This is sort of like Robocop! Brazilian police forces are testing out glasses fitted out with cameras linked to a central computer network that stores a database of criminal suspects’ faces, so that they’ll be able to arrest people during the 2014 World Cup without having to ask them their names.
In what must be some of the creepiest news to emerge (this week) from what is admittedly a pretty weird place, a number of human body parts have been found scattered around the famous Hollywood Hills sign in Los Angeles. The LAPD says a severed human head was found in the area yesterday, and since then the discovery of “pairs of hands and feet” has also been reported.
Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu has today written a letter published in The Star newspaper asking that we no longer refer to Johan Kotzé, the Limpopo rape and murder accused, as “the monster from Modimolle”. He says Kotzé is still one of God’s children “with the capacity to become a saint.”
A police investigation has been opened in Brazil after a Big Brother contestent was thrown out of the house for “inappropriate behaviour”. The 31 year-old male model was accused of sexually assaulting one of his housemates. A little tricky to dodge such allegations if the house you’re living in is filled with cameras.
In retaliation against Saudi Arabian hacker 0xOmar, who leaked the credit card details of 15 000 Israeli nationals and took down a secondary Tel Aviv stock exchange site last week, Israeli hackers calling themselves the #IDF-team have targeted stock exchanges in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates yesterday.
On Sunday a second set of nude pictures of Khanyi Mbau appeared on Twitter. The Film and Publication Board said yesterday that the police would be asked to help with investigations. They also warned that people who post such pictures on social networks might be held criminally liable. OFFICE WARNING: Nudity may appear after you click.
While the rest of the country was enjoying their New Year celebrations, a group of cyber hackers was also enjoying theirs. The National Intelligence Agency has launched an investigation after a cybercrime syndicate managed to steal R42 million from SA Post Office financial institution, Postbank.
A UK judge ruled this week that Richard O’Dwyer, an English university student, can be extradited to the United States to face charges of copyright infringement – O’Dwyer being the former administrator of TVShack, a website that linked to pirated content. This sets a dangerous legal precedent for anybody who does anything fun on the internet.
Morning spice reported that a dog attacked a two-year-old girl at Clifton’s first beach on Wednesday this morning. It turns out that the same dog whisperer, James Lech, responsible for a dog that mauled a girl in a similar attack last year, is responsible for this latest incident too.
Once only confined to smoky speakeasies and gambling halls, the Italian Mafia has now spread to every corner of Italy. A recent study has revealed that The Mafia is now the biggest business in Italy – with an annual turnover of €160 billion. Italy’s four Mafia groups also hold about €65 billion in cash reserves, effectively making them Italy’s biggest bank.
On the back of the dreadful news that eight rhino carcasses were found in the Kruger National Park within the space of 24 hours the day before yesterday, a South African columnist and well respected journalist has asked whether we should be farming rhino.
Cape Town police arrested an as yet un-named man today holding a virtual armoury of weapons, and a literal pharmacy of illegal narcotics in Woodstock. What was this man on a mission packing? We’ve got the whole list!
Rebekah Brooks, the former News International chief, and News of the World editor, is enjoying a sabbatical in Cape Town. Cutting a notably different appearance from the fiery redhead we’re used to, the media mogul has been escaping the phone hacking and corruption scandal that’s followed her around for months.
As South African cricketing legend, Jacques Kallis makes his 150th Test match appearance during the third Test against Sri Lanka at Newlands this week, another international South African cricketer faces a court appearance in Australia for failing a roadside breath test on New Year’s Day.
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.