Índice para 2021-06-22 em Cape Times

Banele Ginindza banele.ginindza@inl.co.za DENEL has told its staff it would be unable once again to pay their salaries, this time for June, as its liquidity position remained dire on competing priorities and declining sales. The state-owned arms manufacturer told its workers last weekend that it did not have sufficient cash with various plans that had been undertaken slowly taking shape but yet to improve sales and the cash inflows. It said it anticipated positive results in the next three to six months. ”However, at this stage, we do not have sufficient cash in our coffers and we do not foresee being able to honour our financial obligations for the month of June,“ Denel said. ”Unfortunately, this includes employee salaries, related statutory and third party payments.” Various divisions of the SOE…

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za SOUTH Africa’s vaccine roll-out programme yesterday received a boost as the country moved to take control of the local production of Covid-19 vaccines. President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the country would establish the first messenger RNA (mRNA) technology transfer hub for Covid-19 vaccines. Ramaphosa said the hub would be established in partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the government of France. mRNA vaccines represent a promising alternative to conventional vaccine because of their high potency, their capacity for rapid development, and their potential for low-cost manufacture and safe administration. However, the local technology hub could take up to nine months before it could produce its first doses of the life-saving vaccines. Ramaphosa said the ability to manufacture vaccines, medicines and other health-related commodities would help…

Bang Showbiz Khloé Kardashian has revealed she’s only ever had one nose job and doesn’t have Botox because it doesn’t agree with her. The 36-year-old reality star has opened up about the speculation surrounding her appearance and, despite people thinking she’s on her “third face transplant”, she’s only ever had plastic surgery on her nose and reacted badly to Botox in the past. Speaking to Andy Cohen on the Keeping Up with the Kardashians reunion special on Sunday, Kardashian spilled: “For me, everyone says, ‘Oh my gosh, she’s had her third face transplant. “But I’ve had one nose job and everyone gets so upset, like, ‘Why don’t I talk about it?’ “No one’s ever asked me. “You’re the first person in an interview that’s ever asked me about my nose.…

Tarryn-Leigh Solomons tarryn-leigh.solomons@inl.co.za THE UDM has threatened to haul the government before the courts over the “nebulous” SAA deal announced by Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan last week. Takatso Consortium is expected to acquire a 51% stake in SAA while the government would retain a 49% shareholding in the new airline. Gordhan said Takatso would inject more than R3 billion into the deal. This came after SAA had been in business rescue from December 2019, and the business rescue practitioners ended the process two months ago. Independent Media attempted to obtain more information about the finalisation process, but department spokesperson Richard Mantu said: “We are still in the due diligence process. Once that process is finalised, we will communicate to the public.” He was unable to provide a timeline…

Siphokazi Vuso siphokazi.vuso@inl.co.za IN WHAT resembled the events leading to the removal of the Rhodes statue from UCT six years ago, a group of student activists have turned their focus to the Jan Smuts bust, calling for it to fall. The students belonging to the EFF Student Command (EFFSC) defaced and covered the Smuts bust with plastic bags yesterday, saying black students could no longer be made to see the face of their oppressor. This follows a meeting at the weekend where the council deliberated and approved a recommendation of the naming of buildings committee to change the name of Smuts Hall, the student residence on the upper campus. The council said the interim name, Upper Campus Residence, would be used until the process of determining a new name was…

Rammolotsi Sothoane THE mental well-being and resilience of the youth is at the forefront of a national initiative to build capacity and create a network of youth leaders to respond to the needs of young people in their communities. Despite much progress in addressing some of the most pressing socio-economic challenges facing the country as we celebrate Youth Month, South Africa’s youth continue to grapple with poverty, unemployment and disease. The National Youth Resilience Initiative (NYRI) Ambassador Network is a voluntary, unpaid capacity-building opportunity for self-motivated, enthusiastic community youth champions between 18-35. It is a multi-stakeholder initiative between the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities; the National Youth Development Agency, Activate! Change Drivers; Wessa (Wildlife Environmental Society of SA); and the German Development Corporation (GIZ). The initiative…

Odwa Mkentane odwa.mkentane@inl.co.za RESIDENTS in the province have been warned to brace for cold and wet weather, as fire and rescue services were kept busy yesterday battling fires flamed by strong winds. City Fire and Rescue Services spokesperson Jermaine Carelse said one person was killed and three firefighters injured when numerous wooden structures were reported alight in Olieboom Road, Philippi, at around 10pm on Sunday. “The response included 17 firefighting vehicles and 72 firefighters. As the conditions were not favourable, it took firefighters nine hours to extinguish the fire. About 200 informal dwellings were destroyed, leaving numerous persons displaced. “Sadly there was one fatality – a person of an unknown age and gender. Three firefighters were injured while fire fighting and one was taken to hospital. The cause of the…

JuliAn Kunnie IT IS A MORAL outrage and a preposterous injustice of genocidal proportions that around 7 million people in South Africa live in overcrowded slums and shanty town settlements, deprived generally of adequate and accessible clean water, sanitation, health care, gainful employment with livable earnings, and the right to decent shelter, peace and family security. In the “Mother City”, Cape Town, over 1.5 million people of the city population of 3.5 million eke out an existence in the sprawling shacks and hovels of Old Crossroads, New Crossroads, Khayelitsha, Philippi, Mitchells Plain, Tafelsig, Bishop Lavis and other deeply impoverished and overwhelmingly overcrowded shack communities. After the supposed formal dissolution of apartheid in 1994, 27 years ago, the same number of years Nelson Mandela spent in prison, wealthy…

Floods erupted in several Indian states after incessant rains over the past few days. Local TV channels showed water entering the houses in certain places in Uttarakhand and West Bengal, throwing normal life out of gear. In Uttarakhand, several roads have been blocked for the past couple of days after frequent landslides in the area following heavy rains. The areas of Chamoli, Rishikesh and Rudraprayag have been mostly affected, with many areas being cut from the rest of the state after landslides blocked the roads. Water-logging up to 90cm has been reported from several parts of the eastern state of Bihar. In some areas, water entered houses, forcing people to spend nights either on rooftops or at makeshift beds at higher altitudes. TV footage showed people commuting on boats in…

A French woman went on trial yesterday for killing the man who raped her for years as her stepfather before becoming her husband and pimp. The story of Valerie Bacot has moved campaigners against domestic violence, with hundreds of thousands of people signing a petition for her release. “I had to put an end to it,” Bacot, 40, wrote in a book published last month called “Everybody Knew”, adding: “I was afraid, all the time.” The trial, which opened in Chalon-sur-Saone in France’s central Burgundy region, is due to run through Friday. Bacot was 12 when her mother’s partner, Daniel Polette, who was 25 years her senior, raped her for the first time. He was sent to prison, but after his release returned and resumed the serial rapes. “He told…

HARARE: Zimbabwe Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga said yesterday that a robust and responsive public service is a crucial cog in the journey towards attainment of the ideals of the African Union’s Agenda 2063. Officially opening the 8th annual Africa Public Service Day (APSD) Conference in Victoria Falls town, Chiwenga said the success of the AU ideal of the “Africa We Want” depended on a competent public service across the continent. This year’s APSD celebrations are being held under the theme: “Building the Africa We Want through embracing an ethical culture that underpins purpose driven leadership in the context of a crisis”. | AFP…

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has provoked rage by saying that the rise in sexual assault is linked to women’s outfits. “If a woman is wearing revealing clothes, it will have an effect on the men, unless they are robots. It’s just common sense,” Imran Khan said in an interview with Axios on HBO. His remarks led to widespread anger: women expressed outrage over his comments as he was lambasted by opposition leaders. Data by Pakistan’s Law and Justice Commission show 11 rape cases are reported in the country daily. In the past six years 22 000 cases have been reported; but only 0.3% of rape suspects are convicted.…

Eshlin Vedan eshlin.vedan@inl.co.za Maritzburg United Chairman Farouk Kadodia has indicated that he may be open to selling the club's DStv Premiership status. ”I’m trying to follow a short-term process to see if I can either procure an equity partner or a sponsor. If I fail at that, I will no option but to become more receptive to a potential buyer,” Kadodia told Independent Media. The pandemic has taken a major financial toll on football clubs throughout the world with the impact being even more severe on mid-table clubs such as Maritzburg United as they do not have the same access to funding and sponsorship as compared to the traditional giants of the game. The situation of Maritzburg means that it is likely that the club’s stars Bongokuhle Hlongwane and Thabiso…

Herman Gibbs herman.gibbs@africannewsagency.com The South African football fraternity can brace itself for the mother of all stand-offs! After an uneventful start to the contentious PSL promotion/relegation play-offs on Saturday, the mutinous GladAfrica Championship club Royal AM are scheduled to open their four-match programme. They will go up against Premiership outfit Chippa United at Chatsworth Stadium today. However, numerous media reports yesterday informed that Royal AM official Sinky Mnisi has said, in no uncertain terms, that his team will not honour the fixture. Last week Royal AM obtained a court interdict to halt the play-offs, which finally, after two attempts, started on Saturday when Chippa hosted Richards Bay in the opener at Nelson Bay Stadium. Royal AM were highly infuriated that the PSL ignored the interdict and proceeded with the playoffs.…

Shannon Ebrahim shannon.ebrahim@inl.co.za THE Peoples’ Republic of China (PRC) marks the centenary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) on July 1, and celebrations are already under way to mark the occasion. China has much to celebrate, having reached a GDP last year of $14.7 trillion (about R209 trillion) when the GDP of the US stands at $21 trillion, making the PRC the second-largest economy in the world. The Chinese embassy in Pretoria, together with the National Press Club, hosted a special virtual event yesterday to honour the occasion. Former president Kgalema Motlanthe, ANC treasurer-general Paul Mashatile and Solly Mapaila, first deputy secretary of the SACP, were among the speakers who paid tribute to the inspiration that the CPC has given the world in terms of its…

Athandile Siyo athandile.siyo@inl.co.za MAYCO member for safety and security JP Smith said he only relayed what police had told the City’s metro police department – that the serial number on a firearm confiscated in Hanover Park showed it was supposed to have been destroyed by police in 2008. This came as police yesterday slammed as “devoid of truth” claims by Smith, as reported in the March 8 edition of the Cape Argus, that the firearm found in the illegal possession of a suspect two days prior was destroyed, according to the serial number. Police spokesperson Andrè Traut said the firearm Smith referred to was reported stolen by the licensed owner on July 1, 2003, in Bellville and recovered when a suspect was arrested during a crime operation on December 17,…

THE geology experts’ report which revealed that the stones being mined at KwaHlathi near Ladysmith were not diamonds has left the community and the entire KwaZulu-Natal devastated. However, the incident has helped to shine the spotlight on the need for the government to attend to the social ills of poverty, youth unemployment and hopelessness facing rural communities in KwaZulu-Natal and across the country. An intergovernmental team, led by MECs from the KwaZulu-Natal provincial government and officials from the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, released the findings on Sunday. The report showed that the stones were not diamonds but quartz crystals. Delivering the bad news, the MEC for Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs, Ravi Pillay, told the media that the miners should vacate the site as their activities were…

Sweden’s government was toppled yesterday after Stefan Lofven became the country’s first prime minister to lose a no-confidence vote, meaning he can now either resign or trigger a snap election. The motion of no-confidence was filed on Thursday by the far-right Sweden Democrats, after the Left Party, which has been propping up the government, said it was planning such a motion itself in protest against a government plan to ease rent controls. The conservative Moderate Party and the Christian Democrats were quick to back the motion, passed by 181 MPs in the 349-seat parliament. Lofven now has a week to either announce a snap election or resign, leaving it up to the speaker of parliament, Andreas Norlen, to open negotiations with the parties to find a new prime minister. Analysts…

Yangon: Deposed Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi yesterday thanked her supporters for defying the junta to celebrate her 76th birthday with flower protests, as her trial on a raft of criminal charges resumed. A mass uprising in Myanmar against a February military putsch has been met with a brutal crackdown that has killed more than 870 civilians. Protesters across the country on Saturday donned flowers in their hair to mark the birthday of the democracy icon, who turned 76 under junta house arrest. Suu Kyi told her lawyers “to convey her thanks and share her wishes for the people”, her lawyer Khin Maung Zaw said adding that Suu Kyi was “in good health”. The hearing heard testimony that Suu Kyi broke Covid-19 restrictions during last year’s elections that her…

TEHRAN: Authorities in Iran temporarily shut down the country’s only nuclear power plant over the weekend, officials said, citing unexplained technical difficulties. A statement from Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization late Sunday said the Bushehr plant on the Persian Gulf was shut down following a “technical defect” and that it would be disconnected from the national power grid for several days. The emergency stoppage, which one official said could cause power outages, comes as summer temperatures soar. Iran already is beset by frequent blackouts that the government has blamed on illegal bitcoin mining.…

NEW YORK: Cristiano Ronaldo has been desperately trying to sell his flat in Trump Tower, The Sun reported. The Portuguese superstar bought the flat from Trump’s business associate Alessandro Proto in 2015. Rumours have it that the flat inspired the author of the 50 Shades of Grey erotic romance novel, who used the abode’s interior to describe the home of the protagonist. In 2017, when Donald Trump became president, fans of the striker launched a petition calling on Ronaldo to sell the three-bedroom flat with a view overlooking New York’s Central Park and the Manhattan skyline.…

IANS Describing her journey as “a creative pursuit in unexpected directions” Shobha Nihalani, the Hong Kong-based writer of thriller, adventure and dream novels – and life coach – says venturing into the self-help genre for her new book made her realise that self-esteem is the reason we feel stuck or are unable to achieve our fullest potential. She aims to give her readers a new perspective on this aspect and empower them to turn their dreams into reality and live a life of purpose. “It is an odd thing to say, but I go with the flow,” Nihalani said in an interview of the diverse sweep of her books over the past decade. “My writing journey has been a creative pursuit in unexpected directions; I just let my heart…

Okuhle Hlati okhule.hlati@inl.co.za TEACHERS and school staff have expressed excitement, anxiety and some resistance ahead of the vaccination roll-out which begins in the province on Friday. The national roll-out of the first batch of 300 000 Johnson & Johnson doses in the education sector, for private and public schools, starts tomorrow. The Department of Basic Education has since urged regular attendance at school by all teachers and staff, with the vaccination programme targeted at 582 000 people in the next two weeks. Principal Zaahier Jacobs of Perivale Primary School in Lotus River said he will be in line to receive the jab and advocated for others to follow suit. “Teachers and staff members are front-line workers, as we engage with pupils who come from different backgrounds and communities. The vaccine…

Zintle Mahlati zintle.mahlati@inl.co.za President Cyril Ramaphosa has described as “historic” plans to create the first messenger RNA vaccine technology hub – which will be based in South Africa. Ramaphosa yesterday joined World Health Organization (WHO) head Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and French President Emmanuel Macron to launch the hub. mRNA is a technology, which has been in development for decades, used to develop vaccines. It was used in the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine development process. mRNA gives a body’s cells instructions on how to create a protein found on the surface of the Covid-19 virus. The creation of the S protein enables a person’s body to create the much-needed antibodies to fight the virus. The mRNA technology is viewed as a quick measure of scaling up vaccine production and supply.…

Chevon Booysen chevon.booysen@inl.co.za Judgment in the murder trial of Melvin Volkwyn, who is accused of killing toddler Orderick Lucas, is expected next month. Yesterday at the Western Cape High Court, as both parties submitted their heads of argument, the State, represented by prosecutor Mornay Julius, averred that the defence was focusing on “immaterial inconsistencies” and these were not speaking to the “crux of the case”. However, the defence in its argument submitted that the State had not proven its case of murder beyond reasonable doubt and slated the credibility of State witnesses, discrepancies around time frames and the probability of Volkwyn having caused the death of 1-year-old Orderick. Julius submitted that, owing to an arm injury “which the court will never know the truth about” and the incident of tooth…

Can you tell us about the founders of the CCP, and what motivated them to create the party? The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) marks its 100th anniversary on July 1. Independent Media foreign editor Shannon Ebrahim spoke to Lin Jing, the Consul-General of China in Cape Town, about the milestone The first National Congress of the CPC was held in Shanghai, China from July 23, 1921 to early August of 1921, marking the formal establishment of the Communist Party of China. At that time, China was in a critical period: the feudal monarchy of China, which had lasted for thousands of years, just collapsed, and the emerging national bourgeois regime in China was relatively weak, with internal conservative forces seeking to usurp authority and restore power. In the meantime, due…

A large, destructive tornado tore through western suburbs of Chicago overnight, carving through neighbourhoods while lofting debris 5km high. The National Weather Service reported the twister damaged more than 100 homes and injured at least five people. The tornado spun up within a squall line that raced east through the metro area. The Chicago suburbs of Woodridge and Naperville, southwest of the city, appeared to be hardest hit. As the storm swept through this area, the weather service warned of “a confirmed large and extremely dangerous tornado”. “This is a particularly dangerous situation,” the weather service cautioned in a bulletin. “take cover now!” Social media video captured power flashes as the funnel, cloaked by darkness and heavy rain, snapped electrical lines. “There is a tornado forming outside my window,” wrote…

Leader of the opposition in Namibia McHenry Venaani has called on the government to explain the ongoing shortage of oxygen in hospitals as Covid-19 cases climb. “The lack of oxygen must be clarified. The government must be answerable to the death of many. It is (bad) enough that we might not have the jabs, but pure oxygen cannot be acceptable,” the president of the Popular Democratic Movement said in a Twitter message yesterday. He would demand answers from Namibian President Hage Geingob, he added. Daily newspaper Namibian Sun reported on its social media platforms that Namibia’s Covid-19 battle was now characterised by critically ill patients gasping for air as they line up in desperate need of oxygen. Namibian media reports said community transmission of Covid-19 was still rife in…

AMMAN: A former Jordanian royal court chief and a low-ranking member of the royal family pleaded not guilty yesterday to charges of agitating to destabilise the monarchy, one of their lawyers said. Prosecutors had referred to a military court the case of Bassem Awadallah, an ex-royal court chief and finance minister who played a big role in the drive to liberalise Jordan’s economy, and Sherif Hassan Zaid, a distant relative of King Abdullah. During the first session of the trial yesterday, both pleaded not guilty, according to Mohamed Afif, Awadallah’s lawyer. The pair were arrested in early April.…

Tokyo: The Tokyo Olympic Games organising committee confirmed yesterday that up to 10 000 domestic fans would be allowed to attend events when the Games start on July 23. Spectators from outside Japan have already been barred from attending the event. “The capacity will be set at 50% for all venues at the Games, and 10 000 fans will be permitted … (a) decision on the Paralympic Games will be made by July 16,” the committee said. Another key decision taken during a meeting was that, in the event of any “rapid change in infection status, the number of spectators could be reduced, or competitions could be held without spectators”.…

Mike Greenaway mike.greenaway@inl.co.za In 1992, Australia and New Zealand played the Springboks in their first two post-isolation Test matches and both the Aussie and Kiwis were incredulous at how arrogant South Africans were prior to the matches. Despite the fact that this country had been in isolation for a long time, South Africans thought the Boks were incapable of losing rugby matches, and this was based on the strength of the Currie Cup. Our fans were rendered speechless when the Boks were humiliated 26-3 by the Wallabies at Newlands, and that year the Boks would be outclassed in four of the five Tests they played. It was evident in 1992 that the South African rugby had fallen behind the rest of the world while in the wilderness and we were…

Georginio Wijnaldum scored a second-half double as the Netherlands defeated North Macedonia 3-0 to keep their perfect record on their way to the European Championship knockout stages yesterday. The Netherlands had already sealed top spot in Group C after beating the Ukraine and Austria, and they will play their last-16 game in Budapest on Sunday against one of the best third-placed finishers from Groups D, E or F. North Macedonia, who were out of contention for the last 16 after back-to-back defeats, made a much-improved start as Ivan Trickovski's early strike was ruled out for offside before Aleksandar Trajkovski smacked the post from 20 yards. But Igor Angelovski's side were soon caught out by a stunning Dutch counterattack when PSV Eindhoven forward Donyell Malen charged upfield to set up Memphis…

Herman Gibbs Kaizer Chiefs continue to live the “African Dream” after they extended their fairy-tale run in the Caf Champions League by beating Moroccan giants Wydad AC over the weekend in the semi-final first leg. The upset win was mainly thanks to a heroic performance by goalkeeper Bruce Bvuma. Wydad, with an overwhelming 80% possession in the match, literally ran at the Chiefs defence all evening. There has been a vast improvement in Chiefs’ defence, especially in central positions. However, when Wydad found openings that allowed them to strike in the firing zone, Chiefs defenders pounced quickly to close them down. Whatever came his way, Bvuma stood like a colossus between the sticks and denied Wydad all evening to come away with a clean sheet. Chiefs will need Bvuma to…

Up to 10 000 fans will be allowed at Tokyo Olympic events, organisers said yesterday, warning competition could move behind closed doors if infections surge. The decision, just weeks before the opening ceremony, ends months of speculation about whether spectators will be allowed at the pandemic-postponed Games. Overseas fans were banned in March. "In light of the government's restrictions on public events, the spectator limit for the Olympic Games will be set at 50% of venue capacity, up to a maximum of 10 000 people in all venues," organisers said in a statement. A decision on spectators at the Paralympics will be delayed until July 16, a week before the Olympics open. And officials left open the possibility of a reversal if the virus rebounds. "If there should be major…