Indholdsfortegnelse for 2023-12-21 i Mercury

THIS year we’ve seen some trends make unfortunate comebacks and some that should never have started trending in the first place. Here are my least favourite fashion trends for 2023. Ballet pumps If there were one trend we all hoped had died in the 2000s, it would have to be ballet pumps. But then Miu Miu and Prada sent them down the runway this year and they once again became one of the hottest shoe trends. Now unless you have long lean legs, these shoes are unflattering for most people. Never mind the stinky feet that go with it, because trying to hide socks underneath them is nearly impossible. While flat shoes are meant to be comfortable, with no arch support, ballet flats are not it. Let’s hope that…

The DA in KZN has been informed of the arrest of Bergville councillor Michael Buthelezi, following the gruesome death of his family during a house fire in October this year. Buthelezi’s wife and three children died in a fire that engulfed the family home in the early hours, while he was rushed to hospital with severe burn wounds. Shortly afterwards DA provincial leader Francois Rodgers, visited in hospital and immediately reached out to the SAPS provincial top brass to urgently intervene in what, at the time, appeared to be another violent, senseless incident in KZN. Following investigations, Rodgers has now been informed by SAPS provincial Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi of Buthelezi’s arrest, after he was a prime suspect in police investigations. The DA in the province has before called for a…

When parents (married or single) are fulfilled, pursuing careers and interests they love, and are offering meaningful service to their community, it makes a remarkable difference to their children. Under these conditions, childhood can be fully childhood. It can be carefree, safe and free of the anxieties that come rushing into a child (and stick and stay for years) when a parent refuses to meet the adult demands of his or her role. It is an overburdened child who must do all he or she can to keep mom sober or keep dad at work – who must do all he or she can to make mom or dad into an adult. It is the anxious child who must take on parental responsibilities, who must function on a parent’s…

Data provided by non-life insurance companies who participate in the Insurance Data System (IDS) of the South African Insurance Association (Saia) show that insurance claims for storm, lightning, hail and wind damage due to extreme weather events in November came to about R35 million for a total of 9 392 separate claims. The rand amount was evenly split between claims under motor policies and claims under house owners and household policies. The claims information for two weeks after the November storms is drawn from data submitted by insurance companies which participate in the IDS. It therefore does not provide a comprehensive view of storm-related insurance claims made subsequently. IDS data shows 5 3714 storm-related motor claims in the initial period after the November storms. Of these, 5 3212 were for…

The 2023 Duolingo Language Report, which was released recently, shows the latest language trends and learner behaviours based on data from millions of Duolingo users around the globe. Duolingo is the world’s most downloaded education app, offering over 100 courses, and teaching 40+ languages, maths and music. The report includes information about learners who studied languages on Duolingo between October 1, 2022, and September 30 this year. The data was aggregated by country or by language to ensure learner privacy. This year witnessed significant changes in the global top 10 list, generational divisions in language interests, and the impact of world events on learning patterns. Unsurprisingly, English remained the most popular language globally, with 122 countries ranking it as the top language to study. Learners in Asia, especially in India,…

A post-mortem read out in court has revealed that Sandton teacher Kirsten Kluyts’s death was caused by blunt force head trauma, strangulation, smothering and pressure to the neck. According to the State, it took approximately eight minutes to inflict those injuries and end her life. This was revealed yesterday in the Alexandra Magistrate’s Court where 21-year-old Varsity College student Bafana Mahungela, who has been accused of premeditated murder, was applying for bail. His bail is being opposed by the State. Kluyts, 34, a teacher at Delta Park High, was found murdered at a park in Parkmore, Sandton, on October 29. She was 14-weeks pregnant and expecting a baby boy when she was murdered. Mahungela was arrested on November 26. State prosecutor Ayanda Bakana presented affidavits from investigating officer Sergeant Aubrey…

THE grim state of affairs in South Africa often blinds citizens of the good that many organisations do in aid of the less fortunate. When those we elect to lead us place themselves and their interests above everything else, it is often the poor that suffer the most. That is why our news pages have exposed the rot within the state while the hard-pressed taxpayer finds it difficult to make it to the next pay cheque. The year 2023 has been one of ups and downs with very little to cheer about. Somehow we have survived the hikes in interest rates, fuel prices and the cost of food and other necessities. Many fellow South Africans, including big firms, were however not able to survive the difficulties 2023 presented. Eskom’s load…

The EU reached a landmark preliminary agreement yesterday to reform its laws on asylum-seekers and irregular migrants. Here are the main changes, agreed after lengthy negotiations between EU member countries and the European Parliament that still must be formally adopted: Border filtering: The new EU Asylum and Migration Pact will see migrants irregularly entering the EU undergo identity, health and security checks, and have biometric readings of their faces and fingerprints recorded. The procedure aims to determine which migrants should receive an accelerated or normal asylum application process, and which ones should be sent back to their country of origin or transit. Streamlined vetting: Asylum-seekers with lower chances of receiving protection status – defined as those coming from countries whose nationals’ asylum applications are, on average, rejected in at least…

Paris: Iran yesterday hanged a woman convicted of murdering her husband, whom she married while still a child, a human rights group said, defying an international campaign for clemency. Samira Sabzian, who had been in prison for the past decade, was executed at dawn in Ghezel Hesar prison in the Tehran satellite city of Karaj, the Norway-based Iran Human Rights group said. It said she was a “child bride” who had married her husband at the age of 15 and had been a victim of domestic violence, relatives said. She was arrested 10 years ago when she was aged 19 on charges of murdering her husband and then sentenced to death, it said. She had two children. | AFP…

And now for Kaizer Chiefs! Richards Bay must be echoing those sentiments after already bagging four points from the two other Soweto giants. Richards Bay have had a poor first half of the season, securing only 10 points from a possible 42, which sees them languishing in 15th position on the Premiership table. But Kaitano Tembo’s men have had moments to savour. They have beaten and drawn with Soweto giants Moroka Swallows and Orlando Pirates respectively thus far. Both results were celebrated by the club in their quest to dig themselves out of the relegation quagmire they find themselves in once again. The Natal Rich Boyz saved their status by the skin of their teeth last season. They will be wary of testing fate once more, so will be eager…

Complaints have been raised over the distribution of senior citizen food vouchers to needy elderly residents by eThekwini Municipality, with some saying the process has not been fair or transparent. Some councillors in the municipality described how the process had unfolded as a mess. The issue was initially raised by opposition parties with some requesting that vouchers be allocated to ward councillors and proportional representative councillors as they feared there would not be fair distribution. They alleged that ward councillors often used the vouchers as a campaigning or electioneering tool, and handed over vouchers to their supporters and members of their party. However, speaker Thabani Nyawose said last week that it was decided the food vouchers would be distributed to the 111 ward councillors. There are 500 vouchers per ward…

AT LEAST five firefighters from the more than 300 who are battling a persisting wildfire in Simon’s Town have been injured with two taken to hospital. Firefighting crews from various organisations working in the city have been on the ground since Tuesday when the blaze began on the slopes of the mountain and was fanned by wind. A single derelict building was damaged on the grounds of the SA Navy premises and authorities said further precautionary evacuations were conducted yesterday. This included residents from Simonskloof and Harbour Heights and crews had to make their way to the area near the Black Marlin Restaurant as the fire was approaching the property. Roads leading to Cape Point and Simon’s Town were inaccessible as the fire spread further down Millers Point, Rocklands, and…

Israel has been both a Jewish and a democratic state since 1948, and it will remain so forever. (Genocidal maniacs like Netanyahu will lead Israel to ruin, December 19, 2023). In spite of the hostility surrounding it, Israel is a liberal democracy. All citizens enjoy the same rights and obligations. They all have political parties, members in the Knesset, and judges on the Supreme Court. All citizens go to the same hospitals as doctors, nurses and patients. Israeli Arabs are over-represented in its universities. Arabs in Gaza are under the brutal control of Hamas. Almost all Palestinian Authority Arabs are administered by the PA. They are not Israelis, nor are they under Israeli law. There is some security co-operation between the PA and Israel, as per the Oslo accords. Israel…

Thousands of XL Bully dog-owners in Old Blighty have been told they will not need to put down their dogs when a ban on the breed comes into force next year. But the muscular dogs, developed by selective in-breeding of the bull terrier, will not be allowed out unless muzzled and on a lead. Government department Defra has received more than 4 000 applications from people wanting an exemption from the ban and most have been approved, according to ‘Sky News’. There are now less than two weeks to go before the first in a series of new rules come into force affecting the XL Bullies, which are being phased in over the coming months. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced the restrictions on XL Bullies earlier this year after branding…

COMMUNICATIONS and Digital Technologies Minister Mondli Gungubele has come to the defence of the SABC Bill that is being processed by Parliament. Gungubele said the bill was geared at addressing the challenges faced by the public broadcaster and ensuring its sustainability. This comes after DA MP Natasha Mazzone wrote to Gungubele enquiring in written parliamentary questions how the bill would resolve the public broadcaster’s financial shortfalls. Mazzone said the bill retained the SABC’s 1999 funding model and the SABC’s commercial board was not tasked with a new funding model. She noted that the proposed legislation would mandate the Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies and their finance counterpart with a new funding model, but not the board of directors. In his response, Gungubele said the proposed legislation aimed to address…

The eThekwini Municipality is looking to change how taxis operate in the city centre as part of the metro’s inner-city regeneration strategy. City manager Musa Mbhele said the City cannot afford to have taxis continue to operate in the manner they do now, adding that the current situation “undermined the user experience of other residents”. As part of reforming how the taxis operate, Mbhele said, the municipality plans to build dedicated taxi holding facilities and have dedicated taxi lanes. Briefing the media recently, Mbhele said in terms of the inner-city regeneration strategy, “we are planning to build what we call holding facilities across the city and identify dedicated lanes for taxis”. “They cannot be moving in the manner that they do. They will have to be in the taxi holding…

International co-operation and commitment to alleviating poverty was on display in the village of Kgomo-Kgomo in the North West this week. South Africa and China are two partners in what is now an expanded BRICS partnership, with both countries committing themselves to mutually accelerated growth, sustainable development and inclusive multilateralism. This friendship was recently commemorated with the two countries celebrating 25 years of diplomatic relations. With these recent commemorations of a quarter century of diplomatic relations fresh in the memory, Chen Xiaodong, the Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to South Africa, and Lindiwe Zulu MP, Minister of Social Development, held a joint visit to Kgomo-Kgomo yesterday. The primary agenda of the visit was a donation ceremony that formed a vital part of ongoing efforts to advance a poverty…

The leader of Hamas travelled to Egypt yesterday as hopes grew that Israel and the Palestinian militant group may be inching toward another truce and hostage release deal in the Gaza war. The Qatar-based Hamas chief, Ismail Haniyeh, arrived in Cairo for discussions on the “aggression in the Gaza Strip and other matters”, the group said in a statement. He was due to meet Egypt’s spy chief for talks on “stopping the aggression and the war to prepare an agreement for the release of prisoners”, a source close to the group told AFP. Haniyeh – who earlier met Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in Qatar – was heading a “high-level delegation” to Egypt, a frequent mediator between Israel and the Palestinians, the source said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had…

Hospital doctors in England hit out yesterday at a perceived “brain drain” from the country’s state-funded National Health Service (NHS) as they began their longest strike action yet in a protracted pay battle. Junior doctors started joining picket lines as part of an initial 72-hour walkout to be followed by a further six-day strike from January 3. The total nine-day action is aimed at pressuring health bosses and the government to offer a better deal by severely limiting services at the busiest time of year. The doctors say they have been forced to maintain their industrial action, which began earlier this year, over a failure to address a host of issues, mostly related to years of below-inflation pay. Britain has been hit by walkouts across various sectors as decades-high…

Brussels: The European Commission said yesterday that it wanted to change the protection status of wolves, allowing them to be hunted. After bouncing back from near extinction, “the concentration of wolf packs in some European regions has become a real danger, especially for livestock,” commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said. The commission is asking EU member countries to revise the protection status for wolves, taking it from “strictly protected” to just “protected”, which would authorise hunting under strict regulation. | AFP…

Nandré Burger has 1.1 million reasons to smile. Not only did the Proteas fast bowler claim his first ODI wickets in a blistering spell of 3-30 to set in motion an eight-wicket victory over India at St George’s Park in Gqeberha, but he also signed a first Indian Premier League deal with the Rajasthan Royals on Tuesday. The left-arm speedster, who also plays for the Joburg Super Kings in the Betway SA20 and Jaffna Kings in the Sri Lanka Premier League, will now form part of a Royals pace attack that also boasts the likes of New Zealander Trent Boult and Indian duo Navdeep Saini and Prasidh Krishna. His Proteas and Western Province teammate Tony de Zorzi, who also scored an unbeaten 119, was certainly excited for his roommate’s new…

RETURNING from the inaugural Atlantic Senior Fours held at the breathtaking Athena Beach Hotel in Paphos, Cyprus, South African bowlers Glenda Matthews and John Connellan shared their reflections on the unforgettable experience. The stunning venue, nestled on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, provided a picturesque backdrop with outdoor swimming pools, a heated indoor pool, and an impressive array of artificial outdoor and indoor rinks. The challenges became apparent during the initial practice day as the Port Natal bowlers grappled with the unique characteristics of the artificial surfaces. Connellan described the experience, highlighting the shorter greens and narrower rinks with a felt-like texture as testing. The quick pace and variable lines posed a significant challenge, especially considering the diverse playing conditions on each rink. Despite the initial hurdles, both the…

The South African National Civic Organisation (Sanco) KwaZulu-Natal says former president Jacob Zuma will remain as its provincial chairperson after it made startling claims that ANC provincial leaders tried to pressure the organisation to charge Zuma and remove him from the position. Zuma was elected chairperson of the civic organisation in November but on Saturday said he would not campaign for the governing party, nor would he vote for it, saying it was not the ANC he had joined. “It will be a betrayal to campaign for the ANC of Ramaphosa. My conscience will not allow that,” he said at the time. Zuma said he would instead campaign and vote for a new political formation, the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party, in next year’s polls. This sparked an almost immediate response…

It’s not bad to protest by way of letters or posting on social media or even physically marching, waving banners, to show one’s anger, frustration, emotion or solidarity regarding any very serious local issue like violence against women and children, unemployment and lack of basic metro service delivery. Even screaming loudly against racial, religious or nation oppression and war is considered a laudable activity. There has, however, of late, been a variety of other complaints that just don’t seem to be serious enough to organise a hue and cry, loud enough to muster enough attention to have something tangible done about them. Take, for instance, that ugly four letter word that once represented service to the general community, at a reasonable profit. The bank: Cold clinical outlook. Extremely cold and…

The world cannot fathom why Zimbabwe – a country richly endowed with natural resources which include renewables such as land, forest, water, wildlife and sunshine, and non-renewables such oil, gas and minerals – is being abandoned by its citizens who have swamped foreign countries such as South Africa, Zambia and Botswana in search of better living standards and working conditions. Since the Zanu-PF government took power in 1980, it has dismally failed to sustain the high standards that existed pre-independence era, let alone improve the standards. The Zanu-PF political party has shown its cruelty to opposition members through persecution, torturing, abducting, and murdering in cold blood, so that this nasty and arrogant political party, led by the careless, clueless and corrupt President Emmerson Mnangagwa, remains in power. The environment of…

mayibongwe.maqhina@inl.co.za Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has ruled out the possibility of the National Treasury writing off consumers’ debt owed to municipalities and Eskom, saying it was up to the councils and power utility to do so. Godongwana made his stance known in reply to written parliamentary questions from EFF MP Eugene Mthethwa who enquired if the minister had considered writing off debt for poor people deeply indebted to municipalities to such an extent that some have lived for long periods without electricity because of the confiscated Eskom transformers in their areas. Mthethwa noted that Godongwana had announced electricity bills of indebted municipalities owed to Eskom would be written off. Earlier this year, the government invited municipalities to apply for debt relief for arrears debt to Eskom. The plan was to…

Impala Platinum Mines in Rustenburg, in the North West says it is closely monitoring the underground protests that began on Monday morning at Bafokeng Rasimone Mine’s North and South shafts. This comes after yet another underground sit-in by miners. More than 2 000 Impala Platinum miners are refusing to emerge from underground because of contractual disputes. While around 167 miners emerged from the mine late on Tuesday night, the others remained underground. The mine said the workers embarked on an illegal strike on Monday and negotiations had reached a stalemate yesterday. The strike comes just two weeks after 13 miners were killed at the mine in Rustenburg, North West, after its cage collapsed last month, in what was described as a “serious safety incident”. Due to this week’s protest, management…

A total of 320 stalled and incomplete housing projects have been reallocated funds for their completion. This was revealed by Human Settlements Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi. She was responding to parliamentary questions from DA MP Ntombi Khumalo, on the measures her department had taken to address the challenges associated with the high number of abandoned housing projects due to the non-performance of contractors. Kubayi said when she was assigned to the human settlements portfolio in 2021, she declared the unblocking of housing projects as part of her priorities. The department refers to blocked and incomplete projects as those that have not shown progress for a period of 12 months following the first payment to the contractor. Kubayi said she had directed her department and its sector partners, provincial departments and municipalities,…

A fleet of small modular reactors could be easily installed at most coal-fired power stations The original South African Integrated Resource Plan (IRP 2010) identified and approved a massive generating capacity expansion for South Africa. The plan envisaged adding just over 38GW, to basically double the capacity installed in 2014. The 2010 expansion plan envisaged installing “a nuclear fleet of 9.6GW (8 to 9 nuclear power plants); 6.3GW of coal; 11.4GW of renewables; and 11GW of other generation sources”. The 2019 Revised IRP (Government Gazette No 42784 of Oct 18, 2019, p 95) lowered the planned nuclear expansion to a mere 2.5GW, taking into account that it can only be added “at a pace and scale the country can afford” (Gazette par. 5.3.6). It increased the planned contribution of renewables…

People in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) were voting yesterday in a high-stakes general election, pitting the incumbent President Felix Tshisekedi against a fragmented opposition, while much of the east of the impoverished but mineral-rich country is mired in conflict. But many polling booths in the capital, Kinshasa and the cities of Goma, Bukavu, Beni, Lubumbashi and Tshikapa faced delays, chaos or other problems, AFP journalists saw. “It’s a big disappointment. There’s terrible disorder in the organisation,” teacher Jean Claude Nzine Cokola, grumbled, having still not cast his ballot after waiting for four hours in South Kivu province. In the city of Beni in North Kivu province, Lucie Zawadi, a 42-year-old farmer, said she was pleased to be able to “fulfil (her) duty”. “These elections are going to bring…

Beijing: The death toll from Monday’s powerful earthquake measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale that jolted China’s Gansu and Qinghai provinces increased to 134 yesterday, while the number of injured persons stood at 1 000, authorities said. The China Earthquake Networks Centre said the quake had a focal depth of 10km. This was China’s deadliest earthquake in recent years. Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered thousands of rescue crew to the region, among the poorest and most diverse in China. Footage on state TV showed entire villages split by the quake, as well as collapsed buildings and houses. | IANS…

Yangon: Myanmar’s military had called in air strikes and naval bombardments against an ethnic minority armed group on an island hosting a planned billion-dollar China-backed deep sea port, the group and local media said. Clashes have rocked Rakhine state since last month after the Arakan Army launched attacks on security forces, ending a ceasefire that had largely held since the military seized power in 2021. The attacks opened another front for the military as it battles an alliance of ethnic minority fighters in the north of the country. | AFP…