- E.Guinea, Gabon clash at ICJ over oil-rich islands
- New blow for UK's Starmer as growth data disappoints
- China's top banks to tweak mortgage rates to boost housing market
- Muslim women break taboos navigating east London's waterways
- Nepal dam-building spree powers electric vehicle boom
- More than 60 dead from storm Helene as rescue, cleanup efforts grow
- Dozens missing, 9 dead in migrant boat wreck off Spanish Canaries
- Death toll from Hurricane John hits eight in Mexico
- Storm Helene's toll rises as rescue and cleanup efforts gain pace
- SpaceX launches mission to return stranded astronauts
- Storm Helene kills 44, threatens more 'catastrophic' flooding as cleanup begins
- SpaceX set to launch mission to return stranded astronauts
- Storm Helene kills 44, threatens more 'catastrophic' flooding
- Boeing strike grinds on as latest talks fail to reach agreement
- Iran 'news' sites, hackers target Trump ahead of US election
- US ports brace for potential dockworkers strike
- Japan's speedy, spotless Shinkansen bullet trains turn 60
- US hurricane deaths rise to 44, fears of more 'catastrophic' flooding
- Global stocks mostly rise, cheering Beijing stimulus
- Europe en route for Moon with new simulator, says astronaut Pesquet
- Fireworks forecast if comet survives risky Sun flypast
- Argentina judge orders dictionary to delete pejorative definition of 'Jewish'
- Global stocks rise on rate hopes, Beijing stimulus
- S.African woman turns 118, among the oldest in the world
- UK clears $4 bn AI partnership between Amazon, Anthropic
- Barca fans barred from Champions League away game over racist banner
- Chinese stocks extend surge, Europe higher on Beijing stimulus
- Pope says Church must 'seek forgiveness' for child sexual abuse
- China caps week of 'bazooka' stimulus for ailing economy with rate cut
- Cuts, cash, credit: China bids to jumpstart flagging economy
- France's debt weighs heavier ahead of budget debate
- Iran treads carefully, backing Hezbollah while avoiding war
- Return to sender: waste stranded at sea stirs toxic dispute
- 'Broken' news industry faces uncertain future
- On remote Greek island, migratory birds offer climate clues
- Taken from mother by nuns, victim seeks answers as pope visits Belgium
- China cuts amount banks hold in reserve to boost lending
- Hong Kong, Shanghai extend surge as China optimism boosts markets
- Vietnam president reiterates support for Cuba during official visit
- Drought reduces Amazon River in Colombia by as much as 90%: report
- Stay or go? Pacific Islanders face climate's grim choice
- Florida bracing for 'unsurvivable' Hurricane Helene
- Poverty rises to over 52 percent in Milei's Argentina
- Chloe's see-through look may not be for Kamala Harris
- Champagne houses abuzz over English sparkling wine
- Macron, Trudeau pledge to work for 'decarbonized' economies
- Hurricanes, storms, typhoons... Is September wetter than usual?
- China stimulus, tech optimism boost stock markets
- 'Unsurvivable' Hurricane Helene races towards Florida
- Macron meets Trudeau in Canada as both face political setbacks
NFT of Mandela's arrest warrant auctioned for $130,000
An NFT version of an arrest warrant for anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela has raised $130,550 at auction, with proceeds going towards a museum preserving the history of South Africa's anti-apartheid struggle.
South Africa's first democratic, black president was arrested on August 5, 1962, and later jailed for 27 years.
The reserve price at the Saturday night auction in Cape Town was 900,000 rand ($61,800), but the non-fungible tokens or NFT, "sold for 1.9 million ($130,550) via a buyer online," Ahren Posthumus, CEO of the digital auctioneer Momint said on Sunday.
The buyer was a foreigner, based in the United Arab Emirates.
"Proceeds for the Mandela NFT will go to Liliesleaf museum, to keep their doors open and stay afloat," Posthumus told AFP.
Liliesleaf shuttered its doors in September 2021 due to financial difficulties.
Selling art as non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, uses the same technology as crypto-currencies such as Bitcoin. The buyer receives a verified digital token, which proves the artwork is an original.
"This is really a unique and novel way of generating income," Liliesleaf Farm museum founder, Nicholas Wolpe told AFP.
The original document, dated 1961, now yellowed, with gnarled edges and bearing staple holes on one side, is handwritten in both English and Afrikaans.
It has been kept at the Liliesleaf Farm heritage site archives in Johannesburg since around 2006, said Wolpe.
Between 1961 and 1963, the landmark farm in an upscale northern Johannesburg suburb served as the secret headquarters and nerve centre of the then banned African National Congress (ANC), which led the fight against white-minority rule.
Mandela hid there for some time under the guise of a farm worker, dressing in overalls, before leaving to raise funds abroad.
L.K.Baumgartner--CPN