hours.
A new bit of legislation has just come into force in Hungary, in an attempt to deal with the large number of homeless people in Budapest. The regulation makes it a punishable offense to be homeless; the offense is punishable by a fine just under ZAR 5 000. Because, you know, that makes sense.
In a worrying move for people who like their internet uncensored, a federal judge in Nevada has ruled that Chanel has the right seize 700 domain names that have been peddling fake Chanel products – and that search engines and social media sites, including Facebook, Twitter, Bing, and Google, are to “de-index” the domains.
In a discovery that seems more at home in the script of a B-grade crime drama series, it was alleged that drug lords in Miami’s Federal Detention Center were receiving visits from pole-dancers.
Four young boys were forced to slap each other as part of their punishment after they were caught stealing chocolates at a Shoprite in Limpopo. Security footage of the incident shows how the boys took turns in slapping each other, while staff watched, laughed and passed “silly” comments.
The Carrier IQ software, installed on most modern Android, Blackberry and Nokia phones, is supposed to record some of the things phones do so manufacturers can do quality control. Except it’s also been logging everybody’s text messages, web searches, and phone calls. Which is pretty bad.
An American gun club has invited children and their families to pose for pictures with Santa Claus – and a high-powered firearm! They are able to choose between grenade launchers, assault rifles and AK-47s. The picture, taken against a festive backdrop, will then feature on a holiday card. Afterwards, the families also get a chance to test out the machine guns.
A Pakistani woman has been arrested for killing her husband and subsequently trying to cook his flesh, during what appeared to be a raging fit of pique about her spouse’s disloyalty. The 32-year-old woman, Zainab Bibi, killed her husband after she found he was planning to marry another woman without first seeking her permission.
Footage showing a Liverpool drug dealer throwing R1,5 million worth of cocaine from a moving car has been released by police. The guy tossed 2kg of the drug from the window of a Mercedes while being followed by police filming the chase.
As part of what is the ‘most rigorous’ form of non-custodial punishment, a young offender was told to write an apology letter for his crimes. Instead, he took the opportunity to mock and insult his victims.
Google seems to be dabbling in the censorship game too, these days. They’ve added sites like The Pirate Bay, isoHunt, and 4Shared to their “blacklist”, which doesn’t prevent the pages from showing up if searched for, but does prevents the names of sites appearing in their Instant and Autocomplete services.
A Thai man has received a sentence of 20 years in prison for committing computer crime and lese majeste – insulting the monarch – which is a big no-no in Thailand. In fact, insulting a Thai king or queen is dealt with more severely in that country than just about anywhere in the world.