Sommaire pour 2023-10-09 de Mercury

THE NEDBANK Group said on Friday that a non-executive director, Mteto Nyati, had resigned from the Nedbank and the Nedbank Group boards, with effect from today. Nedbank said the resignation was due to increased capacity constraints. Mteto accordingly also stepped down as a member and chairperson of the group IT committee, and as a member of the Directors’ Affairs and group Risk and Capital Management committees. Nedbank Group chairperson Daniel Mminele thanked Mteto for his contributions and the board wished him well for the future. A further announcement on the appointment of a chairperson of the group IT committee would be made in due course, and board committees remain duly constituted.…

ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula has called on the party’s leadership in KwaZulu-Natal to be united and refrain from fighting among themselves, warning that this gives the ruling party’s enemies an easy point of attack. Speaking at the ANC’s Manifesto Review rally at Harry Gwala Stadium in Pietermaritzburg yesterday, Mbalula also called for an end to the killing of councillors, saying those responsible should be arrested. He noted that last year’s provincial conference – when Sihle Zikalala was defeated by Siboniso Duma for the position of ANC KZN chairperson – had been a bruising one, but stressed that this should not be grounds for infighting. “To the PEC (Provincial Executive Committees) members, please lead the ANC and do not fight among yourselves. I know you fought bitterly at the provincial conference,…

There’s a dual significance in Pepsico’s South African vice-president, Mark Bunn’s remark that Future Life is helping to transform and improve health, (The Mercury, October 6). While undoubtedly Pepsico’s investment in Future Life’s facility at Dube Trade Port is a welcome development, it marks another increase in the extent to which ownership of South African products is passing to international corporations. Pepsico is the largest food and beverage corporation in North America by net revenue. In March 2020, it acquired ownership of Pioneer Foods for $1.7 billion. That means a string of household South African products is now owned by Pepsico: Bokomo, Sasko, Ceres, Liquifruit, White Star, Simba, and Safari. Other examples of asset migration are: Clover Dairies – 60% owned since 2019 by an Israeli company; Illovo Sugar –…

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel “has declared war” on Palestinians after the rocket attack by Palestine on Saturday morning. That is a bit of a sadly laughable stance by Israel as this war was started way back in 1948. But this time with a difference – Palestine has taken the sudden attacking offence, killing some Israeli soldiers and capturing others. Very unprecedented. For the uninitiated there will always be the clichéd response that “this territory on which Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank stand, are all part of the original “holy land spoken of in the Old Testament of the Bible”. This implies that all Jews, from original times belong to that area and therefore have a God-given right to return there, forever. A brief reference to Azad Essa’s…

The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) has detected and investigated 701 suspected cases of fraud with a potential loss of R50 million that involved 40 of its officials over the past two years. This was revealed by Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu when she was responding to parliamentary questions from EFF MP Laetitia Arries, who asked about the total amount lost by Sassa over the past two years due to fraudulent activities involving its officials. “For the period under review, approximately 701 suspected cases of fraud cases were detected, investigated, involving 40 Sassa officials who were implicated to the potential loss of R50 515 541.34. “It is important to note that this figure represents a cumulative potential loss documented for the said period involving various other parties not limited…

The high number of teenage suicides in South Africa is a pandemic, according to clinical psychologists during this Depression Awareness Month. Kerry Rudman, from Brain Harmonics, a Neuro feedback organisation specialising in retraining brains, said the number of clients she had seen after Covid-19, who are experiencing depression and anxiety, had risen substantially. “Many of the teenagers that we are helping find it very difficult to express their feelings and emotions to their parents, which makes neuro feedback a great alternative as they don’t have to talk about what they are experiencing when we rebalance their brain.” Rudman said one of the biggest challenges from a teenager’s perspective was explaining what depression is. “Many adults will ask depressed young people questions like, ‘Are you still depressed?’ as if depression magically…

A former attorney facing theft charges, who failed to appear in court for the start of her trial, was arrested on Friday. National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson in the North West division Henry Mamothame said Betty Diale was arrested and appeared in court on the same day. The case was postponed to October 16. “She produced a sick note as proof for her absence at the previous court sitting and the court warned her to be present on the set date,” he said. The regional court in Rustenburg issued a warrant of arrest against Diale for failing to appear in court on September 26. Diale is facing six charges of theft, amounting to about R700 000, allegedly stolen from Road Accident Fund (RAF) claimants. “The Legal Practice Fidelity Fund received several…

The family of a missing uMlazi woman are seeking justice after she was found murdered. Sindisiwe Ncanana, 28, was reported missing two months ago. The family said she was found buried near a railway line in the area. Nokuthula Mathe, Ncanana’s sister said they were surprised when Ncanana’s boyfriend phoned to ask where she was. “We told him that we last saw her a while back and she said she was going to see him and her phone has been off since then. When the boyfriend called we were shocked. We decided to go to the police and open a missing person case,” she said. “While we waited for a police response, we appealed for help on social media.” She added that they got a tip-off from social media that…

THE saying “connect the dots” is not wrong at all but there are dots that connect themselves or you find them already connected. A narrow perception of history coupled with the way the curriculum is designed and the way it is taught deprives children and at the end, the nation at large. It is unfortunate that the people in power are still leaving the design of the curriculum and writing of textbooks to the very same people who were responsible for all the wrongs of the previous dispensation or the ones not committed to building the country. One of the learning areas (subjects) history is related to is economics. If learners do not understand concepts such as democracy, autocracy, capitalism, socialism, and communism, hard luck. People like William Edward…

The Biden administration has moved quickly into crisis mode in response to Hamas’s surprise attack against Israel over the weekend, condemning the “terrorist” assault from Gaza and reiterating “rock solid” US support for Israeli security in public statements and calls to officials in Jerusalem. “The United States stands with Israel,” President Biden said. “We’ll make sure they have the help their citizens need so they can continue to defend themselves … Israel has the right to defend itself and its people. Full stop.” Among a flurry of administration calls, Biden spoke with Jordan’s King Abdullah II, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken with his Saudi and Egyptian counterparts and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin with Israel’s defense minister. “We are in deep talks with…

Waving Spanish and Catalan flags, tens of thousands of people marched through Barcelona yesterday to protest against a potential amnesty deal which Spain’s Socialists must strike over Catalonia’s 2017 separatist bid if they want to form a government. The protest, organised by the anti-separatist organisation Societat Civil Catalana, took place five days after Spain’s acting Socialist prime minister was nominated to seek backing of other political parties for a new mandate. Pedro Sanchez needs the support of Catalan separatist parties Junts and Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya, which want the unpopular amnesty in exchange for votes in parliament. Alberto Nunez Feijoo, leader of the opposition conservative People’s Party, and Santiago Abascal, leader of the far-right Vox party, attended the march which police said attracted 50 000 protesters. Sanchez has defended his…

LOS ANGELES: Pet Shop Boys have slammed Drake for using their song without permission. Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe were left unimpressed by All the Parties, a track on the hitmaker’s latest studio album, For All The Dogs which seemingly samples their 1984 track West End Girls but they have not received a credit. Drake sings in the song: “It’s 6, our town a dead-end world/ East End boys and West End girls, yeah.” The lyrics and melody echo the pop hit, in which the duo sang: “In a West End town, a dead end world/ The East End boys and West End girls.” | Bang Showbiz…

QUITO: Another prisoner implicated in the killing of Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio was found dead at the weekend in a Quito prison, bringing the total number of murdered inmates involved in the politician’s assassination to seven. The prisoner, Jose M, was killed in El Inca Prison, according to the National Service of Integral Attention to Adults Deprived of Liberty and Adolescent Offenders (SNAI). This follows SNAI’s confirmation of the murder of six Colombian prisoners linked to Villavicencio’s death in Guayaquil’s Litoral Penitentiary, Ecuador’s largest prison. Villavicencio was killed in an attack on August 9, after a political rally. | Xinhua…

Nissan South Africa is operating at reduced production volumes as it prepares to end the manufacture of its NP200 models, and the number of employees might be cut, the group said in a statement on Friday. The group’s plant in Rosslyn, Pretoria continues to build the Navara pickup range, with model upgrades to come and export destinations set to increase, the group said. However, the group has previously announced it would stop making the Nissan NP200 light pickup model range on March 24. “The immediate replacement model for NP200 was planned to be built on an Alliance shared platform in Russia. “However, the geopolitical situation in Russia meant this model was no longer viable due to significantly reduced volumes,” the group said. “In line with our African strategy, securing a…

UN SECURITY council members China and Russia’s efforts to secure peace in calling for a de-escalation of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, could be curtailed by the US which has pledged to provide Israel with whatever it needs to defend itself. This is according to conflict resolution expert and director at RiskRecon, Dr Kingsley Makhubela, following the attack launched by Hamas fighters on Saturday, which represented the biggest incursion into Israel since Egypt and Syria launched an assault in an effort to reclaim lost territory in the Yom Kippur war 50 years ago. “I think it’s going to get worse with the opening of another front by Hezbollah militia targeting an Israeli settlement in Lebanon. The rhetoric from the American administration isn’t helping to de-escalate; instead, they’re offering more…

Reading the article in your sister paper, Post, October 4-8, “Finally, recognition, 13 years later”, has left me in despair and disillusioned. This proves yet again the critical failures of the Education Department. Dr Naidoo, who served in education for more than 40 years, was regarded as an expert on normalisation processes. This ongoing incompetency seems to be a normal and acceptable practice.We need accountability, this time to name and shame these individuals in the public domain. I look forward to the possibility of a new hope and much-needed change in the elections. The Indian community has been marginalised for far too long, particularly in the field of education. My appeal to our MEC for education is to draw more on our retired educators, such as the likes of Prof…

THE recent French ban on the female abaya (loose over-garment or robe-like dress) and the earlier ban on the headscarf is not about secularism (Laïcité) or secular neutrality or anti-Republic but are about marginalising the Muslim community in France. Laïcité, a word that is principally difficult to translate, has inconsistent narratives and has become a contested concept due to its hypocritical application. I have nothing against Christianity or any other religion. However, may I ask why Christmas songs and Catholic traditions are allowed to be incorporated into French festivities? Despite the French make-up as a faithfully secular country, according to holidaymakers, travellers, and some political analysts, France has a strong affiliation with Catholic followers. By banning Islamic representations in France, the French are conveying an authoritative signal to Muslims about…

The Portfolio Committee on Higher Education was left unimpressed by the presentations made by the four service providers contracted by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) to disburse student allowances. The fintech companies Tenet Technology, eZaga Holdings, Noracco Corporation and Coinvest Africa were hauled before the committee recently. This comes after students at universities and Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges complained about not receiving their allowances or about delayed payments. Tenet Technology project executive Ryan Passmore said they had 181 054 students on board at 13 TVET colleges and six universities. “Delayed NSFAS beneficiary funding approval placed a strain on Tenet’s support centre and operational teams. “The reason for the strain on resources is because students call and visit Tenet for updates on their funding statuses,” said…

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has stuck to his guns that the government will not extend the basket of food items to be zero-rated in a bid to mitigate the cost of living for the poor. The spike in food prices in the past few months has left many households scrambling. Godongwana said their position had not changed after the independent panel report in 2018 found that extending zero-rated food items would be inefficient. This was due to the fact that this benefits high-income families. “The position of the minister has not changed since the last oral reply. As indicated then, zero-rating of specific foodstuffs provides a larger proportional benefit to the poor (that is, progressivity is enhanced). “Overall, goods have a progressive impact and a strong equity-gain ratio – poor…

A man who offered a high court clerk a R200 bribe to fast track his case has been handed a R20 000 fine. The Hawks said Edward Christopher Abraham, 38, was sentenced in the Bloemfontein Magistrate's Court on Friday. He was facing a charge of corruption. “His conviction originates from an incident in June 2021. He approached an administration clerk at the Bloemfontein High Court and offered him R200 as gratification to fast track his defaults judgments for approval,” said Hawks Free State spokes- person, Captain Christopher Singo. He said the matter was reported to the Hawks Serious Corruption Investigation team based in Bloemfontein. “A sting operation was conducted at the Bloemfontein High Court on August 18, 2021, where Abraham was arrested after paying the gratification.” In a separate…

KwaZulu-Natal Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube has congratulated DJ Black Coffee for his sold-out show at Madison Square Garden in New York on Saturday night. The uMlazi-born award-winning musician is the first South African DJ or producer to headline a show at Madison Square Garden. Dube-Ncube said the province was proud of his achievement. “On behalf of the people of KwaZulu-Natal, we would like to join the rest of South Africa and the world in congratulating one of our own, DJ Black Coffee. He didn’t do it for us only as KwaZulu-Natal, but for the rest of the nation, Africa and beyond. “We are very proud of him, his management and the supporting artists who performed with him. Madison Square Garden is indeed a global theatre where artistic dreams are realised,” she…

ETHEKWINI mayor Mxolisi Kaunda has blamed escalating water losses in the municipality on the illegal construction of houses by those migrating to the City every year. The City was “powerless” in dealing with the illegal construction of houses due to the sheer vastness of the metro, he said. He was referring to water lost through leaks, illegal connections and theft, among others. The illegal building of homes was one of the primary causes for the escalating water losses in the City, he said. Water losses currently stand at 58%, representing an annual revenue loss of about R2 billion for the municipality. Speaking on a radio show last week, Kaunda said part of the problem was the high migration to the City, with some illegally constructing homes and tapping into the…

International health strategies are meaningless if couched in rhetoric NEVER mind the vaccine deniers, sceptics and conspiracy theories. Only a few days ago a surgeon in Manchester was struck off from the British medical practitioners register for claiming that the Covid-19 virus was a hoax and for his persistent anti-vaccination campaign especially against the mRNA vaccine on social media. How ironic that the two scientists who developed the revolutionary new technology that led to the mRNA Covid vaccines, Professors Katalin Kariko and Drew Weissman then working at the University of Pennsylvania in the US, similarly a few days ago were jointly awarded this year’s Nobel Prize for Medicine. Us mere mortals must navigate the complexities, prejudices, disinformation, vagaries and downright malice whether to get ‘vaxed’ or not, especially as the…

More than 2 000 people were killed in earthquakes in Afghanistan and more than 9 000 injured, the Taliban administration said yesterday, in the deadliest tremors to rock the quake-prone mountainous country in years. Saturday’s quakes in the west of the country hit 35km northwest of the city of Herat, with one of 6.3 magnitude, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said. They were among the world’s deadliest quakes in a year when tremors in Türkiye and Syria killed an estimated 50 000 in February. Janan Sayeeq, spokesperson for the Ministry of Disasters, said 2 053 people were killed, 9 240 injured and 1 320 houses damaged or destroyed. The death toll spiked from 500 reported earlier yesterday by the Red Crescent. Ten rescue teams were in the area, which…

Avalanches have struck high on the slopes of the Tibetan mountain Shishapangma as more than 50 climbers were making a push for the summit, killing an American and Nepalese mountaineer, China’s state-run Xinhua news agency reported. Shishapangma, at just over 8 000m, is the world’s 14th tallest peak. It is widely regarded as one of the easier mountains of that height. Two avalanches hit its slopes at elevations of 7 600m and 8 000m on Saturday, killing American climber Anna Gutu and Nepalese guide Mingmar Sherpa. Another American climber, Gina Marie Rzucidlo, and her Nepalese guide, Tenjen Sherpa, were missing. A total of 52 climbers were pushing for the summit when the avalanches hit, including from the United States, Britain, Romania, Albania, Italy, Japan and Pakistan. All climbing activity…

KYIV: Russian shelling on residential areas of Kherson in south Ukraine overnight wounded 11 people, including a nine-month-old baby, local authorities said. Ukraine took back the regional capital of Kherson in November last year, but the southern city remains within reach of Russian fire. Regional governor, Oleksandr Prokudin, posted a video showing a residential building with windows and walls shattered over several floors. Among the wounded was a 33-year-old Red Cross medic who was admitted to hospital. There were 59 attacks recorded over the Ukrainian-controlled part of the Kherson region, the governor said. | AFP…

RIYADH: OPEC heavyweights said yesterday that oil and gas should not be stigmatised in the climate debate and that the industry had a role to play in an orderly energy transition. Energy ministers from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Iraq, the three largest members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), have gathered in the Saudi capital Riyadh for the UN Mena climate week. The UAE will host the COP28 climate summit in Dubai between November 30 and December 12. Reports so far show countries are off track to meet a UN target to keep the rise in global temperatures below 2°C above pre-industrial levels.…

Bafana Bafana kingpin Percy “Lion of Judah” Tau will reportedly not be roaring for the national team in the two upcoming friendlies over the next 10 days. Several Sunday reports informed that Tau has withdrawn for “personal reasons” and no one in the Safa's media department was able to shed light on the matter. Tau’s absence will be a blow for Bafana. Coach Hugo Broos will be keen to start his preparations for the start of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers next month and the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in January and February with settled combinations in upcoming matches. Tau would certainly be assured of a place in Broos’ starting line-up. The “personal reasons” maybe that Tau has decided to manage his workload and in that way help to…

Argentina coach Michael Cheika said a weight of expectation would force his players to change their mentality going into next weekend's World Cup quarter-final against Wales. Mateo Carreras scored a hat-trick as Los Pumas outscored Japan five tries to three in an enthralling final Pool D encounter in Nantes yesterday. The victory meant Argentina finished as runners-up behind pool winners England but Japan return home after finishing in third position. "We are where we want to be," Cheika said. "But we want to go further, we want to reach the semi-final and the final, that's clear." "What changes now is the mentality. I feel like some of our boys, if you look at the crowd here today, so many Argentinians who have put their savings together and come for this…

Having once played in the same South Africa team as Dale Steyn, AB de Villiers and Jacques Kallis, Roelof van der Merwe has finally made it to a World Cup - with the Netherlands. The 38-year-old is a member of a select group of 16 men to have turned out for two countries. Van der Merwe appeared in 13 ODIs for South Africa between 2009 and 2010 before switching allegiance to the Dutch in 2019. He isn’t quite the oldest player at the tournament. That honour goes to teammate Wesley Barresi, who has already celebrated his 39th birthday. “I love competing, so I think that helps me stay fit, stay hungry for the game,” said Van der Merwe yesterday. “I just love playing the game and competing against other teams…

AFRICAN Rainbow Capital Investments (ARC), majority owned by Ubuntu-Botho Investments with investments such as TymeBank and Rain in its portfolio, flagged in its 2023 annual report that it is not sure that remaining listed on the JSE remains in its best interests, despite it being on a robust growth trajectory. This is due to the sizeable discount to net asset value. A discount to net asset value refers to when the market price of a listed entity is trading below its net asset value. ARC chairperson Mark Olivier said: “The sizeable discount to net asset value and the low free float will receive more focus in 2024. These structural issues need resolving as they affect the fund’s ability to raise capital. “The present focus is on organic growth and smaller…

REVEREND Musa Zondi, who left the IFP in 2011 after claims that he was being targeted by assassins, has made a surprise return to his former political home when he was included in its national council (NC), its highest decision-making body in-between conferences. The party also announced on Friday that two of Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi’s children have been co-opted to the party’s NC. The IFP said its president, Velenkosini Hlabisa, expressed his “trust in the abilities, skills and experience of these members and believes that they will greatly contribute to taking forward the vision of the IFP and His Excellency Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi”. It said in a statement that Hlabisa “has exercised his prerogative as per the IFP constitution” in making the following appointments to the council: Prince Ntuthukoyezwe Buthelezi,…

The NFP firmly stands in solidarity with Palestine, affirming its inherent right to defend itself against the oppressive Israeli regime. We fervently call upon all mainstream media outlets to not simply echo the narratives of the apartheid regime, and to report the context of the Palestinian resistance which emanates from years of restrictive checkpoints, the desecration of Al-Aqsa Mosque, forced removals, arbitrary imprisonment, and the unjust and illegitimate siege of Gaza. The Palestinian people have been oppressed for 75 years. They have had their land stolen. They live in an open-air prison. It is morally hollow to suggest that they should simply accept this oppression and not respond. The NFP unequivocally upholds Palestine’s legitimate right to defend itself, firmly rooted in international law. We condemn those in the “West” who…

HOW’S this for a parallel? On the BBC the other night they ran a news item about possibly the world’s largest complex of lithium mines about to be established in Oklahoma, in the US. It’s a very scenic part of Oklahoma, completely rural at present. The folk living there are aghast at the very idea of mines being established and are protesting. Those who are of Indian descent are even more aghast because they say the land is sacred, it’s where their ancestors were slaughtered in the bad old days. They too are protesting. But lithium is vital to the Net Zero Project. It’s used in batteries which will be a vital part of the world-wide struggle to reverse climate change. The US authorities have granted permission for the mining.…

People want friendships, meaningful connection with other humans, found in collegiality, in collaboration with others for a mutually agreed purpose. I believe we, yes, you and I, want to be part of the fabric of a family, blood or chosen, involved in the planning of a meaningful event, to occupy a useful and helpful place in the pursuit of something worthwhile. It doesn’t take much to be inclusive and to reach out to the lonely, as long as the inclusion is authentic, transparent and wholesome, without scam or rip-off potential. “Join a church,” someone may suggest. Inevitably, and very sadly, he or she who seeks meaning and involvement declares, “Church is all about money, dressing up, and theological minefields. “All I want to do is be part of a group…

The Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution (Casac) has written to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) asking for written reasons why it only recommended two candidates out of the 10 it interviewed for the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA), leaving two posts vacant. After lengthy interviews with 10 candidates on Monday and Tuesday last week, the JSC threw its support behind the nominations of Judges Fayeeza Kathree-Setiloane and Anna Maleshane Kgoele for positions at the SCA. It announced its decision to only recommend two candidates to President Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday night. Casac executive director Lawson Naidoo said it was “unusual” in these circumstances that the JSC advertised four vacancies but only recommended two judges to be promoted. In its letter to the JSC, Casac said the…

THE SANDF says six of its members died in a wildfire in the Northern Cape which spread from Khathu to a military base in Lohatla on Friday. According to the Department of Co-operative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs in the province, the fire started within the jurisdiction of the Gamagara local municipality. With the provincial disaster management centre unit unable to battle it, the fire then spread to the SA Army Combat Training facility in Lohatla. The sparsely populated Northern Cape province is largely arid and prone to raging wildfires. The soldiers were part of a military exercise called Vukuhlome that was taking place in the SA Army Combat Training Centre. “It was reported that six soldiers of the South African Army lost their lives during this incident, and…

A SENIOR Msunduzi Municipality official says they are experiencing challenges when dealing with invasions on privately owned land, saying municipal by-laws needed to be strengthened to curb the invasions. Acting general manager for Sustainable Development and City Entities, Atkins Khoali, was presenting a report on how the KwaZulu-Natal capital was dealing with land invasions, during a council sitting last week. He spoke about the frustration of holding people to account for invading privately owned land, as fines imposed by the courts were too low and did not act as a deterrent. “Most of the invaders do not have a problem in paying the R2 500, which is a stipulated penalty for building on privately owned land. To them that money for building a structure is like a joke,”…

From Star Wars droid C-3PO’s head to Leonardo DiCaprio’s Titanic costume, a trove of costumes and props are headed to auction in a sale of film and television memorabilia worth around £11.9 million (R282m). More than 1 800 items are being sold by entertainment memorabilia auctioneer Propstore at its annual live auction on from November 9. Leading the sale, is the light-up head actor Anthony Daniels wore to play C-3PO in Star Wars: A New Hope, with an estimate of £500 000 to £1 million. Costumes for sale include a shirt, waistcoat and trousers DiCaprio wore in Titanic, Honey Ryder’s bathrobe as worn by Ursula Andress in Dr No and Johnny Depp’s stunt costume from Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. Props include Harrison Ford’s bull whip from…

The effective functioning of the University of South Africa (Unisa) faces ongoing challenges unless Higher Education Minister Dr Blade Nzimande remains resolute in his decision to appoint an administrator to address the university’s issues. Last week, signs were evident that Nzimande would announce Unisa’s placement under administration, following reports from independent assessor Prof Themba Mosia and the ministerial task team chaired by Vincent Maphai. However, Unisa’s council swiftly filed an urgent high court application last Thursday, demanding that Nzimande withdraw his notice of intent to place the long-distance institution under administration. Mosia’s report, which informed the minister’s decision, highlighted severe financial and administrative problems that have seriously hindered Unisa’s effectiveness and efficiency. While the court ruled against Nzimande’s administration plans, the minister should not waver, as timely intervention in the…

The leader of Britain’s Labour main opposition yesterday warned the party not to become “giddy” as it eyes a return to power after more than a decade out of office. Keir Starmer’s words of caution came as the party gathered for its annual conference, ahead of a general election expected next year. The party, which has enjoyed double digit poll leads for months, has also been buoyed by a big local election win in Scotland on Thursday. “It is not going to be giddy, it is not going to be ‘job done’,” Starmer said. “So you won’t get razzmatazz. You won’t see mistakes that have been made in the past by opposition parties”. Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government has been battling stubbornly high inflation, a cost of living crisis…

ZURICH: Former Fifa President Sepp Blatter has criticised the decision by world soccer’s governing body to hold the World Cup in six countries across three continents. Morocco, Spain and Portugal were named hosts of the 2030 tournament, while Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay will also host the opening matches to mark the tournament’s centenary, Fifa said last week. The decision was criticised by Blatter, who was Fifa president from 1998 to 2015, before being forced out after a corruption investigation. “It is absurd to tear the tournament apart in this way,” Blatter said. Blatter, 87, has criticised Fifa for awarding the 2022 tournament to Qatar, saying the Middle East country was too small. He said the 2030 tournament should take place in South America, marking the 100th anniversary of the first…

Guwahati: At least 77 people are confirmed dead in the floods that hit India’s northeast, authorities said yesterday, with destroyed roads and bridges leaving thousands more still cut off despite waters receding. Violent torrents struck Sikkim state last week after a high-altitude glacial lake suddenly burst. More than 100 people are still missing, according to official figures. Water levels along the Teesta river “returned to normal” four days after the floods hit, an official said. More than 2 500 people stranded in the floods had been rescued. But evacuations have been complicated by the destruction of roads, bridges and telephone lines across much of Sikkim. Another 3 000 people were still stranded. | AFP…

BAKU: Azerbaijan’s president scolded the EU and warned that France’s decision to send military aid to Armenia could trigger a new conflict in the South Caucasus after a Azerbaijani military operation last month. Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev last week pulled out of an EU-brokered meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan at which Brussels said it was standing by Armenia. But Aliyev criticised the EU’s approach, particularly France’s position. France has agreed on future contracts with Armenia to supply it with military equipment to help ensure its defences. | Reuters…

Substitute Gabriel Martinelli fired a last-gasp winner to earn Arsenal a 1-0 victory over Manchester City yesterday, a result that moved Mikel Arteta’s team level on points with north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur at the top of the Premier League. Arsenal came into the match having not beaten City in the league since 2015, a run of 15 games - their longest winless streak against a single opponent in league history. Ending such a barren run looked unlikely as City had the better of the chances in the first half, with Arsenal’s Declan Rice clearing off the line to keep the champions at bay. Arsenal did not have a single shot on target in the opening period, but upped the tempo after the break, even though City still created the…

Persistent rain got in the way as the Proteas women looked well on their way to a crushing victory over New Zealand in the second T20 international in East London yesterday. A wet outfield at Buffalo Park Stadium led to a delay to the start of the match - delaying the start by an hour before the umpires decided it was safe for the two teams to take to the field. The Proteas opted to bowl upon winning the toss and it paid off with the wicket of Suzie Bates (14 off 16, 2x4s) inside the first powerplay, via a run-out by Laura Wolvaardt, handing the home team their first dismissal of the day. Chloe Tryon followed up a brilliant piece of fielding off her own bowling to hand South…