Thieves in South Africa steal whisky after alcohol ban
Cape Town: Two days after South Africa reinstated a ban on alcohol to curb the spread of coronavirus, thieves have broken into a liquor store in Cape Town.
“They basically emptied the whiskies out,” Mark Kallend, shop owner of Liquor Bothasig, told News24 about the incident early on Tuesday morning.
“They ripped the safety gate off with their vehicle… they tied a rope around it and yanked it off. They then threw a boulder through the window,” he said, the BBC reported.
Bottles of wine and brandy were left untouched, he added.
Kallend said the incident showed how desperate people were.
In a speech on Sunday President Cyril Ramaphosa said the alcohol ban – the second this year – would take pressure off the health system.
More than 40% of the 40,000 trauma cases recorded in the country in a week are alcohol-related – something the health system cannot afford right now.
When it comes to coronavirus, South Africa is the hardest-hit country in Africa with more than 275,000 cases.
Deaths resulting from Covid-19 have also risen to more than 4,000, and government projections estimate this could increase to 50,000 by the end of the year. (IANS)
Man wins $2M lottery after clerk gives him wrong ticket
EASTPOINTE, Michigan: A man in suburban Detroit was given the wrong lottery ticket. But there was no mistake about the result: a $2 million winner.
The Michigan Lottery said the man stopped at a gas station in Eastpointe, Michigan, to put air in a tire. He needed change for the air machine and also asked for a $10 Lucky 7’s scratch-off ticket.
“The clerk handed me the $20 ticket by mistake. He offered to exchange it for me but something told me to keep it. I am sure glad I did!” the man said in a statement released Tuesday by the Lottery.
The name of the 57-year-old man wasn’t released. He decided to take a lump sum of about $1.3 million instead of $2 million spread over many years, the Lottery said. (AP)
Police: Delaware shop owner threw pizza at attempted robber
GREENWOOD, Delaware: The owner of a pizza shop used his available resources to fend off a robbery attempt by a man with a machete outside his store in Delaware, police said. He threw a pizza at him.
It happened on Friday as the owner of Stargate Pizza in Greenwood was closing down his shop for the night, Delaware State Police said in a news release. The owner told troopers that a man with a machete approached him demanding money. He said he told him he didn’t have any, and threw a pizza at him, causing the machete-wielding man to flee in a car.
Troopers say the shop owner was not injured. They’re asking anyone with information to contact state police. The news release doesn’t say how the pizza was disposed of. (AP)