Inhaltsverzeichnis für 2023-11-07 in Mercury

DIS-CHEM has pledged R12 million, R1m for every point scored in the Rugby World Cup (RWC) final match, to be directed towards tackling South African challenges. The retail pharmacy’s CEO Rui Morais was so inspired by the sentiment change in South Africa following Saturday’s Springbok RWC victory, that he penned a letter to Springbok captain Siya Kolisi and his team. The letter celebrated the big shift in sentiment brought about by the Springbok’s momentous fourth RWC win. Dis-Chem said that as a national brand committed to doing national good, it would commit to fund one sustainable and measurable project, per month, at R1m, over 12 months. “Each project, which will be identified with input from Dis-Chem staff, will address relevant concerns. This corporate pledge is separate from the support…

Robert Gumede appears to have swayed Tongaat’s business rescue prectitioners to make him the preferred bidder TERRIS Consortium, fronted by Mpu- malanga businessman, Robert Gu- mede, may have swayed Tongaat Hulett’s business rescue practitioners to emerge as the preferred bidder for the troubled South African agro-processing firm’s assets on account of financial backing from the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) under questionable circumstances. Business rescue practitioners in Tongaat Hulett, with a net debt of R7.6 billion and currently under business rescue, has over the past months confirmed Kagera, a Tanzanian outfit as the preferred bidder. It also emerged this month that RGS, a Mozambican outfit had also been enlisted as a second preferred bidder. Now, Gumede’s Terris Consortium, which has previously complained that Kagera had been wrongly picked as…

INVESTORS are most interested in investing in Disney stock, despite ongoing strikes at the mass media company, according to an in-depth analysis of TikTok and Instagram posts. New research revealed that Disney was the most talked about stock on social media as the entertainment giant had the highest number of videos published and viewed, and the most hashtags used across TikTok and Instagram. The findings come from a new study by online trading provider City Index, which analysed every company in the S&P 500 based on how much content on their stocks and shares had been created and viewed on TikTok and Instagram. City Index is an award-winning, multi-asset financial services provider with 40 years’ experience in supporting clients, providing instant and secure access to global markets. The new study…

ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa says in spite of the country’s austerity approach, it is essential to recruit more police. Ramaphosa, speaking at the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union’s (Popcru’s) 10th National Congress in Durban yesterday, said the country had limited resources but could not compromise on front line services. Popcru president Zizamele Cebek-hulu had earlier criticised the government for its austerity approach and for being desensitised and not listening to police concerns over lack of resources and manpower to fight crime. “We have already seen the severe effects of this crisis and spending cuts on our members, who serve at the front line against crime but continuously struggle to make ends meet, and are forced to return home to shacks. “Our members protect and serve our country every…

I see that the AIDC (Alternative Information Development Centre) is advocating for higher taxation of the very rich. Perhaps they are not aware that South Africans are overtaxed already. Tax them higher and they will simply leave the country, as many have done already. It is perhaps not a bad idea that another look be taken at fringe benefits which really should be taxable. Fringe benefits like free houses or a very low rent, drivers, bodyguards not paid for by themselves, free water and electricity, motor cars for themselves and bodyguards, cheap meals, etc. With the many ministers, deputy ministers, MECs, etc in this country, I am sure quite a few billion can be collected. A case is also made out that the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF) surpluses could…

WOW! Didn’t this guy read about the trouble the president of the Spanish Football Federation got into for kissing the skipper of his women’s team after they won the World Cup? He got suspended from Fifa and is being criticised by the feminists. Now Croatia’s foreign minister has sparked similar controversy by greeting his German counterpart with a kiss, at an EU ministers meeting in Berlin, according to the BBC. Gordan Grlić-Radman shook hands with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, then leaned forward to kiss her. He’s been criticised in Croatian media reports, with women’s rights activist Rada Boric describing the incident as “highly inappropriate”. Radman defends the moment as a “warm, human approach to a colleague”. It was “maybe an awkward moment” and he apologised "to whoever took it…

The word and concept of apartheid was invented, hatched and created right here in South Africa. No such word … no such formal concept existed anywhere in the world prior to colonial Afrikaners displacing the locals here. Oppression, suppression and discrimination, of course, existed from the days of Adam. But it was inconceivable, impractical to use religion, race and ethnicity to separate God’s creations. In spite of British supremacy in India, and in many other colonies, actual intermixing of races was not easy to prevent. It was therefore not really illegal for whites intermarrying with local Indians. The so-called emergence of “Anglo- Indians” is proof. Even here, the creation of coloured people was evidence of race mixing across the colour line. Until the formal introduction of the Immorality Act which…

South Africans breathed a sigh of relief on November 1, when petrol prices fell by almost R2, but the cost of fuel is still worryingly high. Looking at historical price adjustments according to the AA, the cost of petrol has increased 21 times in the past three years, and it has gone down just 12 times. Between November 2020 and now, the price of a litre of 93 Unleaded petrol rose by R9.56, from R13.88 to R23.44 an increase of 68.8% in just three years. For the record, 93 ULP is just 87 cents more expensive than it was this time last year and R4.12 more than two years ago. The biggest increase of the past three years was the R1.71 hike implemented in September this year, while the…

MURDER, threats, violence and intimidation directed at the workers of the eThekwini Municipality are a serious issue that will undermine the municipality’s ability to function and deliver services, say staff members and labour unions. Seven staff from the water and sanitation unit have been killed in less than two years, some murdered inside their offices. Another issue is the hijackings of municipal vehicles that leave workers injured or traumatised, which has resulted in water, sanitation and electricity technicians having to rely on security escorts to attend to service delivery matters. The Mercury yesterday spoke to staff, senior managers and a union leader about the attacks directed at municipal staff that had left them on edge, following the murder of Emmanuel Ntuli last Friday. Ntuli had been under protection for…

A WAR of words has erupted between the national ANC Women's League (ANCWL) and the ANC KwaZulu-Natal leadership after the former accused party provincial chairperson Siboniso Duma of undermining Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube. The league has accused Duma, who is also the MEC for Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs, of undermining the premier during the Rugby World Cup trophy tour on Saturday. A video circulating on social media shows Duma lifting the trophy with a Springbok player, a privilege many felt belonged to the premier. In a statement, the ANCWL said it was deeply concerned with “Duma’s ongoing and deeply regrettable actions” which it said had repeatedly undermined the authority and the leadership of the premier, Dube-Ncube. It said these actions not only undermined Dube, but betrayed the principles of…

As the nation gears up for the festive season, it is imperative that law enforcement heightens its vigilance to safeguard citizens from falling victim to crime. During the Christmas period, criminal activities, including burglaries, robberies, hijackings, ATM bombings and cash-in-transit heists, tend to surge across the country. According to research conducted by Clearview Fencing, a private security company, the cities most plagued by housebreakings are Durban, Pietermaritzburg and Rustenberg. Following closely are Pretoria, Vereeniging, Gqeberha, Johannesburg, East London, Polokwane and Nelspruit. Based on data from the international organisation Statista, Clearview Fencing has rated South Africa as the most perilous country on the continent, with Pretoria taking the lead, followed by Durban, Johannesburg, Gqeberha and Cape Town. It is evident that the lack of safety poses a significant deterrent to tourists.…

London: A British Sikh, who was summoned to serve as a juror at a crown court, has said that a security guard did not let him in due to his kirpan – a religious dagger which has to be carried at all times by baptised Sikhs. Jatinder Singh said he felt “embarrassed and discriminated against” after he was prevented from taking part in jury service at the Birmingham Crown Court recently, the BBC reported. Singh, the president at Guru Nanak Gurdwara in Smethwick and secretary general of the Sikh Council UK, said this was the second time he was called for the jury service. His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service apologised.…

Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi has begun a hunger strike in her Iranian prison in protest at limits on medical care for her and other inmates, as well as the obligation for women to wear the hijab in the Islamic republic, her family said yesterday. Veteran rights activist Mohammadi, 51, held in Tehran’s Evin prison, was awarded the Nobel prize in October “for her fight against the oppression of women in Iran”. “We are concerned about Narges’s health,” her family said. Mohammadi is refusing to wear a hijab, the head covering obligatory for women in public spaces after Iran’s 1979 Islamic revolution. Prison authorities have refused to transfer Mohammadi, who suffers from heart and lung conditions, to a hospital outside Evin for treatment. Her family said: “Narges is protesting…

The Proteas have reached astonishing highs during this World Cup, but have also seen that euphoria tempered by some truly abject and embarrassing displays, the most recent a mauling at the hands of India. In the space of a week, South Africa saw a team go from a 190-run victory to a 243-run defeat, as they were handed a humbling at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Sunday, just three days after decimating the 2015 and 2019 runners-up New Zealand in Pune. The defeat was a reminder of the nature of this particular South African team – a team with extreme highs and distressing lows. From smashing a record-breaking 428 to sinking to 83 all out, the Proteas have produced a mixed bag of performances in one tournament. “To be fair,…

RENERGEN, owner and operator of South Africa’s first liquid natural gas and helium onshore production project, saw its share price fall more than 5% yesterday following the announcement on Friday that its CEO is moving temporarily to the US to oversee the Nasdaq initial public offering (IPO). The share price closed 8.13% lower at R13.10 on the JSE yesterday, down from R14.26 on Friday, from R18 three months ago and from R27.50 a year ago. The company recently had to release additional information on its operations after it faced online criticism, most notably from shareholder activist Albie Cilliers, who questioned the sustainability of the project and the transparency of the company. The company said that capital to unlock the funding for Phase 2 of the project, to significantly expand helium…

REDEFINE Properties raised its dividend only 1.9% to 43.80 cents for the year to August 31, but its management believes there is cause for optimism that the property cycle has bottomed. They believe 2024 will be a turning point when interest rates begin to ease. Although the environment was uncertain, the group forecast financial 2024 distributable income to be between 48c and 52c a share. CEO Andrew König said in an online presentation, however, the reason for the flat forecast was due to the prediction of interest rates only declining towards the end of 2024, outside their 2024 financial year. He said the group would by then have “taken the pain” of the high interest rate environment, and would benefit more from lower interest rates through a “multiplier…

EXEMPLAR Reitail, the listed property fund focused on rural and town- ship retail, declared an interim dividend of 64.272 cents per share for the six months to August 31, 6.47% lower than the same period a year before. Exemplar’s 26 retail assets have a combined gross lettable area (GLA) of 414 420 square metres. Revenue increased 16.75% to R581.52 million. Portfolio GLA in- creased to 414 420 square metres from 407 942 square metres with the opening of the final phase of Edendale Mall after a rebuild. Growth in rental and recovery income was partially due to the recently added KwaBhaca Mall, Bizana Walk and Mamelodi Square, as well as the opening of the third and final phase of Edendale Mall. On a like-for-like basis…

The Hawks have made arrests in the Phala Phala farm housebreaking case where millions in foreign currency was stolen from the farm owned by President Cyril Ramaphosa. An amount of around $580 000 was stolen in February 2020 during a housebreaking at the president’s farm. The money was reportedly stuffed into furniture on the farm. The spokesperson for the Hawks, which is known as the Directorate for Priority Crimes, Colonel Katlego Mogale, said the two suspects, aged 30 and 39, are set to appear in the Bela Bela Magistrate’s Court in Limpopo today. The suspects were arrested on Sunday and yesterday, and are charged with housebreaking and theft. “The pair was arrested in Rustenburg and Bela Bela, respectively, by members of the National Serious Corruption Investigation unit in relation to…

The continued Israeli aggression against the people of Palestine is not a war, it’s a massacre and genocide to obliterate a people who have been subjected to 75 years of injustice, oppression, torture, deprivation, dispossession, and prevented entry into the land of their birth. Their olive plantations and crops destroyed, their houses demolished, their children beaten and imprisoned, while marauding settlers illegally occupy their land. They have been blockaded in the largest open air prison in the world, affecting 2.3 million people, preventing economic progress and development. They suffer physical and emotional trauma and compromised mental well-being. The Israeli army has shown immense “bravery” over the years attacking unarmed women, children, the elderly, the ill and the physically challenged. They walk with impunity in their military boots into places of…

THE despicable action of Israel towards innocent civilians for the past 30 days, is unacceptable. Israel’s bombardment of hospitals, schools and UN buildings violates international law. More than 10 000 civilians have been killed with more than 40% of the total being children. Israel has blood on its hands but has the audacity to use its right to self-defence as justification. To add insult to injury, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his ambassador to the UN then equate Hamas’s actions to the genocide of Jews by Hitler during World War II. The continual bombardment by Israel in Gaza is reminiscent of the modus operandi of Hitler’s attempt to exterminate the Jews. Israel’s big brother, the US, has granted it a licence to kill the Palestinians. I have been on the…

The 29th South African Music Awards (Sama29) has a new location. After a few days of uncertainty sparked by the sudden withdrawal of the Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs (Edtea) of KwaZulu-Natal from hosting the event, the organisers announced that a new venue for the music awards has been secured. Sama29 will be staged on November 18 at the SunBet Arena at Time Square, Pretoria. The red carpet kicks off at 4pm, and the awards show will be broadcast live from the Arena on SABC1 from 8pm. The Recording Industry of South Africa (RiSA) announced that Sama29 will be hosted in collaboration with Africa Fest. “It took some nifty footwork and agility to ensure that Sama29 is saved and staged on the set date,” said an elated…

The Global Student Survey 2023 reports that 53% of South African students, the second-highest percentage of any country surveyed, struggle to make friends. It has also been discovered that students all across the world are worried and sleep poorly. Heather Hatlo Porter, head of Chegg.org and chief communications officer of Chegg, Inc, said learners require mental health assistance to maximise their education, and face the future with confidence. Some 67% of South African students say they do not get enough sleep, while 60% experience daily feelings of anxiety. While South African students appear to view generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) as a helpful learning support tool, they still see room for improvement, with 59% of all South African students surveyed calling for the involvement of human expertise in generating answers. At…

The trial date for alleged July unrest instigator, Bonginkosi Gift Khanyile, has been moved to June 3 next year. The State has meanwhile extended his bail. The trial has been set down for two weeks. Yesterday, the National Prosecuting Authority’s provincial spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara explained that the date had to be changed as the initial date was no longer suitable for the State and the accused. She said the State consulted with Khanyile’s legal team and new dates had been agreed on; however, the State was recently informed that the matter had been moved to another court. “The Regional Court President had relocated the matter to another court, and thus another magistrate. “The relocation of matters is an administrative process to address the overcrowding of the court roll and has…

A couple were killed in a hail of bullets in the early hours of yesterday morning. The incident took place in Mzokhulayo, Ndwedwe, on the KwaZulu-Natal North Coast. According to Prem Balram from security company Reaction Unit South Africa, they received a call from residents reporting multiple shots being fired in the vicinity. “Reaction officers were immediately dispatched, and on arrival on scene, the bullet-riddled bodies of a man and a woman were discovered inside a white Ford Ranger bakkie. “The vehicle had been shot multiple times with a high-calibre weapon.” Balram said the motive for the murders had not been confirmed. Provincial police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Nqobile Gwala confirmed Ndwedwe police were investigating a double murder. “Two victims were travelling in a vehicle when they were fatally shot at…

THE ongoing war in the Middle East is spilling over onto every continent on the globe be it via protests, or actual violence. There has been a sharp increase in antisemitism, and islamophobia alike. Two weeks ago, a six-year old Muslim American-Palestinian boy was killed in Chicago. The victim was stabbed 26 times by his landlord, a 71-year-old man in Illinois. Also, the Dagestani airport debacle. The online space is especially toxic, but the owners of the internet are loving it because chaos generates income. Social media, although useful at times, is adding to the furore by facilitating biassed content in an attempt to influence public perception. This is especially true when we look at Israel’s hand in the online space. A number of Tik Tokkers, and influences have come…

SEOUL: South Korea, Japan and the US have agreed to establish a high-level consultative group to block North Korea’s alleged cyberactivities and jointly address global cyberchallenges, the South Korean presidential office said yesterday. “The main content of the agreement is the joint development of measures to block cyberactivity used as a key source of financing for weapons engineering, such as nuclear arms and weapons of mass destruction, conducted by North Korea, as well as strengthening the joint response to global cyberthreats between the three countries. The three countries agreed to establish a high-level mechanism and hold regular quarterly meetings,” the presidential office said.…

Berlin: The armed man breaking into the premises of the Hamburg Airport on Saturday has been detained, and his daughter was freed from his vehicle, Germany’s Hamburg police said. On social media platforms, local police said the man was detained without resistance and his 4-year-old daughter seemed to be unharmed after 18 hours of confinement. On Saturday evening, while the man broke into the premises of the airport with his daughter, he fired two gunshots into the sky. With the police carrying out operations at the airport, all flights from and into Hamburg Airport had been cancelled, Xinhua news agency reported.…

Kaizer Chiefs’ interim coach Cavin Johnson can focus his Soweto derby preparations around five key points, which should equip the team to produce a solid performance, starting with Cape Town Spurs tomorrow, writes Herman Gibbs. 1. No chief up front The team needs a leader up front, one that will trouble opposition defenders and free up fellow attackers to exploit weaknesses in the opposition defence. The strikers in the squad, however, have not inspired confidence. After the club’s wise men recruited Jasond González in August, he was destined to play a key role, yet the Colombian has failed to make an impact. Perhaps Ranga Chivaviro can be given the task of leading the attack. He knows his way around the striking zone, as he proved during his time at Marumo…

GENDER parity in the boards of JSE-listed companies remains an elusive concept overall as men continue to dominate the largest number of higher positions in relation to women. The Status of Gender on JSE-listed boards report revealed that there were 897 male non-executive directors on JSE-listed boards compared to 480 women non-executive directors, with board chairs being 83% male and 17% female. In terms of JSE-listed company CEOs, 226 were men compared to only 18 women, and the ratio of chief financial officers was 164 males to 45 females. The report, which was released yesterday, suggested there has been an improvement in gender representation metrics on these boards, but there remained a lot that needs to be done. Now in its sixth year, the report was compiled from information publicly…

DIVERSIFIED chemicals solutions group, AECI, said it recorded strong results for the nine months to September 30 due to increases in mining explosives sales in Southern Africa, central Africa and Asia Pacific, a weaker exchange rate and new contracts. Revenue and earnings before interest and tax (Ebit) were up compared with the prior period after solid growth in AECI Mining, the group said in a trading update yesterday. There was improved profitability following the fulfilments of new contracts in Asia Pacific and the Rest of Africa. Revenue in AECI Agri Health and AECI Water was higher than the prior period due to higher selling prices and moderately higher sales volumes. However, the lag in cost recovery affected margins, and this was expected to correct in the last quarter of this…

South Africa‘s recall of diplomats from Israel has been welcomed amid a rise in civilian casualties from the Middle Eastern country’s war with the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza. South Africa has long been an advocate for peace in the Middle East and has rallied behind Palestinians, likening their plight to its own under the apartheid regime. Calling the return of diplomats a “normal practice”, International Relations and Co-operation Minister Naledi Pandor said the recall was to determine “whether there is any potential for you to be of assistance and whether the continued relationship is actually able to be sustained in all terms”. South Africa does not have an ambassador in Israel. The country was “extremely concerned at the continued killing of children and innocent civilians” in the Palestinian…

Let me tell you about Jay. Jay knows “unknown” eating spots in our city. Aspire to be on his “let’s meet for lunch” list and you will eat in delightful “holes in walls” where he is known, welcomed and will probably order for you. Jay “leaves the country” without a passport or going more than 15km from his home. Jay is a patient, compassionate listener. He listens without waiting to speak, preach, pontificate, or show off. When Jay does want to speak and tell you of his varied, eventful, and unusual history, ready yourself. He is a trove of delightful stories. Tales of his adventuresome teenage years and his career history, enjoyed with interesting characters in unusual and unexpected places, will have you simultaneously rolling with laughter and reaching…

Soldiers fight wars and civilians are killed, maimed and suffer trauma that often lasts forever. Ironically, it is politicians who ultimately talk solutions while many others often died unnecessarily. Beside politicians, a few businesses decide who benefits. This is the reality where many suffer and a few benefit. Before studying any situation, always consider whose interests are threatened or protected. The Palestinian struggle is no different. Palestinians suffer under Israelis who learnt little humanity from centuries of European oppression. Had Israelis learnt humanity they would have treated Palestinians better. Hitler did to the Jews what Zionists are doing to Palestinians. Nazis forced Jews into ghettos, like Palestinians in Gaza. When Jews resisted, Nazis bombed the ghettoes, like Israel bombs resistance in Gaza. Israel learnt to kill and oppress Palestinians…

NATIONAL Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula and National Council of Provinces chairperson Amos Masondo have yet to brief the standing committee on financial management of Parliament, since a report surfaced raising concerns regarding their decision to hike Secretary to Parliament Xolile George’s salary from R2.6 million to R4.4m. The remuneration of George came into focus last Friday when Parliament briefed the committee on the progress made in the implementation of the committee’s recommendations. George was hired last year with a salary package below his earnings as CEO of the South African Local Government Association (Salga). This reviewed remuneration package “was set below (by about 26%) what he earned in his previous position as CEO of Salga”, according to what Parliament initially stated. His salary at Salga was reportedly more than R5m.…

In a case reminiscent of an action movie, two taxi drivers, who were arrested and detained following the kidnapping and killing of gang members in Mpumalanga, together lodged a damages claim against the police and the prosecuting authority totalling R40 million. But the High Court in Mpumalanga, sitting in Mbombela, ruled against the pair as it found the police and National Director of Public Prosecutions simply did their jobs in arresting and prosecuting them. Sibusiso Malaza and Innocent Mdluli turned to the court after the trial court earlier acquitted them on the charges they faced. The community of Nhlazatshe in Mpumalanga had been on the receiving end of a gang known as Wrong Turn. Things got out of hand when in February 2015, members of this gang turned their acts…

A 38-year-old KwaZulu-Natal man has been sentenced to life behind bars after he raped a teenager at a shop in Greytown in January. The girl was 14 years old at the time, and according to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), she had gone to town with her parents when she was approached by the man. “He took her to the toilet at the back of the shop and raped her. The shop owner saw him and the crying child leave the toilet and enquired what had happened. The police were then called, and the man was arrested,” the NPA’s Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said. Regional Court Prosecutor Premie Naidoo submitted a victim impact statement that detailed how the girl had become fearful, was depressed and did not go anywhere on her own.…

MOSCOW: Police detained 201 people after mass anti-Semitic unrest took place at Makhachkala Airport in Russia’s predominately Muslim region of Dagestan, the news service of the Russian Interior Ministry said on Sunday. In late October, a crowd stormed a ramp at the airport after the landing of a passenger plane from Tel Aviv. The rioters were allegedly looking for Israeli citizens on board the aircraft amid the escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Police officers arrived at the scene to stop the protesters. As a result of the clashes, over 20 people were injured.…

Conakry, Guinea: At least nine people were killed during a weekend jailbreak in Guinea that saw armed commandos briefly pluck ex-dictator Moussa Dadis Camara from prison, officials said yesterday. Heavily armed men burst into the prison in the capital Conakry early on Saturday, taking Camara and two other former officials who were on trial alongside him over a 2009 massacre during his presidency. It was unclear whether Camara had escaped of his own free will in the raid, which the army described as an attempt to “sabotage” government reforms. Later on Saturday, the army and Camara’s lawyer said he had been recaptured and was back behind bars, without providing details.…

CHINA’S President Xi Jinping told Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese yesterday their two countries stood to become “trusting partners” and were on the “correct path of improving and developing relations”, state broadcaster CCTV said. The two leaders met in Beijing during a four-day state visit by Albanese to China. This was a high-water mark in their nations’ ties following years of tensions that cut billions of dollars in trade. China and Australia, Xi said yesterday, “have no historical grievances or disputes and no fundamental conflict of interests, and can totally become mutually trusting and mutually successful partners”. Xi told Albanese that Beijing hoped to “fully develop the potential of the China-Australia free trade agreement and open up cooperation in new fields including climate change and the green economy. “Through both…

Separatist rebels killed around 20 people, including women and children, yesterday in an attack on a village in one of Cameroon’s restive anglophone regions, security and local officials said. The overnight attack occurred in Egbekaw village, western Cameroon, scene of deadly clashes between rebels and government forces for seven years. “The attack left around 20 dead, men, women and children, and 10 seriously injured people are in hospital,” a senior regional administrative official said on condition of anonymity. A security forces official and an official from a governmental body also confirmed the attack and provisional toll. Cameroon’s primarily English- speaking Northwest and Southwest regions have been gripped by conflict since separatists declared independence in 2017.…

Australia star Steve Smith said the decision to let the team play Afghanistan in a crunch World Cup match was “above my pay grade” as Cricket Australia (CA) faced accusations of double-standards. Earlier this year, CA scrapped a three-match ODI series against Afghanistan on the grounds the Taliban, who regained power in 2021, had placed fresh limits on education and work opportunities for Afghan women and girls, including female cricketers. In the run-up to today’s high-stakes match in Mumbai, Afghanistan fast bowler Naveen-ul-Haq took to social media to suggest there was an element of hypocrisy in CA abandoning the one-day games but going ahead with a World Cup match where it had something to lose. “Refusing to play the bilateral series, now it will be interesting to see cricket Australia…