Sommaire pour 2023-04-12 de Mercury

SIBANYE-Stillwater’s board has resolved to provide emergency funding of up to A$30 million (R367m) to Australian zinc and tailings mining company New Century Resources, which the local group is in the process of acquiring. In an update on the locally-based international mining and metals processing group’s debt refinancing yesterday, Sibanye said the funding had followed a request from New Century “for emergency financial support.” New Century’s share price is currently suspended on the Australian stock exchange while Sibanye’s offer to acquire all of New Century’s shares in an off the market takeover, remains open until May 15, 2023. New Century has the biggest tailings, and remaining and processing operation in Australia, and is also developing underground and open pit mining operations. In the year to June it reported an earnings…

HUNDREDS of roads that were destroyed during the floods in April last year have been repaired as the municipality works hard to recover from the disaster. This is according to eThekwini mayor Mxolisi Kaunda who was providing an update yesterday on the work that has been done to fix damaged infrastructure across the City. He said the City had undertaken 600 repair and rehabilitation projects on its infrastructure and the majority of this had been focused on roads. Kaunda and Executive Committee member and senior ANC councillor Nkosenhle Madlala visited the eMdloti and uMlazi areas as part of the inspection of the work done so far. “The flood damage resulted in over 60% of our communities not being accessible by transport. The extensive damage to our road infrastructure was estimated…

A VISIT to the KZN Arts Gallery in Bulwer Road is always a pleasure. The other night at the official opening of a display, I was slightly puzzled as to the theme. Two baboons holding hands. An elephant. What looked like a slinking hyena. A large boat, apparently still under construction. All of it in shades of murkiness. What could it mean? We found out as artist Josephine Grindrod gave her address at the official opening of her display, themed “A Faint Transport”. It all clicked marvellously into place. This was about the threat to the world and all forms of life by climate change – rising sea levels as the polar icecaps melt, fierce storms and the floods that result. All of it themed on The Deluge and the…

Our local municipality has just become a “world first”. Despite the fact that our infrastructure is palpably unable to meet the demands made on it, the eThekwini Metro is arguably the first major municipality in the world where the heads of all the significant engineering departments, water, electricity and engineering services – tasked with providing and maintaining our engineering infrastructure – are not registered professional engineers. This is despite a government regulation requiring that complex engineering matters be handled by professional engineers only. Need I say more about the reasons for the atrocious condition of our infrastructure? I am sure that the standard excuses, such as the lack of funds trotted out by municipalities, will be put forward to explain this state of affairs. This will not wash in the…

It seems the ANC is in a bit of a quandary with regards to the arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin and this country being a signatory to the Rome Statute. I’m not sure what the issue is, bearing in mind that South Africa was a signatory to the statute when Mr Al-Bashir came here a while ago, and we were required to arrest him. Not only did South Africa not arrest Bashir, but even assisted in his hassle-free departure. So why the apparent issue with Putin, when we don’t honour our obligations to the statute anyhow? We simply will not abide by our so-called “commitment”.…

More than 800 couples walked down the aisle on Easter Sunday in one of the biggest mass wedding ceremonies in the country since the Covid-19 pandemic. The International Pentecost Holiness Church blesses polygamous unions. Its mass nuptials take place three times a year – at Easter, in December, and also during the celebrations in September of the church’s founding in 1962. Lebogile Mamatela, 38, a government employee who became the second wife to the father of her child on Sunday, said after the ceremony: “It’s a special day, I am very happy. I really, really appreciate this moment of being part of the Mahluku family. It’s a great feeling.” Her new husband, Roto Mahluku, 40, joined the church in 1993 and married his first wife, Ditopa Mahluku, 16 years ago.…

Five men appeared in the Alice Magistrate’s Court yesterday in connection with the murders at the University of Fort Hare (UFH) in the Eastern Cape. Among those arrested are employees of the university, it was revealed in court. National police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said the five also face attempted murder charges. The accused are charged in connection with the murder of bodyguard Mboneli Vesele, 52, who was shot dead in January in an alleged attempted assassination of UFH vice-chancellor Professor Sakhela Buhlungu. At the time police said: “According to the report, the driver was arriving at the home of the vice-chancellor, when an unknown vehicle with unidentified occupants approached. The suspects started firing at the driver. The vice-chancellor was not in the car. The suspects escaped in their vehicle.”…

The Sizwe Kupelo Foundation met with Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development Minister Thoko Didiza last week over its “Ban pit bulls as domestic pets in South Africa” petition. Last year, the non-profit organisation that advocates for vulnerable children, called for an immediate ban on pit bulls following an attack which resulted in the death of a 10-year-old in Nelson Mandela Bay. There have also been subsequent fatal incidents. The organisation handed the petition – which has garnered more than 139 000 signatures – over to the minister. In a statement yesterday, the ministry said Didiza had raised the government’s concern over the loss of lives and danger associated with pit bulls. She indicated that the government was working to find a solution to the problem. “Among the work currently…

OVER the past few months, I have been fiddling with the construction of the law and its philosophical inclinations. I am reading about the socio-economic rights as prescribed in the Constitution. The rights are covered in sections 26(2) (housing), 27(2) (health care, food and social security) and 29(2) (education). The inclusion of the rights in the Constitution is a significant achievement, and many people still need to realise since we have not used the provisions to our advantage. Generally, we have seen that access to the courts is the domain of people with money, preventing many people from realising justice and freedom. On a broader scale, people complain about poor service delivery of goods and services like water, health care, education, security, jobs and so on, but have nowhere to…

Visiting UN chief Antonio Guterres appealed yesterday for “massive” international support for Somalia as it battles a desperate humanitarian crisis caused by drought and protracted armed conflict. Guterres said at a joint press conference with President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud that he was on a “visit of solidarity” to the troubled Horn of Africa nation, where 5 million people face high levels of food insecurity. “I am also here to ring the alarm on the need of massive international support ... because of the humanitarian difficulties the country is facing,” he said, adding that he wanted to help build Somalia’s security capacity and encourage its development. The UN has launched a $2.6 billion (about R27bn) call for humanitarian assistance, but Guterres said the appeal was only 15% funded. Somalia’s worst drought…

LONDON: Britain named Anne Keast-Butler as the first woman director of its intelligence communications agency GCHQ yesterday, tasked with protecting the country from terrorists, cyber-criminals and malign foreign powers. She will take over the role from Jeremy Fleming, who is stepping down after a six-year tenure. Keast-Butler is currently deputy director general at Britain’s domestic intelligence agency, known as MI5. GCHQ, which traces its roots back to the early 20th century after the outbreak of World War I, follows MI5, three decades later, in appointing a female head. | Reuters…

LOUISVILLE: A 23-year-old bank employee who shot dead five colleagues and wounded nine other people at his workplace in Louisville, Kentucky, on Monday legally purchased the rifle, police said yesterday. The gun used to carry out the attack was bought at a local dealership on April 4, the chief said. The gunman, Connor Sturgeon, was fatally shot at the scene, police said. It was unclear whether he was slain by police or took his own life. There have been 146 mass shootings in the US so far in 2023, the most at this point in the year since 2016. Those statistics use the definition of four or more shot or killed, excluding the shooter. | Reuters…

Madrid: Spanish police said yesterday they have uncovered two rings which allegedly scammed dozens of families, mainly from Brazil, with false promises of turning their sons into elite footballers. The two gangs ran football schools which recruited youths from well-off families abroad with false expectations of turning them into professional players”, police said. The rings would charge the families an initial fee of over €5 000 (about R100 000) and then monthly payments of up to €1 700 per player. Police suspect the two gangs recruited around 70 youths between the ages of 16 and 23. Officers arrested 11 alleged members of the gangs and two others. | AFP…

Leicester City have named ex-Aston Villa and Norwich City boss Dean Smith as caretaker manager until the end of the season after parting ways with Brendan Rodgers, the Premier League club said on Monday. Smith takes over from Rodgers, who left the club by mutual consent earlier this month with the team second-bottom in the table and facing potential relegation. “Smith brings a wealth of managerial experience and expertise to the role and, along with his coaching team, will be tasked with helping the football club retain its Premier League status as we head into the final eight games of the current season,” Leicester said in a statement. Leicester won the Premier League title in 2015-16 against all odds, but are now in danger of the drop after nine seasons…

Experts in international relations and law believe it is unlikely that Russian President Vladimir Putin will face arrest when he travels to Durban later this year to attend the 15th BRICS summit. The International Criminal Court (ICC), of which South Africa is a full member, issued a warrant of arrest against Putin and urged the 123 countries who are signatories to the Rome Statute to arrest him. This is for alleged war crimes related to the abduction of children from Ukraine. While South Africa has said it was waiting for a legal opinion on the ICC arrest warrant, International Relations and Co-operation Minister Naledi Pandor, speaking at a joint economic co-operation meeting with Russia last month, said no one could tell South Africa to dump Russia. Unisa Professor Emeritus of…

DR NANDIPHA Magudumana’s father and a former G4S employee who allegedly helped Facebook rapist Thabo Bester escape from the Mangaung Correctional Centre have been charged with murder. The two suspects have also been charged with arson, fraud and defeating the ends of justice over Bester’s May 2022 escape from the prison facility.It is understood the charge of murder relates to the body found in Bester’s cell at the G4S-operated prison facility in Bloemfontein. Police had initially charged them with aiding and abetting a convicted prisoner to escape from lawful custody. The charges were put to former G4S employee Senohe Ishmael Matsoara and Magudumana’s father, Zolile Cornelius Sekeleni, when they made their first appearance at the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court yesterday. Matsoara was arrested on Saturday in Bloemfontein. Sekeleni was arrested on…

I’M sure that you won’t have to look too far if you want to find people with courage. I run into men and women – and children – with remarkable courage for which they are apparently seldom lauded. I have noticed that the more I listen rather than talk, the more courage and love I encounter. This week I met a woman who has two jobs and two high-school children in her care. She is keeping track of it all with calm and good humour. I met a woman of courage. I met a man who is facing a life-threatening illness while taking care to visit his wife daily. His wife is in a long-term care facility and has not known who he is for years. I met a man…

One of South Africa’s most urgent needs is to reduce the unemployment rate drastically. This can only be done effectively by creating more productive employment opportunities – mainly in the private sector. Two endemic state weaknesses are preventing substantial industrial investment opportunities viz. Eskom and Transnet (including harbours.) The government should be aware that these two state institutions urgently need to be run effectively. The crumbling state of Transnet, because of massive ongoing cable and rail theft (industrial sabotage) is a major hindrance preventing substantial exports of agricultural fruit, as well as coal and steel exports. It has been calculated that the said export loss amounts to 2% of South Africa’s GDP. The state of Transnet prevents efficient South African private enterprise from earning additional overseas income thereby also cutting…

The South African Indian community’s contribution to the country was celebrated at the 2023 Ammen awards, hosted by the Shri Mariammen Temple Society. These awards were made to individuals in recognition of dedicated achievements in different categories. To me it has become a farce and has evoked mixed feelings from the public. My question is, what criteria are used to award the recipients, and who are the judges? A few individuals who work hard to uplift the community and were recipients deserve this outstanding award and I am delighted. Some of them are given this award because of their excellent CVs with no track record but their big bank balance. This award should be primarily in recognition of reputation and expertise in their respective fields. There are many out there…

The Labour Court in Johannesburg has voiced its dismay at the “now familiar and habitual abuse of the urgent court by employees, especially those who occupy senior positions in all spheres of government, particularly in municipalities. “These employees, after being placed on prolonged periods of precautionary suspensions and when called upon to answer to the charges of misconduct, will take all means necessary in order to avoid the conclusion of those inquiries,” Judge Edwin Tlhotlhalemaje said. This was during a judgment following an application by a senior officer at the Maquassi Hills Municipality in the North West. The officer, who is not named as he is still facing charges of severe misconduct and dishonesty, turned to court urgently to have these disciplinary proceedings against him overturned. Judge Tlhotlhalemaje said applications…

KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Co- operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Bongiwe Sithole-Moloi paid a visit yesterday to the King Cetshwayo District Municipality in northern KZN following recent storms that caused extensive damage. The storms took place last week and over the Easter weekend. One of the worst-affected municipalities in the district was the uMhlathuze Local Municipality with damage to infrastructure and more than 20 families being displaced. Sithole-Moloi said that the roll-out of social relief to affected communities had commenced in earnest. “Today we visited the community of Mabhunyeni in ward 7, under uMfolozi Local Municipality, and Ngwelezane, under the uMhlathuze Local Municipality, where disaster management teams are still busy with assessments on the extent of the damage suffered by this community as a result of thunderstorms that left a trail…

MOMENTS of madness – everyone has them. However, the Dalai Lama should have known better when he asked a young boy to suck his tongue in India in February. The globally acclaimed Tibetan spiritual leader, 87, who lives in India in permanent exile, has since apologised to the boy and his family as well as his friends across the world for the hurt his words may have caused. In a trending video, the boy approached the Nobel Peace Prize winner and asked him: “Can I hug you?” The elderly Tibetan then replied, “first here”, prompting the boy to give him a hug and a kiss. Pointing to his lips, he said “then I think finally here also”. He then pulls the boy’s chin and kisses him on the mouth. “And…

Chinese warships and aircraft were still operating around Taiwan yesterday, the island’s defence ministry said, a day after Beijing declared an end to its massive war games. China launched three days of military exercises around self-ruled Taiwan at the weekend that saw it simulate targeted strikes and practise a blockade of the island. The show of force from Beijing, which claims the island as part of its territory, was a response to Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen’s meeting with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy last week, an encounter it had warned would provoke retaliatory measures. Taiwan’s defence ministry said it had detected nine Chinese warships and 26 aircraft around the island yesterday. China “organised military aircraft this morning and crossed the median line from the north, the centre, and the south”,…

Russia’s Shiveluch volcano erupted yesterday, spewing ash across a vast swathe of the far eastern Kamchatka peninsula, potentially posing a risk to flights and paralysing several villages. Volcanologists issued a red code warning for flights and Russia’s aviation authority Rosaviatsiya urged crews to “constantly monitor changes in meterological information”. The Kamchatka Volcanic Eruption Response Team (KVERT) reported that the ash cloud had drifted hundreds of kilometres (to the north and southwest of Shiveluch. “An extrusive eruption of the volcano continues. Ash clouds of up to 15km tall ... could occur at any time. Ongoing activity could affect international and low-flying aircraft,” the KVERT said. Rosaviatsiya said it had issued a notice to plane crews asking them to ensure their flights were safe. The governor of Kamchatka, Vladimir Solodov, said that…

NEW YORK: A US judge this week denied Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes’s request to remain free on bail while she appeals her conviction on charges of defrauding investors in the failed blood-testing start-up that was once valued at $9 billion. Holmes, who rose to fame after claiming Theranos’ small machines could run an array of diagnostic tests with just a few drops of blood, was convicted at trial in San Jose, California last year. US District Judge Edward Davila sentenced Holmes to 11 years and three months in prison in November. Holmes asked Davila to postpone the sentence while the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals reviews her case. Judge Davila concluded that even if Holmes won her appeal to challenge the Theranos technology evidence, it wouldn’t result in a…

YANGON: At least 50 people were killed in central Myanmar yesterday in an air strike by the military on an event attended by opponents to its rule, according to a local resistance movement. Between 50 and 100 people, including civilians died. Myanmar has been in turmoil since a 2021 coup, with attacks by ethnic minority armies and resistance fighters challenging the rule of the military, which has responded with air strikes and heavy weapons, including in civilian areas. Yesterday’s incident could be one of the deadliest among a string of air strikes since a jet attacked a concert in October, killing at least 50 civilians and members of an armed ethnic minority group. | Reuters…

MANUFACTURING production contracted 5.2% year-on-year (y/y) in February, weaker than expected, as power outages weighed. This was from a revised 4.1% in January. Statistics SA said yesterday that the largest contributions to the decline were made by food and beverages (-6.1%); basic iron and steel, non-ferrous metal products, metal products and machinery (-5.3%); as well as petroleum, chemical products, rubber and plastic products (-4.7%). Only two of the sub-sectors in- cluded in the manufacturing index increased on an annual basis in February, which were the motor vehicles, parts and accessories sector and the radio, television and communication apparatus and professional equipment sectors. Lara Hodes, an economist at Investec, said the result was weaker than consensus expectations by Bloomberg of a -3.7% y/y decline. “The dire electricity supply situation remains a…

A KWAZULU-NATAL motorist who narrowly survived a horror multiple vehicle crash on the N3 in which six people were killed described the scene as “the worst he has ever seen”. The Department of Transport said the crash occurred on the carriageway between Hilton and Cedara, Johannesburg-bound on Monday. Six people were killed and 78 suffered injuries from minor to critical. In an interview with The Mercury yesterday, Jabulani Dlamini said he was lucky to have survived. He said he had been driving alone from Umzimkhulu to Johannesburg when the crash occurred ahead of him. Dlamini said there was a lot of mist. “I came across multiple vehicles that had collided, and I parked on the side and stepped out of the car. I tried to stop the cars approaching but…

Britain’s royal family have revealed new details about King Charles III’s coronation, including a new Twitter emoji based on the crown the monarch will wear at the landmark ceremony. Charles, 74, became king when Queen Elizabeth II died in September after her record-breaking 70-year reign but will be formally crowned on May 6 at London’s Westminster Abbey. The three-day event will also feature a star-studded concert, nationwide “big lunch” and volunteering initiatives, and the traditional royal processions associated with the coronation. Unveiling a host of ceremonial details, Buckingham Palace said the new emoji created to mark the historic occasion is based on the 17th-century St Edward’s Crown. The centrepiece of Britain’s famous Crown Jewels and worn by Charles’s late mother at her coronation in 1953, it has been altered for…

It was with extreme sadness that I heard of the death of Dr Wallace Mgoqi, chairperson of AYO. We as a nation must remember him for his dedication to free South Africa of oppression and express our admiration and the deepest respect, certainly for his courage and steadfastness to dedicate his life to the cause of righteousness, justice and equity. His death will serve to remind generations of our countrymen of a generous and fearless personality and of a life of nobility and patriotism, service and sacrifice. His distinguished judicial and public service career will be his legacy to our fractured country. Wallace fought relentlessly for land reform across the country. His wisdom and modesty, his unimpeachable integrity and single-minded devotion have set a standard for all public servants to…

Many South Africans may not be aware, but the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education is edging closer to promulgating a controversial bill in education that will have far-reaching implications. The Bela Bill (Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill), as designed and proposed by some who believe that they are the gods of education, will change the face of a failing educational system yet again. Some of the proposed amendments in this bill include: 1) Making Grade R the new compulsory school-starting age, as opposed to Grade 1. 2) Forcing home-schooled pupils to be registered for this type of education. 3) Arresting parents who do not ensure that their child or children are in school. They could face jail for up to 12 months. (I wonder who will care for their children…

A rediscovered painting of Flemish 17th-century painter Pieter Brueghel the Younger, for years hidden in a family house, sold for $850 000 (about R15.4 million) when it was recently presented on auction in Paris. The painting L’Avocat du village (The Village Lawyer) is one of Brueghel’s largest known works, measuring 112cm high and 184cm wide, and was unknown in the art world as the most recent generation of the family who had possessed it since the 1900s thought it was fake. The family, who wish to remain anonymous, had asked Malo de Lussac of auctioneers Daguerre Val de Loire to estimate the value of their house but instead discovered a masterpiece. “I found this painting (in the house), behind a door in the television room,” de Lussac said, calling it…

THE net is closing in on high-profile individuals and companies who allegedly helped themselves to more than R1 billion from the National Lotteries Commission funds, as more civil litigation and criminal prosecutions loom. This was revealed by the Special Investigating Unit’s (SIU) head advocate, Andy Mothibi, during a recent briefing session with the media on progress in their investigations into fraud and corruption at the National Lotteries Commission. Mothibi said more than 15 000 non-profit organisations and non-profit companies were under investigation for allegedly colluding with former executives of the National Lotteries Commission to loot funds from the commission over the years. But he confirmed that at the moment, his unit had focused on 100 of those companies, and arrests along with seizure and forfeiture of assets may take place…

Recent research conducted by the University of the Witwatersrand has shown that the floods which hit Durban in April 2022 were the most catastrophic natural disaster yet recorded in KwaZulu-Natal in terms of lives lost, homes and infrastructure damaged or destroyed and economic impact. This is according to a study by researchers from Wits in Johannesburg and the University of Brighton, UK, published in the South African Geographical Journal. The study, which reconstructed the history of floods in KZN since the 1840s, confirmed a widely-held – yet anecdotal view – that the April 2022 floods were likely the most catastrophic natural disaster yet recorded in KZN and that flooding events had doubled over the past century or more. Professor Stefan Grab from Wits University and his colleague, Professor David Nash,…

THE ANC in eThekwini region has opposed the proposals which are before the Municipal Demarcation Board calling for some of its important economic zones to be incorporated into neighbouring municipalities. The ANC’s Moses Mabhida (Pieter- maritzburg) and General Gizenga Mpanza (Stanger) zones, which sandwich eThekwini, have said they want Camperdown and King Shaka Airport to be part of their respective municipalities once borders are redefined. The proposals, contained in a document drafted by the Municipal Demarcation Board, are up for public comment and have generated extensive discussions within the ANC, especially in the three regions. Mlondi Mkhize, the ANC’s eThekwini Region spokesperson, strongly opposed the proposals, questioning the practicality of stripping KZN’s economic hub of the airport, Dube Trade Port and Camperdown area. He contended that while the neighbouring regions…

Greed, selfishness and putting one’s individual interests first have become the norm The past 29 years were supposed to mark the beginning of the best of times for the people of South Africa, especially Africans. But it has turned out to be the worst of times in more than 350 years of relentless struggle for self-determination. First, the best of times were supposed to begin with the release of Nelson Mandela following 27 years of unjustifiable imprisonment. Second, this was to be bolstered by the unbanning of the so-called liberation movement. Finally, the return of the exiles was to be the highest point of the culmination of the Struggle. On the first point, Mandela was released 33 years ago, in February 1990. Looking back after 33 years since Mandela’s release,…

US President Joe Biden arrived in Belfast late yesterday at a delicate political time in Northern Ireland as he helped mark the 25-year anniversary of a peace deal that largely ended 30 years of bloodshed there. Biden, known for decades for his pro-Irish views, will need to tread carefully as the largest pro-British unionist party continues to boycott the devolved power-sharing government that was a fundamental part of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. Biden is to meet representatives from the five main Northern Irish parties today in advance of his speech at Belfast’s Ulster University but was not planning to pressure them, a senior administration official said. “Twenty five years ago, Northern Ireland’s leaders chose peace. I look forward to marking the anniversary in Belfast, underscoring the US commitment to…

Russian MPs advanced a bill yesterday to create a digital conscription notice system which could bar men from leaving Russia as Moscow’s Ukraine campaign stretches into a second year. Under the legislation, a draftee would be banned from travelling abroad and would have to report to an enlistment office once electronic call-up papers are received. Currently draft notices have to be delivered in person in the country, and many Russian men have managed to dodge draft notices by refusing to pick up their enlistment orders and fleeing abroad. Russia’s lower house of parliament, the State Duma, approved the legislation on second and third readings. The proposed changes come months after Putin ordered in September a “partial” military call-up to boost regular troops fighting in Ukraine. Military service for men between…

KABUL: The UN’s mission to Afghanistan has launched a review of its operations and asked all Afghan staff not to come to work at least until May after the Taliban administration barred its women staff from working, it said yesterday. The UN said last week that the Taliban, who swept to power in 2021, had communicated that Afghan women would not be able to work for the global organisation. Taliban officials have not commented on the order. The UN has said that implementing the order would put the global organisation in breach of its charter. It has asked some 3 000 staff, men and women, to stay home until May 5 while it made adjustments to its operations. | Reuters…

LONDON: Doctors working in England’s public health service yesterday launched what has been billed as the most disruptive strike in its history, in a dispute over pay and working conditions. The four-day walkout follows months of strikes by other public and private sector staff as inflation sparks the UK’s worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation. The action by so-called junior doctors comes after a three-day stoppage last month and several strikes by nurses. They are demanding a pay rise of 35%, which they say is needed to make up for more than a decade of salary cuts. They argue pandemic backlogs and staff shortages are increasing workloads. | AFP…

Wayde van Niekerk produced a thrilling display at the South African athletics championships recently, but decided to become a fan himself at the weekend by watching his beloved Liverpool in action. The 400m world record-holder won the national title in a world-lead time of 44.17 seconds in Potchefstroom the previous weekend, and then travelled to the English city to witness the Reds take on Arsenal in Sunday’s Premier League encounter, and it was a spectacle that saw Jurgen Klopp’s team come back to grab a point. Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal ran up a 2-0 lead in the first half through goals by Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus. But the log-leaders came unstuck as Mohamed Salah reduced the deficit before halftime, and despite the Egyptian star missing a penalty in the second…

The “Beast from the East”, Ferdinand Omanyala, will be unleashed at the Tuks Athletics Stadium tonight in the first Athletics South Africa Grand Prix meeting. Kenyan superstar Omanyala, the African record-holder in the 100 metres, is keen to claim at least a medal at the world championships in Budapest in August, after last year’s campaign in Eugene, Oregon was hampered by a visa delay, which saw him arrive in the United States just a few hours before his first heat. He didn’t make it to the final after finishing fifth in the semi-final in a pedestrian 10.14 seconds, with American Fred Kerley claiming the gold medal in 9.86. Omanyala’s African record stands at a blisteringly quick 9.77, and he begun 2023 in fine style with a 9.81 in Nairobi in…