Inhaltsverzeichnis für 2023-04-04 in Cape Times

Individuals who install rooftop solar panels from March 1 will be able to claim a 25% discount SOLAR panel shortages in South Africa may lead to price increases on the available products with the impact of this more likely to be felt by smaller businesses, as well as medium and lower-income households with smaller budgets, according to KPMG partner and head of energy and natural resources Safeera Loonat. Loonat said this was happening while continued load shedding has seen banks offer new solutions to fund residential and small commercial solar solutions. Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana announced in his Budget Speech in February that starting in March this year businesses would be able to reduce their taxable income by 125% of the cost of investing in renewables. Individuals who install rooftop…

TECK RESOURCES yesterday unani- mously rejected an unsolicited and opportunistic acquisition proposal from Glencore plc. This follows Glencore announcing its proposal for a merger between Glencore and Teck. Glencore submitted a proposal to the board of directors of Teck Resources – on March 26 this year – to merge with Teck and to simultaneously demerge their combined metals and coal businesses. Teck describes itself as among Cana- da’s leading mining companies, and says it is committed to responsible mining and mineral development, with major business units focused on copper, zinc and steelmaking coal. The offer is the largest acquisition attempt by the largest coal miner since its merger with Xstrata in 2013. Teck said if the acquisitions had happened, it would have exposed its shareholders to thermal coal and oil…

PUBLIC Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane has accused evidence leaders in the inquiry into her fitness to hold office of unethical conduct, and threatened to report them to the Legal Practice Council. This, after one of the evidence leaders, Advocate Nazreen Bawa, made a presentation to the Section 194 Committee on aspects of the testimony Mkhwebane gave last week, before her funding of legal costs was stopped on March 31. The committee initially wanted to continue with the presentation as part of the inquiry, but objections were made in light of the absence of Mkhwebane’s legal team. Committee chairperson, Qubudile Dyantyi, then decided to convene their session as a meeting of the committee “to invite Advocate Bawa to take members through parts that are important to traverse to save time when the…

A TUG-O- WAR over a product called Roadsaver – a bitumen compound that can be used to fill and seal potholes and cracks in tarred surfaces – has turned into a legal battle. A company is claiming one of its former directors took the secret formula for making this product with him when he resigned. Universal Blending Ltd feared that Sarel Henderson, the man with the secret formula for this product, would now open his own business using this product. According to Universal, the product belonged to them. Henderson, on the other hand, while not denying that he is going to use Roadsaver in his new business, said the product did not belong to Universal. The company told the court that Henderson was the only person who knew the full…

AN advisory report by the public protector (PP) into the alleged rape of a teenager at Stellenbosch Hospital has found that staff failed to report the incident to police, but instead advised the patient’s mother to report the matter herself. In 2021 it emerged that a 15-year-old girl was allegedly raped by a 19-year-old male patient at the hospital, while a nurse witnessed the incident. The girl’s family had accused the facility of negligence and claimed they were not informed timeously. According to the PP report, the matter transpired on September 23, after a patient broke a window in the ward and ran in an attempt to escape. Two nurse assistants and security ran after the patient, leaving a nurse alone to attend to other remaining patients. The nurse discovered…

PARLIAMENT’S constitutional review committee has received more submissions that propose amendments to the Constitution. The Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution (Casac) on Friday made a presentation before the committee, proposing that there should be a single human rights body that would take the responsibilities of some of the existing chapter nine institutions. Lawson Naidoo, director of Casac, said former Minister Kader Asmal had led a parliamentary committee that looked at the chapter nine institutions in 2007. “We hope the sixth Parliament takes some steps to move into discussion on the Asmal report. It is an opportunity to properly engage based on the Asmal report,” he said. The Asmal report had recommended the establishment of a single human rights body that would comprise the South African Human…

HEALTH Science academics from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and Denmark have found that pregnant women whose household tap water had higher levels of lithium had moderately higher chances of birthing children with autism spectrum disorder. The findings, believed to be the first to identify naturally occurring lithium in drinking water as a possible environmental risk factor for autism, were published yesterday in Jama Pediatrics. This comes as World Autism Awareness Day was observed on Sunday. Lead study author and neurology professor at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine, Beate Ritz, said any drinking water contaminants that may affect the developing human brain deserve intense scrutiny. “In the future, anthropogenic sources of lithium in water may become more widespread because of lithium battery use and disposal in landfills…

A DISBARRED attorney has been sentenced to 10 years behind bars for a spate of crimes, which she committed even after she was barred from practising as a lawyer. Rugaya van der Schyff, 57, was sentenced in the Bellville Commercial Crimes Court, where she faced 48 charges including fraud, money laundering, theft, and contravention of the Section 33(4) of the Legal Practice Act 28 of 2014. She was convicted on all the charges after she entered a plea and sentencing agreement with the State. Van der Schyff was admitted as an attorney in December 2002; as a conveyancer in September 2003; and practised under the name R van der Schyff Attorneys. National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson, Eric Ntabazalila, said Van der Schyff was struck off the roll of attorneys in…

The murder of a Life St George’s Hospital employee near the facility’s trauma unit in what is believed to be a domestic violence related incident, has once again put the spotlight on safety and security at health facilities. Police spokesperson Sandra Janse van Rensburg said Humewood, Gqeberha, detectives were investigating murder after a 49-year-old woman was shot on Sunday in the hospital parking area. According to Janse van Rensburg the incident happened at about 7pm in Park Drive. “The deceased was on her way to get into her transport, after she finished working. She was approached by an unknown suspect who pulled her aside and fired multiple shots at her. The suspect fled on foot and the deceased was rushed to hospital where she passed away.” Janse van Rensburg said…

AS THE Easter weekend begins in earnest on Friday, traffic enforcement officials should pull out all the stops to ensure that road fatalities are minimised. During the launch of the Easter Safety Plan and Pre-Easter Prayer in Pietermaritzburg on Sunday, KwaZulu-Natal Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube cautioned the province’s road users that KZN should not be turned into a site of mass graves. She made an impassioned plea to all stakeholders, including traditional leaders, interfaith leaders and the transport industry, to join government efforts to ensure a safe and incident-free Easter period. While holding a prayer session signifies the seriousness with which the government views the issue of road safety, it does nothing to prevent the serious road accidents and fatalities that are always associated with the busy Easter weekend. The visibility…

Teachers in Britain rejected a government pay offer yesterday, paving the way for further strikes and providing a fresh blow to Rishi Sunak’s government. Ministers had proposed a one-time, £1 000 (R20 000) payment to teachers for the 2022-2023 tax year and a 4.3% rise the following year. But some 98% of members of the National Education Union who cast ballots rejected that offer, the union announced at the start of its annual conference yesterday. The vote means teachers will now go ahead with walkouts planned for April 27 and May 2, disrupting schools as pupils prepare for annual exams and causing a knock-on effect for working parents. It piles pressure on Sunak just as his administration appeared poised to draw a line under months of industrial unrest…

PARIS: French junior social affairs minister Marlene Schiappa is facing criticism from her own party for posing in a white dress for the cover of Playboy, with Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne calling Schiappa to express her displeasure. The furor comes at a time of social unrest in the country as the government is facing a big backlash over pension reforms. The Playboy cover will be accompanied by an interview in which Schiappa talks about women’s and LGBT rights. A far-left opposition party leader, Jean-Luc Melenchon, tweeted: “France is going off the rails.” | Reuters…

ISTANBUL: A mother has been reunited with her baby in southern Türkiye after a DNA test confirmed it was her daughter, almost two months after an earthquake ripped through the region, the country’s family ministry said. The 3-and-a-half-month-old “miracle baby” was pulled out of the rubble of a building in the province of Hatay more than five days after the February 6 quake with no health problems, it said. The minister handed her over to her mother, Yasemin Begdas, at a hospital in Adana 54 days after the disaster. More than 56 000 people were killed by the quake and tremors, with 50 000 of those in Türkiye and the remainder in Syria. | Reuters…

Manila: The Philippines yesterday announced the location of four additional military bases to be used by US troops, with one site near the hotly disputed South China Sea and another not far from Taiwan. The allies agreed in February to expand co-operation in “strategic areas” of the Philippines as they seek to counter China’s growing assertiveness over self-governed Taiwan and the building of Chinese bases in the South China Sea. The 2014 Enhanced Defense Co-operation Agreement, known as EDCA, gave US forces access to five Philippine bases. It was expanded to nine. The bases would also be used for humanitarian and relief operations during disasters. | AFP…

In their push for a Champions League place next season, Cape Town City could ruin the party atmosphere at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium tonight when they clash with newly-crowned DStv Premiership champions Mamelodi Sundowns (kick-off 7.30pm). It will be the first time that Sundowns will be playing as this season’s league champions so it is likely that the team will aim to produce a performance worthy of champions in front of their adoring fans. City, on the other hand, will want no part in the festivities because they are looking to make up for lost ground and move up the standings to challenge for a Champions League berth next season. Three points from today’s clash could kickstart their rise on the standings as the season winds to a close. Since…

Chelsea interim coach Bruno Saltor said the players would be “sad” after the Premier League club sacked manager Graham Potter as he prepared the team to face Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool. Potter was dismissed on Sunday, after a 2-0 home defeat against Aston Villa the previous day. Big-spending Chelsea, who hired the Englishman to replace Thomas Tuchel in September, have just 10 wins from 28 league games this season and are 11th in the table, 12 points outside the top four. There have now been 13 managerial departures in the English top flight this season - a new record. Julian Nagelsmann, who was sacked as Bayern Munich boss last month, is the favourite to be the next Chelsea boss. Bruno said yesterday that Potter’s dismissal had been “really difficult at every…

STRUGGLING businesses will soon be able to apply for their share of the R50 million in Absa’s energy subsidy grants, which it has made available to help keep the businesses running. Absa said in a statement yesterday it would provide up to R50m in energy subsidy under its Green Asset Finance programme for qualifying SMEs, in a move to support and grow small- and medium-sized businesses. Absa’s energy subsidy is the only grant of its kind providing some support to small business customers to finance solar installations and keep the lights on, the bank said. Eligible SMEs that had their commercial properties financed by Absa would be contacted by Absa and need not take any action to apply for the support. Subsidy amounts would be determined based on…

ADVANCED Health’s headline loss from continuing operations widened to R20.8 million in the six months to December 31, as it moves to exit the Australian market with the sale of its operations there for R522m. The company’s Australian majority owned Presmed Australia (PMA) owns or co-owns 10 operating facilities, including day hospitals and consultation clinics in partnership with the practising doctors in those facilities in and around Sydney, Australia’s Central Coast, and Tasmania. “In order to focus more strategically on developing and expanding its South African operations, Advanced Health has resolved to exit the Australian market and dispose of its equity interest within PMA,” the group said in its interim results released yesterday. PresMed BidCo on December 23 entered into a binding agreement to buy 100% of PMA shares…

MAYCO member for water and sanitation, Zahid Badroodien, spent his first day back at the office yesterday doing site visits as he planned to catch up on the six months of work he missed. Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis announced Badroodien’s return yesterday after he had stepped down as Mayco member last year pending an investigation into electricity meter tampering at a property he owns in Rylands. “I have let councillor Badroodien know that I am satisfied that he now resumes his important work as the mayoral committee member for water and sanitation, effective immediately,” Hill-Lewis said. He further thanked councillor Siseko Mbandezi who had acted in the water and sanitation position. Hill-Lewis’s announcement came five days after the City Council approved, with mixed reaction, the disciplinary committee’s “unanimous” recommendation that Badroodien…

THE Western Cape High Court has declared the appointment of controversial Patriotic Alliance (PA) member Truman Prince in the Central Karoo District Municipality null and void. Prince was appointed as the municipality’s acting manager in February, after the resignation of Zwelithini Nyathi. The matter landed in court after provincial government MEC Anton Bredell indicated that Central Karoo mayor, Gayton McKenzie, “ignored” his recommendation to terminate Prince’s appointment, charging that Prince did not have the relevant experience at senior management level suitable to hold the position. “It is common cause that Prince served as municipal manager at the municipality during the period December 20, 2004 to August 27, 2007. “That constitutes continuous service at that level for two years and eight months. But that period of time is not enough to…

‘Such a deviation requires further due diligence’ FINANCE Minister Enoch Godongwana’s decision to exempt Eskom from reporting on wasteful, fruitless and irregular expenditure until 2025 will allow for a relaxed regulatory environment, reminiscent of the Covid-19 pandemic, which resulted in “rife and opportunistic” criminality and corruption. This is according to some experts after Godongwana issued a government gazette allowing the exemptions for Eskom in its annual financial statements for 2022/23, 2023/24, and 2024/25. The Treasury believes that if the exemptions were not considered, it would place pressure on the fiscus and limit Eskom’s borrowing powers. It granted Eskom the exemption following the power utility’s board chairperson Mpho Makwana’s request for an exemption and a departure from Treasury regulation. “The effect of such exemption and departure approval, collectively, is that material…

STRAIGHT to jail and no getting out card for three months. This was the message conveyed to a father of three who simply ignored the orders made in the past that he had to pay maintenance towards his wife and children. He also, among others, had to give his wife money to buy another house for her and the children. These orders were made during previous court hearings and following a settlement agreement between the couple when they got divorced. None of these orders, which the husband had earlier agreed to, were adhered to. It was calculated that he owed the wife more than R7 million. She told the court she had to sell one of their other properties to make ends meet. In once again proving that maintenance orders…

FRIENDS of slain 13-year-old Thimna Kuze have visited the teen’s family to pay their respects, after she was raped and murdered, allegedly by her friends’ uncle who is now on the run. Kuze, who is from Site C, Khayelitsha, was raped and killed while at a sleepover at her twin friends’ home on March 25. According to reports, the uncle had allegedly brought alcohol and forced the girls to drink before raping them and subsequently killed Kuze. On Saturday, visibly emotional children who were friends of Kuze went to her home to show solidarity with the family. The youngsters shared memories of the teen, and recited poems. Her mother, Nokuthula, said that the gesture by the friends was emotional and reminded her that Kuze was not only loved by…

RESIDENTS have two days left to make sure their vehicles are roadworthy as traffic inspectors will be out in full force ahead of the long weekend. This as Provincial Traffic Services are offering a free vehicle fitness service at the Gene Louw Traffic College in Brackenfell until tomorrow. Launching the provincial Easter road safety plan yesterday, Mobility MEC, Ricardo Mackenzie said: "This voluntary check includes tyres, lights, brakes, suspension, CV joints, electrical, fuel supply system, exhaust, wipers, and licence disc. “The opportunity is available...and I encourage anyone planning to travel this week to bring their car down to Brackenfell. “Our Road Safety Officers are also available to share tips and information for travelling safely. " Mackenzie said they were expanding the Integrated Transport Hub, with a province-wide network of licenceplate…

OBESITY is a major global health challenge and the leading risk factor for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) including hypertension, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes mellitus, which are now among the top 10 causes of mortality in South Africa. Obesity rates are rising across Africa, particularly in southern Africa, where South Africa has the highest prevalence of overweight people and obesity, with up to 70% of women and 33% of men classified as overweight or obese. Similarly, the rates of overweight and obese children are particularly high in South Africa compared with other African countries, with about 19% of boys and 26% of girls under 20 years of age classified as overweight or obese. In addition to a growing obesity epidemic, South Africa has the highest reported burden of adolescent HIV globally. Before…

Donald Trump left his Florida home yesterday bound for New York where he will surrender to criminal charges, taking the US into uncharted and potentially volatile territory. The 76-year-old Republican, the first American president ever to be criminally indicted, will be formally charged today over hush money paid to a porn star during the 2016 election campaign. TV footage showed a motorcade departing Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home to head to the city where he made his name, and where he hopes to use his appearance before a judge to rouse support for his 2024 White House bid. “The Corrupt D.A. has no case,” Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social, of the Manhattan district attorney prosecuting the case. “What he does have is a venue where it is IMPOSSIBLE…

Russia has taken another initiative to reach out to African nations by inviting journalists of the continent to a first online gathering, organised by the Russian-African Club at the prestigious Lomonosov State University in Moscow. The gathering, which was attended by 300 journalists, lecturers and students from Russia and various African countries, laid the foundation ahead of the conference of African and Russian journalists which will be held on May 3, which is the 30th anniversary of World Press Freedom Day. It will be held in Moscow and aims to promote wide ranging co-operation between Russia and the continent, including through educating young journalists to develop strategies to defend freedom of speech. Russia, which is often criticised by Western media, aims to counter allegations of being repressive towards journalists…

Helsinki: Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin has conceded defeat after the opposition National Coalition Party won the parliamentary elections. According to the preliminary results reported by Finnish national broadcaster Yle, the National Coalition Party won 48 seats in parliament, an increase of 10 from four years ago, followed by the Finns Party with 46 seats, an increase of seven. Marin’s Social Democratic Party won 43 seats, an increase of three. Soon after National Coalition Party leader Petteri Orpo claimed victory, Marin conceded the election. “Congratulations to the winner of the elections, congratulations to the National Coalition Party, congratulations to the Finns Party. Democracy has spoken,” she said. Marin, 37, continues to enjoy high poll ratings and has been praised for steering Finland towards entry into Nato and navigating her country…

Washington: At least 32 people have died after strong tornadoes and deadly storms struck multiple states in the US’s South and Midwest over the weekend, authorities said. More than 50 preliminary tornado reports were recorded on April 1 in at least seven states. The tornadoes crushed homes and businesses, ripped roofs off buildings, splintered trees and sent vehicles flying. Wynne, Arkansas, where at least four people died, was cleaved in half, leaving a line of destruction from the city’s western limit to its eastern, officials said. Deaths have been confirmed in Arkansas, Indiana and Tennessee.This comes a week after a tornado levelled a town in Mississippi. | IANS…

The next time Aiden Markram bumps into former Proteas star Herschelle Gibbs they will have a few extra things to talk about. Markram not only equalled Gibbs’ legendary 175 on Sunday in the Pink ODI at the Wanderers, but he also slayed the Netherlands to all parts. Gibbs famously butchered Dutch bowler Daan van Bunge for six sixes in one over of the 2007 World Cup clash in St Kitts. Markram did not quite match the mercurial Gibbs’ feat, but he did strike seven sixes on the day, including one massive hit into the Memorial Stand to bring up his 150. "His (Gibbs’) innings was probably a lot better than mine in terms of the match situation and the series context, but I watched that game when I was young…

“That’s why he the GOAT.” That was how 200m world champion Noah Lyles described his training partner Wayde van Niekerk’s outstanding performance at the South African championships in Potchefstroom at the weekend. The 400m world record-holder got social media buzzing with his terrific winning time of 44.17 seconds at the NWU McArthur Stadium on Saturday as he turned up the heat in the last 100m to stride away from world junior champion Lythe Pillay, who also produced an excellent display to set a new personal best of 44.80 – which was also a world championship qualifying time. Van Niekerk’s effort was his best since 2017, when he sustained a serious knee injury during a touch rugby match at Newlands stadium that has kept him on the sidelines for long periods…

AYO TECHNOLOGY Solutions (AYO) has informed its shareholders it would repurchase R619 million of the shares that the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF) holds in the company, as part of its settlement agreement with the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) and the GEPF. In a statement following a JSE notice issued by the ICT group earlier yesterday, AYO said it is revealing some details of its settlement deal after an article in the Daily Maverick on March 25, which disclosed the settlement terms and which the group said misrepresented the agreement between it and the PIC. “AYO wishes to emphasise and confirm that at no stage has it disclosed or verified the terms of the settlement to Daily Maverick or any other media publication. AYO must assume that the PIC acted…

THE SETTLEMENT between the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) and AYO Technology Solutions (AYO) has ended their protracted legal dispute. However, the AYO case highlights the impact of negative media coverage and the weaponisation of quasi-judicial processes, such as commissions of inquiry against companies. The case has broader implications for the South African business landscape, particularly international investor sentiment. AYO, a large information technology company, was formed by amalgamating several long-standing, profitable IT companies into the ICT group. But hostile media gave the impression that a “small, newly formed IT company” approached the PIC for a more considerable investment than its actual size. The media built the narrative to target and undermine AYO. The disproportionate targeting of AYO and associate companies at the Mpati Commission of Inquiry raises concerns about the…

THE Social Development Department has blamed budget cuts and non-compliance by some non-profit organisations (NPOs) for delays in the payment of their subsidies. The explanation was given by Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu, when she was responding to IFP MP Liezl van der Merve after reports surfaced that children’s homes in Gauteng were facing closure due to the late payment and/or non-payment of departmental subsidies, despite some having submitted compliance documents by June 2022. Van der Merve wanted to know the number of NGOs that were paid their full subsidies for 2022 and steps taken to ensure that the late payment would not recur this year. Zulu said her department viewed the NPOs as important stakeholders in the delivery of services. “While acknowledging that there were delays with few provinces,…

A MFULENI resident has taken it upon himself to provide free learner’s driving licence lessons to young people in the hope of increasing their chances of finding jobs. Bongolwethu Nganya said that youth unemployment and the high crime rate had prompted him to start the initiative. “I am currently unemployed and I have been monitoring that a lot of young people who are also unemployed often turn to crime, which is what I am looking to avoid with this initiative. “It’s a small initiative based in Mfuleni and Khayelitsha. The recent crime stats painted a grim picture of these communities with Mfuleni being at the top for the wrong reason, which is murder. “I offer free lessons to anyone who wishes to have a driver’s licence. I don’t have a…

Baby calamari 150g Flour 50g Salt 10g Rajah curry spice (mild) 15g Mayonnaise 50ml Cape Malay pickle 50g Curry leaves 5g Sultanas 10g 50g onions 30ml brown vinegar 20ml water ½ teaspoon sugar ½ teaspoon turmeric ¼ teaspoon all spice ¼ teaspoon coriander seeds Pinch of chilli flakes 1 cinnamon stick ¼ teaspoon cumin Put ingredients in a pot and reduce by half. Place in container for use the next day. Mix flour, salt and curry spice in a bowl. In a separate bowl, mix salt and curry spice for seasoning. Clean squid tentacles and slice the baby tubes in half lengthwise. Combine mayonnaise and curry spice. Deep fry curry leaves in hot oil until they stop popping. Mix the calamari with the flour mix above. Deep fry squid until…

FIVE hikers who attempted to abseil Window Gorge, a steep route high above Newlands Forest, had to be rescued in the dark after they underestimated the wet and slippery conditions. Wilderness Search and Rescue (WSAR) said they received a call from the group at the weekend after it became clear that they were not going to complete the descent before dark. “They had already completed two abseils and were not able to get back to the start of the route. “The rescue team were driven up the back of Table Mountain. “By the time they started hiking to the top of Window Gorge it was well after dark. “Once on scene, the team quickly located and abseiled down to the hikers. “The rescuers then constructed a rope system to raise…

Abysmal performance of president is making the opposition leader’s job look easy IT TAKES a genuinely abysmal president to make the opposition leader’s job of overtaking the governing party look easy. It is the toughest gig in South African politics as the DA grapples with losing electoral support in an environment of endemic corruption in society and widening poverty among citizens. For instance, between the 2016 and 2021 local government elections, the party shed 1.4 million votes; between the 2014 and 2019 national elections, it lost 470 000-odd votes. John Steenhuisen's conference speech marked the terrain on which the DA must fight the next election more precisely than panache, but the ability to deliver votes is not assured. Under the theme, “The moonshot pact to stop ANC-EFF doomsday”, he…

Russia yesterday accused Ukraine of organising the murder of a prominent war blogger in a St Petersburg café and arrested a young Russian woman shown in a police video admitting delivering the bomb that killed him and injured over 30 others. Ukraine, which did not take responsibility for Sunday’s attack, blamed “domestic terrorism” for the murder of Maxim Fomin, a Russian military blogger and cheerleader for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine who called himself Vladlen Tatarsky. Darya Trepova, the 26-year-old Russian woman arrested over his murder, confessed in a video released by the interior ministry that she had brought in the figurine of a likeness of Tatarsky that exploded shortly afterwards, killing him. But reports said she had told investigators that she had been set up and had not known the…

Kenya is to launch its first operational satellite next week, the government has said. Taifa-1 is to be launched on April 10 aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The observation satellite is “fully designed and developed” by Kenyan engineers and will be used to provide data on agriculture and food security, the defence ministry said. Testing and manufacturing of the parts were done in collaboration with a Bulgarian aerospace manufacturer. As of last year, at least 13 African countries had manufactured 48 satellites, said Space in Africa, a Nigeria-based firm that tracks African space programmes. | AFP…

Ramallah: Palestinian authorities have condemned the Israeli cabinet’s move to vote in favour of establishing a National Guard force controlled by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. Stressing that “the formation of the national guard will not frighten our people”, a spokesperson for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah movement in Gaza denounced the Israeli move. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the National Guard would deal with violent clashes between Jewish and Arab citizens of the country. Ben-Gvir had said the force would be deployed in Arab communities. Ben-Gvir is one the most extreme ministers in Israel’s cabinet. | IANS…

brussels: Finland will join Nato today, marking the completion of a swift journey into the military alliance for the Nordic nation following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, officials said. Finland has a 1 300km border with Russia, so Nato’s frontier with Russia will almost double in length, and the move drew a pledge from Moscow that it would beef up its forces in border regions. The last hurdle to Finland’s membership was removed last week when Türkiye’s parliament voted to ratify Helsinki’s application even as it kept Sweden’s bid on hold. Türkiye says that Stockholm harbours members of terrorist groups, a charge Sweden denies. | Reuters…

The Stormers are currently in fine form, especially on home soil, in the two international club rugby competitions they are competing in. They’ve won a combined 22 home games on the trot in the United Rugby Championship (URC) and Champions Cup, and saw some success overseas too with the latest being a draw against Irish powerhouse Leinster in the URC. This weekend, though, another tough match, against Exeter at Sandy Park, is on the cards, in a quarter-final clash that could take them to the semi-finals of European elite club rugby. The Stormers disposed of another English club this past weekend when they beat Harlequins in the Round of 16 to progress to the quarters. They scored some brilliant tries on Saturday afternoon at the DHL Stadium, but the playing…