"
Jacques Steenkamp, Beeld
Pretoria – Three Tuks students were attacked and held up with knives for more than three hours at a rock-climbing spot near the Hartbeespoort Dam.
Jaco de Villiers, 21, says he and Gert van der Walt, 24, and Dennis Wevell, 22, decided last Wednesday to go for a climb at the John Rissik Estate, on the Brits side of the dam.
“We left our vehicle on a parking area next to the R512 and walked about 1km to the popular Chosspile cliffs. When we got to the picnic area, six armed men jumped out of the bushes and attacked us,” De Villiers said.
Each was armed with a weapon and acted aggressively. The robbers split up into three groups of two who each overpowered one of the students and put a knife to each one's throat.
“We were forced into the bushes. Then they tied our hands and feet with telephone cables. Then they took all our belongings,” De Villiers said.
Kept sharpening his knife
The robbers untied Van de Walt's feet and took him deeper into the bush.
The other two feared they would be murdered.
“Dennis and I started worrying and we wanted to know what had happened to Van der Walt. Then they untied my feet and took me away too. I thought I was about to die.”
De Villiers was taken to a spot where Van der Walt was lying on his stomach on the ground with his face in the dirt. Wevell soon joined them. Their feet were all tied up again.
“Two of the robbers asked for our bank cards and PINs and left to draw money from an ATM,” he said.
Then one of the robbers told De Villiers: “I want your head”, and when the student didn't understand, the man lifted his head and drew a line across De Villiers' throat with his finger.
Another robber kept sharpening his knife and repeatedly pricked Van der Walt's calves with the knife.
“The other two robbers came back after two hours and were furious because they couldn't draw more than our daily limits. They could only draw R4 000 altogether,” De Villiers said.
Before the robbers fled they untied the students' hands. They left the keys to the vehicle, the bank cards and the cellphone SIM cards behind.
De Villiers says the robbers fled with cellphones, watches, cameras and climbing gear worth about R40 000.
Big problem
Dean van der Merwe, spokesperson for the Mountain Club of South Africa, says on December 29 last year two other climbers were also attacked by armed robbers at Chosspile.
“For the past few years rock climbers have been experiencing the same problems with crime as cyclists. More and more climbers are being targeted by robbers. It's becoming a big problem, since the public are losing access to their climbing places,” Van der Merwe said.
According to Neil Margetts, chairperson of the South African Mountain Climbing Federations, criminals have already taken over about four of the more than 12 climbing spots in and around Johannesburg and Pretoria."
http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Knife-wielding-robber-I-want-your-head-20110117
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lundi 17 janvier 2011
"Come on Knoxie, not today! - frantic rescuers"
"
Fanie van Rooyen, Beeld
Pretoria – Experienced, exhausted rescue workers from the Tshwane fire brigade cried openly and hugged each other on the banks of the Hennops River in Irene, Centurion, on Monday morning after a colleague died trying to save flood victims.
Henry Knox, 42, was pinned underwater by his kayak after it capsized.
Rescue workers tried for 45 minutes non-stop to revive Knox with mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
Knox, who was based at the Wonderboom fire station, was declared dead on arrival at the Unitas hospital after being flown there in a police helicopter.
The pent-up emotion started to show after the rescuers had loaded him onto a stretcher and into a police helicopter.
“It is a very sad day for us,” Johan Pieterse, spokesperson for the Tshwane fire brigade, said on Monday.
“Henry has been a fireman for nearly 24 years. Everyone knew him. He's the first fireman from Pretoria to die while on duty. Many a grown man is in tears today (Monday).”
According to him, Knox was a highly experienced fireman.
Search called off
Knox and his colleagues, as well as several police divers were searching on Monday for seven people who, according to a witness, were swept away by floodwaters after heavy morning rain.
Pieterse said the fire brigade saved another seven people from the floodwaters in Centurion and Irene and at least three vehicles were swept off a bridge.
“A young man in a VW Golf was swept away by the Kaal River, a tributary of the Hennops River and came to a stop near the Glen Road (M18) bridge over the river, south of Irene,” said Pieterse.
The man's car had turned over onto its roof in the water and as a result he had to spend three hours standing on the chassis and holding onto a tree before he could be brought to safety.
"He told us that, while he was stuck, he saw seven people being swept past him by the deluge, which is why we started the search.”
Late on Monday Pieterse said the search for these seven people was called off because no family members had come forward to report missing persons.
Taken away by helicopter
Beeld's reporters moved down along the riverbank, thick with brush, and saw rescue workers trying to resuscitate Knox, who had been pulled from the water onto an island.
After several minutes the firefighters threw a rope from the kayak to the reporters so they could bring their friend to the shore.
Once on the river bank they started mouth-to-mouth resuscitation again as rescue workers repeatedly told their friend: “Komaan, Knoxie! Nie vandag nie ou pêl!" (Come on, Knoxie! Not today old pal!)
Paramedics from Netcare 911 emergency services arrived on the scene and put Knox on a ventilator before he was taken away by police helicopter.
Earlier on Monday two people had to be rescued from an island and a further two from high walls in the Centurion golf estate.
At the bridge over the Hennops River in Nellmapius Road in Irene a woman was saved from the roof of her Mercedes-Benz, which had been swept along by the deluge."
http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Come-on-Knoxie-not-today-frantic-friends-20110117
Fanie van Rooyen, Beeld
Pretoria – Experienced, exhausted rescue workers from the Tshwane fire brigade cried openly and hugged each other on the banks of the Hennops River in Irene, Centurion, on Monday morning after a colleague died trying to save flood victims.
Henry Knox, 42, was pinned underwater by his kayak after it capsized.
Rescue workers tried for 45 minutes non-stop to revive Knox with mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
Knox, who was based at the Wonderboom fire station, was declared dead on arrival at the Unitas hospital after being flown there in a police helicopter.
The pent-up emotion started to show after the rescuers had loaded him onto a stretcher and into a police helicopter.
“It is a very sad day for us,” Johan Pieterse, spokesperson for the Tshwane fire brigade, said on Monday.
“Henry has been a fireman for nearly 24 years. Everyone knew him. He's the first fireman from Pretoria to die while on duty. Many a grown man is in tears today (Monday).”
According to him, Knox was a highly experienced fireman.
Search called off
Knox and his colleagues, as well as several police divers were searching on Monday for seven people who, according to a witness, were swept away by floodwaters after heavy morning rain.
Pieterse said the fire brigade saved another seven people from the floodwaters in Centurion and Irene and at least three vehicles were swept off a bridge.
“A young man in a VW Golf was swept away by the Kaal River, a tributary of the Hennops River and came to a stop near the Glen Road (M18) bridge over the river, south of Irene,” said Pieterse.
The man's car had turned over onto its roof in the water and as a result he had to spend three hours standing on the chassis and holding onto a tree before he could be brought to safety.
"He told us that, while he was stuck, he saw seven people being swept past him by the deluge, which is why we started the search.”
Late on Monday Pieterse said the search for these seven people was called off because no family members had come forward to report missing persons.
Taken away by helicopter
Beeld's reporters moved down along the riverbank, thick with brush, and saw rescue workers trying to resuscitate Knox, who had been pulled from the water onto an island.
After several minutes the firefighters threw a rope from the kayak to the reporters so they could bring their friend to the shore.
Once on the river bank they started mouth-to-mouth resuscitation again as rescue workers repeatedly told their friend: “Komaan, Knoxie! Nie vandag nie ou pêl!" (Come on, Knoxie! Not today old pal!)
Paramedics from Netcare 911 emergency services arrived on the scene and put Knox on a ventilator before he was taken away by police helicopter.
Earlier on Monday two people had to be rescued from an island and a further two from high walls in the Centurion golf estate.
At the bridge over the Hennops River in Nellmapius Road in Irene a woman was saved from the roof of her Mercedes-Benz, which had been swept along by the deluge."
http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Come-on-Knoxie-not-today-frantic-friends-20110117
"SA snubbed in investment rush"
"Geneva - Developing countries and economies in transition together attracted more foreign investment than developed countries in 2010 for the first time, a United Nations study showed on Monday.
The report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) was further evidence that economic recovery is more robust in developing than in rich countries.
However, South Africa and India saw a big drop in foreign direct investment (FDI).
Overall, flows of FDI stagnated at almost $1.12 trillion in 2010 after $1.14bn in 2009, but are still 25% below pre-crisis levels in 2005-2007, Unctad said in its latest global investment trends monitor.
Unctad repeated its forecast that global FDI would pick up to $1.3 trillion to $1.5 trillion this year, with stronger growth held back by the uneven economic recovery, investment protectionism, currency volatility and sovereign debt worries.
On the other hand, multi-national companies in developed countries are now holding a record $4 trillion to $5 trillion in cash - one source of investment, which will be seeking a home.
FDI refers to long-term investments, such as stakes in foreign companies or the construction of a plant for a subsidiary, in contrast to volatile financial investments. Businesses and economists pay close attention to UNCTAD's data.
James Zhan, director of Unctad's investment and enterprise division, said developing countries would not attract most FDI over the long term, once flows to developed countries recovered.
"The absorptive capacity of developing countries of FDI is still limited," he told a news conference.
SA not favoured
Data for 2010 showed a mixed picture, with the European Union attracting 19.9% less FDI than the previous year.
Japan also saw an 83.4% drop to $2bn, largely due to divestments by foreign companies, like carmaker Ford cutting its stake in Mazda and Liberty Global selling its stake in cable TV provider Jupiter Telecommunications to telecoms firm KDDI.
The United States saw FDI jump 43.3% to $186 billion, largely due to a significant revival of reinvested earnings of foreign affiliates - but that was still not much more than half the 2008 level.
Developing countries in Latin America, Southeast and East Asia attracted strong flows, with China topping $100bn for the first time. Hong Kong, which Unctad data treats separately from China, jumped into third place with $62.6bn.
But India saw FDI flows drop 31.5% in 2010 and flows into Africa fell 14.4%, with big drops in South Africa and Nigeria. Zhan said Unctad had not yet analysed the reasons for these falls.
FDI forms also diverged, with cross-border mergers and acquisitions rising 37 percent to $341bn in 2010, owing to the growing stockmarket value of assets and increased financial capacity of buyers. International greenfield investments, by far the biggest form, fell in both value and number.
Looking at the types of investment, economic recovery in many countries and improved performance by foreign affiliates lifted reinvested earnings to double the 2009 figure, while equity capital flows edged down and other capital flows such as intra-company loans saw a significant drop.
Unctad does not yet have a breakdown of the sources of investment, but Zhan said it was clear that developing countries were playing an increasing role as investors, as multinationals - known in Unctad as trans-national corporations or TNCs - in those countries become more financially potent.
"South-South FDI has been increasing because developing-country TNCs are investing," Zhan said. "
http://www.fin24.com/Economy/SA-snubbed-in-investment-rush-20110117
The report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) was further evidence that economic recovery is more robust in developing than in rich countries.
However, South Africa and India saw a big drop in foreign direct investment (FDI).
Overall, flows of FDI stagnated at almost $1.12 trillion in 2010 after $1.14bn in 2009, but are still 25% below pre-crisis levels in 2005-2007, Unctad said in its latest global investment trends monitor.
Unctad repeated its forecast that global FDI would pick up to $1.3 trillion to $1.5 trillion this year, with stronger growth held back by the uneven economic recovery, investment protectionism, currency volatility and sovereign debt worries.
On the other hand, multi-national companies in developed countries are now holding a record $4 trillion to $5 trillion in cash - one source of investment, which will be seeking a home.
FDI refers to long-term investments, such as stakes in foreign companies or the construction of a plant for a subsidiary, in contrast to volatile financial investments. Businesses and economists pay close attention to UNCTAD's data.
James Zhan, director of Unctad's investment and enterprise division, said developing countries would not attract most FDI over the long term, once flows to developed countries recovered.
"The absorptive capacity of developing countries of FDI is still limited," he told a news conference.
SA not favoured
Data for 2010 showed a mixed picture, with the European Union attracting 19.9% less FDI than the previous year.
Japan also saw an 83.4% drop to $2bn, largely due to divestments by foreign companies, like carmaker Ford cutting its stake in Mazda and Liberty Global selling its stake in cable TV provider Jupiter Telecommunications to telecoms firm KDDI.
The United States saw FDI jump 43.3% to $186 billion, largely due to a significant revival of reinvested earnings of foreign affiliates - but that was still not much more than half the 2008 level.
Developing countries in Latin America, Southeast and East Asia attracted strong flows, with China topping $100bn for the first time. Hong Kong, which Unctad data treats separately from China, jumped into third place with $62.6bn.
But India saw FDI flows drop 31.5% in 2010 and flows into Africa fell 14.4%, with big drops in South Africa and Nigeria. Zhan said Unctad had not yet analysed the reasons for these falls.
FDI forms also diverged, with cross-border mergers and acquisitions rising 37 percent to $341bn in 2010, owing to the growing stockmarket value of assets and increased financial capacity of buyers. International greenfield investments, by far the biggest form, fell in both value and number.
Looking at the types of investment, economic recovery in many countries and improved performance by foreign affiliates lifted reinvested earnings to double the 2009 figure, while equity capital flows edged down and other capital flows such as intra-company loans saw a significant drop.
Unctad does not yet have a breakdown of the sources of investment, but Zhan said it was clear that developing countries were playing an increasing role as investors, as multinationals - known in Unctad as trans-national corporations or TNCs - in those countries become more financially potent.
"South-South FDI has been increasing because developing-country TNCs are investing," Zhan said. "
http://www.fin24.com/Economy/SA-snubbed-in-investment-rush-20110117
dimanche 16 janvier 2011
"Mandela is ill"
"
Jan-Jan Joubert
Johannesburg – There are rumours that former president Nelson Mandela is very ill and may be nearing the end.
Nelson Mandela Foundation spokesperson Sello Hatang denied the rumours on Saturday evening and said the 92-year-old Mandela was on holiday with his wife, Graca Machel.
Hatang asked that the couple’s privacy be respected.
Rapport obtained information that Mandela’s health had recently deteriorated.
Several rumours about his health and imminent passing away were recently proven to be untrue.
But according to a reliable source, this time was different. "
http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Mandela-is-ill-20110116
Jan-Jan Joubert
Johannesburg – There are rumours that former president Nelson Mandela is very ill and may be nearing the end.
Nelson Mandela Foundation spokesperson Sello Hatang denied the rumours on Saturday evening and said the 92-year-old Mandela was on holiday with his wife, Graca Machel.
Hatang asked that the couple’s privacy be respected.
Rapport obtained information that Mandela’s health had recently deteriorated.
Several rumours about his health and imminent passing away were recently proven to be untrue.
But according to a reliable source, this time was different. "
http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Mandela-is-ill-20110116
"Killers waited for victims"
"Johannesburg - Two headmen were shot dead while driving to a funeral in Ngcobo on Saturday, Eastern Cape police said.
One of the men, a 72-year-old had ten bullet wounds, while the second man he was driving with had eight bullet wounds, Lieutenant Colonel Mzukisi Fatyela said
"It seems the killer or killers were hiding and waiting for them to slow down at a sharp bend. And then they shot them," he said.
About fifteen spent cartridges were found at the scene.
No one has been arrested following the murders and police were investigating a double murder case."
http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Killers-waited-for-victims-20110115
One of the men, a 72-year-old had ten bullet wounds, while the second man he was driving with had eight bullet wounds, Lieutenant Colonel Mzukisi Fatyela said
"It seems the killer or killers were hiding and waiting for them to slow down at a sharp bend. And then they shot them," he said.
About fifteen spent cartridges were found at the scene.
No one has been arrested following the murders and police were investigating a double murder case."
http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Killers-waited-for-victims-20110115
jeudi 13 janvier 2011
Elections Nigeria: "Tunisia: Further violence reported despite curfew...
Elections Nigeria: "Tunisia: Further violence reported despite curfew...: "'There are reports of further trouble overnight in Tunisia's capital, Tunis, despite a dusk-to-dawn curfew. Hundreds of youths took to the ..."
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