Sommaire pour 2023-09-20 de Cape Times

ACTRESS Shannen Doherty is “crying constantly” as she battles brain cancer. The ‘Beverly Hills, 90210’ actress, 52, made the admission as she got a standing ovation from fans in Tampa, Florida, at the ’90s Con on Sunday, at which she spoke about fighting stage 4 of her disease. Speaking as part of a 90210 reunion panel for the 1990s teen drama alongside co-stars Tori Spelling, Jason Priestley, Jennie Garth, Ian Ziering, Brian Austin Green and Gabrielle Carteris, she teared up while discussing her illness. She told the crowd: “Thank you so much. You guys know how much I love crying constantly. And I do, it seems. So, thank you.” The Charmed star was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015 and entered remission two years later. Her cancer returned as…

EDUCATION quality assurance council Umalusi has expressed satisfaction that not only were assessment bodies on track with preparations for matric final exams, but security measures were strengthened. Umalusi presented its preliminary report on the state of readiness to the portfolio committee on basic education yesterday. The quality assurance body’s Mary-Louise Madalane said based on the observation from the administration of the June exams, Umalusi was confident that the same security measures would be applied as standing requirements for the upcoming National Senior Certificate (NSC) exams. A total of 855 607 candidates were registered as of August 31. Of these, 723 877 were full time. “The cohort registered to write the November 2023 NSC examinations have been captured successfully on the Integrated Examination Computers System (IECS). “All candidates’ registered subjects were…

2 cups flour 3 tsp baking powder ¼4 teaspoon salt 1 large egg 125g butter softened Biltong and blue cheese filling 15ml olive oil 1 red onion finely chopped 1 clove garlic finely chopped a few sprigs fresh thyme 3/4 cups milk 3 large eggs Salt and black pepper to season 1 cup cheddar cheese grated 2 cups biltong finely sliced 30g blue cheese Combine all the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Next add all the wet ingredients and work with your fingers until easy manageable dough is formed. Line your tart or quiche tin with dough by pushing it firmly down with your fingers. No need to blind bake the pastry. Biltong and blue cheese filling: Heat the oil and sauté the onion and garlic. Add the thyme…

As we approach the pivotal 2024 general elections, we find ourselves standing at the crossroads of history, facing a decision of paramount importance. For 30 long years, we have clung to hope for a brighter future, but hope alone has failed to deliver the progress we so desperately crave. The time for change has arrived, and it must be resolute and unwavering. In 2024, we commemorate three decades of democracy, yet the celebrations are muted, for our journey has been marred by the betrayal of our trust. Our great nation, South Africa, with its rich tapestry of cultures and histories, should be a beacon of prosperity and equality. Instead, we find ourselves grappling with racial inequality, rampant unemployment, an unrelenting crime wave, and a fractured education system. Our children, the…

ACCUSED fraudster and cryptocurrency developer, Riccardo “Fluffypony” Spagni, is expected back in court next month despite a number of delays brought on by the ex-fugitive’s various applications through his legal team. Spagni’s trial has been dragging on since August 2019, with charges that he defrauded Cape Cookies of more than R1.5 million. As a former IT manager of the baked-goods supplier between October 2009 and June 2011, Spagni is alleged to have intercepted invoices from another company relating to information technology goods and services, and supplying it to Cape Cookies. Arrested in Nashville, Tennessee, Spagni was unsuccessful at having his extradition back to South Africa declared unlawful. He is now expected to appear in the Cape Town Regional Court on October 11 for a criminal trial in which he faces…

A 25-YEAR-old from Joburg who was using a shower at Three Anchor Bay before a storm surge swept him off his feet, was recused from drowning by bystanders. The incident was one of several in the wake of the Spring high tide which hit the province at the weekend. The NSRI said its Bakoven rescue swimmers responded after receiving reports of a drowning in progress. “On arrival on the scene a 25-year-old Joburg man was found safe on the shore, but injured. It appears he had been using a shower at the beach containers when storm surge waves swept up the beach slamming him against the wall. Witnesses suggested he was helped by bystanders to escape the water. “The man was transported to hospital by EMS ambulance in a stable…

THE silence of the farming communities following the recent arrest of 46 undocumented immigrants en route to work on a farm in Piketberg, Western Cape, does very little to help in the fight against the crimes committed in those farming areas. This is not to suggest that crimes on farms are specifically committed by immigrants, far from it. But farmers are often the first, and rightly so, to demand increased policing and other safety measures when a crime has been committed. They have to play an active role in helping meet the law enforcement agencies halfway. Employing people who cannot be accounted for only aggravates a situation that has already been highly politicised. The latest crime statistics released last month indicates that 14 murders occurred on farms while AfriForum claims…

Azerbaijan launched military action in the Armenian-populated breakaway territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, a step that could presage a new war in the volatile area but which Baku said was necessary to restore constitutional order and drive out Armenian military formations. Authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh said yesterday that five people had been killed and 80 wounded as a result of military operations by Azerbaijan.Fifteen of the wounded were civilians. Karabakh is internationally recognised as Azerbaijani territory but part of it is run by breakaway ethnic Armenian authorities who say the area is their ancestral homeland. It has been at the centre of two wars, the latest in 2020, since the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union. There were already signs of political fallout in Yerevan where Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan spoke…

Yangon: A boat carrying around 100 passengers sank on a river in northern Myanmar yesterday, with dozens feared missing. The vessel sank on the Chindwin River in Mingin township in Sagaing region, local media reported. A source close to the local transport minister said a search operation had begun and the number of missing people was being tallied. A pro-junta Telegram channel also reported a boat had sunk in Mingin township. Sagaing is a hotbed of resistance to the military’s 2021 coup, with anti-coup fighters clashing regularly with junta troops. Vessels ferrying people along Myanmar’s coast and rivers are often overcrowded, and accidents can have high death tolls. | AFP…

BEIJING: Chinese sovereign lending to Africa fell below $1 billion (about R19bn) last year, the lowest level in nearly two decades, underscoring Beijing’s shift away from a decades-long big ticket infrastructure spree on the continent, data showed yesterday. The drop in lending reflected in data from Boston University’s Global China Initiative comes as several African nations struggle with debt crises and China’s own economy faces headwinds. Boston University’s Chinese Loans to Africa Database estimates Chinese lenders provided $170bn to Africa from 2000 to 2022. But lending has declined sharply since a 2016 peak. | Reuters…

Damascus: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad would visit China from tomorrow, his office said, his first trip to the allied country since before the Syrian civil war broke out more than 12 years ago. China will be the third non-Arab country Assad visits since before the conflict, which has killed more than 500 000 people, displaced millions and battered the country’s infrastructure and industry. Beijing has provided Damascus with international support, particularly at the UN Security Council, where it has abstained from resolutions against Damascus. | AFP…

Namibia have made nine changes to their starting XV for the World Cup Pool A clash with hosts France in Marseille tomorrow, as coach Allister Coetzee looks to give his wider squad a taste of the tournament on this “special occasion”. One of those changes is enforced by the horrific ankle injury sustained by centre Le Roux Malan in the 71-3 loss to New Zealand on Friday. Danco Burger comes into the team as his replacement. Prop Desiderius Sethie and hooker Louis van der Westhuizen come into the front row of the scrum and there are also two changes at lock where Mahepisa Tjeriko takes over from Johan Retief, who moves to flank, and France-based Adriaan Ludick comes into the team. Max Katjijeko, Retief and No 8 Prince Gaoseb make…

ONE OF life’s most treasured milestones is parenthood. When you hold your newborn for the first time, a natural resolve to give your child the finest possible start in life takes hold. The best for the child must also take into account preparing for the child’s major life events, such as education, skill development, higher education, marriage and possibly aiding in their successful adjustment to adulthood. The financial burden of raising a child nowadays, however, is a reality. In this age, wants are prioritised over needs, and it can be even harder to tell the difference when it comes to children. Life has its ups and downs, so financial preparedness is essential. Once you become a parent, it becomes even more crucial. When a child enters the family, household expenses…

THE ANC easily secured a simple majority yesterday to shoot down a private members bill of the DA that sought to end cadre deployment in the public service. However, all opposition parties present, except for one, were in favour of the bill, which was introduced by DA MP Leon Schreiber and processed by the Public Service and Administration portfolio committee. The “End Cadre Deployment Bill” wanted to prohibit office-bearers in political parties from being employed in the civil service. It also wanted the Public Service Commission (PSC) to enforce the requirement that all appointments be based strictly on merit and free from political appointments. The bill wanted no special benefits paid to dismissed directors-general or heads of departments. It also wanted the PSC to be provided with the power to…

Heavy seas – said to be nine metres high – swept along the Cape coast and reached as far as Durban over the weekend. Video footage showed seafront restaurants, homes and other facilities being swamped as waves broke windows and surged into buildings, while, tragically, someone died when huge waves came ashore near the Wilderness. Contrary to claims that climate change or sea level changes were the cause, this was the result of the occurrence of the spring high tide coinciding with the passage - to the south of the country - of a severe depression that generated those enormous swells. Off the east and southern coasts, however, the contrary effects of the south-westerly wind and the south-westerly-flowing Agulhas Current combined to form even greater swells, making life very uncomfortable…

THE Cape Town Highlanders Regimental Association will again be hosting the annual el-Alamein dinner on Friday, October 20, 2023 at the South African Legion, Rosedale, Nursery Road, Rosebank. Guests are asked to gather at 5.30pm for 6pm. The dinner is held to remember those who fell in the battle as well as to instil camaraderie amongst former serving members in the various Regimental Associations. Our guest speaker this year is Colonel Bernard Ashlin (Former Commanding Officer of the Regiment and President of the Regimental Association), and the pipers of the Regiments band will play as well. Tickets are available from Brian Pittman (0734168596). As we are only able to accommodate 80 guests it is advisable to book as early as possible. At the invitation of the Mayor…

COMMUNITY safety organisations have welcomed the conviction of a gardener and his friend who murdered an elderly couple before robbing them in Ottery four years ago. The Western Cape High Court found that Gcinilelitha Ngcobelothe and Lwazi Ntsibantsiba murdered Rugeya Addinall, 82, and her husband, Riedwaan Addinall, 82, by strangling them in their house on Sandown Drive on January 5, 2019, before ransacking their house. They left with a flat screen TV, a microwave, a Blue-Ray DVD player, a braai grid, a remote control, a phone and the keys to the couple’s car. Chairperson of the Western Cape Community Police Forum board, Fransina Lukas, said the conviction was a step closer to justice for the family. “Elderly people are the vulnerable in our society and deserve all the respect and…

Amid the great jamboree that was Africa Climate Week, one of the important messages hidden within the festive atmosphere of a much-needed global expression of Afro-optimism, was that the continent must make hard choices. What is the path to climate prosperity, and did the African Climate Summit deliver the necessary boost? The expression of the UN Secretary-General of the vision for Africa as a “renewable energy superpower” was powerful. The expected follow-up of statements of support from Africa’s partners in the developed world could have been more robust. “Opportunities that Africa and the world are primed to capitalise.” The African Climate Summit attracted Heads of State, leaders of multilateral and regional institutions as well as development institutions including the World Bank, the African Development Bank, private sector leaders, philanthropies, civil…

CANADIAN Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said authorities were “actively pursuing credible allegations” linking New Delhi’s agents to the murder of a Sikh separatist leader, an assertion India quickly dismissed as “absurd”. The spat deals a fresh blow to diplomatic ties that have been fraying for years, with New Delhi unhappy over Sikh separatist activity in Canada. It now threatens trade ties too, with talks on a proposed trade deal frozen last week. Each nation expelled a diplomat in tit-for-tat moves, with Canada throwing out India’s top intelligence agent and New Delhi responding by giving a Canadian diplomat five days to leave. Any involvement of a foreign government in the killing of a Canadian citizen is “an unacceptable violation of our sovereignty”, Trudeau told the House of Commons this week. He…

Thousands of children are feared to be dying in Sudan as violence, disease and severe malnutrition rip through the country. The UN refugee agency UNHCR said yesterday that more than 1 200 children had died in refugee camps since May. A measles outbreak killed some and thousands more were dying due to malnutrition and lack of health care, the UN’s children’s agency Unicef said. Sudan is being ripped apart by a violent conflict that erupted on April 15 between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The war has killed at least 7 500 people, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project. It has decimated already fragile infrastructure, shut down 80% of the country’s…

KYIV: Six people were killed in Russian attacks on Ukraine yesterday, including a drone strike that set ablaze industrial warehouses and destroyed humanitarian aid supplies in the city of Lviv, officials said. They said one person was killed in Lviv, three were killed in an attack on the north-eastern town of Kupiansk, and two people, including a policeman, were killed in shelling of the southern city of Kherson. In Lviv, which is far from front lines, fire fighters tackled a blaze after three industrial warehouses were hit in an attack. Lviv mayor Andriy Sadovyi said the body of a man who worked at one of the warehouses had been found under rubble. | Reuters…

LONDON: The British government said yesterday that 174 schools in England had so far been found to have buildings with potentially unsafe old and crumbling concrete, up from 147 at the end of last month. The revelations of old and weak concrete in schools, which saw more than 100 ordered to shut buildings only days before the start of a new term and others using rooms propped up by steel girders, sparked anger among parents and teachers. The government said at the time it was working to identify further schools with a lightweight form of concrete used during the 1960s-80s but now considered weak and unsafe.| Reuters…

The results of a titanic midweek fixture list might just be the beginning of the end of dreams for some, while for others it could signal a newfound lease on life. The implications of a meeting between two title contenders at this stage of the season usually doesn’t offer much in determining the eventual champions. However the Premiership is currently under a unique spell, a hegemony that has ruled South African football for six years in a row. Therefore, the outcome between defending champions Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates so early in the season might prove significant this time around. The Buccaneers will play hosts to Sundowns today at Orlando Stadium, looking to reel in their runaway opponents. Although having played two more matches than Pirates, Sundowns have established an…

SPECIAL Investigating Unit (SIU) head, Andy Mothibi, promised yesterday that the corruption-busting body would delve deeper into the affairs of the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) when it has received an amended proclamation. “We are indeed anticipating that the new proclamation will be signed off. “There is really going to be a deep dive into Prasa because the Zondo commission report said we need to look at failures of Prasa and what caused the failures,” Mothibi said. He made the comment when the SIU and Department of Justice and Constitutional Development Department briefed the justice and correctional services portfolio committee on the progress made in implementing recommendations of the Zondo commission. Chief Justice Raymond Zondo recommended in his report last year, the establishment of a special commission of inquiry…

‘We’ve experienced glitches here and there’ HIGHER Education Minister Blade Nzimande has maintained that “there is no crisis” at the embattled National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), despite complaints about service providers’ failure to disburse student allowances and the resignation of a top IT official. The entity came under the spotlight after chief information officer Modibedi Oliphant resigned with immediate effect, having been served a notice letter of suspension as a result of the IT unit’s alleged poor performance. Its chief executive officer Andile Nongogo was placed on leave amid Werksmans Inc investigating him over service provider tender allegations. Briefing the media yesterday, Nzimande said he had directed the board to implement a new performance management and accountability framework in a bid to establish a high-performance culture within the entity.…

IN 1994, thousands upon thousands of South Africans queued to vote in South Africa’s first democratic elections. Recently, they waited in long lines for their Social Relief Grants, courtesy of a government so out of touch that the minister responsible could offer only platitudes and a lame excuse about a glitch in the system. The callous response of the minister, who claimed that the matter was beyond her control, was almost as callous as the suggestion by Marie Antoinette that if the poor had no bread to eat, then they should eat cake. As the political head of social development, the minister is in control, or at least she ought to be. But such is the indifference of ANC politicians to the plight of the poor that they have outsourced…

SOUTH Africa lost a five-star icon when Raymond Ackerman passed away. The retail king will go down in history as one of the greatest entrepreneurs of our time. He was a man with amazing vision and astounding brilliance. An embodiment of our nation’s dream. Ackerman was the best of the best, like inventor Thomas Edison and Apple CEO Steve Jobs, he may never be equalled. His legacy as a supreme visionary far exceeded his corporate success. His legacy is imprinted in the sand, soil and heartland of our vast country and traverses oceans and swathes of the global village. In the face of insurmountable challenges and doubt, Ackerman rose and persevered. As an entrepreneur, he saw the solution before others and had the guts to see it through. He…

EX-DEPUTY director-general of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF), Siphokazi Ndudane will head to the Western Cape High Court to have criminal charges against her scrapped. A DAFF whistle-blower, Ndudane is charged with two counts of contravening section 34 of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act (PRECCA), 2004 (Act 12 of 2004), according to the Hawks. The Hawks said it was alleged that between 2016 and 2019, Ndudane committed acts amounting to contraventions in terms of section 34 of PRECCA, in that she failed to report incidents of fraud that were brought to her attention in her capacity as deputy director general. Yesterday, Ndudane, currently out on bail of R100 000, made a brief appearance in the Bellville Specialised Commercial Crimes Court, where the matter was…

The present struggle goes beyond the party, meaning the country must take keen interest THERE are events happening in South African politics that are quite difficult to explain but point to a specific direction nonetheless. These do not involve a single individual or one political party, but several actors appear to be in cahoots towards a particular goal. The national discourse is smoothing divisions between political parties and favours a specific discourse, meaning that the ideological distance between the PAC and the Freedom Front Plus is not as wide as it is often portrayed, in practice at least. Neo-liberalism ideology has always been associated with whites in South Africa and blacks with mainly left-leaning ideas for historical reasons. However, there is now a very rehearsed script to create a…

Telephone and internet links were severed yesterday to Libya’s flood-hit city of Derna, a day after hundreds of people protested there, blaming the local authorities for the thousands of deaths. A tsunami-sized flash flood broke through two ageing dams on rivers up- stream from the city on the night of September 10 during heavy rains dumped by storm Daniel. The flood razed areas sweeping untold thousands of people into the Mediterranean Sea. Protesters massed on Monday at the city’s grand mosque, venting their anger at local and regional authorities whom they blamed for failing to maintain the dams or to provide early warning of the disaster. Yesterday, the national telecom company LPTIC blamed the communication outage on “a rupture in the optical fibre” link to Derna, in a statement…

Britain said yesterday that it found no evidence of “political” bank account closures, according to a review launched after the controversial withdrawal of facilities for Nigel Farage, angering the arch Brexiteer. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said in initial findings that the evidence it has gathered “suggests that no firm closed an account between July 2022 and June 2023 primarily because of a customer’s political views”. However, the financial markets watchdog also conceded that it had collected limited information and needed to investigate further. The announcement sparked fury from Farage who described the FCA as “overtly political”. The probe was launched after Coutts, the private banking arm of British lender NatWest, decided to end its relationship with Farage, the former leader of the Brexit Party and the anti-immigration party UKIP.…

London: As Pirola, the new mutation of Omicron strain of Covid-19, worries health experts, the UK’s National Health Service has asked senior citizens to get their top-up booster jabs. People aged 65 and over in England are being urged to get a top-up booster vaccine against Covid at a time when more people are coming into hospitals with the highly mutated BA.2.86 virus. The vaccines will soon be provided for free to more vulnerable groups. According to the report, Covid hospital admissions are now at the highest rate since the end of April, at 4.6 per 100 000 people. That is still below the level reached last winter. | IANS…

LONDON: YouTube has suspended monetisation on Russell Brand’s channel. The platform announced the move after it deemed the 48-year-old comedian had broken the platform’s “Creator Responsibility policy”, which comes after several sexual assault and rape allegations, which he denies, were made against him. YouTube said: “If a creator’s off-platform behaviour harms our users, employees or ecosystem, we take action to protect the community.” It said this also applied to any other channels owned or operated by the star. Its guidelines state that: “When a creator is suspended from the YouTube Partner Programme, they are prohibited from using a new or alternate channel to circumvent our enforcement decision.” Four women accused the actor of rape, sexual assault and emotional and physical abuse between 2006 and 2013. A fifth accused him of…

It was a fantastic come-from-behind one-day international series victory over the Australians, but the Proteas must put all that behind them and turn their focus to the impeding 50-over World Cup next month. Here, Zaahier Adams looks at five areas South Africa must build on as they prepare for the tournament in India Proteas’ new state of mind Saying that you will play fearlessly and doing it are different things. For the first time the Proteas did what they said and never stopped doing it - even when they were 2-0 behind in the series and on a five-game losing streak. The management has certainly played their part in maintaining the players’ belief that despite the losses they were still on the right track. “It’s one of the biggest cliches…

THE bad news for Premiership teams looking to stop the Mamelodi Sundowns juggernaut from dominating the league yet again is that Lucas Ribeiro Costa has not begun firing on all cylinders. The Brazilian attacker has hit the ground running since joining the multiple championship winners in the close season from Belgian side Beveren. Unlike most foreigners, who struggle and usually take time to find their footing in the South Africa, Ribeiro has slotted into the Sundowns team seamlessly and has already proven his money’s worth with some key goals. Just last weekend he scored a brace and could easily have made it a hat-trick in Tanzania, where Sundowns made short work of Burundian outfit Bumamuru FC in a 4-0 hammering in their first leg, second preliminary round Caf Champions League…