Sommaire pour 2024-01-10 de Cape Times

from page1 service as well as the loss of three generating units necessitated. Unplanned outages were at 14 953MW of generating capacity, while the capacity out of service for planned maintenance was 7 638MW. Eskom said power station managers and their teams were working tirelessly to ensure that 2 700MW of generating capacity was returned to service before the end of the week. Ramokgopa said that while demand was low during the week of December 22-29, Eskom was working to address issues of its fleet and used the opportunity to carry out planned maintenance. Eskom’s energy availability factor was 55.4% for the year to date and the utility had seen an “exceptionally good performance” by units outside the issues of reduced demand. “What we’ve seen is that the…

THE ANC had no other choice but to enter a settlement agreement with Ezulweni Investments, which the party owed well over R100 million, according to analysts. Before the settlement, which the ANC announced in December, the Supreme Court of Appeal ordered the political party to pay the printing and marketing company more than R100m for the production of banners during the 2019 elections with the figure, including interest, by then sitting at R150m. The ANC initially said it would challenge the ruling in the Constitutional Court until last month when the 5-year-long ANC Luthuli debt concluded with an out-of-court settlement. In a statement on Monday, Ezulweni Investments confirmed that it had “reached an out-of-court settlement with the ANC”. “We wish to thank the negotiating committee, chaired by Dr Gwen…

AFRICA bears a disproportionate burden of infectious diseases with malaria, HIV/Aids, tuberculosis, cholera, Ebola, Lassa fever, and other tropical diseases, such as dengue and chikungunya having a profound impact on morbidity and mortality. Writing in Science, Professo Tulio de Oliveira, director of the Centre for Epidemic Response and Innovation (Ceri) at Stellenbosch University and Dr Cheryl Baxter, head of Scientific Support at Ceri, said various factors contribute to the higher prevalence and incidence of infectious diseases in Africa, including socioe-conomic challenges, limited access to health care, inadequate sanitation and hygiene infrastructure, climate-related factors, and endemicity of certain diseases in specific regions. According to the authors, a skilled workforce is crucial to addressing these challenges. “Unfortunately, many countries in Africa often lack the required resources, and aspiring scientists frequently seek educational…

OVER the span of three weeks there were 1 390 reported murders and attempted murders in South Africa. This comes as the Western Cape Serious and Violent Crimes Unit arrested two suspects, aged 26 and 46, following the murder of a woman in Strand on Monday. The 41-year-old woman from the City’s environmental health department was gunned down at about 8.15am in the parking area of a Strand municipal building. The suspect fled the scene in a white Opel Astra. “Several witness statements were obtained and a vehicle used by the suspect was identified. The vehicle was tested on the system and positively identified at a premises in Site C Khayelitsha. The vehicle was confiscated and booked in as an exhibit at Stikland. At the time of her death, the…

Gabriel Attal, named France’s youngest prime minister yesterday at the age of 34, has had a meteoric rise that has invoked comparisons with that of his mentor President Emmanuel Macron. He is also the country’s first openly gay French premier whose most pressing task will be to ensure that Macron’s centrist forces overcome the far-right – first in European elections in June and then in presidential polls in 2027. Attal’s more combative style is likely to be a contrast to that of his predecessor Elisabeth Borne, 62, a technocratic figure more comfortable behind the scenes than with the cut and thrust of soundbite politics. Taking high office at such a young age, Attal has sparked inevitable comparisons to Macron himself, who became France’s youngest president at the age of 39.…

Big flat-screen televisions could start getting out of the way of lounge decor – if new see-through TV models showed off by South Korean consumer electronics giants LG and Samsung catch on when released later this year. LG says the TV is “practically invisible when turned off” and blends into the environment. Shaped like a glass box, one can see through the screen to what is behind it, but then switch to a high-definition television for viewing. Or one can enjoy a digital fish tank, burning fire or any digital image that will blend in well with an interior. Samsung showed off a TV screen prototype of its own that looks clear as a window but is embedded with micro-sized LEDs for high-definition imagery that come to life when turned…

Baku: A late-night blaze at a maternity clinic in Azerbaijan has left four infants dead, officials said yesterday, as the Caucasus country’s authoritarian leader vowed to personally oversee an investigation into the fire. Rescuers hauled out patients in incubators from the facility in the capital Baku and transferred them to ambulances. Prosecutor General Kamran Aliyev said the fire had been quickly extinguished. Prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation into violations of fire safety rules and negligence, and said that President Ilham Aliyev would oversee the probe personally. | AFP…

Oslo: Anders Behring Breivik, the right-wing extremist who killed 77 people in 2011, still poses a risk of “totally unbridled violence”, the Norwegian State argued yesterday in a lawsuit over his prison conditions. Breivik has sued the state, claiming his extended isolation is a violation of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which prohibits “inhumane” and “degrading” treatment. Now 44, he has been held apart from other inmates in high-security facilities for over 11 years. On July 22, 2011, Breivik set off a bomb near government offices in Oslo, killing eight people, before gunning down 69 others, mostly teens, at a Labour Party youth wing summer camp on the island of Utoya. He was sentenced in 2012 to 21 years in prison, which can be extended as…

GQEBERHA is a city known for many things, be it strong winds, the beautiful shoreline in the famous suburb of Summerstrand and the Boardwalk Mall that overlooks the beach. Most importantly, Gqeberha is known for its unique culture of friendliness, of loving and caring people, earning it the moniker of the Friendly City. From the townships of Zwide and Motherwell, to the city centre where St George’s Park Cricket Stadium overlooks the entire city, this culture runs in the veins of the people of Gqeberha. Two-time Rugby World Cup-winning Springbok captain Siya Kolisi was born and bred in this part of the country. Defending Champions the Sunrisers Eastern Cape, coached by local boy Adrian Birrell, naturally embody the iBhayi culture that was a driving force in them winning the trophy…

ADRI SENEKAL de Wet, the executive editor of Business Report (BR) and Personal Finance, has been appointed the new editor-in-chief of Independent Media. This follows the retirement of Aziz Hartley. Newsdesk editor Philippa Larkin has been appointed acting editor of BR and Personal Finance until a new editor is appointed to the role. Larkin has worked at BR for nearly two decades in various capacities. Larkin said: “Business Report and Personal Finance have thrived under Senekal de Wet’s sterling leadership and positive mindset. We wish her well in her new role.” Senekal de Wet has been an integral part of Independent Media since November 2016. Her dedication, expertise and leadership have played a crucial role in shaping the editorial direction of BR and Personal Finance. Senekal de Wet extended her…

Independent Media has appointed Adri Senekal de Wet as its new Editor-in-Chief following the retirement of Aziz Hartley at the end of 2023. Mohamed Hoosain, Independent Media’s current CFO, will step in as acting CEO after current CEO Takudzwa Hove stepped down to pursue his MBA. Dr Iqbal Survé will resume his role as executive chairman of Independent Media. Senekal de Wet has been part of Independent Media since November 2016, serving as the executive editor of Business Report and Personal Finance. “Her dedication, expertise, and leadership have played a crucial role in shaping the editorial direction of these publications,” Independent Media said in a statement. Senekal de Wet extended her appreciation to Dr Survé for the trust placed in her. Of taking on this prestigious role during challenging times…

FORMER Proteas captain Graeme Smith has reiterated his desire to transform the Betway SA20 League into “the biggest league outside India”. Smith, the commissioner of South Africa’s premier T20 domestic competition, was speaking ahead of the start of season 2 in Gqeberha today. The SA20 League was launched last year and immediately obtained major success. With the support of six major Indian Premier League franchises, who own all of the respective teams, SA20 attracted superstar players from around the world. Cricket fans across the six venues around the country – Cape Town, Paarl, Gqeberha, Durban, Johannesburg and Centurion – streamed through the turnstiles in record numbers. An Economic Impact Assessment (EIA) commissioned by the League also highlighted the positive effect the 33-match competition had on South Africa’s Gross Domestic Product…

THE SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) is seeking to make school uniforms affordable, including getting the Department of Basic Education (DBE) to control the procurement of school uniforms and to provide for the wearing of gender-non-conforming outfits to accommodate diverse gender identities. The commission has raised concerns that the cost of school uniforms can be prohibitive, leading to a lack of access to education for some pupils. This can be seen as a form of discrimination and a violation of their right to dignity. The Competition Commission revealed that it had received regular complaints about the cost of school uniforms, saying the increasing costs are largely as a result of anti-competitive behaviour, where a school forces parents to procure uniforms from one supplier. The Competition Commission said it had previously…

The Nkandla fire pool saga was gobbledygook of note. In fact, the nation was taken for a ride in the worst way possible. We really did not need ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula to “reveal” that the ANC used every trick in the book to protect Jacob Zuma regarding the upgrades to his private home in Nkandla. Coincidentally, it took a provocation by Zuma, who is now the voluntary leader of the new uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party, for Mbalula to angrily disclose that the ANC lied to protect him when he was the head of state. There has been “excitement” since the Mbalula revelation at the weekend. Even Build One SA leader Mmusi Maimane threw a punch of his own at Mbalula and the ANC on social media.…

The Maldives is in hot water over calls by Indian celebrities for a boycott of the tropical beach destination, following derogatory remarks about Prime Minister Narendra Modi by government ministers. Tourism makes up nearly one-third of the economy in the archipelago nation, known for its upscale resorts and celebrity visitors, with Indians making up the largest share of foreign arrivals. Racy photos by Bollywood starlets and social media influencers vacationing in the Maldives are also a regular source of fodder for tabloids and online news sites in India. Pro-China President Mohamed Muizzu’s administration has been scrambling to contain a diplomatic row with India after three of its junior ministers reportedly called Modi a “clown” and a “terrorist” in since-deleted social media posts last week. Bollywood actors and some of India’s…

New Delhi: Generative artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to impact 44% of all working hours across industries, enable productivity enhancements across 900 different types of jobs and create $6 trillion (about R111 trillion) to $8 trillion in global economic value, a new report said yesterday. According to the global IT services firm Accenture, about 95% of business leaders globally believe that making technology more human will massively expand the opportunities of every industry. The report said 96% of executives agreed that leveraging AI agent ecosystems would be a significant opportunity for their organisation in the next three years. | IANS…

Quito: Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa has decreed a state of emergency, imposing a curfew for 60 days, due to the “serious internal commotion” in several prisons. The decree came after reports emerged on Sunday of the alleged escape of Jose Adolfo Macias Villamar, alias “Fito”, the country’s main drug trafficker and leader of crime group “Los Choneros”, from a prison in Guayaquil, the capital of Guayas province. Ecuador recorded nearly 3 568 violent deaths from the beginning of 2023 until July, an increase of 75% over the same period the year before. The South American nation also shattered records for homicides in 2022, cataloguing a total of 4 603 violent deaths. | IANS…

London: Irish musician Sinead O’Connor died last year of “natural causes”, a London coroner announced yesterday. The Grammy award-winning singer was found unresponsive at her south London home in July. She was 56. London police said at the time that officers were not treating it as suspicious. O’Connor’s agents revealed she had been completing a new album and planning a tour as well as a movie based on her autobiography Rememberings before she died. She shunned the limelight after the death of her son Shane, 17, from suicide in 2022. | AFP…

from page 1 Wits international relations professor John Stremlau said: “South Africa is showing it can lead a moral debate for the world. Most Palestinians don’t have food, water, energy – it walks and talks like genocide, South Africa has a strong position but with the politics of the court and nations they represent, God only knows how it is going to play out,” he said. South Africa wants the ICJ to impose “provisional measures”, or emergency actions, while the broader case is being considered – which would probably take years. The ICJ is not known for its speed but “provisional measures” take priority over all other cases and a decision can be relatively quick – a matter of weeks. “At the provisional measures stage, the court would not be…

Despite ‘overwhelming’ evidence, experts warn of potential politics when voting INTERNATIONAL law experts have cautioned against the potential for politics to come into play when the International Court of Justice (ICJ’s) decides on South Africa’s case accusing Israel of "genocidal acts" in Gaza, to be heard tomorrow and Friday. The evidence to prove genocidal intent was “overwhelming” with international and social media having opened the door to the translation of speeches by Israeli leaders expressing its intent towards the Palestinian people, said Unisa lecturer in the department of Jurisprudence, Matelwe Sebei. “Proving genocide requires proving that they are engaging in ethnic cleansing, sometimes even from the intent alone that could qualify as a genocide. The most difficult part of proving genocide is the intent, a very big part of the…

2 sheets puff pastry Cream cheese mixture 230g cream cheese, at room temperature cup granulated sugar 1 tsp vanilla extract Strawberries 4 cups strawberries, sliced thinly 1 tbs cornstarch Lemon glaze 1 cup icing sugar 2 tbs lemon juice 1 tsp vanilla extract Preheat the oven to 200ºC, and let the puff pastry thaw for about 30 to 40 minutes, or until it's easy to work with. Place the strawberry slices in a bowl. Add the cornstarch. Mix well until the strawberries are well coated. Set aside. Into a medium mixing bowl, add the cream cheese, granulated sugar and vanilla extract. Mix with a whisk until creamy and smooth. Lightly flour a clean surface and use a rolling pin to roll the puff pastry slightly. Cut the pastry into 12…

A NEW trend of hosting and promoting TikTok star fights “for fun” – known as Tikbox – where people with disputes take each other on in the boxing ring, while the paying public watches, caused the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, to express its concern over this practice. The court commented that at first glance this matter seemed to be the typical quarrel, between business partners, bound by company laws, “ignited when riches arrive and memory fades – with the court left to determine the true terms of their bond”. The court concluded that boxing contests between members of the public is against the good morals of society and participation in these matches could constitute organised crime. Tikbox League Ltd, which turned to the court (the applicant), was described as a…

The new party’s success hinges on Zuma’s ability to tap into the liberation Struggle legacy Dubbed “Zuma’s tour de resistance”, former president Jacob Zuma and his new uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) drew large crowds in Mkhondo as the ANC announced its preparations for its annual January 8 celebrations in Mbombela. Some observers view this as a “battle of two ANCs” poised to determine the outcome of the upcoming national elections. If last week’s events are any indication, the ANC could face serious challenges in some of its traditional strongholds. The re-emergence of Zuma and his party on the South African political scene continues to send shockwaves through the country and has left the ANC reeling, seemingly devoid of a coherent response to the disruptive force. The MK Party’s success hinges…

The Israeli army bombed Gaza and battled Hamas fighters yesterday as US top diplomat Antony Blinken was in Tel Aviv on a regional tour aimed at stopping the war from escalating across the Middle East. There were intense strikes overnight in Khan Yunis and Rafah, the biggest cities in the south of the besieged Palestinian territory, which are crowded with internally displaced people. The army said its forces had killed 40 militants over the past 24 hours in “expanded ground operations including air strikes” in Khan Yunis, and that troops had seized AK-47 assault rifles, rocket launchers and other weapons. Since the war broke out with the Hamas attack of October 7, fears have grown of an escalating conflict between Israel and its other regional enemies, a loose alliance of…

Russia said yesterday that its military would do everything possible to stop the Ukrainian shelling of Belgorod, a border town where hundreds were evacuated after fatal bombardments. The vow came as the defence ministry said it had downed four Ukrainian drones over western Russia, with debris injuring three at an oil facility in the Oryol region. Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu meanwhile said Russian forces were dictating the course of fighting on the front line, which has barely shifted in about a year despite fierce fighting. Belgorod has suffered an uptick in fatal shelling attacks in recent weeks that prompted city officials to recently evacuate hundreds and extend a closure of schools. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov accused the Ukrainian military of firing on civilian targets in the centre of the urban…

CANBERRA: the Australian government has put on hold its plans to cut ties with the British monarchy by becoming a republic. Assistant minister for the republic, Matt Thistlethwaite, said holding a referendum on becoming a republic was not so much a priority as cost of living relief was for Australians. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in 2022 vowed to holding a referendumon splitting from the monarchy if he won a second term, but a date has not yet been set. Australia last held a referendum on becoming a republic in 1999 when 54.8% of voters rejected a proposal to replace the British monarch as the country’s head of state with a president. | IANS…

Seoul: The South Korean parliament yesterday passed a special bill banning dog meat consumption, paving the way for ending the practice that has fallen out of favour in recent decades. The bill, which bans the breeding, butchering, distributing and selling of dogs for meat, passed through Parliament with 208 votes in favour and two abstentions. The bill also calls for providing subsidies to help people in the dog meat industry switch jobs. According to government statistics, there are around 1 150 dog farms, 34 butchering businesses, 219 distributors and about 1 600 restaurants that sell food made with dog meat in South Korea. | IANS…

SERIAL goalscorer Mohamed Salah has conquered the world, Europe and England with Liverpool. Now he dreams of leading Egypt to African glory. He has come agonisingly close twice with his country, being part of the teams that lost the 2017 and 2022 Africa Cup of Nations finals to Cameroon and Senegal. In-between reaching those title deciders, hosts Egypt suffered a humiliating last-16 loss to outsiders South Africa that left a 70 000-strong Cairo crowd speechless. Egypt are among the favourites for the 2023 title in the Ivory Coast as they seek a record-extending eighth title in the premier African sporting event. Drawn with Ghana, Cape Verde and Mozambique in Group B, it is widely expected that Egypt will finish first and qualify for the round of 16. But captain Salah…