Cape Town Lady found Heroin and Dagga in a Loaf of Bread

Cape Town - Hiding drugs in nappies, shoes and even hairbands was common practice, a local community policing forum (CPF) explained after a Cape Town woman took to social media describing her disgust at drugs stashed in her bread.
After finding heroin and dagga in a loaf of Blue Ribbon bread, the woman took to Facebook and wrote: “(I am) absolutely outraged! I bought a loaf of bread last night; today my kids wanted toast and I find drugs halfway into the bread. My kids could have found it.”
Strandfontein CPF chairwoman Sandy Schuter said police and the neighbourhood watch often found drugs hidden in peculiar places.
“On several occasions, cavity searches were conducted by the police. The people had tied a rope around their waists that was attached to drugs. They inserted the drugs up their rectums.”
She added that police were forced to conduct searches daily because of the rate of drug-dealing in the area.
“That is why I believe that someone can find drugs in a loaf of bread.”
While Schuter and the police said they were not investigating the incident, Blue Ribbon bread distributor Premier Foods released a statement confirming an investigation was under way.
Group marketing executive Siobhan O’Sullivan said: “We are deeply concerned that a packet of Blue Ribbon has been used to hide these drugs and that a member of the public had to experience such distress.”
Cape Argus

Fake Facebook Profile of Cape Town Mayor used for Scam

Cape Town - A profile supposedly belonging to Cape Town Mayor Patricia de Lille has been reported to Facebook as a fake, her office has confirmed.
The private profile, which has only one photo, is apparently being used by an opportunist to scam people, she said in a statement.
“This person is communicating to ‘friends’ that they have added on Facebook and offering jobs which do not exist,” De Lille said.

The account appears to have been created on June 15. The only public information is the profile photo loaded that day. The photo is among the first results when typing the mayor's name in an internet search.
“I do not have a personal Facebook profile, but rather an official Facebook page which is used to communicate the work in my office and the City of Cape Town to social media audiences,” De Lille said.
The profile lists her primary and high schools, birthday and job – information readily available on the internet.
A Yahoo email address, Dpatriciadelille@yahoo.com, had also been linked to the account.
“My office has reported this email address to Yahoo and has reported the Facebook page as a false account to the administrators. The matter will also be reported to the police,” she said. 
“I will be looking into the matter further to establish who is responsible for using my name to mislead and lie to people.”

Tammy Petersen, News24

Bredasdorp - Most Children out of School at the age of 15

Bredasdorp - Education and youth development were needed to offer positive alternatives for the Bredasdorp youth, community leaders insisted.
This was shared with Community MEC Dan Plato when he visited the town days after releasing the results of a pilot study into the community, which he described as “profound”.
Plato on Friday met with young people and non-government organisations (NGOs) working with the youth following the violent deaths of three girls in the past two years.
Anene Booysen, 17, was raped and disembowelled on February 2 2013, while 5-year-old Kayde Williams was raped and killed in February this year. Her body was found dumped in bushes a day after she went missing.
Elda Jaftha, 15, was found dead under the bed of her 29-year-old boyfriend last month. He has been arrested in connection with her murder.
Plato recently released results from a pilot study his department had commissioned where an independent facilitator conducted 11 investigative consultations with residents, youth, municipality and safety role players.
“The most profound findings came from the youth and violence prevention summit, which saw a focus on gender-based violence, especially on the role of men, in relationship violence,” he said.
Some responses from the young men, when discussing the possibility of young women ending their relationships, included the belief that a girlfriend needed to be punished if she cheated; revenge “in whatever form” should be taken and the man may “date and have sex with her sister, cousin and her best friend - she won’t do that to me”.
“These examples of inter-personal violence are at the core of problems in many of our communities. These are problems that need sustained and long-term interventions from society as a whole to make a difference,” Plato said.
He said his visit to Bredasdorp was not “with the intention of providing all the solutions, but to offer opportunities for our youth".
'I am happy government wants to help'
Bredasdorp AFM Church pastor Walters Joubert, who was among those who joined the MEC for a breakfast with religious leaders on Friday morning, told News24 that unhealthy home environments were mostly to blame for the issues plaguing the youth.
“While poverty, drugs and unemployment are big problems facing this town, proper parenting is often not practiced by those raising children,” he said.
“There is a blanket of hopelessness that hangs over Bredasdorp. It’s time this is turned into a positive place for our young people. I am happy government wants to help.”
Social worker Patricia Esau from NGO Siyakhatala Action Group, said education and youth development was a necessity if change was to take place in Bredasdorp.
“The drop-out rate is alarming. Most children are out of school by the age of 15,” she told News24.
“What our youth need is opportunities. Training and skills development can help them turn away from crime and substance abuse and make better, more positive choices.
“While there is a lot going wrong in Bredasdorp, there is still hope. But help is needed to fix what is happening.”

Tammy Petersen, News24

Cops hunt robbers - Cape Town shopping centre heist

Cape Town - Police are on the hunt for a gang who robbed two security guards of cash and their pistols at the Pick n Pay Centre in Tokai on Wednesday morning.
Provincial police spokesperson Constable Noloyiso Rwexana told News24 that the robbery took place at about 07:50.
“According to reports, security guards were collecting cash takings of yesterday [Tuesday] when an unidentified suspect with a firearm got out of a vehicle which was parked in front of the [shops],” she said.
Two other suspects armed with an AK47 and a handgun approached the security guards and took their 9mm firearms and cellphones.
“Three unidentified suspects fled the scene in a silver BMW and white Nissan X-Trail with an undisclosed amount of cash,” Rwexana said.
One shot was fired, she said, but no one was injured.
The BMW with empty money bags was recovered later on Wednesday morning in a neighbouring suburb.
By:

Tammy Petersen, News24

Waitress from Sea Point, Cape Town sentenced to Jail for Cloning of Bank Cards

Cape Town - A waitress at a sushi and cocktail bar in Sea Point, who used an illegal skimming device to clone the bank cards of three customers, was fined R50 000 or 15 months jail on Monday.

In addition, Naledi Cecelia Masuku, a 28-year-old mother of a seven-year-old child, was fined R60 000 or 18 months, plus R30 000 or nine months, all conditionally suspended for five years, for violations of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act.
She was also sentenced to five years in prison, suspended for five years, on a charge of conspiracy to commit fraud.
Effectively, she had to pay the R50 000 fine immediately, or face 15 months in prison.
The proceedings took the form of a plea bargain before Magistrate Sabrina Sonnenberg in the Bellville Specialised Commercial Crime Court, which deals exclusively with serious fraud, corruption and serious violations of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act.
According to the plea negotiations document, she used a mini 400 card reader, better known as a skimming device, to access the bank details of an FNB credit card, an Investec private bank account and a MasterCard bank account respectively.
Prosecutor Tracy Belelie listed as aggravating factors that Masuku had had ample time to reflect on her actions, but had persisted, and that the cloning of bank cards required the vigilance of victims to uncover.
The cloning of cards also required an element of premeditation, she said.
Mitigation was listed by defence attorney, VB Kathemba, as her financial desperation in caring for her child, and that she did not have the benefit of a fixed salary.

 

Bert van Hees, News24 Correspondent

Thousands Affected by Cape Town Floodings

Cape Town - A total of 3 836 people in a number of informal settlements around Cape Town have been affected by flooding, the city's disaster risk management centre said on Wednesday.
"The amount of dwellings in water or wet conditions is 1 634," spokesperson Charlotte Powell said.

The situation remained the same as Tuesday, she added.
The areas affected were Monwabisi Khayelitsha, CT Section (Qhunqu) Site C Khayelitsha, Solly's Town Strand, New Village Strand, Delft Temporary Relocation Area, Kanana (NY 111) in Gugulethu, CCT Section Site C and RR Section in Khayelitsha.
"No emergency sheltering has been activated and NGO partners are providing relief," she said.
On Tuesday, Powell said a total of 480 people living in 120 structures had received flood kits and other help in the Kanana settlement.
In Strand, 200 people in 50 structures at Solly’s Town were helped, while 300 people living in 80 structures at New Village were also affected by the heavy rains.

Nuns survive three days trapped in lift

The two women say they had "prayed so much" while trapped in the lift

Two nuns have been rescued from a lift in Rome after being trapped for three days without food and water.

The 69-year-old from New Zealand and a 58-year-old Irish nun became stuck on Friday at the Marist convent after an electrical power failure.
They cried out for help but there was no-one in the building over the weekend, Italian media said.
They were discovered on Monday by a cleaner who called police after ringing the doorbell and receiving no reply.
The police entered the building and called out if anyone was there and the nuns replied: "Yes, we are here, in the elevator", according to Il Messaggero.
The two women later said they had "prayed so much" while trapped, Il Messaggero reported.
They were taken to a nearby hospital where they were treated for dehydration.
The Marist Sister House host visitors to Rome from religious missions around the world.

Three robbers were shot dead in Cape Town

Three suspected robbers were killed during a shootout with police in Athlone, Cape Town, police said on Monday.

Captain Frederick van Wyk said the incident occurred on Monday night at Surry Estate, Orion Road.
“Police members responded to a business robbery in Orion Road, Surrey Estate, Athlone and were confronted by armed robbers as they left the supermarket.
“Two suspects were fatally wounded on the scene, and one suspect succumbed in hospital.”
Van Wyk said during a shootout, a Warrant Officer, aged 43, and a woman were shot and wounded.
“Both were admitted to hospital in serious but stable conditions,” he said.
Two firearms, a R5 assault rifle and 9mm Beretta, as well as two hijacked vehicles were seized on the scene, van Wyk said.
“Three or even more suspects managed to flee the scene and are yet to be arrested.”

Albert Woodfox's unconditional release after 40 years in solitary

Solitary confinement: US man to be freed after 43 years

The judge ordered Albert Woodfox's unconditional release

A judge in the US state of Louisiana has ordered the release of an inmate who has been in solitary confinement for more than 40 years.

Judge James Brady also banned prosecutors from trying Albert Woodfox, 68, for a third time.
He has been in solitary confinement since 18 April 1972 after a prison riot that resulted in the death of a guard.
Woodfox was tried twice for the guard's death, but both convictions were later overturned. He denies all the charges.
Woodfox was confined for 23 hours a day, with an hour outside his cell to "walk alone along the tier on which his cell is located", according to court documents from a case challenging his prison conditions.
Exercise was permitted three times a week and there were restrictions on "personal property, reading materials, access to legal resources, work, and visitation rights".
Originally convicted and imprisoned for armed robbery, he was found guilty of murder after the riot in which prison officer Brent Miller was stabbed to death with a lawnmower blade.
On Monday, Judge Brady ordered the unconditional release of Woodfox and said a third trial could not be fair.
But a spokesman for the Louisiana attorney general said prosecutors would appeal "to make sure this murderer stays in prison and remains fully accountable for his actions".

Solitary confinement in the US

• 80,000 prisoners estimated to be in solitary confinement in the US
• Held in 44 states, 25,000 in super-maximum security ("supermax") jails
• Conditions vary, but can include up to 23 hours a day confined alone
• Psychologists warn of negative reactions, such as isolation panic
• UN torture rapporteur wants global ban in all but exceptional circumstances
• Proponents say needed to protect other prisoners and staff

Sources: ACLU, Bureau of Justice Statistics. Solitarywatch.com, Louisiana Prison Watch
How do you survive solitary confinement?

Woodfox is reported to be awaiting release from another prison where he was taken ahead of his trial.
He is one of three men who were held in solitary confinement at the maximum security Louisiana State Penitentiary and known as the "Angola Three", as the prison lies next to a former slave plantation called Angola.
The other two men, Robert King and Herman Wallace, were released in 2001 and 2013 respectively. Wallace, also convicted over Mr Miller's murder, died soon after his release pending a new trial. King's conviction was overturned.
King and Wallace were also initially imprisoned for armed robbery.
Woodfox and Wallace were involved with the Black Panthers, a militant black rights movement formed in 1966 for self-defence against police brutality and racism, which later embraced "revolutionary" struggle as a way of achieving black liberation.

Campaigners have long called for all three men to be released

Woodfox, Wallace and King consistently maintained they were imprisoned for crimes they did not commit, with convictions only obtained after blatant mistrials.
King, who spent 29 years in solitary confinement, described his experience to the BBC in an interview three years ago.
He said he remained strong but it was "scary" to see how others crumbled through lack of human contact.
The three men have been the focus of a long-running international campaign.

Surfers wanted for 'superbug' study

By Claire Marshall

BBC environment correspondent

Surfers are being sought for the study
Scientists are launching an investigation into antibiotic-resistant bacteria, known as "superbugs", by gathering data from surfers' rectums.

"Beach Bums" is the first UK project of its kind, teaming researchers with the action group Surfers Against Sewage.

Surfers are being asked to volunteer to provide rectal swabs to help scientists to find out the effects of marine pollution on human health.

Tests have shown water may contain antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Lead researcher Anne Leonard is from the European Centre for Environment and Human Health at Exeter University.

"We know that surfers regularly swallow lots more seawater than other beach users - around 170 ml per session, which is more than ten times that of sea swimmers," she said.

"We've already shown that this water may contain antibiotic-resistant bacteria but we have no idea how this might affect the microbes that live in our guts, or how it could impact upon health."

There are an increasing number of bacteria that have evolved to become immune to even the most powerful antibiotics.

The superbugs make common infections much harder to treat.

The threat is considered to be so serious that US President Obama recently launched a five-year action plan to reduce the use of antibiotics in treating humans and animals.

In the "Beach Bums" project, the swabs will give researchers an insight into the microbes which colonise surfers' guts.

By comparing these samples with others from people who don't regularly spend time in the sea, they will learn more about how superbugs in the environment can affect people.

Informed approach

According to Surfers Against Sewage (SAS), this is the first time that the surfing community has got so closely involved with a scientific study.

Andy Cummins from SAS said: "We have been laughing about swab parties going on around the country, but this is set against the background of a really important project.

"Whilst water quality has improved dramatically in the last 20 years, coastal waters can still be contaminated by sewage from both animals and humans, introducing billions of potentially harmful bacteria into the ocean environment.

"We will give this data to the scientists, to find out if there is elevated risk of being exposed to antibiotic-resistant microbes for water users. This can give us a more informed approach."

SAS is calling for 300 surfers around the country to get involved. The results are expected to be released in 2016.

Follow Claire on Twitter.

Stranded pigeon in helicopter rescue

A lost pigeon which landed on a North Sea oil platform has been flown back to land by helicopter.

The "exhausted" bird was found on Talisman Sinopec's Clyde platform, about 160 miles offshore.

The pigeon, nicknamed Pedro by the workers on board, was flown by helicopter to Aberdeen.

It was then taken to the Scottish SPCA's National Wildlife Rescue Centre in Fishcross, where it was said to be making a good recovery.

Animal rescue officer Kirsty McQuade said: "It was actually my boyfriend Kevin Mitchell who found Pedro.

"He crash landed on deck and Kevin managed to catch him and take him inside.

"Pedro appeared to be exhausted and extremely thin so Kevin contacted me for advice. I advised him on what to feed Pedro and he was kept safe in a box on board.

"It was fantastic that Pedro was able to ride in the helicopter with the crew who were coming back to the mainland and we would like to thank everyone for their assistance."

Jennifer Lopez 'indecent and provocative' at Moroccan Show

Jennifer Lopez performed in Rabat on 29 May
Moroccan Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane has ordered an investigation into the TV broadcast of a Jennifer Lopez concert.

The singer's performance at the Mawazine festival in Rabat on 29 May was aired on the 2M public TV network.

Mr Benkirane said the airing was "serious delinquency", adding it contained "disgraceful scenes".

He added the "sexually suggestive" broadcast was in violation of the country's audiovisual law.

Last week, Morocco's minister of communication was criticised for allowing the gig to air on public TV, leading to calls for him to resign.

Local media also criticised Lopez for her "suggestive poses" and for being "scantily" dressed.

The singer has previously performed in Morocco without any trouble

Mr Benkirane said the singer's performance was 'indecent and provocative'
Writing to the president of Morocco's High Authority of Audiovisual Communication, Mr Benkirane demanded the authority "take legal measures against those responsible".

He said the channel had broadcast scenes "with sexual overtones and which were indecent and provocative to the religious and moral values of Moroccan society".

He said those responsible for the channel and its output "failed to intervene and stop the broadcast of the disgraceful scenes" as the concert was broadcast with a time delay.

Lopez has performed in Morocco before with no trouble, however it is the first time one of her concerts has been broadcast on television.

According to TMZ an educational group is also suing the singer over the performance, claiming she "disturbed public order and tarnished women's honour and respect".

In the event Lopez and her promoter are prosecuted

Game of Thrones stars

Lena Headey (Cersei Lannister) - Game of Thrones stars out of character http://flip.it/dRg9c

Winter Jazz Festival Cape Town 12 June 2015

The month of June meets the warm sounds of the Winter Jazz Festival presented by Kaya FM, Heart FM and DStv. Headlining this year`s festival is international R&B megastar Musiq Soulchild and R&B, gospel and jazz legend Jonathan Butler with friends Oleta Adams and Euge Groove.


Not to be outdone by their overseas compatriots our own local line up promises to deliver the heavy hitters of the South African music scene with Lira confirmed as the opening act for both Cape Town shows. While The Soil introduces Musiq Soulchild to their own acapella style on the 12th June and Judith Sephuma will no doubt wow her fans and Jonathan Butler on the 13th June in Johannesburg.


For more information, visit http://www.winterjazz.co.za or join the conversation on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/winterjazzfestival?fref=ts and Twitter @WinterJazzSA

OneRepublic to Visit Cape Town 21 June 2015

OneRepublic have achieved huge international success through their career. Their first album "Dreaming Out Loud" (2007) was certified as platinum earning them a Grammy nomination and went straight to number 1 in 16 countries. Their first single "Apologise" remixed by Timberland ranks in the top 50 on the Billboard Hot 100`s All-Time Top Songs list and became a worldwide smash hit and their second single "Stop and Stare" followed with the same success. Their second album "Waking Up" (2009) spawned hit singles "All The Right Moves" and "Good Life".

In creating their third full-length album "Native" (2013), OneRepublic travelled to Paris, Greece, London, New York, Seattle, and Vancouver to write and record describing it as a "bold and boundary-pushing follow-up to 2009`s Waking Up, offering up a surge of stadium-sized rock that`s fiercely beat-driven yet ethereal and intimate`. "Native" debuted at number 4 on the Billboard 200 and their hit single "Counting Stars" reached number 2 on the Billboard Top 100, their highest charting single since Apologise, as well as the top 10 of the Kia Top 40 on 947.

OneRepublic`s Native Tour is their largest to date playing over 185 sold out dates around the world and South African fans are encouraged to get their tickets early to avoid disappointment.

Tickets Computicket