Índice para 2023-06-26 em Mercury

At least R210 billion is needed to upgrade electricity transmission grid infrastructure to incorporate future renewable projects onto the grid, and “creative ways” would be sought to fund this from the private sector, Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa said at a briefing yesterday. He said the government was preparing a document on this matter that would be made available at a later stage. He said they were also making good progress in working with local governments and municipalities on the expansion of embedded energy and renewable energy projects at municipal level. These would eventually go a long way to increase electricity generation in the country, he said. Ramokgopa said that with the resumption of Units 1, 2 and 3 at Kusile Power station, the energy availability factor (EAF) at Eskom would…

AN ongoing clean-up campaign by the eThekwini Municipality has led to fines for several businesses, including restaurants that violate the City’s health and safety standards. One restaurant was fined for lack of cleanliness, and cockroaches were found there. The City has termed the campaign “Good Hope”. It stressed yesterday that this general ongoing clean-up action was not aimed at particular establishments. The Mercury is aware of at least two businesses at a popular shopping centre that were fined for health code and safety violations. The City’s Environmental Health officers from the West 4 Office in Westville are said to be cracking the whip on food outlets to ensure compliance with safety and food standards. One restaurant was fined R5 000 for contraventions, including having cockroaches and dirty conditions. Another restaurant…

Apologies and regrets. Mind you, when I think of how rude Andy was about my performance, I don’t feel all that bad. Also, I failed to mention that the fellow adjudged the best bowler in the match was my Maritzburg College schoolmate, Gerry Robinson, of Ramblers. I mention this merely to counter the anti-College and pro-DHS propaganda being put about by our Gleneagles skipper, the villainous Scotty Burge. It ain’t that bad Commercial photographer Roy Reed sends in a compilation of “lighten up – it ain’t all that bad” philosophy, apparently compiled by an elderly geezer. I hate it when I see an old person and then realise that we went to high school together. I told my wife she should embrace her mistakes … so she hugged me. My…

ONE gets worried when you hear about a state bank. When the ANC’s political comedian, Mr Mbalula, then makes the announcement, you don’t know whether to laugh or cry. Anything is possible with him. Imagine. According to him, a state bank should be established “to transform the country’s financial sector”. As if the economy wasn’t messed up enough. Where he still wants to “transform” it to only they will know. The Post Office seems to be the crown prince to become the state bank. Mr Mbalula storms ahead with the SACP’s proposal for a state bank. The reason for the unprecedented speed? The upcoming election of course. Everyone knows by now that the government will use the race card whenever it has a weak case. Mr Mbalula does this too,…

Millions of Muslims rising above colour, language, class, gender, race, nationality, level of knowledge and practice and social barriers are currently converging in Makkah and the surrounding valleys of Saudi Arabia in unity to perform the annual pilgrimage. Hajj is the fifth pillar of Islam, the other four being the declaration of faith, the five daily prayers, fasting during Ramadaan and the compulsory charity known as Zakaat. Hajj pilgrims over the next five days will retrace the events from the lives of famous prophets such as Muhammed, Ibrahim and his wife Hajar and their son Ismail. Hajj, the once-in-a-lifetime journey, is an experience that is difficult to express as each pilgrim will have a unique story to tell. Hajj is more than just carrying out rituals, it captures humanity, loyalty,…

Even though the NHI Bill is moments away from becoming an Act of Parliament, the South African Medical Association (Sama) believes that it is being used as an electioneering tool, and that it doesn’t hold the interest of the poor and that of the collective medical sector. There’s only one step left before the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill is signed into law by President Cyril Ramaphosa; this follows its adoption by the National Assembly on June 13. The Department of Health briefed the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) on the Bill on Tuesday, and if it is adopted by this house, it will go to the president, who may sign it into law. The bill promises a number of things, such as the creation of the NHI fund that…

ETHEKWINI Municipality has given an assurance that the closed beaches in uMhlanga will reopen soon. It said the repairs to the sewer pumps that failed, leading to the closure of the beaches, were expected to be completed yesterday. Dr Musa Gumede, the deputy city manager for community and emergency services, said they expected to complete the repairs by yesterday and thereafter begin the process of testing the water. On Friday, The Mercury reported on the closure of Main and Bronze beaches in uMhlanga. The beaches were closed following failures at the Portland Drive sewer pump station. The closures had raised concerns in the tourism sector in that area as they took place on the eve of the winter school holidays. DA councillor Nicole Bollman said one pump has been…

The worldwide cost-of living- crisis has been a boon to cyber-criminals WITH advances in technology, whether in cyberspace, online or through telecoms, emails and other modus operandi, come advances in online fraud and cybercrime. The cost to the economy is huge, but the human cost to the victims is much larger and far more devastating, especially to the vulnerable and elderly in society. No country is spared – cybercrime and fraud are not victimless activities. They are amoral, devoid of any ethics and borderless, preying on millions of innocent individuals, banks, corporates and even governments worldwide each year to extort and defraud money and other assets, and to harvest and monetise data stolen from their unsuspecting victims. Fraud is more than simply a cybersecurity concern. For banks, it’s now one…

Vast crowds of robed Muslim pilgrims walked solemn circles around the Kaaba, the black cube at Mecca’s Grand Mosque, yesterday as the biggest hajj pilgrimage in several years began in the heat of the Saudi summer. Islam’s holiest site is expected to host more than two million worshippers from 160 countries during the annual rites that could break attendance records, with 1.6 million foreigners already there by late Friday. “This year, we will witness the largest hajj pilgrimage in history,” if things go according to plan, predicted an official with the Saudi ministry of hajj and umrah. “The numbers will exceed 2.5 million pilgrims.” The hajj began early yesterday with the circumambulation of the Kaaba, the large cubic structure draped in black cloth with gold trimmings that millions of Muslims…

Baghdad: The Iraqi military has said that an airstrike has killed all the militants in a hideout of Islamic State (IS) militants in the northern province of Kirkuk. Based on intelligence reports, Iraqi warplanes carried out an airstrike on the hideout in a village near the town of al-Rashad, 60km south of the namesake provincial capital Kirkuk. After the airstrike, an Iraqi army force found bodies of IS militants in the hideout, including one wearing an explosive belt, along with weapons and other equipment, the statement said. It did not mention the number of militants killed during the airstrike. | IANS…

Athens: Conservative leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis is on course to win Greece’s national elections yesterday with a score that should allow him to form the single-party government he had sought, exit polls showed. As voting closed for the second general elections in a month, Mitsotakis’s New Democracy party is projected to obtain up to 44% of the vote, well ahead of the leftist Syriza party led by former premier Alexis Tsipras, with less than 20%. If confirmed, the margin would be the widest for the conservatives in almost 50 years, as voters rewarded them for nursing Greece back to economic health after a crippling debt crisis. | AFP…

SHE may have lagged behind the Ethiopians once again but Glenrose Xaba’s star continued to rise in Durban as she once again carried the South African flag high in the SPAR Women’s 10km Challenge. Xaba finished in third yesterday just as she did in the Cape Town and Gqeberha legs behind Ethiopian duo of Tadu Nare and Salem Gebre. The Boxer Athletics Club starlet did, however, run yet another personal best of 31:55, slicing 17 seconds off the time she ran in the Eastern Cape city last month. The time is 42 seconds off Elana Meyer’s 22 year-old South African record of 31:13 and Xaba expressed her delight at getting closer to the mark set by the legendary runner she so highly admires. “My wish is to one day have…

Wagner mercenaries were headed back to base yesterday after Russia’s President Vladimir Putin agreed to allow their leader to avoid treason charges and accept exile in Belarus. The agreement ended the immediate threat that Yevgeny Prigozhin’s private army could storm Moscow, but analysts said Wagner’s revolt had exposed Putin’s rule as more fragile than had been thought. “Anti-terror” security measures were still in place in Moscow yesterday, although fewer police were visible and passers-by said they were unconcerned, despite Prigozhin’s exact whereabouts remaining unclear. He was last seen late Saturday in an SUV leaving Rostov-on-Don, where his fighters had seized a military headquarters, to the cheers of a group of young civilian bystanders, who came to shake his hand through the car window. Trucks carrying armoured vehicles with fighters on…

MY great niece, who recently turned 21, and my sister – the same great niece’s grandmother – are chatting within my hearing as they have done most of the day, as only my sister and any one of her many, many grandchildren can do. Having covered most topics under the sun — updates on family around the world, the economy, vegan muffin recipes, snippets of friendships old and new, the benefits of infusion face-masks and an invitation for me to try one – the conversation transitions to recent flights. Amy reports sitting on a plane next to an “old man” who was “so nice” and who told her all about his adult children and found her to be so interesting. “He seemed like such a nice dad,” she reflects.…

THE implosion of the Titan near the wreck of the Titanic is a grisly reminder that the sea is unforgiving. Man, in his quest for technological supremacy, has paid the ultimate price from Apollo 13 to the Hindenburg, and the Challenger space shuttle disaster. The deadly side of deep sea exploration began in 1960 and for over 63 years has been focusing the world’s attention on mankind’s rapidly expanding technical mastery in the deep depths of our vast and unfriendly oceans. In June 1870, science fiction writer Jules Verne published, Twenty thousand Leagues under the Sea, today, 153 years later, underwater deep sea exploration into the caverns of the oceans are no longer fiction. The true cost of progress will mean the unprecedented decline of the planet’s inhabitants, an ever…

Chief Justice Raymond Zondo came under fire from ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula following his remarks that Parliament and the executive would not be able to prevent state capture if attempts were made. In his address to a colloquium by the Human Sciences Research Council on Thursday, Zondo said Parliament had not acted on his recommendations. Delivering an opening address at the ANC Western Cape elective conference at the weekend, Mbalula said judges were not demagogues. Mbalula said the separation of powers should be respected. “He has done what he was supposed to do and finished,” he said referring to the state capture commission of inquiry Zondo chaired and into which he produced a report last year. “He has handed over to other organs (of state) to do their job. That’s…

Hundreds of women took part in the 2023 Durban SPAR Women’s 10km/5km Challenge yesterday. The race, which finished at Hollywoodbets Kings Park Stadium, also drew international competitors, including from Ethiopia and the Seychelles. In the 10km race, Tadu Nare from Ethiopia took the number one position, followed by Selam Gebre, also from Ethiopia. Glenrose Xaba from South Africa came in third. Sibusisiwe Shabalala, from Hammarsdale, took on the 10km challenge and said it was good day out. “I had a really great time and it was so good seeing a large number of women coming together and letting their guard down,” she said. Nana Duma from Pietermaritzburg said it was her first time participating in the challenge. “I cannot wait for next year,” she said. Reshmi Mehtan from Durban central…

A private investigator has urged homeowners in search of alternative energy supplies to be on the lookout for scam artists looking to make a quick buck in the wake of unrelenting load-shedding. Specialist investigator Mike Bolhuis said with load shedding becoming progressively unstable, South Africans had been forced to invest in alternative means of power supply. This, he said, had also presented an opportunity to criminals who were targeting people looking to purchase solar panels, generators and inverters to exploit residents’ desperation and swindle them out of their hard-earned money. Bolhuis said scam artists were employing aggressive and high-pressure sales tactics to rush consumers into making impulsive decisions by making impressive and striking claims to lure the unsuspecting. In other instances, he said, they exploited financing opportunities to deceive individuals.…

THE EVER-increasing rate of teenage pregnancy in the country calls upon parents to take responsibility and work with teachers to tackle the scourge. The problem also calls for the government to work tirelessly in eradicating poverty, especially in African communities as this is directly linked to young people falling pregnant. Recently, teenage pregnancy statistics were released by KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Health Nomagugu Simelane. The shocking figures indicated that 26 515 girls aged between 10 and 19 fell pregnant between April and December last year, with 1 254 of those girls being 14 and younger. Simelane said the figures marked an increase of 7 965 compared with information released by Statistics SA, which recorded that KZN registered 18 550 births for children aged 10 to 17 during the 2019/20 financial year,…

More than half a billion people are living with diabetes worldwide, affecting men, women, and children of all ages in every country, and that number is projected to more than double to 1.3 billion people in the next 30 years, with every country seeing an increase, according to a study published in the journal The Lancet. The global findings come after a recent study by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) showed that 101 million people in India suffer from diabetes, while 136 million are pre-diabetic. The calculations show that diabetes is one of the top 10 leading causes of death and disability. North Africa and the Middle East had the highest death rate at 9.3%, and that number is projected to jump to 16.8% by 2050. The rate…

JERUSALEM: Israeli MPs yesterday began debating a bill that would limit the Supreme Court’s powers, rebooting a fiercely opposed judicial overhaul instigated by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s religious-nationalist coalition. Anti-government demonstrations had prompted Netanyahu to suspend his judicial drive in March to allow talks with opposition parties. The proposed changes included curbs on the court’s ability to rule against the government. On Saturday night protesters blocked a major Tel Aviv highway. Coalition MPs have indicated that the new bill would be a far softer version of previous proposals. | Reuters…

Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) said it had seized the headquarters of a heavily armed police unit yesterday as it sought an edge in its war with the army during heavy fighting in the capital Khartoum. The RSF said that it had taken full control of the camp belonging to the Central Reserve Police southern Khartoum, and posted footage of its fighters inside the facility, some removing boxes of ammunition from a warehouse. Since late on Saturday, fighting has surged in the three cities that make up the wider capital - Khartoum, Bahri and Omdurman - as the conflict between the army and the RSF entered its 11th week. Witnesses also reported a sharp increase in violence in recent days in Nyala, the largest city in the western Darfur…

Sri Lanka powered into the Super Six stage of the World Cup qualifying tournament with a crushing 133-run win over Ireland yesterday that eliminated their opponents. Scotland also made it three wins from three in Group B as they beat Oman by 76 runs, with both teams joining Sri Lanka in reaching the next round. Opener Dimuth Karunaratne made a run-a-ball 103 and Sadeera Samarawickrama hit 82 as Sri Lanka compiled an imposing total of 325 all out off 49.5 overs after being put in to bat in Bulawayo. Mark Adair took 4/46 and Barry McCarthy claimed 3/56, but Ireland’s pace spearhead Josh Little conceded 78 runs in eight wicketless overs. “If I get a start, I want to go for the big one,” said Karunaratne. “In the morning, there…

The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment’s (DFFE’s) National Air Quality Officer has given Eskom permission to operate Kusile power station without the technology required to reduce harmful sulphur dioxide emissions, thereby potentially reducing load shedding by up to two stages. The DFFE had granted the utility a postponement in terms of the Minimum Emission Standards (MES) pertaining to the sulphur dioxide (SO2) emission levels at Kusile. Eskom said in a statement on Saturday it also welcomed an updated Atmospheric Emission Licence to Kusile Power Station to reflect this postponement decision by the Nkangala District Municipality. Kusile is Eskom’s newest coal fired power station. It received environmental approval in 2008 and the first unit began operating in 2017, with the final unit planned for 2024. Its six…

WITH just days to go before the Hollywoodbets Durban July, KwaZulu-Natal tourism establishments are hoping the premier horse-racing event and other activities this winter school holidays will boost their businesses. The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs (Edtea) said it was expecting at least R1.4 billion to be added to the province’s economy over the winter holidays. Edtea MEC Siboniso Duma said based on current hotel and B&B bookings, KZN could expect at least 430 821 domestic tourists and 48 842 international tourists during June and July. “This will provide a combined direct spend of more than R1.4bn for the provincial economy. We are expecting as much as 70% of domestic tourists and 60% of international travellers to visit the province during the four weeks from…

THE government is cracking down on “construction mafia gangs” disrupting development projects at a severe cost to the economy across the country. Minister of Public Works Sihle Zikalala said this while he was conducting a visit to sites in Durban. He said law-enforcement authorities had set up a national forum to co-ordinate the cases in all affected provinces. The Organised Crime Investigations Detective Services as well as the Serious Organised Crime within the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigations were investigating the matters. He said the focus has been on extortion-related crimes, attempted murder, common robbery, conspiracy to commit murder, incitement to public violence, contempt and contravention of court orders. “According to reports received from the police, a total of 682 cases are being investigated by the Organised Crime Investigations, Detective…

THE recent tragedy that has resulted in the loss of all five passengers aboard the Titan submersible raises serious questions about the safety and accountability of luxury expedition tourism. Each passenger paid over R4.5 million for the quick trip to view the wreckage of the Titanic. However, the safety of the submarine was compromised and it failed to pass all safety standards, yet the passengers chose to sign indemnities that absolved the travel company of any responsibility should anything go wrong. This is a clear example of how the wealthy can be blinded by their privilege and ignore basic safety measures. Surely, these billionaires could have used their resources to find a safer way to explore the Titanic wreckage. The fact that the submarine was controlled by an XBox controller…

OUTRAGE and demands for impeachment should be at blowtorch intensity at President Ramaphosa for subordinating South Africa to permanent indebtedness as a vassal of globalist WEF hegemony by requiring R2 trillion to finance the false “battle against climate change” (Business Report, June 23). The utter falsehood of the claim that climate change is man-made cannot be overstated. The proof that it is a natural, historical reality, unrelated to fossil fuel emissions, is apparent for anyone who bothers to read and research beyond the propaganda which dominates the issue. From even a cursory enquiry, it should be apparent that without fossil fuels mining the ores needed to manufacture batteries, wind turbines and basic machinery is impossible without the propulsion and lubrication of fossil energy. Even the bought scientists of the…

A 43-year-old man will appear in the Kempton Park Magistrate’s Court today after he was arrested at the OR Tambo International Airport on Friday. The man, a foreign national, was arrested when Bidvest security guards at the airport discovered suspicious items in his luggage, according to Captain Bonnie Nxumalo, spokesperson for the Hawks in Gauteng. “The Germiston-based Hawks’ economic protected resources members were alerted. The luggage was opened and lion bones were recovered,” said Nxumalo. The man was about to leave South Africa, boarding a flight to Vietnam via Qatar. “Police further seized foreign currency, a cellphone and two passports. During the preliminary investigation, it was discovered that the bones belong to five lions,” said Nxumalo. An investigation seeking to arrest more suspects is continuing. Earlier this month, four men…

The Coca-Cola Bunny Chow Barometer Challenge is getting ready to crown its 15th Bunny Chow champion. Coca-Cola Beverages South Africa (CCBSA)’s 2023 Bunny Chow Barometer sees a total of 39 eateries that have qualified to compete for the coveted prize of KwaZulu-Natal’s Bunny Chow champion – the best at making the traditional Durban Indian dish consisting of a hollowed-out loaf of white bread filled with curry. CCBSA’s regional presence manager Deborah Nkanyani said apart from the prestige of being crowned the Bunny Chow champion, the winner would also receive a store makeover to the value of R50 000. Consumers are encouraged to vote and stand a chance to win a share of R370 000 in prizes. Also included are VIP tickets to attend the Bunny Chow Barometer Finale event. Among…

A dive in international waters. A submersible transported on a Canadian ship. A subsidiary company registered in the Bahamas. OceanGate, the owner of the submersible that imploded attempting to visit the Titanic wreckage – killing all on board – appears to have gone to great lengths to operate in a legal gray zone, slipping between the cracks of domestic and international law. But one need not go far to find vessels navigating uncharted regulatory waters on the open ocean. “The high seas are lawless,” said Sally Yozel, who previously served as the director of policy at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Experts said international waters, which cover roughly half the planet and make up two-thirds of the ocean, suffer from patchwork regulation and inconsistent enforcement, a challenge that can…

VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis yesterday offered prayers and solidarity to the family of a Vatican schoolgirl who went missing 40 years ago in one of Italy’s most enduring mysteries. Emanuela Orlandi, the 15-year-old daughter of a Vatican usher, failed to return home on June 22, 1983, after a music lesson in central Rome. The case has drawn renewed worldwide attention following the release of the Netflix series Vatican Girl late last year. Delivering his Angelus message, Francis addressed crowds in St Peter’s Square including Orlandi’s brother Pietro, who has campaigned for the Vatican to shed light on the mystery. Foul play has long been suspected in the Orlandi case. | Reuters…

MOUNT BALDY: Hikers have found human remains in Southern California’s Mount Baldy wilderness, the mountainous area where British-born film actor Julian Sands went missing in January, local authorities said at the weekend. Sands was reported missing after he had gone hiking alone in the Baldy Bowl area of the San Gabriel Mountains, about 80km north-east of Los Angeles. A search was launched in the area, but ground teams were pulled out a day later due to avalanche risks and poor trail conditions. The Baldy Bowl is a popular destination for skiers, climbers and backpackers. Sands was believed to be an experienced hiker. | Reuters…

Governments should stop cracking down on porn websites and instead take pride in sexual expression and help to make porn normal and “boring”, the new owner of Pornhub said. Canadian private equity firm Ethical Capital Partners bought Pornhub’s parent MindGeek three months ago, bringing under its control a stable of other sites including YouPorn. The acquisition has also brought a sea of legal troubles. Its websites were pulled from the US state of Utah in May after they were ordered to verify the ages of users. In France, website owners and regulators have been locked in talks for months on how to make a 2020 age verification law work in practice. Two of MindGeek’s sites have not put in place any age verification and face a court ruling on July…