Sommaire pour 2023-02-15 de Mercury

RESIDENTS of Desai in Mariannhill, outside Pinetown, have expressed concern about the spiralling crime in the area after five people were shot dead in two separate incidents on Monday. Both incidents took place in car repair workshops. One workshop belonged to Ngubo Ncube and the other to Dumani Shezi, who was also a taxi boss. The properties are separated by one street. According to witnesses who spoke to The Mercury yesterday, at Ncube’s workshop, a car dropped off two men who then opened fire on him and a customer, who was not named yesterday. They both died at the scene while Ncube’s assistant sustained injuries and was rushed to hospital. Ncube’s sister, Mbali Cele, said yesterday she arrived at the property to find her brother lying dead on the ground.…

THE energy crisis in the country took centre stage when President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address (Sona) was debated in the Cape Town City Hall yesterday. MPs from both Houses participated in the debate, with ANC MPs coming to the defence of the commitments Ramaphosa had made while the opposition parties tore into his speech. Last Thursday, Ramaphosa declared a state of disaster in response to the energy crisis and announced his plan to appoint a minister of electricity. Opening the debate, ANC chief whip Pemmy Majodina said they acknowledged the national government alone could not solve the myriad challenges and problems affecting the country. Majodina charged that a lot of hot air on the declaration of the state of disaster was made by opposition parties. “Critics miss…

The shooting down of aerial objects by the US Air force has started a global frenzy about UFOs – unidentified flying objects. Over the past 40 years, high-level officials have publicly conceded their bewilderment about unidentified aerial phenomena. Serious people are talking seriously about these objects we have seen last week in our skies. Senators and scientists, the Pentagon and presidents, former CIA directors, Nasa officials, Wall Street executives and military men are talking openly about an issue that was discussed in whispers for over 75 years. It is commonly found that some people regard UFOs as a branch of science fiction: it never has been. UFOs are a cosmic reality. Sightings of UFOs cannot be put down to a misidentification of conventional aircraft or satellites, because UFOs predate the…

Corruption runs deep in the higher education sector. It is discontenting how many of these institutions are not serious about uprooting this scourge. The most recent example is the University of Venda (Univen), where it is alleged that there are Student Representative Council (SRC) members, ordinary students, even students from other institutions, who are hovering around the university offering students admission to the university by demanding a bribe of R3 500. Apparently, these SRC members are claiming they were deployed by Univen to help facilitate the registration of students. Incredibly, the university has issued a statement to the effect that “it has come to its notice that this is happening and those who are involved should stop doing so”. Does it really think that by appealing to the “conscience”…

In a new turn of events, the High Court of Malawi has ruled that South Africa-based witnesses in the extradition process against charismatic preacher Shepherd Bushiri and his wife Mary will have to travel to Malawi to give evidence. The superior court overturned last year’s ruling by the Chief Resident Magistrate in Lilongwe, Madalitso Chimwanza, that witnesses could give evidence virtually, while in South Africa, before a South African court. Judge Bruno Macdonald Kalemba ruled “witnesses to the extradition hearing will testify physically in the presence of the chief resident magistrate here in Malawi”. Reacting to Kalemba’s ruling, Bushiri said he had been speaking out on how he was unfairly treated in South Africa, before he fled to Malawi. “The High Court in Malawi has ruled that witnesses – those…

AS THE councils of Newcastle and Mtubatuba head for by-elections in two wards today, the IFP looks set to retain control of the two municipalities, however its hold on the Nongoma Municipality in the Zululand district hangs in the balance. In Newcastle, it emerged that the IFP had chosen not to field a candidate in the ward 31 by-election so as to not go head to head with its coalition partner in the town, Team Sugar South Africa (TSSA). It was reported by Independent Media that if the IFP fielded its own candidate it may have caused tensions in the coalition, which could have opened the way for the ANC. TSSA’s founding leader Musa Thwala said their arrangement with the IFP was certain to bring the desired outcome, ensuring…

KWAZULU-NATAL Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube used yesterday’s State Of the Nation Address debate to give an update on the work done after last year’s floods. Her speech came as yet another state of disaster has been declared due to damage caused by flooding in several provinces, including KZN. Dube-Ncube told the gathering in Cape Town that KZN had been able to restore water supply, was repairing sanitation infrastructure and had ensured that many of the affected businesses were back in operation. She praised President Cyril Ramaphosa for demonstrating leadership. “When we were hit by the devastation of the floods in KwaZulu-Natal (last April), President Ramaphosa was the first on the ground to the rescue of KZN. Never have we seen a president who is better and more adequately suited to the…

A lot of people in the world now think that black people cannot run South Africa’s sophisticated economy. These people are both inside and outside the country, including America, the UK and parts of Europe. They hold the view that, through the poor example of ANC leadership, blacks threaten the present and future of one of the most beautiful countries in the world. This is an indisputable fact. The examples are countless. Rolling blackouts, collapsing state-owned entities, rude apparatchiks, divided political parties and ambitious political crooks in suits and weaves. Above all, a lost ANC that has forgotten how to serve the people. This unending list of problems haunts this country. But to find the way out of this mess, South Africans must surely address the root causes of our…

The WORLD Health Organization (WHO) said it would hold an emergency meeting yesterday after at least nine people in Equatorial Guinea died from Marburg haemorrhagic fever, a cousin of the Ebola virus. The WHO “will convene an urgent meeting of the Marburg virus vaccine consortium (Marvac)”, it said. Marvac includes representatives from the field of vaccine research and development, working to develop vaccines against the Marburg virus. The virus is a highly dangerous pathogen that causes severe fever, often accompanied by bleeding and organ failure. It is part of the so-called filovirus family that also includes the Ebola virus, which has wreaked havoc in several previous outbreaks in Africa. A health alert had been declared in Kie-Ntem province and in the neighbouring district of Mongomo, with a lockdown plan…

Washington: The US does not know what it has shot out of the skies in the past three instances, but officials have assured Americans that they were not alien airships. The first object downed was a Chinese spy balloon on February 4. But officials have acknowledged they know little or nothing about the past three objects – two by the US acting alone and one in a joint operation with bordering Canada; not their origin, owner or purpose. US fighter aircraft blew up an airborne object over Alaska last week, then one over Canada and a third over Michigan state. No one has yet claimed responsibility for the three airborne objects, sparking conspiracy theories. | IANS…

Indian tax officers searched the BBC’s bureaus in New Delhi and Mumbai yesterday, the British broadcaster said, weeks after the government banned as propaganda a BBC documentary critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s role in 2002 riots. The documentary focused on the Hindu nationalist politician’s leadership as chief minister of the western state of Gujarat during the riots in which at least 1 000 people were killed, most of them Muslims, though activists put the toll at more than twice that number. The government last month dismissed the documentary, India: The Modi Question, as propaganda and blocked its streaming and sharing on social media. The foreign ministry said the documentary was meant to push a “discredited narrative”, was biased, lacked objectivity and showed a “colonial mindset”. The BBC has stood…

THE process to fill two critical vacancies in the eThekwini Municipality is under way, with the short-listing process set to begin “in the coming days”. The municipality is looking to fill the position of head of metro police after the retirement of Steve Middleton. The City has appointed Sibonelo Mchunu as the acting head in the interim. It is also looking to fill the position of deputy city manager (DCM) for economic development and planning. The position became vacant after the contract of Philip Sithole expired. The Mercury understands from City officials, who did not want to be named as they are not allowed to speak on recruitment processes, that the municipality is expected to appoint the selection panel. It will begin the short-listing process for the appointment of a…

I am writing to express my concern about President Cyril Ramaphosa’s recent decision not to accept the resignation of his deputy, DD Mabuza, despite a new deputy president of the ANC being elected – Paul Mashatile. Traditionally, the deputy president of the ANC assumes the position of the country’s deputy president. However, Ramaphosa’s decision to retain Mabuza in the role has caused a rift between himself and Mashatile, which is likely to further damage the already fragile unity of the ANC. This decision risks not only further division within the party, but also a potential loss of support in the upcoming general elections. It is vital that the ANC presents a united front to the electorate if it is to retain the confidence and trust of the South African people.…

The futility that permeates South Africa is a result of overall stupidity and must be stopped. In modern times, few worship idols like in the past. Oddly, many have replaced idols with worship of the self. Though many claim to follow a religion or value system, in truth, many follow their own desires. For example, in the Kensington/Factreton by-election in Cape Town, the turnout was 20%. The DA and ANC forgot to register and did not partake. The Cape Muslim Congress (CMC), which receives no government or public money, did not partake as by-elections are expensive and the CMC must monitor its budget. Past municipal elections show that 60% of eligible voters did not vote. This advises that anyone, even criminals, can participate and win with a high-profile campaign and…

deputy Judge President of the Gauteng Division of the High Court, Aubrey Ledwaba, has granted opposition political parties, including the UDM, IFP, Mmusi Maimane’s Build One SA, and Numsa, a court date for their matter against Eskom. The civil case is now set down to be heard before the full court from March 20 to 24 after originally being scheduled for February 28. According to a joint statement, the case will be in two parts, with the first seeking interim relief from load shedding and the second seeking final relief, in which the parties have argued that load shedding is unconstitutional and a violation of human rights, respectively. The political parties recently joined forces in a bid to lodge a civil lawsuit against Minister of State Enterprises Pravin Gordhan over…

Police in Pinetown have recovered suspected stolen copper valued at more than R5 million at a business premises on Joule Street in Pinetown. Provincial police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said the team received intelligence regarding the business and executed a search warrant. “Huge bags of copper cables were found stashed in two trucks parked in the yard,” said Netshiunda. A further search resulted in the recovery of more copper inside the warehouse. The recovered copper was positively identified as the property of the Passenger Rail Agency of SA, eThekwini Municipality and Telkom, he said. Five suspects between the ages of 27 and 42 were arrested for possession of suspected stolen property. “The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) is investigating. The suspects are due in the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court,” he…

Another traditional leader has been killed in KwaZulu-Natal. UMbumbulu induna and regiments leader David Mkhize was gunned down at his home on Monday. He was a prominent leader of Zulu King Misuzulu’s regiments (amabutho). KZN Arts, and Culture MEC Amanda Bani-Mapena condemned the murder. She said the killing of traditional leaders and those entrusted with upholding cultural knowledge was bad for the province. She said Mkhize was a cultural powerhouse and his exemplary leadership of UbuhlebeMbumbulu/uMhlabuhlangene cultural regiments was something to admire. She said uMhlabuhlangene is one of the most loved and cherished regiments from eThekwini, known for its stand out red headgear, special cowhides, hair-raising drills, evocative traditional war cries and hymns. The regiment is one of the most admired by the royal household. She added that induna Mkhize…

The death toll from a horrific bus crash in Limpopo has risen to 21. Several people were killed when a bus crashed on the N1-29 Mashovhela, towards Musina in the Vhembe District on Monday night. Florence Radzilani, the Limpopo MEC for Transport and Community Safety, said 19 people died at the scene and two more died in hospital. Radzilani spent much of the day visiting injured passengers in hospital. She said she would endeavour to ensure that her department expedites the conclusion of the accident report. “I want to express my gratitude for the speedy response of law-enforcement and emergency services, and the dedication of health practitioners who are tending to the injured passengers,” she said. The accident involved a bus that was transporting passengers from Makhado Town to areas…

AT LEAST Six survivors were rescued from the rubble in Türkiye yesterday, eight days after the devastating earthquake, as the focus shifts to helping those who survived find shelter, food or a haven elsewhere. The disaster, with a combined death toll in Türkiye and neighbouring Syria now exceeding 37 000, has ravaged cities in both countries, leaving survivors homeless in the bitter cold, at times sleeping on piles of rubble. The six rescued yesterday included two brothers, aged 17 and 21, pulled from an apartment block in Kahramanmaras province, and a woman rescued from the rubble of a building in the southern Turkish city of Hatay, Turkish media said. But UN authorities have said the rescue phase was coming to a close, with the focus turning to shelter, food and…

BEIJING: China’s President Xi Jinping yesterday called for a proper resolution of the Iran nuclear issue while expressing his support for the Islamic Republic in safeguarding its rights and interests. China will continue to “participate constructively” in talks to resume negotiations, Xi told Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi in talks in Beijing. A 2015 nuclear agreement limited Iran’s uranium enrichment programme to make it harder for Tehran to develop nuclear arms, in return for lifting international sanctions. China has criticised the US for withdrawing from the deal and says the US should make the first move in reviving the pact. | Reuters…

Kabul: Florists with wilting bouquets of red roses and street vendors clutching unsold balloons were heartbroken in the Afghan capital yesterday after the Taliban’s morality police banned Valentine’s Day celebrations. A poster signed off by the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice warned shoppers: “Avoid celebrating lovers’ day!” The poster said Valentine’s Day “is not Islamic and is not part of the Afghan culture but a sloganeering day of the infidels. Celebrating the day of lovers is showing sympathy to the Christian Pope,” it read. Officers from the ministry patrolled the area, trailed by an armed escort. | AFP…

A gunman who killed at least three people and wounded five on a US university campus killed himself late on Monday, after a massive police manhunt. Thousands of students at Michigan State University (MSU) were ordered to shelter in place after shots were fired in a campus building in the early evening, leaving two dead. The gunman fled to the students’ union, where he killed one more person, sparking a major police operation as officers swarmed the campus. Gun violence is alarmingly common in the US, a country where there are more guns than people, and where attempts to clamp down on their spread are always met with stiff resistance. Police confirmed just after midnight the suspected MSU gunman had shot himself a short distance from the university. “There…

JUST 10 months after KwaZulu-Natal suffered catastrophic flooding and loss of lives, the province has been hit by more destruction due to heavy rains. The Presidency announced late on Monday night that the government had, in terms of the Disaster Management Act, declared a national state of disaster to enable an intensive, co- ordinated response to the floods affecting KZN, Mpumalanga, the Eastern Cape, Gauteng, Limpopo, the Northern Cape and the North West. The province’s department of Co- operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) confirmed that an infant was among three who died in the floods, while two people remained missing. Scores of others are displaced after their homes were damaged. The Presidency said that the National Disaster Management Centre had received reports ranging from flooded homes, vehicles swept away…

The constant back and forth between and among people over days and months and years – the actions, the looks, sighs, what’s assumed, the smiles and the frowns – and so much more, reinforce the fact that we teach each other how to treat each other. Those who know us intimately can read and misread us, and even the misreadings become part of the ongoing dialogue and the ongoing mutual training. It is the fact that these patterns are so known and so often repeated that makes change or improvements hard for all parties concerned. When relationships are mutual and respectful, it is these qualities that allow for change. If you or I see a shift in the manner a person whom we know well is responding to us and…

While many have become desensitised to crime as a result of never-ending horror stories, it never gets any easier to hear about the rape and murder of a young girl. The latest incident in our province involves a 7-year-old girl whose life was brutally taken in the Umzumbe Local Municipality. The rape and murder of young girls in KwaZulu-Natal have climbed to unimaginable heights. This speaks to the trauma and mental illness that exist within society which requires urgent mobilisation in order to be dealt with. While the DA commends the swift actions of both the province’s Department of Social Development and SAPS in response to this latest incident, there are still far too many crimes that remain unsolved, leaving perpetrators to lurk within communities. This scourge can no longer…

Sascha Fonseca’s spectacular camera-trap image of a snow leopard at sunset, perfectly posed against the mountains of Ladakh in northern India, has been voted the winner of Wildlife Photographer of the Year People’s Choice Award. The National History Museum said in a statement that a record 60 466 nature photography fans voted, and German photographer Fonseca’s “World of the snow leopard” emerged the firm favourite. Fonseca’s image was selected from a shortlist of 25 images chosen by the Natural History Museum in London from nearly 39 000 images submitted for the 58th competition. The image will be displayed in the redesigned Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition at the Natural History Museum until it closes on July 2, 2023. The exhibition was sponsored by renewable energy company Ørsted. The museum…

Tensions remained high at UCT on Monday as students demanded registration extensions and the removal of fee blocks, among other issues. By Monday night UCT confirmed that classes would be online from yesterday until further notice. Scores of students gathered at UCT on Monday, as the Student Representative Council (SRC) shut down the campus calling for an emergency meeting with the university council. The students demanded a policy review in which fee blocks and financial exclusion are eradicated indefinitely; with fee blocks lifted before the commencement of the academic year and the registration period to be opened for five working days following the removal of fee blocks with no late penalty. “Fee blocks are a tool of oppression against black and poor students. “Too many students have been robbed of…

Hip-hop maestro AKA, real name Kiernan Forbes, and Tebello “Tibz” Motsoane will be given private funerals this weekend. The deaths of the award-winning rapper and Motsoane, who was an entrepreneur, chef and author, sent shock waves across the country after they were gunned down outside a popular eatery on Durban’s Florida Road on Friday night. The Motsoane and Forbes families both issued statements yesterday, where details of their memorial services and private funerals were announced. In a statement, Forbes’ grieving family acknowledged the outpouring of love they have received. “Kiernan wasn’t just loved by us as family, but by a nation, as we’ve seen from loved ones, friends, industry colleagues, media tributes and the ‘Megacy’ (his fans),” the family said. “It is our wish to celebrate the life of Kiernan…

Murder accused Ntuthuko Zikhali briefly appeared before the Benoni Magistrate’s Court in Gauteng for the murder of 4-year-old Bokgabo Poo, whose body parts are still missing more than four months after her death in October last year. Even after police interrogation, Zikhali has failed to reveal what happened on that fateful day, let alone direct the family to where he allegedly hid some of the missing body parts. The family of the deceased have expressed their disappointment following the postponement of the murder case to March 30 to allow the Director of Public Prosecutions in Gauteng to determine whether the trial will be moved to a high or regional court. Irvin Ndlovu, Bokgabo’s father, said he spent a difficult time over the Christmas season without his daughter beside him. “Months…

Ukraine’s Western backers pushed at a meeting yesterday to keep the huge amounts of ammunition and arms Kyiv needs flowing to the battlefield, as Russia ramps up its assaults. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has knuckled down on his plea for Western aircraft after securing commitments for tanks, air defence and precision missiles. But allies insist they are scrambling to ensure his forces have the ammunition and heavy weaponry they need on the ground. Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov tweeted he was focused on building an “aviation platform”, winning more promises of tank supplies and ensuring ammunition stocks. “This has become a grinding war of attrition and therefore it’s also a battle of logistics,” Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said. “This is a huge effort by allies to actually be able…

NAIROBI: Kenyan soldiers will join police to fight “rampant incidents of banditry” across the arid northwest that have killed more than 100 civilians and 16 police officers over the past six months, officials said. President William Ruto, who came to power in last August’s election, has promised to restore security to the drought-stricken borderlands with Uganda, South Sudan and Ethiopia. Along these borders, endemic cattle rustling has been aggravated by the proliferation of automatic weapons. Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki said the situation in the northern Rift Valley Region constituted a national emergency. | Reuters…

Strasbourg: The European Parliament voted yesterday to approve a ban on new sales of carbon-emitting petrol and diesel cars by 2035, clearing the final legislative hurdle. EU member states have already approved the legislation and will now formally nod it into law, despite opposition from conservative MEPs. Supporters of the bill had argued it would give European carmakers a clear timeframe to switch production to zero-emission electric vehicles to support the EU’s plan to become a “climate neutral” economy by 2050. But opponents argued industry is not ready for such a dramatic cut off, warning hundreds of thousands of jobs are at risk. | AFP…

Charleston: Former US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said yesterday she was running for president in 2024, challenging fellow Republican candidate Donald Trump by proposing a “new generation” of leadership in Washington. “It’s time for a new generation of leadership – to rediscover fiscal responsibility, secure our border, and strengthen our country, our pride and our purpose,” the 51-year-old former governor of South Carolina and the child of Indian immigrants said in Bamberg. Haley is positioning herself as a changemaker, “I was the proud daughter of Indian immigrants. Not black, not white. I was different,” she said. “But my mom would always say, ‘Your job is not to focus on the differences, but the similarities.’” | AFP…