Tabla de contenidos para 2022-06-14 en Mercury

AGRIBUSINESS sentiment was dented by unrelenting input cost pressures with fuel and agrochemicals still elevated, aggressive interest rate hikes and ongoing global and domestic logistics challenges in what was supposed to have been a relatively good season, FNB senior agricultural economist Paul Makube said yesterday. Adding to woes was the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak, which saw bans on South African export products of cloven-hoofed animals. China’s ban was particularly significant given its share of more than 22 percent and 70 percent, respectively, for beef and wool products and had yet to be resolved. The Agbiz/IDC Agribusiness Con- fidence Index (ACI), which was released yesterday, moderated further by 2 points to 60 points in the second quarter following a 12-point decline in the first quarter this year. Makube…

Researchers said yesterday that they have mapped the network in the brain linked to addiction by studying long-time smokers who abruptly quit after suffering brain lesions. They hope the research will give future treatments a target to aim for in the fight against addiction to a range of substances. To find out where addiction resides in the brain, the researchers studied 129 patients who were daily smokers when they had a brain lesion. While more than half kept on smoking as normal after getting the lesion, a quarter immediately quit without any problem – even reporting an “absence of craving”, according to a new study in the journal Nature Medicine. While the lesions of those who stopped smoking were not located in one specific region of the brain, they mapped…

JUGGLING otters are causing problems to householders in the English county of Wiltshire. Several residents in the town of Corsham have reported to the local police that fish are disappearing from their garden ponds – some of them expensive fish. The cops have investigated, according to Sky News. They report that the culprits appear to be otters. And you can’t just go and arrest an otter on suspicion and take it to court. So it’s no longer a police matter. The cops advise the householders to protect their ponds from otters by covering them with a welded mesh or putting up a small wire fence. Where does the juggling come into it? The juggling is closely connected. A study by scientists at the University of Exeter suggests that otters juggle…

ONE of the symbols in South Africa's Coat of Arms may serve to assuage a degree of Netherlands Consul- General Sebastiaan Messerschmidt’s guilt complex about the legacy of Dutch colonialism at the Cape (The Mercury, June 2). Within the oval shape of the coat of arms formed by the elephant tusks, are two symmetrical ears of wheat. According to the explanation, they represent nourishment, fruitfulness, fertility and germination. Wheat is not indigenous to South Africa. It was first planted on July 3, 1652 by Jan van Riebeeck. By 1684 wheat from the Cape was being exported to India. Thus, it is significant that despite what Consul-General Messerschmidt calls “the painful past” of the Dutch era at the Cape, one of the positives of that legacy enjoys elevation within South Africa’s…

Three men from Tsakane, Gauteng, who spent 15 days in jail after being arrested over a false gang rape charge have lost their R3 million civil claim for damages against the police. Judge Elmarie van der Schyff of the North Gauteng High Court dismissed the claim by the three men on the grounds that, contrary to their argument, the police did not have to conduct a thorough investigation before making arrests. In a recent judgment, Judge Van der Schyff said the Criminal Procedure Act (CPA) and recent jurisprudence from the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) spoke volumes about the fact that police could effect an arrest based on reasonable suspicion that a crime was committed. She also considered that the charge that the trio faced, albeit it turned out to…

The National Prosecuting Authority says the second docket which implicates Kelly Khumalo – who was Senzo Meyiwa’s girlfriend – and other people who were in the Khumalo house when the football player was killed has no merit. Meyiwa was murdered in October 2014 during an alleged botched robbery. He was shot in the back. Five men are on trial for his murder. A confirmation letter has been presented to the North Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, yesterday which was signed by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Gauteng Local Division, advocate Andrew Chauke, distancing himself from a recommendation to prosecute the people who were in the house with Meyiwa, including Khumalo. “This office did not make any decision or otherwise regarding the case docket (the second docket accusing Kelly Khumalo and…

The KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Executive Council has approved eThekwini Municipality’s plans to procure energy supply from Independent Power Producers (IPPs). Premier Sihle Zikalala said as the province deals with the long-term response to climate change, the Provincial Executive Council this week endorsed the eThekwini Municipality’s aspirations to procure new generation capacity from IPPs in line with the determination of the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy. He said in terms of these plans, eThekwini aimed to achieve at least 15% of heating requirements using hydrogen as feedstock by 2030. Furthermore, the city wants to achieve industrial transformation of 15% in petrochemical, pulp & paper, cement, iron smelters, agriculture and gas imports infrastructure by 2030. He said eThekwini also aimed to increase the uptake of electric vehicles by 6% annually from 2025…

YOUTH unemployment is one of the critical issues that need to be addressed for the sake of the future stability of the country. As we approach Youth Day, once again there are myriad promises of how the government is dealing with this crisis, especially the youth unemployment figure that Statistics SA reports sits at 66.5%. More than promises are required to fix this problem. Delivery on these promises is crucial to avoid a societal catastrophe from deepening. President Cyril Ramaphosa in his weekly newsletter speaks of the need to build a better future for all the young people of the country. “Today, the youth of South Africa confront new struggles in their quest to lead lives of dignity and in pursuit of a better life. Though we have made substantial…

Ukraine said yesterday its forces had been pushed back from the centre of key industrial city Severodonetsk, where President Volodymyr Zelenskiy described a fight for “literally every metre”. The cities of Severodonetsk and Lysychansk, separated by a river, have been targeted for weeks as the last areas still under Ukrainian control in the eastern Lugansk region. Regional governor Sergiy Gaiday said yesterday Russian forces were “gathering more and more equipment” to “encircle” Severodonetsk. Moscow’s troops had “pushed our units from the centre and continue to destroy our city”, he said. The local Azot chemical plant, where hundreds of civilians have reportedly taken refuge, was being “heavily shelled”, Gaiday added. Severodonetsk has been “de facto” blocked off after Russian forces blew up the “last” bridge connecting it to Lysychansk on Sunday,…

Jerusalem: Israel’s Foreign Minister Yair Lapid yesterday urged citizens in Turkey to leave “as soon as possible” over threats that Iranian operatives are actively planning attacks on Israelis in Istanbul. “It’s a real and immediate danger,” Lapid told a meeting of lawmakers from his Yesh Atid party, citing “several Iranian attempts at carrying out terror attacks against Israelis on holiday in Istanbul”. Iran and Israel are arch rivals and Tehran has accused the Jewish state of assassinations targeting Iranian nuclear and military personnel. Iran claimed that Israel was responsible for the killing of Revolutionary Guards Colonel Sayyad Khodai on May 22. | AFP…

Authorities in China’s capital Beijing raced yesterday to contain a Covid-19 outbreak traced to a 24-hour bar known for cheap liquor and big crowds, with millions facing mandatory testing and thousands under targeted lockdowns. The outbreak of 228 cases linked to the Heaven Supermarket Bar, which had just reopened as restrictions in Beijing eased last week, highlights how hard it will be for China to make a success of its “zero Covid-19” policy as much of the rest of the world opts to learn how to live with the virus. The re-emergence of infections is also raising new concerns about the outlook for the world’s second largest economy. China is only just shaking off a heavy blow from a long lockdown in Shanghai – its most populous city and commercial…

THE vacant position of DA leader in eThekwini is likely to attract fierce competition as councillors in the party jostle to replace outgoing leader Nicole Graham. Graham tendered her resignation yesterday and leaves the council at the end of next month to pursue her Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree in Leadership and Enterprise at the University of Sydney in Australia. Sources in the party said there were at least five people who were considered front-runners for her position. Two of the possible candidates said they would wait for the party to open the nominations process before speaking publicly about their availability to contest for the top job. The nominations process could start at the end of this month. Those looking to enter the race, The Mercury understands, will have…

THE Senzo Meyiwa murder trial is important for closure for his loved ones and also to give assurance to society that the rule of law is alive in South Africa, but instead South Africans watch a daily comedy of errors unfolding in the court room. From Kelly Khumalo’s lawyer, Magdalene Moonsamy, being given her marching orders, to advocate Malesela Teffo being handcuffed and led out of court, it has really raised eyebrows. Police errors have the capacity to seriously jeopardise the prosecution’s case against the defendant, resulting in charges being dismissed and the accused walking free. In some cases, mistakes in the investigation can result in someone being falsely accused of a crime they did not commit. In the Meyiwa murder, forensic police officer, one Thabo Mosia, failed to secure…

NASA has said it plans to assemble a team of scientists to examine “unidentified aerial phenomena” – commonly termed UFOs – in the latest sign of the seriousness with which the US government is taking the issue. The agency said the focus will be on identifying available data, the best ways to gather future data and how it can use that information to advance scientific understanding of the issue. Nasa tapped David Spergel, who formerly headed Princeton University’s astrophysics department, to lead the team and Daniel Evans, a senior researcher in Nasa’s Science Mission Directorate, to orchestrate the study. A team is due to be convened by the fall, then will spend roughly nine months developing a public report on its findings, Evans said. The announcement comes a year after…

I want to thank a 75-year-old man who came with his wife to celebrate a birthday at a tea garden. We struck up a conversation at the bookstall and then shared our table with them since all the others were in the shade. After I bid him farewell in the car park before returning to pay for our refreshments, I was told by the waitress that he had paid for my friends and I as well. Thank you, stranger, what a way to celebrate a birthday. You taught me a lesson in unselfish generosity. I wish you many returns of the day.…

A Gauteng father who allegedly gave his children a poison-laced beverage, killing three of them, has died in hospital. Gauteng police confirmed the 39-year-old’s death yesterday. Police had previously said it was alleged that the man had given his five sons a beverage to drink before they left for school and three of the boys later complained of stomach pains before they died. A fourth boy is reportedly still in hospital. The fifth brother did not drink the beverage. In a separate incident in Gauteng, three children died after consuming meat laced with rat poison in Kaalfontein, near Midrand. It is believed the children’s grandmother sprinkled the poison on the meat and left it in a container on the top of the fridge to kill rats. | Mercury Correspondent…

Multi-disciplinary Economic Infrastructure Task Teams (EITTs) have been created to tackle infrastructure- related crimes in the province. The establishment of the teams was announced by the deputy provincial police commissioner, Major-General Phumelele Makoba, at the Durban Central police station yesterday. Some of the crimes that will be investigated are copper cable theft, damage to essential infrastructure and extortion on construction sites. A SAPS statement said three teams were formed to deal with economic infrastructure crimes. These teams will be based in the eThekwini Metro, uMgungundlovu and King Cetshwayo districts where these crimes are most prevalent. The teams consist of members from various disciplines, including from the SAPS, government departments, other law-enforcement agencies, state-owned entities, cellular network providers and the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation. “EITTs will ensure the integration of…

Absent government gives rise to conspiracy theories SOMETIMES the best way that the Cabinet and parliamentarians can help is simply to get out of the way, to do less or better, or simply not do anything at all. Having refused to get out of the course of the truth, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s stoic silence and steadfast refusal to reveal details of the so-called “Farmgate” scandal was as deafening as the chaos that erupted during last Thursday’s parliamentary sitting on his department’s budget vote. Admittedly, no one can question the commitment of the Cabinet and Parliament to doing nothing much at all, given how strikingly little our elected public representatives have achieved thus far. Just consider how alarmingly non-existent their ideas for tackling various crises seem. Despite their best efforts to…

A rebel group in the Democratic Republic of the Congo that the government accuses of being supported by Rwanda has overrun a trading hub on the border with Uganda, local sources said yesterday. M23 fighters seized the town of Bunagana in eastern North Kivu province as some government forces retreated into Uganda, they said. Bunagana “is under enemy control”, a Congolese officer said. “The army has just given way and is heading into Uganda,” said Damien Sebusanane, head of a local civil society association, estimating the number of DRC troops retreating into Uganda at around 100. A humanitarian source on the ground said that heavy clashes broke out again on Sunday morning and the only way out for the embattled DRC troops was to cross into Uganda. The M23, a…

LONDON: Britain was setting out plans yesterday to override some post-Brexit trade rules for Northern Ireland, in a fresh clash with the EU. As Brussels talked of damage to trust, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the steps were needed to improve trade and simplify bureaucracy. Tensions have been simmering after Britain accused the bloc of a heavy handed approach to the movement of goods between Britain and Northern Ireland. Britain has been threatening for months to rip up the protocol, forcing an effective customs border between Northern Ireland and the UK. Brussels believes any unilateral change may breach international law. | Reuters…

THE looting and torching of trucks, hijackings and steep fuel prices are among the pressures facing the country’s freight industry. The challenges facing the sector were discussed at the weekend when the Road Freight Association (RFA) held its annual convention in Ballito. Gavin Kelly, RFA CEO, said: “One of the purposes of the convention was to look at new technologies and processes to address the rising cost of fuel. Buying fuel is expensive for many transporters. Many of our members are small business operators and being able to afford fuel is important.” Kelly said that apart from the crime and protests which were affecting the sector, the recent floods, coupled with the Covid-19 pandemic, had put financial pressure on transport operators. He added that the cumulative effect of these issues…

FORMER eThekwini mayor and current ANC eThekwini chairperson Zandile Gumede and her co-accused in the multimillion-rand Durban Solid Waste tender fraud case will appear in the Durban High Court on July 18 for the start of the trial. This after both the State and defence teams for the accused ironed out all outstanding issues yesterday at a pre-trial conference. The trial will start the weekend after the ANC provincial elective conference is expected to be held. Advocate Jay Naidoo, representing the former mayor, confirmed that they were ready for the trial. National Prosecuting Authority provincial spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara described yesterday’s court hearing as dealing with purely administrative issues. Former eThekwini city manager Sipho Nzuza, who is also an accused in the matter, was seen making his way to court yesterday.…

The most worthwhile destinations on our planet cannot be found on a map or in travel advertisements. They are inner-conditions – places within the heart. There is a place it is possible to reach and set up home, where we understand that we are unique, while fully appreciating that we are not that special. This is a beautiful place to live. It can be elusive but I know it exists. Another I’d recommend is the place of knowing and utilising our strong backbones, while at the same time not being stubborn. Living here takes enormous skills, but you probably have them. I have been here, but I often slip and fall. Then there is the place of appreciating and understanding that we are all getting older, while at the same…

Farouk Araie’s reminder that June 18 has been declared “International Day for Countering Hate Speech” (The Mercury, June 13) refers. We are all, without exception, guilty of siding with our own kind during conflict situations. Even at school sports we look upon the competition as the “enemy”. Spectators kill one another at soccer stadiums when things go awry for their own side. Maiming one another at rugby and other sports is considered normal. This brand of rivalry extends to the political arena where violent elimination of even contestants from one’s own political party is a daily occurrence. The jargon of “sports builds character” has always been viewed by this writer as a big joke. Shake hands then quickly sanitise the smell of the opponent. Smile away when one loses, but…

I CONCUR with every concerned, beleaguered South African that Minister Cele must put more resources into crime surveillance and intelligence. I concur that Minister Lamola must invest in more judges and magistrates as well as court officials to ensure that justice is done. However, even as a victim of crime and a survivor of a lived experience that still quakes me to the core, I will not permit such operational necessities to trump the freedoms that are guaranteed in the Bill of Rights of our Constitution. Indeed, we are in survival mode during terrible times. People cannot forget that South Africa’s murder rate increased by 8.9% in the last three months of 2021 compared to the same period the previous year, while attempted murder rose by 3.5% and car-jacking by…

Parliament has received a complaint from EFF chief whip Floyd Shivambu calling for an investigation into allegations of gender-based violence (GBV) against female MPs by some parliamentary protection officers. Yesterday, parliamentary spokesperson Moloto Mothapo said the complaint, lodged with National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, arose from the ejection of MPs during the chaotic presidency budget vote debate on Thursday and Friday. Mothapo said MPs Babalwa Mathulelwa, Noluvuyo Tafeni and Naledi Chirwa alleged they were manhandled during the sittings by protection officers. “The three are among EFF MPs who had to be removed from the chamber for highly disruptive behaviour which saw the debate on the presidency budget vote delayed by over an hour, and the subsequent reply by the president the day after being temporarily suspended,” he said. Mothapo said…

GUPTA brothers Rajesh and Atul are expected to use the “political witch- hunt” theory as part of their defence strategy in their fight against extradition from the United Arab Emirates. This as the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and the Department of Justice have appointed one of the country’s leading extradition lawyers, Anton Katz SC, to assist to convince the UAE that the Guptas should return to South Africa and appear before the courts. Katz yesterday said he was not in a position to talk to the press, but Department of Justice spokesperson Chrispin Phiri confirmed that Katz and two other advocates, Kessler Perumalsamy and Eshed Cohen, would at some stage travel to the UAE to start extradition proceedings against the Gupta brothers. Rajesh and Atul were arrested in Dubai last…

A KwaZulu-Natal teaching assistant who plotted the murder of the principal at the school he was working at, has been jailed for 25 years. Sibonelo Sikhakhane, 30, was convicted for the murder of Muziwakhe Sibiya, the principal of Mqiniseni High School, in the Pietermaritzburg High Court this week. Sikhakhane told the court he enlisted the help of his friend Philani Ntuli, 36, to help carry out the February 17, 2022, murder. Ntuli, a security guard, pleaded guilty to firing the fatal shots. In his guilty plea, Sikhakhane said he had resigned as an educator assistant as after working for three years, he was aggrieved he was being overworked and constantly under pressure. He said although he reported the issues he was dealing with to his supervisor, nothing was done about…

THE ongoing impact of the pandemic, looming price increases and unstable markets might have parents wondering what they can do to prepare their children for an unknown future work environment. Fortunately, it’s not all doom and gloom. There are many new opportunities, and the future is bright if your child is properly equipped to take on the challenge. There is great value in teaching your child the importance of being flexible, and that the working world is dynamic and changing, so they need to be too if they are to survive and thrive. The ideal time to start encouraging them to do this would be during middle school (Grades 7 to 9). Encourage your child to participate in various extra-murals and holiday clubs, to learn and develop their interests in…

Gunmen kidnapped 30 wedding guests in northwest Nigeria over the weekend, two sources said yesterday, the latest in a surge of mass abductions hitting the region. The victims, all mobile phone traders, were returning to Zamfara state capital Gusau late on Saturday after the wedding of a colleague in neighbouring Sokoto state when they were seized, a union leader and a security source said. They were captured after one of their four vehicles broke down. Heavily armed criminal gangs are ravaging parts of northwest and central Nigeria, raiding villages and carrying out mass kidnappings for ransom despite military operations against them. The convoy of 50 wedding guests had stopped at Lambar Bakura village after one of the four buses they were driving in broke down, which was when their captors…

Madrid: Spain was yesterday in the grips of a heatwave expected to reach “extreme” levels, and France is bracing for one, too, as meteorologists blame the unusually high seasonal temperatures on global warming. The “unusual” temperatures for the time of year follow the hottest May in at least 100 years in Spain, said the Spanish Meteorological Agency. It said the current heatwave would bring extreme temperatures and could last until the end of the week. The mercury will rise above 40C° in the day in many Spanish towns and remain high at night, 20C° to 22C°. The heatwave was also set to hit other parts of Europe, such as France, this week. | AFP…

A London court has begun hearing the first of two last-minute legal challenges to block the British government’s policy to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda before the first removal flight is scheduled to leave today. Britain has agreed a deal with Rwanda to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda in return for an initial payment of £120 million (R2.3 billion) and additional payments based on the number of people deported. The government says the deportation strategy is aimed at undermining people-smuggling networks and stemming the flow of migrants risking their lives by crossing the English Channel in small boats from Europe. Initially, some 37 individuals were scheduled to be removed on the first flight to Rwanda, but the number has dwindled amid legal challenges. A lawyer for human right groups…