Image copyright AFP Image caption The right to practise polygamy is protected in the South African Constitution Source: BBC South Africans are wondering how serious President Jacob Zuma is about austerity after it emerged this week that the state had spent about 8.6m rand ($550,000; £374,000) on new cars for his wives over the past three years. In response to a parliamentary question from the opposition this week, Police Minister Nathi Nhleko said the police had spent close to $230,000 alone on luxury cars for President Zuma's four wives this year - despite a call for citizens to tighten their belts as South Africa's economy struggles to meet growth targets. He said a total 11 vehicles for Mr Zuma's wives had been purchased out of the police budget: Four Range Rovers bought in 2013 for $60,000 each Two Land Rover Discovery worth $40,000 each bought in 2014 Two Audi Q7s bought in March this year for $40,000 And three Audi A6s also bought in March this year for...

Comments   Sign in to like   Reblog on Tumblr   Share   Tweet   Email Bangalore (India) (AFP) - India successfully launched its first mini space shuttle on Monday as New Delhi's famously frugal space agency joined the global race to make rockets as reusable as airplanes. The shuttle was reportedly developed on a budget of just one billion rupees ($14 million), a fraction of the billions of dollars spent by other nations' space programmes. The Reusable Launch Vehicle, or RLV-TD, which is around the size of a minibus, hurtled into a blue sky over southeast India after its 7:00am (0130 GMT) lift off. After reaching an altitude of about 70 kilometres (43 miles), it glided back down to Earth, splashing into the Bay of Bengal 10 minutes later. The test mission was a small but crucial step towards eventually developing a full-size, reusable version of the shuttle to make space travel easier and cheaper in the future. "We have successfully accom...

By Okechukwu Okugo The name George Zimmerman was checked in the archive of scientific inventors, living or dead in America, but was not found. It was Googled among the names of great American thinkers and entertainment icons, and was not found either. Then, it was checked in the archives of great American humanitarians, it was no where near the list. But it was later revealed, that all the fizz about his name, was nothing but for the killing of an aspiring American youth, Trayvon Martin, which from time to time he keeps on fanning the amber of the shaming incident, and still granting interviews, today, over and over again about a past and supposedly bygone incident, that happened in the night of February 26, 2012. Ever since then, nothing positive about the name in the media, had ever cropped up, yet he keeps struggling to see he sustains his celebrity status in the media. Last year, May 11, 2015, the New York Post reported how George Zimmerman first threatened a man in a ...

By Okechukwu Okugo Towards the end of April, 2016, millions of dead fish were washed ashore from Vietnam's sea, prompting pockets of protests round some of their major and minor cities, like Nha Trang, Vung Tau, Da Nang, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh, according to Victoria Ho, in an article published in Mashable. While it was also reported that Vietnam's director of agriculture department, Nguyen Phuoc Trung, fingered polluted water in a canal, that had direct links from a sewage system, discharging waste-water into the surrounding waters and the canal. At the same time, local media sources and protesters had been linking plastic wastes from Formosa, a Taiwanese firm that produces plastic. This had lead Formosa, issuing a formal press release, denying the accusations; but their denials were weakened by a form of acceptance from Vietnam's environment minister, who had disclosed the existence of Formosa's illegal waste pipe at one of its Steel plants, according to the Mas...

Getty BY  MARLISSE CEPEDA MAY 15, 2016 309 From avid gardeners to hikers, anyone who spends a lot of time outdoors runs the risk of crossing paths with a poisonous snake. And if you think you're not in a snake-prone state, think again. According to the  CDC , venomous snakes are found across the country, with the eastern and southern states at higher risk. Some of the most common varieties are copperheads, coral snakes, rattlesnakes and water moccasins (also called cottonmouths).  Each year in the U.S., approximately 7,000 to 8,000 people get venomous snake bites. Globally, that number jumps to  2.4 million . Even though the national figure isn't alarmingly high, bites can be fatal, especially if proper steps aren't taken once the incident occurs.  One of the biggest myths surrounding treatment is that sucking the veno...

SOURCE: THE ADVOCATE BY BILLY GUNN NOTE: This article appeared in the source under the title: Seth Fontenot to be released Sunday, served less than 1 year behind bars for teen’s killing Seth Fontenot will walk free again Sunday, when he's released from the Lasalle Correctional Center after serving 10 1/2 months for killing 15-year-old Austin Rivault in 2013. Fontenot’s release comes a lot sooner than it could have been: His trial on first-degree murder, which carries an automatic life sentence, ended up delivering a manslaughter conviction. State District Judge Ed Rubin sentenced Fontenot to 13 months, which is at the lower end of manslaughter’s zero- to 40-year sentencing range. With good behavior and other factors in his favor, Fontenot is being released from the custody of the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections almost three months shy of the full 13 months. Pam Laborde, a spokeswoman for the corrections department, confirmed that Fo...

Source: This Article Appeared In AFP With The Following Title As Below: Health Doctors raise concerns after elderly Indian woman gives birth AFP   Wed, May 11 8:20 AM PDT   Comments   Sign in to like   Reblog on Tumblr   Share   Tweet   Email New Delhi (AFP) - Doctors in India on Wednesday raised ethical and health concerns after a woman gave birth to her first child in her 70s, following two years of IVF treatment. Daljinder Kaur gave birth last month to a healthy boy after falling pregnant by her 79-year-old husband, following fertility treatment at a northern Indian clinic. Kaur said the couple, married for 46 years, were overjoyed at finally having their first child after enduring years of taunts in a country where infertility is sometimes seen as a curse from God. “I feel blessed to be able to hold my own baby. I had lost hope of becoming a mother ever,” Kaur told AFP from her home in Amritsar city. “I used to feel...