Monitor: All the news of the world - Miscellaneous

Stories from around the world

Mail & Guardian

South Africa

ISAAC MOFOKENG, who shot Johannesburg Zoo's Max the gorilla while fleeing police, was sentenced to 40 years in jail. He was convicted on 10 counts including rape, robbery and malicious damage to property (the gorilla). The magistrate called Mofokeng "a loose cannon, a danger to society and a walking time bomb - if you are left outside, the next crime you will commit is murder".

Middle East Times

Egypt

ALTHOUGH OFTEN portrayed as exotic in Orientalists' writings and paintings, sandstorms, called khamaseen, are a gritty fact of life that Egyptians and other North Africans face every spring. This year the weathermen expect us to have anywhere from six to seven khamaseens. Severity of the storms cannot be predicted in a long-range forecast. The largest of khamaseens develop over the Atlas mountains of Morocco. An area of low pressure moves off the mountain range and slides on to the hot sandy Sahara. It moves quickly, gathering energy from the heat and pulling moist, cool air from Europe and the Mediterranean as it gathers strength. By the time it reaches Egypt, it has accumulated dust, seeds and insects from the west.