Sommaire pour 2024-03-05 de Cape Times

On February 9, X-user Robin Zaccheus shared a gross discovery he made in a slab of roasted almond chocolate. Along with a video of a worm in his chocolate and a picture of a receipt, he tweeted: “Found a worm crawling in Cadbury chocolate purchased at Ratnadeep Metro Ameerpet today. Is there a quality check for these near to expiry products? Who is responsible for public health hazards?” The tweet soon went viral with over 715k views. Zaccheus has now shared: “The Telangana State Food laboratory (India) has confirmed the Cadbury Chocolate (Roasted Almond) was ‘Unsafe to consume, they found white worms and web!” He also tagged Mondelez International, Cadbury’s parent company. Cadbury responded to his tweet: “Hi, Mondelez follows the internationally accepted HACCP (Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Points)…

In an attempt to urgently assist the cash-strapped Knysna municipality, the council has approved a diagnostic report and support plan presented to it by the provincial government. The approval comes after the municipality had previously declined two support offers in 2018 and 2020. The latest diagnostic report was unanimously approved during a special Council meeting last week. The municipality is governed by a coalition made up of the ANC, EFF, Patriotic Alliance and Plaaslike Besorgde Inwoners (Concerned Local Residents). The report details various departments that need intervention, including financial management, waste management, information and communications technology as well as infrastructure and service delivery. The municipality said the assessment involved municipal officials and a multidisciplinary team of subject matter experts from local government, Provincial Treasury and the National Department of Cooperative…

Increased methods of detection to be put in place with takeover of direct payments Increased verification measures will be put in place to avoid paying “ghost students” when higher education institutions take over the direct payment of student allowances from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS). As of March 1, more than 1.9 million applications had been received and 1.2 million students provisionally funded, according to the entity. More than 59 000 students were not yet funded due to evaluations, according to acting NSFAS board chairperson Professor Lourens van Staden. They were also waiting for 94 000 students to provide supporting documents. About 240 000 bursary applications were rejected and 15 174 have lodged appeals so far. NSFAS acting CFO Che Muller said…

The National Health Laboratory Services (NHLS) is saddled with a backlog of nearly 40 000 toxicology test cases at its forensic chemistry laboratories. This was revealed by Health Minister Joe Phaahla in reply to parliamentary questions from DA MP Michéle Clarke. She enquired about the current backlog on toxicology analysis at the NHLS’s forensic chemistry laboratories in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Pretoria. Phaahla said the toxicology samples were supposed to be tested within 90 days of the date the samples were registered at the testing laboratory. “Any test not completed and authorised within 90 days is classified as a backlog,” he said. Phaahla said multiple factors have contributed to the backlogs that developed at the three laboratories. These included incomplete information on the request forms; inadequate infrastructure; ageing analytic equipment;…

The right to strike is a constitutional privilege that every worker in South Africa is entitled to. It is a fundamental right fought for by many who have sacrificed their lives for the betterment of labour conditions. However, this right does not justify or excuse the recent acts of violence and vandalism carried out by eThekwini Municipality employees currently engaged in an illegal strike. Last week municipal workers, represented by the SA Municipal Workers Union (Samwu), downed tools,left refuse piling up on the streets, and blockaded roads causing traffic jams. It is essential to condemn the destructive behaviour of these workers, including the sabotage of critical infrastructure, destruction of property, and threats towards non-strikers. Such actions undermine the principles of peaceful protest and negotiation and disrupt the lives of the…

New fertility policies and better regulation of the troubled property sector will be among issues raised by delegates at China’s annual political gathering, which kicked off yesterday. With voting tightly controlled and legislation pre-approved by the ruling Communist Party, it is unlikely any of their proposals will be enacted into law. But attendees at the Two Sessions can put forward suggestions hoping they might influence legislation. Nevertheless, the delegates “play an important role in representing citizen interests on a range of politically non-sensitive issues”, Changhao Wei, an expert on China’s legislature, said. After the country’s population decline accelerated last year, China’s demographic woes are under the spotlight. Allowing single women to freeze their eggs should be explored, said Zhao Changlong, a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC),…

Seoul: South Korea said yesterday that it would take steps to suspend the licences of striking trainee doctors who have defied orders to return to work in a stand-off over medical training reforms. About 9 000 junior doctors walked out nearly two weeks ago to protest against an increase in medical school admissions from next year, which is meant to help combat shortages and meet the demands of an ageing society. The striking trainees have defied a February 29 government deadline for them to return to work or face legal action, including possible arrest or suspension of their medical licences. Despite government appeals, the number returning to work “has been minimal”, authorities said. | AFP…

PARIS: French MPs met yesterday for a final vote to include the right to abortion into the constitution, a world first welcomed by women’s rights groups and criticised by anti-abortion groups. Abortion rights are more widely accepted in France than in the US and many other countries, with polls showing around 80% of French people back the fact that abortion is legal. The move, which has broad political support, was expected to get the three-fifths majority it needs in a special vote of the two houses of parliament yesterday. Women have had a legal right to abortion in France since a 1974 law, which many harshly criticised at the time. | AFP…

The Springboks’ first step to the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia starts today in Cape Town, with Bok mastermind Rassie Erasmus holding his first alignment camp with 43 players. It is also the first time the coaching additions of former All Black Tony Brown (attack) and former Irish hooker Jerry Flannery (defence) will rub shoulders with some of the reigning world champions and the newly invited crop of players as they start the planning for the 2024 international season and beyond. Erasmus, the 2019 World Cup-winning coach, returns to take the reins with double Test matches against Ireland in July, and a face-off with Portugal in Bloemfontein later this year. The Irish Tests will take place at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria and King’s Park in Durban. Later in the…

THIS YEAR’s Budget, coming during a crucial elections period, and three decades of the ANC rule, was expected to excite keen attention from budget analysts, market watchers, and politicians, including foreign financial institutions to which both the Department of Finance and the SA Reserve Bank (SARB) endear themselves greatly. Indeed, as expected, this austerity Budget was received warmly by the so-called markets, save for murmurings of discontent from the usual quarters of society known as leftists. The rand behaved. A credible austerity Budget, so it is said, is one that elicits warm cheers from bond, forex and similar markets and, more importantly, from international financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), rating agencies etc. These institutions are…

THE NATIONAL COFFEE Association says, as many as nine in 10 coffee drinkers start their day with a steamy cup of joe – often before taking a bite of toast or cereal. Coffee is a beloved beverage, with consumption levels ranking second only to water in some countries. Aside from giving you a much-needed energy boost, the caffeine in coffee has been linked to improved mood, brain function, and exercise performance. Some studies suggest that drinking coffee – whether caffeinated or decaffeinated – may reduce your risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. It may help weight loss and offer protection against illnesses like Alzheimer’s, and heart disease. For many, starting the day with a cup of coffee is a cherished ritual. However, some argue that having it on an empty…

THE DA and the EFF want National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula to be hauled before the ethics committee in Parliament for investigation following reports implicating her in alleged corruption. The red berets also want Mapisa-Nqakula to be removed from office while the investigation is under way and Cosatu said it was in support of the ANC resolution that persons charged by the relevant law enforcement organs should step aside from their leadership positions. According to reports, Mapisa-Nqakula was being investigated by the Independent Directorate in connection with allegations that she was paid R2.3 million in cash bribes by defence industry businesswoman Nombasa Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu while she was the defence minister. Similar allegations were made in 2021 but the joint standing committee on defence did not go ahead with the investigation after…

THE Department of Trade and Industry Competition’s agency, the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC), has become the latest victim of the ever increasing spate of cyber attacks in the country. On Thursday, the CIPC announced that an attempted security breach and the compromise of personal information of clients and CIPC employees, held on their records, had been picked up. The commission reported that its ICT technicians were alerted, due to extensive firewall and data protection systems in place at the CIPC, to a possible security compromise. As a result, certain CIPC systems had to be shut down immediately to mitigate any possible damage. Lungile Dukwana, the CIPC Chief Strategy Executive, said through the diligent efforts of the ICT and information security teams, the compromise was isolated and curtailed, with…

A devastating indictment of a state-owned utility on the brink of implosion IT IS just as well that Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana, in his National Budget presented to Parliament on February 21, did not reveal the findings and any policy response to the independent report he commissioned from the respected VGBE-led consortium to assess the state of the operations at Eskom’s coal-fired power stations. After all, he’s been sitting on the report, with the fate-tempting acronym “Opera”, since September 2023. The five-partner consortium comprises world leaders in the operation and maintenance (O&M) of coal-fired power plants. The assessment, which was commissioned in February 2023, was conducted as part of conditions attached to the R254 billion debt relief arrangement for Eskom. Some of the findings, according to the Treasury, will be…

Mediators in Cairo persisted yesterday with efforts towards a Gaza truce after Israel’s top ally the US stepped up pressure for a halt in fighting and more aid to enter the besieged Palestinian territory. Bombardments and combat killed 124 more people within 24 hours, said the health ministry in the Hamas-ruled territory. Gaza has been devastated and gripped by dire food shortages in the war sparked by Hamas’s October 7 attacks on Israel. Qatari and Egyptian mediators were meeting with US and Hamas envoys – but no Israeli delegates so far – in Cairo for a second day of talks. They are aiming for a halt in fighting before the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan starts on March 10 or 11. An Egyptian TV channel linked to the intelligence…

The Church of England’s £100 million (about R2.4 billion) fund to address its historical links to the slave trade is too small and should be expanded at least tenfold, an oversight group led by descendants of enslaved Africans said yesterday. The group, appointed by the church to provide advice on how to address its historic links to slavery, said in a report yesterday that the fund was not enough when compared with the scale of the racial disadvantage caused by its past investments. It said the Church Commissioners, who manage the Church’s £10bn investment arm today in partner- ship with others, should invest more. In response, the head of the Church Commissioners said that while they shared an “ambition” of expanding the fund to £1bn, £100m was…

KyiV: Ukraine urged the West yesterday to transfer control of confiscated Russian assets to Kyiv so they could be used to rebuild the country and fund its recovery. Calls have been mounting in Washington and Europe to set up a fund for Ukraine using billions of dollars in Russia bank accounts, investments and other assets frozen by the West over Moscow’s 2022 invasion of its neighbour. “The confiscation of Russian assets should become a reliable source of support for our state and funding for our recovery,” Prime Minister Denys Shmygal said. Ukraine has warned it desperately needs more military and financial assistance. | AFP…

MUMBAI: Indian farmers are planning to escalate their protests from tomorrow by entering the capital New Delhi by bus and train, and increasing their numbers at border points blocked by tractors. Thousands of farmers began the “Delhi Chalo” (Let’s go to Delhi) march last month but were stopped by security forces 200km north of the capital with teargas and water cannon. The farmers, demanding higher prices for their crops, intensified their protest after several rounds of failed talks. Clashes between farmers and security forces have broken out. Farmers are determined to protest until their demands for higher support prices are met. | Reuters…

Fifth-placed Stellenbosch FC will have their eye on Cape Town City’s second place on the DStv Premiership log when they run out in tonight’s derby at the Cape Town Stadium. Stellies, on 28 points, are looking to complete a Premiership double over City after their slender 1-0 win at the end of last year. If they achieve that objective they will make headway up the standings, possibly one or two places. The Winelands outfit, under the guidance of coach Steve Barker, is on a nine-match unbeaten run in the Premiership and last suffered defeat in September – a 3-1 loss against Sundowns at the Lucas Moripe Stadium. Barker is excited about the prospect of playing neighbours City because it gives them a chance to cement a place in the upper…

The National Executive Committee (NEC) of the ANC yesterday debated who should make the party’s national and provincial candidate lists for the May elections, with discussions taking place over whether those implicated by the State Capture Commission report should be included or not. The Electoral Commission of South Africa has given all parties until Friday, March 8, to submit their lists of national and provincial candidates for the elections. It has been reported that the ANC Integrity Commission, chaired by Reverend Frank Chikane, and the ANC Veterans’ League have recommended that those implicated at the Zondo Commission be excluded from election lists, while the ANC Women’s and Youth Leagues said members not formally charged should be on party election lists. ANC heavyweights Gwede Mantashe, (Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy,…

THE legal representatives of suspended GOOD Party MPL Peter de Villiers have opted to remain mum over the charges he faces but confirmed their readiness ahead of his disciplinary hearing commencing on Thursday. De Villiers, 66, is accused of sexual assault and sexual harassment in an incident involving a female party member in January. According to reports, the incident happened when he was dropping her at home following an event. He was removed from all party activities after the complaint. According to GOOD Party secretary-general Brett Herron, on February 23, De Villiers’s attorney, David van der Merwe of Leon, Frank & Partners, was served with a charge sheet. The hearing is expected to sit for two days, with oral evidence. De Villiers will be represented by advocate Mias Schreuder SC…

A new trial will test a low-cost antibiotic in reducing deaths among 8 000 patients with advanced HIV who are starting or restarting anti-retroviral therapy (ART). The Revive study, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, involves a pan-African network of investigators, co-led by researchers at UCT and the Population Health Research Institute (PHRI), a joint institute of McMaster University and Hamilton Health Sciences in Canada. The trial aims to determine whether the antibiotic azithromycin, when taken once daily over four weeks, can reduce death in adults with advanced HIV. The study will span over 100 sites across a growing number of countries in Africa: Botswana, Ethiopia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Malawi, Nigeria, the Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia, with more to…

The hard-handed tactics used by the police to arrest a couple following claims that they had abused their children – which turned out not to be true – will cost the taxpayer dearly. The Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg, found that there was no need for the measures used by the SAPS against the couple. The parents, who cannot be named to protect their children, were arrested at their Johannesburg home just after 7am on a Saturday morning in 2017. A convoy of police vehicles with a large number of police officers, some in uniform and some in plain clothes, arrived at their residence in a show of force. They were still in bed with their one child, who was then about two years old, when the police contingent arrived.…

PROVINCIAL Departments of Health have underspent their budgets by more than R3 billion in the 2022-23 financial year. Less than R1bn in unspent funds was rolled over to the affected provinces. Only KwaZulu-Natal fully spent its budget during the financial year. This was revealed by Health Minister Joe Phaahla, responding in writing to parliamentary questions from EFF MP Reneiloe Mashabela. Phaahla’s response showed that Gauteng led the pack, having underspent its total allocated budget with R2.7bn, of which R937 million was for provincial equitable share and R1.7bn for conditional grants. The breakdown of underspent budgets in other provinces is: The Western Cape did not spend R180 million. Northern Cape R141m. Limpopo R103m. The Free State R85m. The Eastern Cape R62.2m. Mpumalanga R25.3m. North West R200.6m. Phaahla said some of the…

WE HAVE a rich history, though part of its richness is through the hardship, suffering and pain many had to go through. How people sacrificed and suffered for this democracy varies. Some of the wonderful people who made a supreme sacrifice hail from the dominant white community group, Afrikaner, that was ruthlessly holding the reins of power. It is amazing how some Afrikaners, as individuals and as a collective, contributed to the Struggle. Marius Schoon is one of them. He followed the likes of Bram Fischer. His political involvement started with the Congress of Democrats or South African Congress of Democrats, one of the most progressive white organisations at the time. In no time, Schoon was involved at the advanced level, the armed Struggle. He was involved in a bombing…

The US Supreme Court handed Donald Trump a major victory yesterday as he campaigns to regain the presidency, overturning a judicial decision that had excluded him from Colorado’s ballot under a constitutional provision involving insurrection for inciting and supporting the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack. The justices unanimously reversed a December 19 decision by Colorado’s top court to kick Trump off the state’s Republican primary ballot today after finding that the US Constitution’s 14th Amendment disqualified him from again holding public office. Trump is the frontrunner for the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic President Joe Biden in the November 5 US election. His only remaining rival for his party’s nomination is former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley. “BIG WIN FOR AMERICA!!!” Trump wrote on his social media platform immediately after…

The signing into law of an anti-LGBTQ bill passed by Ghana’s parliament could derail the International Monetary Fund’s $3 billion (R57bn) loan package and lead to a loss of $3.8bn in World Bank financing over the next five to six years, the finance ministry said in a document yesterday. MPs last week unanimously passed the legislation that will intensify a crackdown on the rights of LGBTQ people and those accused of promoting lesbian, gay or other minority sexual or gender identities in the nation. The bill will now be presented to President Nana Akufo-Addo, who will decide whether to sign it into law. Its passing comes as Ghana tries to emerge from a deep economic crisis and debt default with the help of a $3 billion IMF loan and financing…

PORT-AU-PRINCE: The US called for its citizens to leave Haiti “as soon as possible” after violence escalated over the weekend, which saw 15 000 more people flee the fighting and armed men break thousands of inmates from Haiti’s largest prison. The US, which is home to over a million Haitians, said its embassy would be offering limited operations yesterday while Canada said it would temporarily close its embassy. This comes after Haiti’s government declared a state of emergency on Sunday evening after violent clashes in the capital damaged communications and led to a prison escape as the leader of a major gang alliance sought to oust Prime Minister Ariel Henry. | Reuters…

HERKENBOSCH: Four decades after being diagnosed with a serious heart condition and given just six months to live, Bert Janssen has set a Guinness World Record as the longest-surviving transplant patient. The Dutchman was 17 when he was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, a heart muscle disease which makes it harder for the heart to pump blood. In 1984, The Netherlands had yet to perform its first heart transplant, so cardiologist Albert Mattart referred the teenager to Harefield Hospital in England. Janssen underwent surgery that year following a car crash. The average life expectancy for heart patients after a transplant is 16 years. | Reuters…

Paris Saint-Germain’s preparations for tonight’s Champions League last-16 second leg away to Real Sociedad have been overshadowed by coach Luis Enrique’s handling of star man Kylian Mbappe. PSG have suffered numerous humiliating defeats at this stage of the Champions League in recent years but they are ideally placed to advance to the quarter-finals this time after winning 2-0 at home to the Basque side in last month’s first leg. Mbappe scored the opening goal in that game but the following day the superstar striker informed PSG of his intention to leave when his contract expires at the end of the campaign. Luis Enrique might have been expected to make the most of being able to call on Mbappe until then, but instead he has made a point of reducing his…