The Pigeon Express
A stray ostrich spotted running on a highway in South Africa’s commercial capital, Johannesburg, died after being restrained by a wildlife protection group. The Owl Rescue Centre said efforts to resuscitate the 70kg ostrich after it had collapsed were unsuccessful. “The stress of being on that highway for six hours and the stress of the […]
At least 15 people have been shot dead in a bar in the South African township of Soweto, police say. Police said gunmen entered the Orlando East tavern in the early hours of Sunday morning and started firing randomly at a group of young people. They then fled the scene in a white minibus. No […]
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that trade with China, India, Brazil, and South Africa jumped 38% in the first three months of the year, despite “politically motivated sanctions.” Trade volume with those four countries totaled $45 billion in that time, he said. “Russian oil supplies to China and India are growing noticeably,” Putin said […]
Man tattoos his favorite pair of Nike shoes onto his feet after he was tired of paying to replace his worn-out shoes. Tattoo artist Dean Gunther, 34, used his incredible art skills to draw the design of the trainers onto the man’s feet before making the ink permanent and creating a strange but impressive illusion. […]
Two brothers from the wealthy Gupta family have been arrested in the United Arab Emirates, the South African and Emirati authorities have announced. Atul and Rajesh Gupta are accused in South Africa of profiting from their close links with former president Jacob Zuma and exerting unfair influence. Extradition talks are taking place between the two […]
The South African government has granted annual hunting and export permits for big game including 10 critically endangered black rhinoceros and a similar number of leopards. It also gave permission for more than 100 elephants to be killed, in keeping with international laws on the trade of endangered species, saying its elephant population was growing […]
A South African woman’s car-reversing problems has come under the spotlight in the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria. She wanted an order forcing her neighbour to take down a palisade fence in front of her driveway which she claimed was hampering her in reversing her car. Catharina Steenkamp last year obtained an interim order at the […]
As the highly transmissible variant of the coronavirus continues its frenetic spread around the world, a new subvariant has been detected in dozens of countries. Omicron was first reported by South Africa in November and has since replaced the Delta variant in most countries as the most prevalent strain. The dominant form of Omicron, known […]
A two-metre (6ft) pet yellow anaconda called Medusa is on the loose in a South Africa town just north of the coastal city of Durban. The snake’s owner urged residents of Phoenix not to be afraid. “She’s a gentle giant, she just looks scary,” Preesen Nair said. He said Hollywood had given non-venomous anacondas, usually […]
Dutch police say they have found a stowaway alive in the wheel section of a plane that landed at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport from South Africa. Flights from Johannesburg to Amsterdam take about 11 hours, with the cargo plane believed to have made one stop, in Nairobi, Kenya. It is very unusual for stowaways on long […]
A regional health minister has come under fire in South Africa for telling schoolgirls to “open your books and close your legs”. Phophi Ramathuba made the comment during a visit to a secondary school in a bid to encourage abstinence and reduce teenage pregnancy rates. Social media users criticised the remark and questioned why it […]
Firefighters in South Africa were struggling to contain a new blaze at the complex housing the two chambers of the national parliament in Cape Town, a day after a devastating fire swept through the buildings.Police charged a 49-year-old man with arson and other offences including theft and he was expected to appear in court on […]