Sommaire pour 2022-09-12 de Mercury

Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s urgent application in the Western Cape High Court for an immediate enforcement of the court’s order which set aside her suspension by President Cyril Ramaphosa will be heard in court tomorrow. This comes as Mkhwebane was over the weekend denied a request to have access to her office despite a Western Cape High Court ruling on Friday declaring her suspension by Ramaphosa as “retaliatory, unlawful, tainted, irrational and invalid”. Mkhwebane wants the court to make Friday’s decision to cancel her suspension “operational and executable”, despite any applications for review or an appeal of the decision. She was suspended on June 9, a day after she announced that she had instituted an investigation into the president’s Phala Phala farm robbery matter. Her probe sought to establish if…

Scientists have discovered a new mechanism through which very small pollutant particles in the air may trigger lung cancer in people who have never smoked. Particles linked to climate change also promote cancerous changes in airway cells, they found, paving the way to new approaches for lung cancer prevention and treatment. Scientists of the Francis Crick Institute and University College London, funded by Cancer Research UK, presented the data at the “ESMO Congress 2022”. According to them, the particles which are typically found in vehicle exhaust and smoke from fossil fuels, are associated with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) risk, which accounts for more than 250 000 lung cancer deaths globally per year. “Globally, more people are exposed to unsafe levels of air pollution than to toxic chemicals in cigarette…

I thank Mr Ebrahim Essa for his comments (September 6) on my recent letter to The Mercury. I am fully aware of Winston Churchill’s failings. He was no friend of the working man, especially those from the north of England where I come from. My father was unemployed for two years and workmen from the north marched 270 miles (434.5km) to London to try to get work and food for the north. My father told me at the beginning of World War II that it took Adolf Hitler to get the men of the north back to work again. So much for Winston Churchill’s lack of popularity with the working man, but I believe he was a good international politician who would have seen what was happening in Russia and…

I FIRST saw Queen Elizabeth – then still a princess – when I was about 5. She was, among a swirl of ostrich feathers from the ladies’ hats, in the back of an open Rolls-Royce outside the Pietermaritzburg City Hall. She was with her father, King George VI, on the 1947 tour of South Africa. Later on that tour she turned 21 and swore her oath to the Empire (soon to become the Commonwealth) in Cape Town. We in this province enthusiastically cheered the royal party, but the sentiment was not universal. Hendrik Verwoerd was editor of Die Transvaler, and his newspaper ignored the entire tour, apart from traffic congestion in Johannesburg due to the arrival of “foreign guests”. Twelve years later, I was to swear “true and faithful allegiance…

With supermarket costs rising, customers are advised to double-check the expiry date of items they buy at stores, as poor stock rotation by merchants has become increasingly common. This comes after the Consumer Goods & Services Ombud (CGSO) revealed that among 10 types of complaints it received, 267 customers had complained about several issues with goods which became defective within six months of purchase this year. Food consultant Nigel Sunley said that outdated goods were largely caused by poor stock rotation by retailers, and that the challenge lay in differentiating between three categories of foods. “The first category is foods that are still safe to consume after their expiry date, but may not be of the quality they were before the expiry date, e.g. taste or appearance is not as…

Facebook and other social-media platforms have become the hunting ground of many predators who steal identities of celebrities and reputable people or organisations for their own financial gain. This is the dire warning from private investigator and crime expert Mike Bolhuis from S.S.S. Specialist Investigators, who said they dealt with up to 50 cases of identity theft a week. But it’s not just ordinary South Africans who fall victim to syndicates. SAPS members and local celebrities have also had their pictures used in an attempt to extort money from unsuspecting victims. In some cases, syndicates show up with fake warrants of arrest to scare people into paying them off. In one case, a client saw a post on Facebook from “Gerald Burger”, a well-known seer. The post offered free palm…

THE process followed to fill two senior vacancies in the Msunduzi Municipality has been slammed following allegations by opposition political parties that it was riddled with irregularities. On Friday, the Msunduzi Municipality held a special council meeting to announce the appointment of Lulamile Mapholoba as the new municipal manager (MM) and Sabatha Nomnganga as the head of electricity. The appointments will come into effect once they have been approved by the MEC for Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Sihle Zikalala and the offers for employment are accepted. Nomnganga is no newcomer to the municipality. He left it in 2018 amid allegations of wrongdoing. It was reported that Nomnganga was suspended in July 2017 over allegations of financial mismanagement concerning two projects, including the installation of electricity meters. It was…

Wellington: Five people died after a boat flipped over in waters off of New Zealand’s South Island on Saturday, with “indications” that the vessel capsized after colliding with a whale. The boat, which had 11 people on board, mostly from a bird-watching group, overturned in calm waters soon after 10am at Goose Bay, about 15km south of Kaikoura, according to local officials. A rescue operation that spanned nearly seven hours ended when a police dive squad recovered five bodies from inside the vessel. Six people were rescued, having suffered minor injuries. Media reports said the skipper of the boat had survived. |…

While the world condemns the Taliban for its human rights violations and has not given any international recognition to its regime, China will be transporting goods to Afghanistan. The Afghanistan Railway Authority (ARA) said the process of transporting commercial goods by train from China to Afghanistan will start this month, reported Tolo News. The head of the Afghanistan Railway Authority (ARA) stated during his visit to Uzbekistan that the ARA and a Chinese company had agreed to transfer commercial goods from China to Afghanistan through Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. “We have reached an agreement with three countries, including a private company and the details will be negotiated and finalised this afternoon,” said Bakht Rahman Sharaft, the head of the ARA. Chinese firms have grown interested in Afghanistan’s mining sector including copper…

MAX Verstappen won the Formula One Italian Grand Prix yesterday to leave himself in touching distance of his second straight Formula One title. Championship leader Verstappen claimed his first win at Monza and his fifth GP in a row after fighting from seventh on the grid to beat Charles Leclerc over the line on another difficult day for Ferrari. The Red Bull driver is 116 points ahead of Leclerc in the drivers’ standings after winning a race whose final six laps were run with the safety car after Daniel Ricciardo lost his engine and ended up at the side of the track. “We had a great race, we were quickest on every compound,” said Verstappen, who had never even made the podium at Monza and started Sunday’s race with a…

BARBRA Banda scored the only goal as Zambia claimed their maiden Hollywoodbets Cosafa Cup after beating hosts South Africa in the final yesterday. Banda’s goal came in extra-time after the two sides failed to find the winner in regulation time where Zambia dominated possession. This match could have easily been a repeat of the 2019 final where Banyana prevailed, except the South Africans were fielding their B team. Banyana’s first team have been busy with their 2023 World Cup preparations, having recently won this year’s Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon). Banyana came into this competition as the most successful team with seven triumphs, but they haven’t been at their best after finishing fourth last year. But stand-in coach Simphiwe Dludlu took the responsibility in stride, guiding her…

AYO Technology Solutions has applied for an urgent interdict against Access Bank South Africa in a bid to restore two accounts that the bank closed without notice. Judge Nobahle Mangcu-Lockwood reserved judgment on Friday in the Cape Town High Court in a case that AYO’s legal counsel, advocate Tanya Goldin, said was “extremely urgent” because the listed technology company had no banking facilities, was being forced to operate unsustainably as an investment holding company instead of as an operational trading company, and the future of thousands of employees hung in the balance if its bank accounts were not restored. She said a large portion of the funds affected by the closure of the accounts had been sent to Ninety-One, and AYO had no access to these funds as the asset…

Calls have been made for the KwaZulu-Natal government to demonstrate its willingness to deal with pressure groups that disrupt economic activity at construction sites demanding work, with warnings that businesses would pull out of Durban and the province if nothing drastic was done. This, after the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry expressed concern yesterday about the rising number of disruptions caused by business forums that targeted business operations and construction sites. Last week, KZN Economic Development and Tourism MEC Siboniso Duma also expressed concern over the instabilities that small, medium and large enterprises continued to suffer due to pressure groups. “These organised pressure groups have a legitimate cause as far as calling for radical socio-economic transformation. However, we are very clear that intimidation, lawlessness and violation of rights and…

The passing of the longest-reigning monarch of Great Britain, Elizabeth II, evokes sorrow. People of Great Britain and around the globe feel that with her sad departure the beauty and brilliant light of Buckingham Palace is permanently diminished. We share our sincere prayers and deepest condolences with the royal family and Britain. Queen Elizabeth was truly an incredible woman and a dedicated servant to the nation. Million of hearts touched by Her Majesty’s loyal service to her people reciprocated their loyalty to her, for more than seven decades. The queen had a charm, charisma and steadfast loyalty, service and humility that helped to make sense of who we are in this world. In this modern glittering era, she never sought celebrity status. Until the end, she preferred to remain a…

In recent months, the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) individuals have been a topic of robust discussion for communities, scholarly research and even within the educational environment. Hence, it is an important time for religious leaders, legal minds, educators, parents and community leaders to examine the interpretations of applicable rights of transgender, gender-expansive or non-binary students on schooling and the religious community. Various religious communities have their own codes of conduct as per their religious teachings. Just as the LGBTQ community are craving their rights, can religious institutions provably solicit their rights in keeping with the Constitution? Living in a constitutional democracy, what are the rights, obligations and boundaries in terms of admission policies in institutions, talks or sermons in religious spaces and other activities associated…

MOST parents in South Korea were found to rely heavily on smartphones or tablet computers when tending to young children while carrying out daily tasks at home, a poll showed. This reflects the country’s growing smartphone addiction problem among young people. In the poll conducted by the Korea Institute of Child Care and Education on 1 500 parents with children aged 1 to 7, 70.2% said they had handed smartphones to their children at home to handle daily chores without interruptions. The survey, conducted in August last year, was carried out in a study published recently by the institute, reports Yonhap news agency. Of the respondents, 74.3% said they showed smartphones to their children to keep them quiet in public areas. The average smartphone or tablet computer usage time of…

A teacher is recovering in hospital after she was shot multiple times last Thursday in Mtunzini on the KwaZulu-Natal North Coast. Spokesperson for Medi Response KZN Paul Herbst said they were informed that a single occupant had been travelling in her vehicle when she came under fire from suspects at the roadside. “The woman was struck by multiple bullets and managed to drive to safety where she was met by advanced life support paramedics who treated her, before transporting her to a private hospital for further care,” Herbst said. Just hours before, Msunduzi school principal Bongani Sibiya was shot dead while trying to diffuse an alleged domestic altercation. Department of Education spokesperson Kwazi Mthethwa said a man entered the school, and allegedly threatened to shoot his wife, a teacher at…

THE disconnection of defaulting consumers should be encouraged as the government works hard to restore the culture of payment for services provided. Last week the bankrupt Msunduzi Municipality in Pietermaritzburg embarked on an aggressive drive of disconnecting government departments, schools and even businesses for non-payment of services. The unprecedented move saw the municipality disconnecting services of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and Home Affairs offices in the city. While the disconnections have been criticised by opposition political parties and the business community, city officials have celebrated the disconnections, saying they have increased its financial reserves by more than R50 million. Eskom is another entity that is determined to ensure that consumers pay for what they use. The power utility is clamping down on the townships that owe it billions. One…

Timika: A 7.6-magnitude earthquake hit off eastern Papua New Guinea yesterday, with locals reporting damage to buildings near the coastal town of Madang and further inland. The US Geological Survey, which reported the quake, issued a tsunami warning but subsequently said the threat “has now passed”. Power outages and damage to buildings were reported in parts of Papua New Guinea, with shaking felt widely in the country from towns near the epicentre to the capital of Port Moresby, about 480km away. An earlier 6.2 magnitude earthquake jolted the region on Saturday morning and was followed by two weaker aftershocks minutes later. |…

Rwanda may provide logistical support to help Benin tackle a worsening Islamist insurgency that is threatening parts of the West African region, a Benin government spokesperson said on Saturday. The talks with Rwanda would not involve the deployment of any Rwandan troops to Benin, Wilfried Léandre Houngbedji said by phone. Benin, alongside the Gulf of Guinea states Togo and Ivory Coast, has seen increasing attacks from militants linked to al-Qaeda and Islamic State as violence creeps south from the Sahel countries of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. “As with Niger and Burkina Faso, we are in discussions with Rwanda about logistical support, the provision of expertise,” Houngbedji said. Rwanda’s government did not immediately respond to a request for comment. |…

“Dad, where are you?” Every morning for years these were the first words out of my older son’s mouth. “Dad, scratch my back and sing,” was my younger son’s oft-repeated goodnight ritual. By this time we’d moved out of the beautiful baby days. With all the tween years involved, it was easy to forget the baby years, the work, the mountains of laundry. It is easy to forget the sleepless nights. But, tucked into the mundane and the repetitive, are things so miraculous that middle- of-the-night baby moments can transform into holy encounters. Our lives together were, and are, lessons of love, moments of kindness, volumes of vulnerability, sometimes encountered so powerfully and painfully they could only have come from the heart and mind of the Divine. “I’m exactly…

I never got to know the queen. I was 9 years old when I saw her being crowned. This was on the big screen at the Avalon Cinema in Victoria Street. The main movie would be preceded by a cartoon, especially for kids. A peaceable, friendly Mighty Mouse bashing the brains out of poor Oil-Can-Harry. Followed by the trailer of The Robe – the first movie in Cinemascope. And then Movietone News. The week’s highlight was the exciting coronation of Elizabeth. That was the only time I saw her in her glorious loveliness. Radiant. Then lost interest. Except, during my infantile days, the following questions bugged me: Why was her husband not automatically king? Why Prince Phillip? In those days time moved very slowly. There was never any real rush.…

Without a doubt, the reference to the late Queen Elizabeth of Great Britain as “My dear Elizabeth” and “Lizzie” by one Nelson Mandela always evokes a wry smile in me, as much as it raised consternation amongst his close aides at the time. His reason was simple. “Why shouldn’t I call her Elizabeth; she calls me Nelson?” No statesman has ever publicly referred to the reigning monarch of England by their first name as a matter of protocol, but then again, Nelson Mandela was no ordinary statesman. I do not believe that Mandela meant any disrespect or harm by his seemingly precocious references, but simply extended his cordiality and amiability in human terms to another human being who had been given a title by a social decree of elitism by…

FOLLOWING the rape and killing of UCT student Uyinene Mrwetyana, a list of “rapists” was compiled and circulated at the university by students and eventually made its way on to social media. One of the students named on the list as an “assaulter and rapist” claimed damages from another student who added his name to the list. Mrwetyana’s death sparked an outrage in 2019, and while a memorial service was held for her on campus, students distributed a list of whom they regarded as woman abusers and rapists. UCT at the time distanced itself from this and pleaded with students not to distribute the list, but it found its way on to social media. The plaintiff said his life was ruined as he was seen as a woman abuser and…

A former immigration official at Home Affairs has been sentenced to four years’ imprisonment, wholly suspended for five years, for taking a R300 bribe. Khuliso Ravele was sentenced in the Sibasa Regional Court in Limpopo. Limpopo Hawks spokesperson, Captain Matimba Maluleke, said the incident took place in October 2017 at the Beitbridge Home Affairs offices. A foreign national went to the offices to be assisted with a stamp on her passport to extend her stay in South Africa. “When she arrived at the offices, Ravele, who was an immigration officer, offered to assist her but demanded R300 gratification which she paid. “After she was assisted, she was stopped by patrolling Border Police and they demanded to see her passport,” said Maluleke. During the interrogation, it was discovered that the victim…

MSUNDUZI Municipality has been interdicted by the Pietermaritzburg High Court from cutting services to the offices of Ingonyama Trust Board (ITB). The water and power was restored on Friday after these services had been disconnected on September 5. The municipality had disconnected the services after it said that rates was owed on trust land. The ITB brought an urgent court application seeking to interdict further action and for the court to direct the municipality to restore the supply of water and electricity at its property. The court judgment directed that the services be restored within 12 hours of the order being handed down. It also interdicted and restrained the municipality from disconnecting and or restricting any services to the property “pending the resolution of any dispute between the two…

MOGADISHU: Somali National Army’s special forces have killed al-Shabaab’s regional leader and wounded at least 20 others in a security operation carried out in the Mubarak area of southern Somalia, the government said at the weekend. The ministry of information, culture and tourism said the operation destroyed the terror group’s centre near Mubarak village, where they used to extort money from the people. The ministry said in the Somali capital, Mogadishu that the special forces had also freed civilians who were forcefully imprisoned by the terrorists at the centre. |…

King Charles was officially proclaimed head of state of both Australia and New Zealand at ceremonies yesterday in the nations’ capitals. On Saturday, he pledged to follow the example of his late mother as he was officially proclaimed as Britain’s new monarch at a historic ceremony in St James’s Palace in London. The death of 96-year-old Queen Elizabeth on Thursday set in train long- established and highly choreographed plans for days of national mourning and a state funeral that will be held in just over a week. Charles, 73, immediately succeeded his mother but an Accession Council met on Saturday to proclaim him as king, with his wife Camilla, son and heir Prince William and Britain’s new prime minister, Liz Truss, among those who signed the proclamation. During the formal…

UKRAINE said its forces were making lightning gains in the east of the country in a shock counter- offensive to recapture territory that fell to Russia shortly after Moscow’s February invasion. “Ukrainian troops are advancing in eastern Ukraine, liberating more cities and villages. Their courage coupled with Western military support brings astonishing results,” foreign ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko said in a statement on social media. “It’s crucial to keep sending arms to Ukraine. Defeating Russia on the battlefield means winning peace in Ukraine. His assessment of the pace of the Ukrainian gains came after President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced on Friday that his troops had retaken some 30 towns and villages in the north-eastern Kharkiv region. Ukraine’s push appears to have caught Russian troops largely off guard. Moscow made the surprise…