South Africa

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Tourist Exits Car to Take Photos, Is Killed by Elephants

The Spaniard died Sunday morning in a national park in South Africa

(Newser) - A 43-year-old tourist was trampled to death by elephants Sunday morning while attempting to take photos of them at a South African national park. The AP reports the Spaniard was with his fiancee and two other women at Pilanesberg National Park in North West province when officials there say he...

Termite 'Apartment Complex' Has Been Busy for 34K Years

'We knew they were old, but not that old,' South African researcher says

(Newser) - Scientists in South Africa have been stunned to discover that termite mounds that are still inhabited in an arid region of the country are more than 30,000 years old, meaning they're the oldest known active termite hills. Some of the mounds near the Buffels River in Namaqualand were...

It's 'Best Idea I've Heard' to Combat Rhino Poaching

South African pilot project could help in the capture of black market traders

(Newser) - South African poachers seeking to kill rhinoceroses for their horns now risk detection via a secret alarm. Scientists on Tuesday injected tiny radioactive chips into the horns of live rhinos at the Limpopo rhino orphanage in the northeast of the country "in a pioneering project aimed at curbing poaching,...

South African Rivals Agree to Work Together, Buoying Nation

Ramaphosa is reelected president after dramatic, marathon parliamentary session

(Newser) - South Africa's main political rivals are now partners in government after they came together in a last-minute coalition deal that ensured President Cyril Ramaphosa was dramatically reelected with cross-party support, and a struggling country was given a boost. The agreement was only sealed on the sidelines of a marathon...

Spain to ICJ: We Want in on Genocide Case Against Israel

South Africa case before UN court accuses Israel of genocide in Gaza

(Newser) - Spain will ask a United Nations court for permission to join South Africa's case accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza, its foreign minister announced Thursday. Spain is the first European country to take the step after South Africa filed its case with the International Court of Justice late last...

Salvage Firm Loses to South Africa Over $43M Treasure

But a 'confidential settlement' has been reached over silver found on SS Tilawa, sunk in WWII

(Newser) - A salvage company has lost its claim to $43 million in silver recovered from a passenger cargo ship that sunk during World War II, the UK's highest court ruled Wednesday, siding with South Africa's government. The Japanese navy sunk the SS Tilawa, later dubbed the "Indian Titanic,...

Aquarium Overwhelmed by Hundreds of Baby Sea Turtles

Sea turtle hatchlings got caught up in a storm off South Africa, leaving them sick and injured

(Newser) - An aquarium in South Africa is stretched beyond capacity after more than 500 baby sea turtles were washed up on beaches by a rare and powerful storm and rescued by members of the public. The little turtles are mostly endangered loggerheads and should be cruising the ocean, per the AP...

Nestle Allegedly Pumps Sugar Into Baby Products in Poor Nations

The food giant is being accused of a 'harmful double standard' that could lead to obesity

(Newser) - The Nestle brand may be associated with comfort food and drink, but its infant eats are getting an uncomfortable amount of scrutiny over sugar content. Per a new report from the nonprofit Public Eye and the International Baby Food Action Network, the Swiss food conglomerate adds more sugar to its...

'Digital Nomads' Flock Here, and Locals Aren't Thrilled

Cape Town, South Africa, illustrates a global trend

(Newser) - A category of workers known as digital nomads is growing in ranks around the world, and the BBC reports that Cape Town, South Africa, illustrates both the positive and negative aspects of the trend.
  • The term: Digital nomads are typically younger people who can work wherever they have an internet
...

Olympian Killed in Gas Station Carjacking
6 Arrested Over
Olympian's Murder
UPDATED
Apr 10, 2024 8:13 AM CDT

6 Arrested Over Olympian's Murder

Luke Fleurs was waiting at a gas station when 2 men approached, police say

(Newser) - Arrests have been made in last week's murder of a South African soccer star and Olympian. Police on Wednesday said six people have been arrested in connection with Luke Fleurs' murder at a gas station. Two men reportedly ordered the 24-year-old out of his Volkswagen Golf 8 GTI at...

8-Year-Old Is Sole Survivor of Fatal Bus Plunge in S. Africa

The tragedy killed at least 45 people

(Newser) - A bus carrying worshippers headed to an Easter festival plunged off a bridge on a mountain pass and burst into flames in South Africa on Thursday, killing at least 45 people, authorities said. The only survivor of the crash was an 8-year-old child, who was receiving medical attention, according to...

Auction Said to Be 'Nothing Short of Remarkable' Is Halted

Sale of Nelson Mandela artifacts has been suspended as South Africa fights for them

(Newser) - The planned auction of dozens of artifacts belonging to Nelson Mandela has been suspended pending a court application to completely halt it. The online auction had been scheduled by New York-based Guernsey's auction house on Feb. 24, in conjunction with Dr. Makaziwe Mandela, the eldest daughter of the anti-apartheid...

South Africa Makes the Case for Genocide in Gaza

Netanyahu defends military campaign as being 'in full compliance with international law'

(Newser) - A continent away from the fighting between Israel and Hamas, South Africa told judges at the United Nations' top court on Thursday that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza and pleaded with the court to urgently order Israel to halt its military operation, per the AP . "Genocides are never...

Photographer Documented Apartheid Despite the Cost

Peter Magubane was beaten, jailed, for covering South Africa's racial oppression

(Newser) - Peter Magubane, a fearless photographer who captured the violence and horror of South Africa's apartheid era of racial oppression, and was entrusted with documenting Nelson Mandela's first years of freedom after his release from prison, died Monday. He was 91, the AP reports. He was a "legendary...

South Africa Hauls Israel in Front of UN Court

Accuses Israel of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza

(Newser) - South Africa launched a case Friday at the United Nations' top court accusing Israel of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and asking the court to order Israel to halt its attacks—the first such challenge made at the court over the current war. Israel swiftly rejected the filing "with...

Not Seen for 80 Years, This Little Guy Reappears

De Winton's golden mole was presumed extinct

(Newser) - Researchers in South Africa say they have rediscovered a species of mole with an iridescent golden coat and the ability to almost "swim" through sand dunes after it hadn't been seen for more than 80 years and was thought to be extinct. The De Winton's golden mole—...

Conservation Group Is Freeing 2K Rhinos

African Parks has acquired South African farm that housed private breeding operation

(Newser) - When a South African farm home to a herd of around 2,000 white rhinos went up for auction earlier this year, there were fears the animals could end up with a buyer that didn't have their best interests at heart. Instead, there were no bids at all, but...

Dozens Killed as Fire Blazes Through Settlement

Johannesburg building was full of 'informal structures,' firefighters say

(Newser) - More than 70 people were killed early Thursday when fire swept through a five-story building in South Africa's biggest city. Authorities say squatters had moved into the formerly abandoned building in Johannesburg's central business district and created an "informal settlement" with many shack-like structures inside, the BBC...

Illegal Miners Blamed for Gas Leak That Killed 16

3 children among the dead in South Africa disaster

(Newser) - At least 16 people, including three children, were killed by a leak of a toxic nitrate gas being used by illegal miners to process gold in a settlement of closely packed metal shacks, South African police and local officials said late Wednesday. Emergency services initially announced that as many as...

They Buried Their Dead 100K Years Before Homo Sapiens

Researchers describe cognitive complexity of Homo naledi, though skeptics remain

(Newser) - Just two hominin species are thought to have intentionally buried their dead: Neanderthals and modern humans. That idea has been floundering over the last decade, however, with the discovery of Homo naledi , an archaic human species that appears to have buried its dead deep inside South Africa's Rising Star...

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