Inhaltsverzeichnis für 2023-05-18 in Cape Times

I RECENTLY watched Sex and the City again, and I couldn’t get enough of how Carrie always, ever so casually, walks around in heels all day. Every day! Slipping into a sexy pair of heels is an instant mood booster and can elevate just about any look. Unfortunately, wearing heels all day isn’t quite as easy as Carrie makes it look. Well, not for everyone, that is. In fact, it can be quite painful if you’re a first-timer or simply not used to wearing them. Here are some tips to help you wear high heels without experiencing too much pain. Is it the right size? Make sure you are wearing the right size of high heel shoe. Shoes that are too tight or too loose can cause pain and discomfort.…

THE US Embassy has remained tight-lipped following its Russian counterpart’s remarks that US Ambassador Reuben Brigety attempted to “sway” South Africa’s foreign policy with his controversial claim that it provided weapons to Russia last year. Bridgety told the media in Pretoria last week that weapons were loaded onto the Russian ship, Lady R, at the Simon’s Town Naval Base in Cape Town. No evidence to support this claim was provided and Brigety has apparently apologised after having been summoned by International Relations and Cooperation Minister Naledi Pandor. In a statement this week, Russia’s ambassador Ilya Rogachev said: “Appointing guilty parties at own discretion and resorting to ‘megaphone diplomacy’ have become typical characteristics of US foreign policy. “In this context, the words of the US’ official cannot be perceived otherwise as…

A FORMER captain in the SAPS, attached to the dog unit, and who was deployed to the Kruger National Park, Skukuza, will have to serve his five-year jail sentence after he shot a visitor to the park in the leg. Quentin Arlow was earlier convicted of attempted murder and subsequently sentenced. However, he turned to the Mpumalanga High Court, sitting in Mbombela, where he appealed against both his conviction and sentence. Arlow was deployed at the park where he conducted searches with sniffer dogs on vehicles leaving the park. This was in an attempt to curb rhino poaching. He was conducting these services at the Kruger Gate on the day of the incident when a visitor, Last Nkosi, the complainant, left the park late in the afternoon. A security officer…

Waste is piling up in informal settlements as extortionists continue to gate-keep the areas. Kosovo informal settlement, Philippi and Nyanga residents continue to live in inhumane conditions as service delivery is hindered by extortion gangs who demand protection fees in exchange for allowing contractors to collect waste and provide services. Nyanga Community Policing Forum (CPF) secretary Dumisani Qwebe said that residents are struggling, with elderly people and children being the most vulnerable to poor environmental conditions. “We need a holistic approach to deal with the extortionists, a community safety forum that will look at these concerns and how best to address them. “Elders and children are more susceptible to diseases and sicknesses due to the waste not being collected. As you enter some areas you are met by a nauseating…

In response to the letter, “Sewer line pump noise is a pest”, published in the Cape Times on 15 May 2023: Thank you to the resident for raising their concern. A project is currently under way as part of a string of work packages to rehabilitate the Cape Flats sewer in the area. As part of the process, isolation and the diversion of sections of the bulk sewer network are required to execute the works safely. Due to unforeseen circumstances, swift action was required by the contractor to ensure continued sanitation services while ensuring that the work done was not negatively impacted. As a result, a pumping regime had to be implemented to protect the works and continue the conveyance of sewage to ensure that residents and the nearby sensitive…

Only a series of unlikely scenarios could have made it possible On May 11, 2023, the US ambassador to South Africa, Reuben Brigety, claimed that South Africa had secretly exported arms to Russia in December 2022. The announcement rapidly fed into a popular narrative that South Africa was increasingly siding with Russia in relation to Moscow’s aggressive war in Ukraine. Brigety’s statements made both South African and international news headlines, including in the Wall Street Journal, on CNN and in the Financial Times. He asserted that, based on US intelligence reports, ammunition and/or arms had been furtively loaded on to a Russian cargo vessel, the Lady R, at South Africa’s naval base in Simon’s Town. The vessel had earlier been sanctioned by the US government. In response, the South…

Eight people died and thousands were evacuated from their homes after heavy rains caused devastation across Italy’s northern Emilia Romagna region, while this weekend’s Imola Grand Prix was cancelled, officials said yesterday. “The city is on its knees, devastated and in pain,” said Gian Luca Zattini, the mayor of Forli, a city near Bologna where three people were confirmed dead earlier yesterday. “It’s the end of the world.” Emilia Romagna’s vice president, Irene Priolo, later said that a total of eight people had died, with several others missing. Two of the bodies in Forli were recovered by divers on Wednesday morning, as part of a huge rescue effort involving emergency services and the armed forces. Emilia Romagna, one of Italy’s richest regions, had already been hit by heavy rain just…

TÜrkIYE’s main opposition party said yesterday that it had filed complaints over suspected irregularities with thousands of ballot boxes in Sunday’s landmark elections, in which President Tayyip Erdogan performed better than expected. However, opposition party officials said the objections were unlikely to alter the result of the presidential vote, which is headed for a run-off on May 28 between Erdogan and challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu. The secularist Republican People’s Party (CHP) said it had formally raised objections over 2 269 ballot boxes nationwide for the presidential election and 4 825 for the parliamentary vote, although they represent a tiny proportion of the total number. Erdogan’s ruling Islamist-rooted AK Party and its nationalist allies won a strong parliamentary majority, while in the presidential vote, Erdogan fell just shy of the 50% threshold…

Beirut: The World Bank has warned that nearly half of crisis-hit Lebanon’s economy is now cash-based as trust in banks has plummeted, heightening money laundering risks. Lebanon has been mired since 2019 in an economic crisis as the currency’s market value has fallen by at least 98% against the dollar. As a result, the cash economy has nearly doubled in size from 26.2% of gross domestic product in 2021 to nearly half of GDP last year. The plunge has driven price hikes on basic goods, with items priced in dollars, and many salaries paid in cash. Banks have imposed withdrawal restrictions, locking depositors out of their savings. | AFP…

Kathmandu: Nepal’s legendary climber, Kami Rita Sherpa, has summited Mount Everest for a record 27th time. The 53-year-old broke his own record of climbing the world’s highest peak for the 26th time. Kami Rita scaled the 8 848.86m mountain yesterday, his expedition organiser Seven Summit Treks said. On May 14, Pasang Dawa Sherpa reached the summit of the world’s highest peak for the 26th time, equalising Kami Rita’s former mark. Kami Rita, who works as a senior climbing guide at Seven Summit Treks, scaled Mount Everest for the first time on May 13, 1994. Since then he has scaled the peak 27 times. He has also climbed the K2 and Lhotse (once each), Manaslu (three times) and Cho Oyu (eight times). He holds the record for “most climbs over 8…

With the Springboks’ first Test match of the year only two months away, the world champions made the big switch to Test mode yesterday when they gathered in Durban at the first of two preparation camps this month ahead of the July 8 kick-off against the Wallabies in Pretoria. This camp, which includes 15 players, will conclude tomorrow, while the second preparation camp — which will feature players from the Stormers who are preparing to face Munster in the United Rugby Championship final in Cape Town next weekend — will run from May 29-31. The group of players — which includes centre Lukhanyo Am, wing Makazole Mapimpi, hooker Bongi Mbonambi, utility forward Kwagga Smith and fullback Willie le Roux — assembled in Durban on Tuesday evening and got straight into…

COMMUNICATIONS and Digital Technologies Minister Mondli Gungubele said yesterday his department was engaging extensively with stakeholders and role-players regarding the transition from analogue to digital broadcasting. Delivering his 2023-24 budget speech, Gungubele said they were in the meantime continuing to install set-top boxes for outstanding households. “Once this consultation process is completed, we will announce the final date for analogue switch-off, which will free up much-needed spectrum in accordance with the President’s directive,” he said. However, Gungubele said they have decided to switch off the remaining 151 transmitters in Eastern Cape, Western Cape, KwaZulu Natal, and Gauteng during this year. “The department aims to conclude the distribution of available set-top boxes to registered indigent households as soon as possible.” The minister also said he would be issuing the final spectrum…

Gordhan accuses ex-Eskom boss De Ruyter of using ‘swart gevaar’ tactics Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan shifted the blame to former Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter, accusing him of utilising “swart gevaar” tactics, while entrusted to address the country’s energy crisis. Gordhan told MPs in the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) that De Ruyter did himself a disservice in how his term ended at the embattled power utility. He was invited to brief Scopa regarding De Ruyter’s allegations of corruption, theft, maladministration, sabotage and financial irregularities, among other things. “The way he ended his term, I don’t think it did him any favours in terms of his reputation. Except for those who think here we have a whistle-blower. He’s not a whistle-blower. He was the head of an…

ACTIVISTS have labelled the City’s Special Rating Areas (SRAs) as a form of segregation and widening the inequality gap. This is after the City announced that the mayoral committee approved several applications for Special Rating Areas (SRAs) at its meeting this week. The City said that property owners residing in SRA’s pay additional rates to fund supplementary services managed by a non-profit company including cleansing, recycling, social interventions, and additional public safety measures. The City said that there are currently 47 SRAs in the City of Cape Town, excluding the four new applications in Clifton, Park Island, Upper Kenilworth, and Pinelands, which will serve before Council for ratification at the end of the month. Khayelitsha Development Forum (KDF) chair Ndithini Tyhido said that the reality is that they knew that…

STALWART activist Dennis George passed away recently. 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 for 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. He was a true patriot. Patriotism is not nationalism, it is not a religion, it is not politics. Patriotism is a sincere, indivisible and incorruptible dedication to this great country we call home, South Africa. Patriotism inspires us not only to live in South Africa, but to live for South Africa. Dennis George…

People need healthy freshwater. It supplies our basic needs, whether for drinking, washing, irrigating our crops, or for driving power and production industries. But water systems only remain healthy and vibrant when the biodiversity associated with them is maintained intact. Plants take in water through their roots and store it aboveground in their structures. Water is then slowly delivered back into the atmosphere to fall as rain again somewhere else. Plants also hold the soil in place, which prevents erosion and redistributes water across the landscape. The soil that supports the plants is also a living system, hosting millions upon millions of microbes, tiny animals and fungi that keep it alive, stable, and rejuvenated. In short, water, soil and biodiversity are highly connected. Other water gently drains off the healthy…

THE insistence by the government to remain neutral in the Russian/Ukraine war must be commended. South Africa has assumed the stance of neutrality despite mounting pressure from the US and its European allies to pick a side. There was a furore over the claims made by US Ambassador Reuben Brigety that a Russian ship, Lady R, which had been docked in Simon’s Town Navy Base, had been loaded with arms and ammunition. He made the claims without producing a shred of evidence, a move that led to a huge diplomatic fallout and saw the rand plummeting to its lowest levels. However, he has since said that he had met International Relations and Co-operation Minister Naledi Pandor to “correct any misimpressions left by public remarks”. America does not appreciate South Africa’s…

The UN said yesterday that more than half Sudan’s population now needed aid and protection, as civilians sought shelter from air strikes and sporadic clashes between rival military factions in the Khartoum area. Residents said power had been cut, food was in short supply, and drinking water scarce due to the violent power struggle, now in its second month despite international mediation efforts. In Geneva, the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) said 25 million people needed help – the highest number ever recorded in Sudan. Before the conflict, the figure was around 15 million. It appealed for $2.6 billion (about R50bn) in aid. Signalling no let-up in the conflict between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), anti-aircraft guns and drones could be…

Beijing: A crew of 39 Chinese, Indonesian and Filipino sailors were missing at sea yesterday after a fishing vessel capsized in the Indian Ocean, officials said. Multinational search efforts were under way after Chinese vessel Lu Peng Yuan Yu 028 overturned with 17 Chinese, 17 Indonesians and five Filipinos on board. The capsized vessel is owned by Penglai Jinglu Fishery Company, one of China’s major state-run fishing firms. It left Cape Town on May 5 for Busan in South Korea and the vessel was last located on May 10 south-east of Reunion in the Indian Ocean. China has the world’s largest distant-water fishing fleet, though estimates of its size vary widely. | AFP…

LONDON: For the first time, global temperatures are now more likely than not to breach 1.5°C of warming within the next five years, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said yesterday. But that did not necessarily mean the world would cross the long-term warming threshold of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels set out in the 2015 Paris Agreement. There was a 66% chance of temporarily reaching 1.5°C by 2027, according to the WMO’s latest Global Annual to Decadal Climate Update. Last year’s report put the odds at about 50-50. Partially responsible for boosting the chance of hitting 1.5°C is an El Niño weather pattern expected to develop in the coming months. | Reuters…

PARIS: Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy, 68, lost his appeal against a 2021 conviction for corruption and influence peddling at the Paris Court of Appeals yesterday, prompting his legal team to promise a challenge at France’s highest court. The appeals court upheld a three-year prison sentence. It said two of those years were suspended and that Sarkozy would wear an electronic bracelet instead of going to jail for the remaining year. “Nicolas Sarkozy is innocent of the charges (he has been convicted of),” defence lawyer Jacqueline Laffont said. “We will not give up this fight”. | Reuters…

A WOMAN who was divorced from her husband has approached the court wanting her divorce to be rescinded after realising she would forfeit assets and spousal maintenance in the divorce settlement. The couple were married in community of property and had two children. In September 2021, the pair decided to end their relationship and the husband served his wife with divorce papers. The wife did not defend the divorce as they had entered into a verbal settlement agreement. The husband proceeded to have the divorce action enrolled and it was heard on an unopposed basis. In November 2021, a divorce decree dissolving the marriage between the parties incorporating a settlement agreement was granted. However, the wife later realised that the divorce affected her spousal maintenance and forfeiture of assets. She…

A poultry company’s appeal against a letter by the Minister of Agriculture giving the Food Safety Agency the mandate to conduct inspections and discretion to determine fees, has been dismissed by the Supreme Court of Appeal. The Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries at the time, had issued a letter by which the “Agency for Food Safety” was designated as an assignee in terms of the Agricultural Product Standards Act (the Act). But poultry company, Top Lay Egg Co-Op Ltd, approached the high court for a declarator and review order. According to the judgment, the purpose of the act is to ensure that products sold to the public are in accordance with the prescribed class or grade, comply with the prescribed standards, and are packed, marked and labelled accordingly, do…

THE case against the group of suspects, including South Cape TVET College former employers who were accused of enriching themselves with R24.1 million meant for major construction projects, has been transferred to the George Regional Court for pre-trial. Eight people were arrested by the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team last month on charges of corruption and fraud, alternatively theft. A ninth person, Zukiswa Ziqu former chief financial officer (CFO) at the college, was arrested last and has now been released on R5000 bail. “The matter against all the other eight accused, who had also appeared on May 11 was postponed to July 5, 2023 to appear alongside Ziqu for Pre-trial at the George Regional Court,” said Hawks spokesperson Zinzi Hani. The accused include former college CEO and principal Luvuyo…

YOUR Monday edition “Section 194 committee under pressure to complete Mkhwebane enquiry” refers: Mkhwebane has taken a leaf out of the Zuma hat. In essence, skating, postponing and confusing inquiries of this nature has become a South African sport. It is even easier for Mkhwebane in that she has had access to over R30 million to pay for her lawyers. Mkhwebane can litigate luxuriously and at her leisure. Although the court had said that Mkhwebane was entitled to legal representation, it did not specify that the state or the public protector had to pay for this legal representation. Furthermore, it appears that Mkhwebane has given instructions to her lawyers to stretch this litigation out as far as possible. If the stretching out of the case is carefully played it will…

While chatting to a friend recently, he showed me an email he had again received from Jessie Duarte. The former deputy secretary-general (DSG) of the ANC died last July. “I’m still getting these emails,” he said. The DSG had been alerted some time before her death that her emails had been hacked. My response was to show him an email I had received earlier in the day, from “appel.com”, requesting me to update my mail or my account would be shut down. The infamous link was just below it. By now, all of us should know about phishing emails. Often, institutions such as our banks and Sars send us reminders about how we should be careful about being scammed. In the age of the internet, the small-scale incidents of what…

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is expected to end his 12-year exile from the Arab League this week at a summit in Saudi Arabia, which championed his return over the objections of other regional leaders. Assad’s invitation to tomorrow’s summit in Jeddah signals his return to the fold after more than a decade of isolation since his government’s brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protests in 2011 triggered a war that has killed more than 500 000 people. Analysts say it also shows the clout of Saudi Arabia, which is casting itself as a peacemaker and asserting itself in multiple crises across the Middle East. Beyond rekindling ties with the Assad government, the summit is expected to devote energy to two conflicts: the month-old showdown between two generals in Sudan and the eight-year-old…

Former Pakistan prime minister and leader of the Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, Imran Khan, yesterday claimed that the police had surrounded his house as he was addressing party workers via video link, and feared that the country was heading towards the path of destruction. In a major blow to the party, former federal minister and close aide of Khan, Aamer Mehmood Kiani, yesterday announced that he would be quitting politics after reports emerged that the party was involved in May 9 vandalism during which military installations were also attacked. The former health minister is the second PTI leader to jump ship after Member of the National Assembly, Mahmood Baqi Maulvi. Khan was arrested from the premises of the Islamabad High Court on May 9, after which the party’s supporters…

Lille: Thieves yesterday smashed a car into the doors of a French Louis Vuitton store for the second time this year to steal designer handbags and other valuables, police said. The luxury shop in the centre of Lille in north-east France had been targeted already in January when a gang made off with most of the goods inside. Yesterday’s theft happened at dawn, with the thieves avoiding bollards placed on the pavement in front of the Art Deco building to prevent a repeat of January’s smash-and-grab operation. The car “crashed into the facade”, police said, without mentioning the value of the losses for the company, owned by France’s wealthiest man, Bernard Arnault. | AFP…

Washington: The black population in the US experienced more than 1.63 million excess deaths and over 80 million excess years of life lost, when compared with the white population over the past two decades, according to a new study. After a period of progress in reducing disparities, differences between the black and white populations worsened in 2020. From 1999 to 2020, the disproportionately higher mortality rates in black males and females resulted in 997 623 and 628 464 excess deaths, respectively. Heart disease had the highest excess mortality rates, and the excess years of potential life lost rates were largest among infants and middle-aged adults, the study said. | IANS…

QATARI banker Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani has made an improved bid to secure Manchester United from the Glazer family, a source close to the bid told AFP late on Tuesday. Sheikh Jassim is in a bidding war with British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe after the pair emerged as the main contenders to buy the Premier League giants. Ratcliffe appeared to be the front runner when a third round of bidding closed last month. INEOS chemical company founder Ratcliffe, a boyhood United fan, had reportedly placed a higher valuation on the club as he seeks a majority stake. However, his bid could allow for executive co-chairmen Avram and Joel Glazer to remain invested in the Red Devils - a move that would be deeply unpopular with supporters. By contrast, Sheikh…