Inhaltsverzeichnis für 2023-08-30 in Mercury

PARLIAMENT moved a step closer yesterday in finalising the appointment of a successor to suspended Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane when the ad hoc committee recommended her deputy, Kholeka Gcaleka. But the DA wants the recruitment started afresh because it says none of the eight candidates interviewed is suitable for appointment. The official opposition made the call moments after the committee deliberated on the interviews of candidates and adopted a report for submission to the National Assembly. The committee initially eliminated five of the interviewed candidates, leaving Gcaleka along with Pension Fund Adjudicator Muvhango Lukhaimane and former Human Rights Commission CEO Tseliso Thipanyane to be considered for the job. Thipanyane was found to have vast experience in Chapter 9 institutions and the ability to execute the mandate of the Office of…

IT WAS sad to see that the smaller parties like the DLC, Truly Alliance and PRM were voting with the ANC to approve over R15 million spending of ratepayers’ money on festivities related to Arts and Culture, during the council meeting on August 24. This is an insult to hard-working ratepayers who deserve basic service delivery, but the municipality always provides the reason for lack of service delivery, is due to lack of funding. The Department of Arts and Culture has its own budget for the promotion of Arts and Culture. So, why does the municipality have to provide funding for these festivals when the residents of eThekwini are living in appalling conditions? To add insult to injury, if the majority of officials were competent and skilled at the municipality,…

Trying to prove anything with facts to far-right Trump devotees, is an exercise in futility. So these are the last facts that I will be giving regarding the 2020 US Elections. It’s been disproved that there were 37 000 missing ballots in Fulton County. There were 63 election cases filed by Trump and his unhinged lawyers and they lost all of them. Some of those Judges were appointed by Trump himself. Dominion sued and won against Fox News for allegations they made regarding their voting machines and settled for $800 million and an apology. Eric Croomer of Dominion, has a defamation lawsuit pending against the Trump Campaign as does Smartmatic, who have a case pending with Fox as well. Clinton Curtis the computer expert, gave evidence against the voting machines…

Police in Limpopo have arrested a 32-year-old man for impersonating a member of the SANDF after he was found wearing a military uniform. He was also in possession of unlicensed firearms. The man was arrested on Sunday night. “According to information, the members of the crime prevention unit were conducting routine patrols when they came across a man wearing an SANDF uniform, driving a silver Toyota Corolla along Mokopane main road,” Limpopo SAPS spokesperson Colonel Malesela Ledwaba said. “The man was unable to identify himself or provide proof of him being a member of the SANDF, or give the details of his superiors,” said Ledwaba. Police officers proceeded to search the Toyota Corolla and found two unlicensed firearms, a pellet gun, two empty magazines, and another military uniform. The man…

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime says electronic waste (e-waste) is the fastest-growing waste stream in the world. It says the waste covers a host of electronic items, such as personal computers, televisions, mobile phones, and printers, as well as electrical goods such as refrigerators and air-conditioning units. “Globally, the United Nations Environment Programme (Unep) estimates that up to 50 million tons of e-waste is generated every year, with only 10% of it being recycled,” it said. Patricia Schröder, spokesperson for Circular Energy, a Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE)-registered producer responsibility organisation for waste from electrical and electronic equipment organisations, said illegal e-waste dumping had far-reaching implications. Schröder said it posed a threat to the health of communities. “It also contaminates soil, water, and air. To…

Dr Nandipha Magudumana, who is applying for bail at the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court, claims she was forced by her lover, “Facebook rapist” Thabo Bester, to leave South Africa. Magudumana is among the 12 accused who have been charged with helping the convicted rapist and murderer escape from Mangaung Correctional Centre. A weeping Magudumana sat in the dock while her affidavit was read out, detailing her personal circumstances. In her affidavit, she said: “On or about March 17, 2023, I was in the company of accused number five (Bester). I was instructed and commanded by accused number five to get into a vehicle and leave the premises for a destination unknown to me at the time. I refused and wanted an explanation, but he forced me into a vehicle. I succumbed…

Don’t rely on BRICS: Time for Africa to find its own way forward The 15th BRICS summit ended on August 24, 2023, and six new countries were admitted to the fold. After long periods of speculation about ‘disagreements’ about welcoming new members, the outgoing BRICS chair Cyril Ramaphosa laid the issue to bed. From 1 January 2024, BRICS will add Argentina, Ethiopia, Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Local and foreign media hailed this development as the strengthening of a ‘multipolar world order’. Without many people being aware, the vocabulary of international politics is loaded with terminologies and phrases whose meanings are not quite known. These concepts are frequently used to the point that their supposed meanings appear normal, whereas their purpose has always been “to impose a liberal…

Sudan’s army chief yesterday visited Egypt on his first trip abroad since the outbreak of war in April, with the latest violence killing dozens of civilians in battle-scarred Darfur. As Abdel Fattah al-Burhan headed for talks with key ally Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, medics and witnesses said 39 civilians were killed, most of them women and children, in shelling of Nyala, Sudan’s second city in South Darfur state where fighting between the army and paramilitary forces has intensified. Burhan swopped his trademark military fatigues for a suit and tie and flew from Port Sudan to El-Alamein on Egypt’s north coast, where he said his forces faced “rebel groups who have committed war crimes in their attempt to seize power”. In their meeting, Sisi’s office said he had “reaffirmed Egypt’s…

Hundreds of thousands of people are being trafficked by criminal gangs and forced to work in scam centres and other illegal online operations that have sprung up across Southeast Asia in recent years, a UN Human Rights Office report said yesterday. The report cited “credible sources” estimating that at least 120 000 people across Myanmar and 100 000 in Cambodia may be trapped in scam operations, with other criminal-owned enterprises in Laos, the Philippines and Thailand ranging from crypto-fraud to online gambling. “People who are coerced into working in these scamming operations endure inhumane treatment while being forced to carry out crimes. They are victims. They are not criminals,” said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk. Cambodian police spokesperson Chhay Kim Khoeun said he had not seen the…

SAO PAULO: Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said yesterday that he wanted to discuss the possibility of making changes to the UN Security Council with his US counterpart, Joe Biden. Lula, who has long campaigned for Brazil and other countries to be permanently included in the council, is expected to meet Biden on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly next month in New York. Last week, during a summit of the BRICS group of emerging nations in South Africa, the leftist leader called on fellow BRICS members China and Russia to support more countries entering the council as permanent members. Lula suggested that countries such as Brazil, India, Germany, Japan and South Africa should be made permanent members. He also said that BRICS members had agreed to…

Kano: Seven people were killed and two others injured when a building collapsed in a camp for people displaced by jihadist violence in north-east Nigeria’s Borno state, militia sources said yesterday. A classroom sheltering scores of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the garrison town of Monguno caved on Monday following torrential rains the previous day, the sources said. Monguno is home to thousands of IDPs who fled their towns and villages to escape the jihadist insurgency. They live in makeshift camps under military and militia protection. Around two million people have been displaced since the rebellion began in 2009. | AFP…

There is life after Shabnim Ismail, according to her long-time partner in crime, fellow Proteas Women’s seam bowler Ayabonga Khaka. Ismail led the Proteas seam-bowling attack with aplomb for 16 years since making her international debut back in 2007. But even though the fiery fast bowler seemed to be in her prime at the T20 World Cup in South Africa earlier this year – where she was still clocking speeds close to 130km/h – the 34-year-old opted to retire from international cricket a few months ago. Khaka, along with Ismail and Marizanne Kapp, formed the famous “Three Musketeers”, with the trio regularly hunting down opposition batting line-ups. But with Ismail retired, there is now an increased responsibility on Khaka and Kapp to shoulder the burden, although the long-limbed seamer believes…

DEMOTED EFF member Vusi Khoza says he will abide by the decision of the party’s top structure to remove him as an MP, following his failure to organise buses to transport members to the party’s birthday celebrations. The former EFF KZN leader was one of the members banned from attending the party’s 10th anniversary celebrations at FNB Stadium in Gauteng in July as he had not organised transport for members and supporters. On Sunday, EFF leader Julius Malema announced that 210 public representatives, including MPs, MPLs and councillors, who had failed to provide transport had been asked to resign, failing which they would face disciplinary action. Khoza said that while the decision may seem harsh, he had accepted it as he was part of the meeting in February that decided…

The significance of the baleful and gleeful reactions of many in response to Trump being arrested and booked in Fulton County, Georgia, reflects the degree to which the mainstream media have effected thought control in America and elsewhere – including some who read this newspaper. Repetition of the narrative manufactured by the mainstream media and its political and institutional allies, has conditioned millions into accepting that Trump is a criminal and rightfully must be prevented from ever being elected again. Through relentless repetition, varied only by tone and volume, alternative views and dissenting facts have been pilloried as “extremist”, “deplorable” and “fascist”. The consequence of that process was starkly apparent by the vindictive, Pavlovian reactions of talk show hosts and their toadies in screening Trump’s mugshot released by the Fulton…

Former Joburg mayor and DA leader Dr Mpho Phalatse has traded her political career for another shot at the medical profession. Phalatse resigned as the DA proportional representation (PR) councillor in the country’s biggest municipality. She tendered her resignation in a letter which was addressed to DA Joburg caucus leader Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku last week. She said even though she had resigned, she would remain a member of the party. Phalatse was removed as Joburg mayor through a motion of no confidence tabled by the African Transformation Movement, the African Independent Congress and Al Jama-ah in January. Phalatse, who left the medical profession to become a full-time politician in 2016, said she would not rule out a return to active politics in due time. She said she did not take the…

ECONOMISTS and Agri SA said that a reduction in inflation to 4.7% in July which is the lowest in two years is welcome news, but there won’t be a drop in food prices just yet. Jaco Minnaar, the president of Agri SA, said the drop in inflation had little impact on farmers except for a smaller increase in labour costs as salary increases were generally linked to consumer price inflation. Minnaar added that the index that did have an impact on farmers/producers was the producer price index (PPI), which stood at 4.8% year-on-year for June 2023, down from 7.3% in May. “PPI certainly slowed down, but it still means that products increased by 4.8% year-on-year. This will mainly have an effect on manufacturing/processing of foods, like dairy products, processed meat,…

KwaZulu-Natal provincial police commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi has spoken out against police officers doing grocery shopping in full uniform, saying that such behaviour was not acceptable and called on the community to take pictures of the offending officers and report them. The remarks were made at a recent meeting with Community Policing Forum (CPF) bodies. “A typical behaviour is that police officers are not supposed to go shopping in uniform, including these generals. If you find them at (stores) dressed in uniform, take a picture of that person and report to it us,” he said. He asked CPFs and the public to be on the watch for marked police vehicles that were out of their policing precinct. “(If there is) a police vehicle, if it is marked in the name…

It is common knowledge that the election of minority party mayors in the metros of Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni was the ANC’s desperate attempt to gain control of the budget of these metros by any means necessary. In Joburg, the coalition of the ANC, EFF, PA, and others was never based on shared values and principles. The removal of the then mayor Dr Mpho Phalatse and the election of Al Jama-ah’s Thapelo Amad did not happen because of the ANC-EFF coalition sharing common values. This was a consequence of the instability within the then governing multi-party coalition which saw the PA switching sides out of dissatisfaction. Even after the PA had left the rainbow coalition, the party was never ambiguous about its non-alignment with the new group it had joined. From…

Residents along Florida’s west coast were under orders to evacuate yesterday ahead of Hurricane Idalia’s arrival, as forecasters said the storm was strengthening over an exceptionally warm Gulf of Mexico and would likely become “extremely dangerous” before landfall. Idalia, which the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said had become a Category 1 hurricane overnight, was churning yesterday morning hundreds of kilometres off Florida’s south-west, and bringing tropical storm conditions to western Cuba. Warm Gulf waters near 31°C are expected to turbocharge Idalia into an “extremely dangerous major hurricane before landfall on Wednesday (today),” the NHC said. Major hurricanes are usually a Category 3 or higher on the five-level Saffir-Simpson scale – storms that the NHC says can cause “devastating” and “catastrophic” damage. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis urged those in the…

The BRITISH government was working with airlines yesterday to help ensure passengers stranded in airports across Europe can get home after an air traffic control glitch caused widespread disruption to flights that is expected to last for days. More than 1 500 flights were cancelled on Monday – a public holiday in parts of Britain, and one of the busiest travel days as the school holidays draw to a close – when air traffic controllers were forced to switch to manual systems due to a technical problem. That left thousands of passengers stuck at airports in Europe and further afield. Mark Harper, the transport secretary, warned it would take days to resolve the issues, even though the fault was fixed after a few hours on Monday, as cancellations hit…

WASHINGTON: Manufacturing giant 3M said yesterday it has reached a $6 billion (about R110bn) settlement over claims by US military veterans that its earplugs were faulty and failed to protect their hearing. The mediated agreement will see 3M “contribute a total amount of $6bn between 2023 and 2029, which is structured under the agreement to include $5bn in cash and $1bn in 3M common stock,” the company said. In 2008, 3M acquired Aearo Technologies, which sold the earplugs to the American military between 2003 and 2015. 3M is hoping this agreement draws a line under the long-running legal saga, which has seen the company hit by thousands of lawsuits by veterans complaining of hearing loss. | AFP…

SEOUL: The US, South Korea and Japan staged joint naval missile defence drills off the Korean peninsula yesterday, as North Korea denounced the “gang bosses” of Washington and its allies for increasing the risk of nuclear war. The three nations staged exercises in international waters off South Korea’s southern Jeju island to improve their ability to detect and track targets, and share information in the event of provocation by Pyongyang, South Korea’s military said. The drills come as North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has called for “radically” modernising the weapons and equipment of his country’s naval forces. | Reuters…

THE president of the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry has questioned the country’s approach to addressing the energy crisis, saying billions of rand were being spent on renewable energy when cheap coal was available. Prasheen Maharaj made the remarks while addressing the business community in Durban on Monday night. The event was attended by Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) Minister Ebrahim Patel, Deputy Minister Nomalungelo Gina and eThekwini mayor Mxolisi Kaunda. Maharaj said the country needed reliable and affordable energy to support the industrial base. “We have an abundance of cheap coal, yet we are spending billions of rand to create expensive and unreliable renewable energy,” said Maharaj. He said developed continents had fossil fuel problems. “Europe is the most urbanised continent, with about 70% of its land area…

Are you married to a man or dating a man who could harm you or someone you love? Dangerous relationships are easier to endure than address. It is not surprising that the murder of a wife, an ex-wife or lover usually takes others by surprise. Secrecy, cover-up and denial are the hallmarks of toxic binds. Some women could use a set of criteria to evaluate whether they are involved with a man capable of committing a violent crime against them. Accurate or not, my list could help a woman escape a potentially abusive relationship before it destroys her. Men capable of killing a “loved” one leave trails of early indicators, like rose petals around an open grave, before they commit a horrible crime. Perhaps someone’s life will be saved because…

The National Freedom Party (NFP) is proud to hail the remarkable achievements of the recent 15th BRICS Summit held in Sandton. The summit, attended by more than 60 heads of state, including Brazil, India, China, Russia and South Africa, among others, demonstrated the strength and unity of emerging economies as they discussed strategies to enhance global trade, co-operation, and a fair world order. One of the pivotal discussions was the comprehensive reform of the UN Security Council. The BRICS declaration endorsed a vital principle: greater participation of emerging and developing nations, including Africa, Asia, and Latin America, in the UN and its Security Council. The NFP stands steadfastly in support of a more democratic, representative, effective, and efficient UN, which adequately addresses current global challenges and empowers developing countries to…

CIVIL society organisation AfriForum has lashed out at the SABC, saying it had banned its advert calling for support of its court challenge regarding the “Kill the Boer” song. The song, from the Struggle against apartheid, has been sung by the EFF including most recently at its 10th anniversary celebrations. The Equality Court ruled last year that the song did not constitute hate speech. AfriForum is challenging this decision in court. With the court date for Julius Malema and the EFF to return to the Supreme Court of Appeal on September 4, AfriForum launched a campaign calling for the public to support its court challenge by donating R10. However, AfriForum said the radio advertisement had been banned by the SABC. The organisation’s CEO, Kallie Kriel, described the SABC’s decision…

The Estina dairy farm fraud and corruption trial is set to start next year. The trial is set to take place from August 5 to September 13, 2024 in the Bloemfontein High Court. According to Sindisiwe Seboka, the National Prosecuting Authority’s Investigating Directorate spokesperson, former minister of mineral resources Mosebenzi Zwane and 15 co-accused face charges of contravening the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA), fraud, corruption, and money laundering. They appeared on charges related to monies paid by the Free State Department of Agriculture to a company called Estina. It’s alleged that Estina received R280 million from July 2012 to April 2014. Investigations also revealed that no proper tender procedures were followed with regards to the decision to fund the proposed Vrede Dairy Project. “Estina did not honour its obligations…

An eThekwini business seminar was held yesterday by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition and eThekwini Municipality in Durban to provide information to entrepreneurs on funding and assistance available from government and agencies to grow small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs). Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Nomalungelo Gina, said the event was part of the department’s initiatives to create awareness among business owners of the opportunities available for them. “We are sharing information that the government has and how we can help businesses. It’s not just about helping financially, we assist with advice on what is needed to make a business thrive.’’ She added that the department was not only targeting SMMEs and had an engagement with the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry on how…

AS THE curtain falls on Women’s Month 2023, there is no better time to reflect on whether inroads were made in safeguarding the welfare of women. Looking back, organisations put women at the forefront of several programmes completed during the month of August. Stories about women achievers made headlines in the past few weeks. However, the rights of women will not mean much until the women feel protected by the men around them, in whatever capacity. Disappointingly, in releasing crime statistics – coincidentally during Women’s Month – Police Minister Bheki Cele said sexual assaults continued to take place in the homes of victims and perpetrators. In terms of the crime figures, the majority of sexual assaults are still taking place between people that are familiar with each other. Yes, the…

Zimbabwe’s main opposition yesterday called for fresh elections after its presidential candidate lost to incumbent Emmerson Mnangagwa in a vote it lashed as flawed and illegal. The Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) urged the AU and southern Africa’s regional bloc to help mediate a solution to the crisis that followed last Wednesday’s vote. “Zimbabwe needs a fresh and broad and proper election to exit the current crisis,” the CCC’s deputy spokesperson Ostallos Siziba told a press conference in Harare. Mnangagwa, 80, won a second term with 52.6% against 44% for the CCC’s Nelson Chamisa, 45, according to official results announced late on Saturday by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission. International observers said the vote fell short of democratic standards. Balloting was troubled by delays, purportedly caused by the printing of ballot…

LOS ANGELES: Britney Spears is said to be facing a “massive legal fee” that could put a strain on her finances. The singer, 41, is said to have powerhouse lawyers Mathew Rosengart and Laura Wasser on her side after her estranged husband Sam Asghari, 29, filed for divorce on August 16, citing “irreconcilable differences”. But sources have warned that bills for her team, which could come to $2 000 an hour for both attorneys, could hit her fortune as she has no other streams of income aside from the fee she was paid for her memoir, The Woman in Me. | Bang Showbiz…

ATHENS: A wildfire burning in north-eastern Greece for 11 days has destroyed an area larger than New York City, the EU-backed Copernicus Climate Change Service has said. Fuelled by gale-force winds and hot weather, the fire that began near the city of Alexandroupolis quickly spread across the Evros region, killing at least 20 people last week in Europe’s deadliest blaze this summer. In a post on social media platform X, the Copernicus Emergency Management Service said the fire had ravaged at least 808.7km2. New York City takes up 778.2km2. Authorities warned that risks from the fire remained high yesterday. | Reuters…

Sydney: A parasitic roundworm typically found in snakes was pulled “alive and wriggling” from a woman’s brain in a stomach-churning medical first, Australian doctors said yesterday. Baffled doctors performed an MRI scan on the 64-year-old Australian woman after she began suffering memory lapses, noticing an “atypical lesion” at the front of her brain. It was an 8cm roundworm, called Ophidascaris robertsi, which was a common parasite in kangaroos and carpet pythons, but not humans. Researchers believe the woman was infected after foraging for edible shrubs near her house, which were likely contaminated with parasitic larvae shed in snake faeces. | AFP…