The Star TUESDAY MAY 27 2014 3NEWS

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FIVE-DAY FORECAST FOR JOHANNESBURG Min Max oC

524

521

422

52̀3

624

TOMORROW’S WEATHER SA Weather ServiceTel 082 162

WORLD TEMPERATURES Minimum Maximum oC

MAIN CITIES Minimum Maximum oCGAUTENGClear

Today’s Temps Min Max oC

Pretoria . . . . . . . 7 26 ClearKlerksdorp . . . . . .6 25 ClearVereeniging . . . . .0 22 ClearPolokwane . . . . . 6 25 Clear

SUNRISE: 06:45

SUNSET: 17:24

MOON:NEW MOON MAY 28 20:40

1216

60%

1427

422

1527

1324

725

723

722

Cape Town Durban Mbombela

Bloemfontein East London

Polokwane Kimberley Rustenburg

1526

Port Elizabeth

Amsterdam 13 19 RainAthens . . . .16 29 ClearAuckland 4 15 ClearBarcelona . 13 21 RainBeirut . . . . .18 28 ClearBerlin . . . . .12 22 RainBrussels . . .11 17 Rain

Cairo . . . . . 23 38 ClearChicago . . .16 25 RainHarare 27 29 RainLisbon . . . .12 20 P/CloudyLondon . . .12 16 P/CloudyNairobi . . . .14 25 RainNew York . .18 29 Rain

Paris . . . . . .11 17 RainRome . . . . .12 21 RainSydney 14 23 P/CloudyTaipei 23 29 P/CloudyTel Aviv 17 33 P/CloudyTokyo . . . . 17 26 RainTunis . . . . .17 24 Rain

Today 27th Wed 28th Thu 29th Fri 30th Sat 31st

VISIT THE WEBSITE AT WWW.WEATHERSA.CO.ZA

Toddler-biting dog euthanisedLOS ANGELES: A dog which

viciously attacked a 4-year-old

boy, only to be scared off by a fear-

less cat, has been euthanised, it

has been claimed.

Scrappy, an eight-month-old

Labrador-Chow mix, was appar-

ently put down at Bakersfield ani-

mal shelter after he was filmed

attacking his young neighbour

Jeremy Triantafilo.

Jeremy’s life was saved when

his pet cat Tara pounced on the

dog as it launched its attack,

chasing the vicious animal down

the street so that her best friend

could receive emergency medical

help.

Scrappy was destroyed after he

continued to display aggressive

traits during a 10-day assessment

period at Bakersfield animal cen-

tre, according to TMZ website.

He bit two staff during his stay,

and tried to attack any employee

who brought him food and water.

Last Wednesday, surveillance

footage emerged showing Tara

the cat saving Jeremy by pounc-

ing on the dog as it attacked him.

Tara’s owners said she has

been best friends with Jeremy

since he was born.

She followed Erica and Roger

Triantafilo home from a park six

years ago and had been a member

of the family ever since.

“It’s pretty amazing to see a cat

take on a dog and selflessly put

herself out there,” Roger Trian-

tafilo said. “That dog did not even

know what hit him.”

Erica explained that she had

been near to the house watering a

tree when the neighbour’s dog,

Scrappy, escaped and grabbed her

son by the leg.

“I’d never seen a dog just

shake a child like that so vio-

lently,” she said. “I just remember

hearing him, and the next thing I

know, I see my cat flying out of

nowhere and getting to this dog.”

After the attack, Tara can be

seen chasing the dog away before

returning to Jeremy’s side.

In an interview with the Bak-

ersfield Californian, his family

said she had always been protec-

tive over their oldest child and

slept in his crib when he was a

baby. They have younger twin

boys. Tara became part of the

family in 2008 when she followed

them home from a park – and they

accepted her into their home,

although Erica is allergic to cats.

She “really just adopted us

from there”, Erica said.

They named her Tara after

“Zatara”, which was the name

given to Edmond Dantes in The

Count of Monte Cristo by smug-

glers. They told him it means

driftwood.

Erica said: “She’s our little

driftwood. She’s amazing.”

Jeremy, who has mild autism,

needed stitches to the deep wounds

on his legs but is otherwise fine.

– Daily Mail

JOYCE LEEjoyce.lee@inl.co.za

JUST A day in office and theMinister of Finance, NhlanhlaNene, already has a fakeTwitter account.

The minister’s office issueda warning yesterday that@NhlanhlaNeneZA was a fake handle.

“Mr Nene does not have aTwitter account,” it said.

The Twitter account,created on Sunday, already has3 693 followers and 17 tweets.On the Twitter account, theimpostor made a number ofbold statements, includingpromises to bring changeduring Nene’s time in office.

“I believe that South Africawill regain its position as theleading economy in Africa. Bythe time I leave office, this Ishould accomplish,” it read.

Another tweet made amockery of the 2008 incidentin which Nene fell off a chairwhile being interviewed liveon SABC2. He was then

chairman of the financeportfolio committee.

“My brains did not falloutwhen I fell off that chair.I won’t collapse the SAeconomy. Have faith in me,fellow South Africans,” readthe tweet.

The first tweet thanked@SAPresident for the

appointment.The fake account also took

aim at Nigerian PresidentGoodluck Jonathan, whoattended President JacobZuma’s inauguration. “Insteadof being at the forefront of thediscovery of those girls, GJchooses to have fun at#Inauguration 2014. Prioritise,

African leaders!”The latest tweet said Nene

admired @ThuliMadonsela3.“She’s an example of what an African civil servant oughtto be.”Tweeter responses:@rayjoe: Don’t feel bad if you fell for the fake@BgkabgkaBebeZA

gii,gk.r6DPJ0 You’re not alone,@helenzille & 3 700 otherswere tricked too.@sibahleFresh1: I see what youdid there;) not funny tho!@steve hofmeyr: When I heardour new Finance Minister wasNhlanhla Nene I almost fell offmy share (sic)@Kaloo5: Nhlanhla

Nene should have been namedchairman of the financeministry instead of ministerafter the SABC chairgatescandal@NtokozoTsh: I’ll give this newcabinet cluster a chance.Nhlanhla Nene can attest,when you fall once you canpick yourself up and try again.

Nene becomes fall guy again in Twitter attackTUMBLE:Nhlanhla

Nene fallsoff his

chairduring aninterview

in 2008.

PICTURES:YOUTUBE

Posting to police the arts comes as a surprise

MPILETSO MOTUMImpiletso.motumi@inl.co.za

WHEN former police

minister Nathi Mthe-

thwa was named as

the new arts and culture min-

ster on Sunday, the news came

as a surprise to many.

In the social media world,

many were shocked and disap-

pointed at the thought that

someone they thought knew

little about the arts was taking

over the helm of a ministry

that was always put on the

back burner.

For others, the problem

was not so much the minister

but the way the industry was

being portrayed.

To add insult to injury,

many joked about Mthethwa’s

new role, calling it a demotion

and sparking some irate

tweets from those passionate

about the arts.

Actress Florence Masebe,

who is known for her active

voice in promoting the arts

and talking about its short-

falls, expressed her concern

and optimism.

She tweeted, “arts and cul-

ture is not an inferior min-

istry” after Twitter comments

were made about the ministry

being second best to other

more “important” ones.

Actor Fana Mokoena,

another passionate advocate

for the arts, tweeted that there

was now a dire need for South

African artists to become

more active in politics so one

day they would be able to take

charge of the department.

An interesting post by

Artslink, an information net-

work for the arts and culture

community, on its Facebook

page read: “Musical chairs.

We have a new minister of

arts and culture Nathi

Mthethwa, formerly minister

of police.

“The deputy minister is

Rejoice Mabudafhasi, formerly

deputy minister of water and

environmental affairs.

“No arts and culture

qualifications or background

visible for either.

“Are we moving the

deckchairs or sinking the

Titanic?”

Others added their opin-

ions, asking why Collins

Chabane, the new minister of

public service and adminis-

tration, was not considered to

take over the arts and culture

ministry because he is a musi-

cian and would understand

the role much better.

The differences in opinion,

however, did not deter people

from having some faith in

Mthethwa.

They commended him for

being an open leader willing to

hear what others had to say.

Minister’s move to his new beat gets the tongues wagging

MUSICALCHAIRS:NathiMthethwagoes fromthe policeto arts andculture.

@NomalangaSA: I don’t gethow shifting from Ministry ofArresting Criminals to Ministry ofCultivating Intellectual andAesthetic Sense is a demotion.@FloMasebe: It is done. Let’swelcome Mthethwa and hisdeputy. There’s work to do.@NomfundoEngler: I don’tknow why people think arts andculture is an insignificant ministry.@thembisak: whaaaaaaat???!!!!why do they always give

Arts&Culture to the ones whoknow nothing about it??!!!ayayayayyyyy.@mbokazizanele: Could be a wonderful surprise for theindustry.@SwaziDlamini: We could have used a Mbalula in arts and culture.@fanamokoena: NathiMthethwa is now the Minister ofArts and Culture *grabs Essenceof Life*

@Tril_Frog: I also wonder whatNathi Mthethwa did to Zuma toget so demoted. From thepowerful police to mere arts andculture! Ay.@Afurakan: #DearLeader howabout an artist for minister of artsand culture?@mynameisjerm: Why thepolice minister is now the artsand culture minister is obvious.He loves Zuma’s spear and wantsto protect it from assholes.@Linda_Sibiya: To NathiMthethwa: We hope we will seechange.@NdumisoNgcobo: Hawu babawethu Msholozi, do you knowthat Collins Chabane is a poet andrecording musician? Hello!

POETIC JUSTICE

BIZARRE: Tara the cat chases Scrappy the dog away from attacking atoddler, in footage captured by security camera. PICTURE: YOUTUBE

Play to helpminers atMarikanaA RUSTENBURG-basedtheatre group hasdeveloped a musical play onevents leading to the killingof people in Marikana,North West, two years ago.

“The play portraysproblems that led tomigrant labour, socialchallenges in the mines, andoffers some solutions,”Thapelo Mokhutshoane,producer and writer of theSongs of Marikana, saidyesterday.

In the play, the grouppropose the establishmentof a trust fund to which allmineworkers wouldcontribute monthly.

“The money will helpthem to start projects whenthey leave the mines. It willalso help them to educatetheir children,” he said.

The play, to be held inRustenburg, runs fromtoday until Friday.

Meanwhile, talks to endthe wage strike at theLonmin mine continued inJoburg yesterday. – Sapa