Tabla de contenidos para 2021-11-01 en Mercury

Sihle Mavuso sihle.mavuso@inl.co.za As nationwide voting begins today, a presiding officer employed by the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) and based in KwaZulu-Natal is being probed by the police for allegedly stuffing marked voting papers into a ballot box. According to the commission in the province, the unnamed officer was allegedly caught yesterday in a voting station in Umbumbulu, south of Durban. It was not immediately clear which party the officer was trying to aid and whether he or she had been relieved of his or her duties. The commission said yesterday: “In ward 93, Kusakusa Primary School, in Umbumbulu in eThekwini Municipality, a presiding officer was allegedly discovered by party agents stuffing marked ballot papers into a ballot box. This remains an allegation and SAPS are…

JUSTIN MOODLEY | Phoenix PROTEAS wicket keeper and batsman Quinton de Kock is an opportunist and knows which side his bread is buttered. Until now I had a lot of respect for him, but this vanished in a flash when he apologised to Cricket SA (CSA) over the “taking the knee” incident last week. CSA directed all the Proteas players and management in Dubai for the Cricket World Cup to take the knee in protest against racism. All the other International Cricket Council affiliates of the CWC had complied, except South Africa, until CSA put its foot down and made it a directive. Let’s be clear on this kneeling issue: what is it and what purpose does it serve? Bluntly put, it is only an awareness campaign inasmuch…

GLEN CHRISTIE | Durban North YOUR editorial regarding Quinton de Kock was a good one (The Mercury, October 29), however, there are two aspects that should be highlighted even more. One – when politics gets involved in sport, just like it has with the CSA – there will be a backlash from cricket supporters, as no individual should be instructed to bow down to any racist request. Taking the knee in lieu of being fired is a total farce and should be condemned. If this is introduced into all sport, why would anyone want to support South African teams that are forced by political agendas to toe the line and do as they are instructed? Two – taking the knee for BLM is racist, why exclude the other…

THE drought is broken. The cream of the province’s sports and intellectual talent gathered again at Salt Rock last week for the Traditional Schools Lunch, interrupted until now by the Covid-19 pandemic. All the old villains were there. Whisky Wimble, up from Stellenbosch; Whisky Bruyns, from round the corner; Brian Sparks, also from round the corner; Mark Markovitch, flying winger of yesteryear and former mayor of Greytown; my old shipmate (and Kearsney man) Anton van der Post, complaining as ever that I’m biased in favour of Maritzburg Collegeand lunch convener Rob Visick, who announced he was stepping down after many years (but has been nevertheless confirmed in the job for another four years). Also some new villains. Errol Stewart (compere), who played rugby and cricket for Natal; Joel Stransky (College…

After spending several days sleeping outside government offices in Pretoria, opera singer Sibongile Mngoma says she will do it again if Minister of Arts and Culture Nathi Mthethwa is not removed. Mngoma and several artists spent a number of days camped outside the Department of Arts and Culture offices in Pretoria in protest against the “ill-treatment of artists” by the Ministry of Arts and Culture. Mngoma is now home but said she had to sleep outside to stand up for artists. Some people who saw the songstress sleeping on the street offered her food and shelter. The opera singer said she had to explain that she was not sleeping outside because she did not have shelter, but as a protest to remove Mthethwa. “People brought me food and we had…

TWO men have been sentenced to multiple life sentences each for a spate of armed robberies and murders in uMlazi. The Durban High Court sentenced Nhlanhla Brian Zondi, 28, to 31 years and two terms of life imprisonment and Sivuyile Sandile Mbhele, 29, to 31 years and three life terms last week. They committed the crimes between December 2017 and May 2018. “During this period, they killed Siyabonga Cedrick Mnguni and robbed him of his running shoes, waist belt, cap and cellphone. “They also tried to rob a tuckshop, killing the owner, Sibongiseni Sihle Chili. During these altercations, Mthandeni Nte Cele and Ayanda Junior Ngcemu were severely injured,” National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson in KwaZulu-Natal, Natasha Kara said. According to Kara, Mbhele also fatally shot Thembalethu James Ngwanya after trying to…

A policeman is fighting for his life in hospital after gunmen opened fire on police officers and paramedics at an accident scene near Bushbuckridge yesterday, Mpumalanga police said. Police spokesperson Brigadier Selvy Mohlala said police officers and fire and rescue officers, had responded to an accident on the R40 at Ga-Bereta, near Bushbuckridge, at about 2.15am. While the officials were busy, a group of about five men emerged from nearby bushes and fired shots at them. “The suspects also demanded firearms and bullet proofs (vests) from the members,” he said. “A police constable is fighting for his life in hospital for multiple gunshot wounds he sustained after being shot by the suspects who robbed him of his service firearm, a cellphone and keys for the state car,” Mohlala said.…

Assessment suggests ANC will struggle to regain power in Joburg and capital city TODAY, the local government elections will be held. This is an anxious moment for all political parties that will be contesting. Undeniably, they were all on the ground campaigning. Some political parties have made metropolitan municipalities their focal point not only because of their massive influence on the socio-political and economic development posture and political socialisation, but also because the ANC has lost some ground in some of these metros. In this article, I contemplate on the possibility of the return of a coalition government in the City of Tshwane given its strategic importance as the capital city of South Africa. There is no doubt that all eyes will be set on metropolitan municipalities in Gauteng. This…

American Airlines cancelled more than 1 200 flights this weekend, citing bad weather and staffing issues. More than 700 flights were cancelled yesterday, according to flight tracking website FlightAware. A day earlier, more than 540 flights were cancelled. In a letter on Saturday to employees, American Airlines Chief Operating Officer David Seymour said that “these few days to close out October will be challenging”. Two days of severe winds in Dallas-Fort Worth last week reduced arrival capacity by more than half, driving a large number of cancellations, Seymour wrote. “With additional weather throughout the system, our staffing begins to run tight as crew members end up out of their regular flight sequences,” he wrote. “To make sure we are taking care of our customers and providing scheduling certainty for…

Sao Paulo: Brazilian football great Pele remembered his fellow legend late Diego Maradona on Saturday as the mercurial Argentine was recalled across the world on his 61st birth anniversary. Three-time Fifa World Cup winner Pele took to Instagram and wrote: “God gave him the genius. The world gave him its love. Today is Diego’s birthday. Forever, on this day, anyone who loves football will remember what he used to do with the ball. As for me, personally, I have the chance to fondly remember the beautiful friendship we had. These memories are a real gift.” Pele and Maradona had often vied for the title of best footballer in history. The Brazilian and Argentine were jointly named best player of the 20th century by Fifa in 2000. Maradona died on…

London: An Afghan toddler wounded in a suicide bombing near Kabul airport during chaotic international evacuations in August has been reunited with his family in Britain, the government said. Mohammad Raza, 2, who was injured in the August 27 attack that killed scores of people, including 13 US troops, landed on Friday as part of a military airlift from a country that neighbours Afghanistan, Britain’s interior ministry said. He has since rejoined his family, granted a long-term visa to remain in the country. The UK has airlifted more than 15 000 people – British and Afghan citizens – from the war-torn country since the Taliban wrested back power.…

Zaahier Adams zaahier.adams@inl.co.za KAGISO Rabada’s primary discipline is to charge in, bowl fast, deliver yorkers, and take wickets. It’s a straight-forward memo. At the halfway stage of South Africa’s epic T20 World Cup clash against Sri Lanka in Sharjah, Rabada would have felt that he had not executed. He had conceded 32 runs in his three overs with 17 runs, which included a six and two consecutive boundaries leaking off the final balls of his spell. It allowed Sri Lanka to add 48 valuable runs in the last five overs of their innings, which in the context of this gripping encounter was bitterly close to getting them over the line. The fact that it wasn’t is due to Rabada taking his secondary skill much more seriously lately. Having always…

Dan Biggar and Louis Rees-Zammit are set to return to the Wales squad for their match against South Africa after the Six Nations champions’ thumping at the hands of New Zealand. The All Blacks scored 26 points without reply during a ruthless final quarter in Cardiff on Saturday as they recorded a 32nd successive win over Wales, a sequence stretching all the way back to 1953. The British & Irish Lions pair of Northampton flyhalf Biggar and Gloucester wing Rees-Zammit were among seven Wales players unavailable as the game took place outside World Rugby’s autumn international window. They are now set to join the squad as Wales prepare to face the world-champion Springboks at the Principality Stadium on Saturday. Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones and flanker Ross Moriarty then joined…

Yogashen Pillay yogashen.pillay@inl.co.za KWAZULU-NATAL MEC for Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs (Edtea) Ravi Pillay has announced that beaches that were closed after the chemical spill in July from the United Phosphorus LTD (UPL) leased warehouse would be allowed to reopen for recreational activities from tomorrow. “The beaches that were closed due to contamination from the toxic chemical spill emanating from the UPL warehouse in Cornubia in July, would be significantly, but not completely, reopened from November 2,” a statement said yesterday. Pesticide and agro-chemicals spilled into the Ohlanga River, uMhlanga Estuary and the sea as a result of a fire at the warehouse in Cornubia during the July unrest and looting. The announcement comes after a peer review of a specialists’ report on the safety of the beaches. Pillay…

Thami Magubane, Sihle Mavuso and Sibusiso Mboto SECURITY has been beefed up at 128 voting stations across KwaZulu-Natal which are considered high risk ahead of today’s local government elections. Police Minister Bheki Cele told the media outside of a voting station in Camperdown yesterday that while the numbers of voting stations considered high risk were fluctuating, the number of such stations in KZN had grown to 128 by yesterday afternoon. He said there would be about six police officers deployed at each station which was identified as high risk. He said there would also be roving teams of close to 150 police officers that will drive around, monitoring the stations. Meanwhile, the Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) in the province said despite challenges in uMdoni (Mzinto) municipality on the…

PAKS PAKIRIY | Durban North IF YOU hit a man in his wallet, he will apologise. Quinton de Kock is a big hitter when it comes to his earnings. His yearly retainer is about R1.05 million from CSA. Now add to that endorsements and appearance fees, it adds up to a tidy couple of millions. He also makes more money playing on the T20 circuit – all in dollars. Cricket players have much longer “life cycles” when compared to soccer and rugby players. As a result, there is an exponential increase in incomes. So whoever advised him to apologise – be it his management or spiritual adviser – did the right thing to point out the folly of his actions. It made financial sense to him to apologise…

Mike Fisher | Howick I REFER to Duncan du Bois’s letter (The Mercury, October 29) regarding Quinton de Kock. Never a truer word written, Mr Du Bois. It’s such a pity one of South Africa’s most cherished cricketers has been leapt upon for standing by his ideals. To be forced to take the knee is absolutely disgusting and shows how far Cricket SA has degenerated by politicising sport. Shame on you. Every person on this earth has the right to follow his or her beliefs. Mr Du Bois, I’ve not yet read anything you’ve written and not agreed with. Keep it up.…

FAROUK ARAIE | Johannesburg ACCORDING to intelligence reports, Israel is preparing to attack Iran from the air and from seaborne missiles, in a bid to decapitate its nuclear assets. The tense and escalating situation in the Persian Gulf is rapidly spiralling out of control. Any drift towards brinkmanship could ignite an inferno that will be difficult to extinguish. The latest deadly cyberattack on Iran’s petrol distribution network graphically illustrates that Mossad has infiltrated Iran’s entire infrastructure. Any military assault on Iran will have global consequences. At no point since the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, has the world been closer to the unthinkable. An operational plan to wage aerial attacks on Iran “has been in a state of readiness” since 2005. GBU-28 a 5 000 pound…

Jonisayi Maromo jonisayi.maromo@africannewsagency.com AGRICULTURE, Land Reform and Rural Development Minister Thoko Didiza has announced the opening of the application process for hemp permits. The application process, which opened on Friday, follows the declaration of hemp as an agricultural crop under the Plant Improvement Act. Among other things, the legislation provides for import and export control of certain plants and propagating material, as well as maintaining the quality of such plants and propagating material. “It is important to indicate that both hemp and dagga are plants of the same genus, namely Cannabis. However, commercial use of dagga remains prohibited in terms of the Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act 140 of 1992. The declaration of hemp as an agricultural crop now allows the importation, exportation, cultivation, sale and research of hemp…

Lehlohonolo Mashigo lehlohonolo.mashigo@inl.co.za THE National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) has confirmed that it is to oppose the high court application that Eskom has brought against it. In a statement, the regulator said Eskom was seeking relief from the high court to compel it to consider the power utility’s fifth Multi-Year Price Determination (MYPD5) revenue application for the 2022/23, 2023/24 and 2024/25 financial years and for the court to set the time lines for the processing of the MYPD5 revenue application. “Eskom is also seeking a judicial review to set aside the decision of the energy regulator, taken on September 30 2021, to reject Eskom’s MYPD5 revenue application.” In arriving at the decision to oppose the application, Nersa said it considered the “factual matrix, applicable, regulatory and legal…

MILLIONS of South Africans go to the polls today amid a raging Covid-19 pandemic as the Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) says it has implemented safety protocols to ensure that voters are safe. As thousands of party supporters turned up for final campaign rallies last week, Health Minister Joe Phaahla said he was more worried about the parties’ final weekend rallies becoming superspreader events than the election day itself. The IEC has encouraged people to carry their own pens to voting stations as they focus on minimising contact. IEC national spokesperson Kate Bapela said voters are reminded that they must wear a mask or appropriate face covering and observe social distancing. “Hand sanitising facilities, as well as stationery, will be provided at each voting station. Voters wishing to bring their…

G20 countries have agreed on the need to keep global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, in language tougher than the 2015 Paris accords, several sources said yesterday. Three sources said diplomats had approved language for a final summit communique going beyond what was agreed six years ago, when the landmark climate deal called for capping global warming at well below 2°C and ideally closer to 1.5°C. The new declaration, expected to be released late yesterday, will talk about keeping the 1.5°C target “within reach”, one source said, without elaborating. Earlier drafts suggested that G20 countries were going to fall short of a firm pledge on the 1.5°C figure, but officials worked through the night to toughen up the language ahead of the crucial UN talks on climate starting in…

Japan’s stock market has surged and luxury cars are selling fast in Tokyo after eight years of economic stimulus under Abenomics, but that new wealth is concentrated in a small slice of society rather than broadly, data show. Addressing that divide has become a high priority for new PM Fumio Kishida, who promised to tackle income disparity made worse by the pandemic. But he has offered few clues as to how he will do so. “It’s like everyone has become poor,” said Masanori Aoki, 62, who owns a small coffee shop in a working class district of northeast Tokyo. “With Abenomics, the finance minister talked about wealth trickling down. But there was no such thing, was there? Almost nothing,” said Aoki, who took a job as a part-time kindergarten bus…

KARACHI: A hardline Pakistani Islamist group called off a protest march to the capital Islamabad yesterday after reaching a deal with the government, ending two weeks of clashes that left at least seven policemen dead and scores injured. The Tehrik-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP) began the march calling for the release of jailed leader Saad Rizvi and the expulsion of France’s ambassador over publication caricatures depicting the Prophet Mohammad in a French satirical magazine. “An agreement for peace and betterment has been reached,” Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, who represented the government in negotiations with the TLP, said.…

Zayn Malik and Gigi Hadid have reportedly called it quits. The former One Direction star and the 26-year-old model – who have 13-month-old daughter Khai together – are reportedly “not together right now”, after Malik allegedly got into an altercation with Gigi’s mother, Yolanda Hadid, earlier this month. A source told People magazine: “They are not together right now. They are both good parents, though. They co-parent. Yolanda is of course very protective of Gigi. She wants the best for her daughter and grandchild.” TMZ first reported on Thursday that Yolanda was considering filing a police report after Malik, 28, allegedly “struck” her last week. But moments before the story was published, Malik took to social media to post a statement about the incident, where he said he would “not…

Nomonde Zondi and Yogashen Pillay RESIDENTS of an informal settlement awoke in the early hours of yesterday morning to find thick clouds of black smoke rising from a massive fire. The informal settlement residents of Horseshoe Road in Clairwood said they were told to leave their homes and gather at the sports ground for their safety. The fire claimed the lives of three people. Transnet Pipelines spokesperson Saret Knoetze said: “Transnet Pipelines received notification of a fire at Horseshoe Road which is in close proximity to the fuel pipeline. The Transnet Pipelines National Operations Centre immediately shut down the pipeline and activated the emergency response plan.” Knoetze said that eThekwini Disaster Management, the SAPS, fire department and Spill response, responded to the fire. “The preliminary assessment indicates a botched fuel…

A sample of Sitting Bull’s hair has helped scientists confirm that a South Dakota man is the famed 19th century Native American leader’s great-grandson using a new method to analyse family lineages with DNA fragments from long-dead people. Researchers said DNA extracted from the hair, stored at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, confirmed the familial relationship between Sitting Bull, who died in 1890, and Ernie LaPointe, 73, of Lead, South Dakota. LaPointe, who has three sisters, said: “People have been questioning our relationship to our ancestor.” The study represented the first time that DNA from a long-dead person was used to demonstrate a familial relationship between a living individual and a historical figure – extracted from remains such as hair, teeth or bones. The new method was developed over…

I had already learnt long before the boys were born to get out and stay out of Nana Judy’s way. When Judy purchased my toddler son a dozen shirts all the same colour and size I asked Judy not to spend quite so much money on him. “They were on sale. It’s my money. It’s my grandson. I will buy him anything I want. That’s that. What’s next?” Since Judy’s death when the boys were eight and four, I have stood at her graveside and let Judy know a few things. It feels flat, empty. I know she is not there. Nonetheless, I thank her for unconditionally loving my two boys and me. There are times when traffic is stopped near the graveyard and I can look through the fence…

THYAGARAJ MARKANDAN | Kloof THE nation is crying, crying out to the government to attend to their needs. No jobs, no money and no food. No decent shelter, no tap water and no electricity. But potholes galore, piles of rubbish and sewage on the streets. Not only now, but for the past 30 or so years residents have been complaining about their appalling living conditions in the townships, but no one cares about them. Councillors and government officials have all turned a deaf ear to their cries. But now they are all going to the townships, not so much to address their residents’ grievances but to con them for their votes for the elections. Promises and promises. But come tomorrow, all the promises and pledges will disappear like…

Norman Cloete norman.cloete@inl.co.za Kidnappings have become big business in South Africa and kidnappers have become much more dangerous. This is the warning from Kidnapping Incident Manager at TSU International, advocate Herman Bosman, who said the public needed to be more vigilant, not just on the roads but also when leaving and arriving at home and work. Gauteng tops the lists of where most kidnappings happen in South Africa followed by KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape. The 2019/2020 crime statistics showed that Kempton Park (122) occupied the top spot for the most kidnappings reported at a police station in that period, followed by Tembisa (74), Inanda in KZN (74), Randfontein (67) and Johannesburg Central (66). Bosman, however, warned that while there was value in these statistics they didn’t necessarily paint a…

Karen Singh karen.singh@inl.co.za THE Verulam Regional Court has sentenced a father to life imprisonment for the rape and sexual assault of his 12-year-old daughter in February 2017 in the Ndwedwe area in KwaZulu-Natal. The 45-year-old man was sentenced to 10 years and life imprisonment last week. National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson in KZN, Natasha Kara, said five years ago while the victim was living with her grandmother, the father insisted that she live with him at the age of 12. “From then on, he raped and sexually assaulted her on diverse occasions, sometimes using a firearm to threaten her into submission,” said Kara. However, the man was arrested after his daughter eventually reported the incident to her teacher, she said. Kara said the man was sentenced to life imprisonment for rape…

Karen Singh, Ntando Makhubu and Chulumanco Mahamba The SA Weather Service says it is expecting mainly fine weather conditions with no rain over most parts of KwaZulu-Natal today as residents head out to cast their vote in the local government elections. Weather bureau forecaster Wisani Maluleke said conditions would become partly cloudy towards the evening. Temperatures are expected to be warm to hot, he said. He said both Durban and Richards Bay were expected to reach a maximum of 26°C, while Pietermaritzburg would reach a maximum of about 31°C. “In some parts of the province we are expecting hot temperatures especially in Ladysmith and Newcastle where temperatures are expected to reach 31/32°C,” Maluleke said. Maluleke said no rain was forecast. “In the province because of temperatures we are expecting in…

AS THE country heads to the local government elections, political parties will be hoping that their efforts to woo indecisive voters will pay off the required dividends at the polls. The campaign trail has been messy and, I dare say, downright merciless in certain instances. It was bruising and, at times, insensitive and racially polarising. But with the settling of the political dust from the campaigning that has taken place over the past months and weeks, and whatever the outcomes of the coming electoral showdown may be, we have to ask ourselves: do we let the lessons gleaned on the campaign trail leading up to the 2021 local government elections fade from our collective memories or do we allow them to lead us to abandoning our feigned obliviousness to the…

Khartoum: Sudanese anti-coup protesters yesterday manned barricades in Khartoum a day after a deadly crackdown on mass rallies, as a defiant civil disobedience campaign against the military takeover entered its seventh day. Tens of thousands turned out across the country for Saturday’s demonstrations, marching against the army’s power grab on October 25, when top general Abdel Fattah al-Burhan dissolved the government, declared a state of emergency and detained Sudan’s civilian leadership. The move sparked a chorus of international condemnation and punitive aid cuts, with world powers demanding a swift return to civilian rule and calls for the military to show “restraint” against protesters. Volker Perthes, UN Special Representative to Sudan, said yesterday he had met with detained Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, who is under armed guard by the ruling…

LONDON: A massive “virtual heist” has been carried out on exclusive London-based jewellery firm Graff, with the criminals now demanding a multimillion-pound ransom, according to The Daily Mail. The infamous Conti gang of hackers purportedly claimed responsibility for the audacious attack, wanting the personal details of world leaders, Hollywood A-listers and billionaire tycoons. The raid reportedly targeted a client database containing high-profilers such as ex-US president Donald Trump and his wife, former first lady Melania Trump.…

France and Britain offered wildly differing accounts after their leaders met yesterday to resolve a row over post-Brexit fishing rights that threatens to turn into a full-blown trade war. President Emmanuel Macron’s office was optimistic after the French leader met Prime Minister Boris Johnson one-on-one, without aides, for about half an hour on the margins of the G20 summit in Rome. The leaders agreed to work on “practical and operational measures” to resolve the dispute in the coming days, the office said. They were united on the need for a “de-escalation” with concrete action “as soon as possible” it added. But Downing Street denied any such agreement, and insisted it was up to Paris to back down on a threat to trigger trade reprisals against British fishing catches and other…

Washington : A US Air Force bomber escorted by fighter jets from allies including Israel has flown over key waterways in the Middle East where American and Iranian naval vessels have faced off. The B-1B Lancer passed over the Gulf, Bab al-Mandeb Strait, Suez Canal and Gulf of Oman, the US Central Command said. It also flew over the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for a fifth of world oil output at the head of the Gulf that Iran considers a strategic area of influence. “The bomber task force mission was intended to deliver a clear message of reassurance,” Central comand said.…