Indholdsfortegnelse for 2024-01-24 i Mercury

HIGHER education is as critical to the global efforts to combat climate change as witnessed by universities’ globally increasingly recognising their responsibility to society and actively contributing to the mitigation of and adaptation response to the crisis. At the University of Mpumalanga and the Presidential Climate Commission, we are exploring a partnership of ensuring that our transition to a net zero is a just one. Importantly the university is committed to exploring practical steps in employing our academic discipline through research, teaching and learning to support South Africa’s climate change response measures and the just transition roadmap. However, like many other institutions in South Africa, the university is yet to fully articulate its contribution towards the efforts, through its curricula and research programmes that reflect the interdisciplinary nature of…

FORMER health minister Zweli Mkhize said he believed that personal attacks on opposition parties and those campaigning for them are not the answer to the challenges facing the ANC. Mkhize, a former premier of the province, was addressing ANC supporters at the weekend after a raft of National Executive Committee (NEC) members from the province hit back at former president Jacob Zuma, who has openly endorsed the newly formed MK Party. The former president has criticised ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa and said he would campaign and vote for the MK Party in the upcoming elections. NEC members Bheki Cele, Sbu Ndebele, Sihle Zikalala and Senzo Mchunu in recent days have all addressed Zuma’s support for a rival party. Cele has been the most vociferous in his criticism of Zuma, his…

Higher Education, Science, and Innovation Minister, Blade Nzimande, has urged colleges and universities not to deny National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) funded students with outstanding payments to register for the current academic year. During an update on the state of readiness for higher learning institutions yesterday, Nzimande called on NSFAS to speedily resolve all outstanding payments from last year. He also urged institutions to refrain from denying any NSFAS -funded students with outstanding payments, to register for the current cycle. “I’ve noted with concern that the main reason for the outstanding payments was due to reconciliations that NSFAS has been engaged with predominantly because of registration data changes. NSFAS needs to be more strict in 2024 on how it manages the registration adjustment process and institutions ought to submit…

It is clear from the exchanges regarding the conflict in the Middle East that the circumstances prevailing are intractable. Informed by different religious beliefs, it is exacerbated by inherent prejudice. Whipped up into a frenzy by social and mass media, reasonable discourse has become futile. But there is a basis of understanding to this and it is to be found in chapter 16, verse 12 of Genesis in the Bible. It concerns the birth of Ishmael, sired by Abram and born from Hagar. “He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers.” The Bible correctly predicted internecine strife in the Middle East as a result. But beyond the cauldron…

HOW do you get onto Russian TV? Well, a good way is to throw a scantily clad party while the country is at war. According to the BBC, that’s exactly what happened when some of Russia’s top celebrities went scantily dressed to a private party. In the climate of war, they were condemned as unpatriotic. Then, they appeared on TV in a series of videos apologising for their lack of patriotism, expressing much remorse. They join a rapidly spreading culture of apology videos, which have become prevalent. Many have come under far more pressure than the top characters in Russia’s pop scene. The intention, says Russian rights lawyer Dmitry Zakhvatov, is to humiliate critics of the war and intimidate those who do not support it but have not summoned up…

Voters will have options aplenty in the 2024 national and provincial elections, with over 350 parties registered with the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC). At least 27 of them registered with the electoral body between September and December last year. Among the latest to have registered is the former president Jacob Zuma endorsed MK Party, the Transformation Alliance led by former acting Tshwane mayor Abel Tau, the SA Rainbow Alliance headed by former City of Joburg Speaker Colleen Makhubele, Gap Fixers of SA led by Sbu Mpisane, the ex-husband of businesswoman Shauwn Mpisane, Rise Mzansi led by Songezo Zibi and Change Starts Now led by businessman Roger Jardine. Zuma’s son Duduzane launched his party All Game Changers on January 1, also announcing – like his father – that he…

IT WAS a bad start to the year for a mother who has to serve 12 months in jail for contempt of court after ignoring two court orders granting her former husband access to their child. The Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, ordered the mother to report within 24 hours of the latest order to the Pretoria Central Police Station, from where she would be taken to the Kgosi Mampuru Prison to start serving jail time. The mother must also deliver the child to the father and if she failed to do so, the sheriff, accompanied by the police, was authorised by the court to fetch the child. The father turned to the court for an order holding the mother in contempt as she ignored the two previous court orders in…

Questions have been posed about President Cyril Ramaphosa and Deputy President Paul Mashatile using the SA Air Force’s VIP Falcon F50 aircraft to attend a series of political meetings before the ANC’s 112th birthday celebrations in Mbombela, Mpumalanga earlier this month. DA MP Kobus Marais said the ambiguity between the Ministerial Handbook and the Presidential Handbook was being exploited by Ramaphosa and Mashatile who regularly commandeer South Africa Air Force (SAAF) aircraft to attend ANC party political events. “This is not prohibited in the Presidential Handbook but the Ministerial Handbook makes it clear that you cannot use SAAF aircraft to attend a political event unless there is official business immediately before or after the event. “This is open to abuse, it is not illegal but is unethical, immoral…

Israel said yesterday that 24 soldiers were killed in the biggest single-day losses since the start of its ground war in Gaza amid growing pressure on the government to find a way to end the conflict. The heavy clashes came as a White House official was due in the region for talks to secure more hostage releases, and as US media reported a new Israeli proposal for a deal that would involve a two-month pause in fighting. Twenty-four soldiers were killed on Monday, with the army saying 21 of them were reservists slain when rocket- propelled grenade fire hit a tank and two buildings. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said an investigation was launched into the “disaster” and that Israel “must learn the necessary lessons”. Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said the…

The symbolic “Doomsday Clock” was reset to 90 seconds to midnight yesterday, reflecting existential threats to humanity posed by potential nuclear escalation from the Ukraine conflict and the multiplying impacts of the climate crisis following Earth’s hottest recorded year. Set by top scientists and security experts, the timing of the clock remains the same as last year and the closest it has ever been to midnight in its more than 75-year history. The clock was originally set at seven minutes to midnight by the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists. The Bulletin was founded in 1945 by Albert Einstein, J Robert Oppenheimer and other scientists who worked on the Manhattan Project, which produced the first nuclear weapons. The idea of the clock symbolising global vulnerability to catastrophe followed in 1947. |…

Almaty: Three people were killed and dozens injured after a 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck along the mountainous China-Kyrgyzstan border yesterday, authorities said. The major quake was registered at a depth of 13km in China’s Xinjiang region, about 140km west of the city of Aksu. Local authorities dispatched a team to the quake’s epicentre. The earthquake caused three deaths, while five other people sustained injuries, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said, adding that 12 426 people in the disaster area had been relocated. Yesterday’s earthquake came the day after a landslide killed at least 31 people and buried several others in the south-west of China. | AFP…

Goma: Artillery fire blamed on the DR Congo’s army has killed a child and injured a pregnant woman in a rebel-controlled town, local sources said yesterday. Monusco, the UN mission in the troubled country, said M23 rebels had prevented locals from fleeing to saftey and were using them as “human shields” against military attack on the eastern town of Mweso. “This M23 tactic aims to hold civilians as human shields in anticipation of any FARDC (army) attacks,” Monusco stated. A civil society source said three artillery shells fell on Monday on Mweso, 60km north of Goma, capital of the restive North-Kivu. | AFP…

The Paarl Royals may currently be the SA20 frontrunners at the halfway stage of the competition, but they do face an anxious wait on the fitness of their captain David Miller ahead of tonight’s clash against the Joburg Super Kings at the Wanderers. Miller was hit on the side of his right foot by Kagiso Rabada during the penultimate over of the Royals’ first innings of the Cape derby at Boland Park on Sunday. The Royals skipper attempted to shake it off, but it was in visible physical pain when he attempted a run off the next ball. Miller received treatment from the Royals physio before hobbling off the field to retire hurt on 24 from 20 balls. Fortunately for the Royals, they had a ready-made replacement in England white-ball…

MOROCCO, their place in the knockout stage secured, get a chance to confirm their status as Africa’s top football nation when they complete their round robin phase assignments of the Africa Cup of Nations with a Group F clash against Zambia tonight. The Atlas Lions, the first country from the continent to reach a World Cup semi-final, are ranked No 1 in Africa and expectations are that they will confirm their lofty status by winning the Afcon for only the second time. And when they opened their account with a 3-0 demolition of Tanzania, it appeared the 1976 champions were sending a statement to the rest of the contenders that they mean business. A fantastic start in their second match against the Democratic Republic of Congo – they scored with…

FIVE LARGE emerging markets (EMs) need to sustain significant medium-term primary fiscal surpluses to stabilise the debt-to-GDP ratio – Brazil, Egypt, South Africa, Colombia, and Mexico, Oxford Economics said in a note yesterday. Most had scope to tackle ongoing fiscal challenges, but policies need to be stiffened, the note said. “Our comprehensive survey of our country economists covering 21 large EMs reveals fiscal risks are partially mitigated because those with the most urgent need for fiscal cuts also tend to be the ones with greater scope and the ability to implement them. Of the five with sustainability issues, only Brazil and Mexico have major obstacles to consolidation in 2024, in the form of elections.” Oxford Economics said most EMs had budgeted fiscal consolidation in 2024; but of these consolidators, outcomes…

THE DRAFT South African Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) that was published on January 4, 2023, has evoked a diverse range of public reactions. Opinions from “energy experts” vary. From outright criticism by individuals who seemingly always criticise any coal, natural gas and nuclear power plant without reservations, to a more nuanced perspective from economists that the IRP might be a step back to realism. In my view it is lacking in major detail and the process is systemically flawed. Before delving into the technical details, I have questions about the procedure of the IRP and why it should be open to public consultation at all. Why is the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) responsible for the IRP rather than Eskom’s System Operator? Wouldn’t the individual closest to the…

AVI’s CONSUMER brands businesses faced ports and load shedding challenges, but would likely lift consolidated headline earnings per share by between 16% to 18% for the six months to December 31, 2023. The group, which has brands in hot beverages, sweet and savoury biscuits, frozen convenience foods, personal care products, cosmetics, footwear, accessories and fashion apparel, said yesterday in an update that headline earnings per share would be between 369.9 cents and 376.3c, compared with 318.9c in the interim period a year before. Food & Beverage Brands revenue increased 8.9% to R6.67 billion. Entyce Beverages increased revenue 16% to R2.42bn. Snackworks revenue was up 9.8% to R3.1bn. I&J’s revenue fell 5.1% to R1.15bn. Fashion brands revenue was up 0.5% to R1.70bn, while revenue in the Personal Care division…

The corporate world in South Africa has been urged to be more vigilant when vetting qualifications following the scandal surrounding economist Thabi Leoka. Leoka was accused of faking her PhD degree, which she claimed she had attained from the London School of Economics. Leoka, who served as economic adviser to President Cyril Ramaphosa, is said to have two Master’s degrees but no PhD. Since this came to light, Leoka no longer sits on the boards of major companies in the country such as MTN South Africa, Remgro and Anglo American Platinum. She was also removed from the Presidential Economic Advisory Council. Chris Logan, a popular shareholder activist, said what had transpired was very unfortunate. “It’s quite sad what happened to Leoka. I do not know why she would say…

SOUTH Africa went to the International Court of Justice at the Hague to present its genocide case against Israel. Apparently, the legal team walked out of the court building elated with its presentation. It felt it had made a watertight case against the Jewish nation. For a country with no claim to fame other than Mandela, it was a big, bold step and left the big, rich nations squirming in their seats in the courtroom, embarrassed. But why when the rest of the nations folded their arms and watched the Israeli forces pound Gaza day and night obliterating it to the ground and killing and maiming many thousands of innocent lives, did South Africa step forth boldly and take them to Court? What was the real reason for South Africa’s…

The DA notes the decision by Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Minister Thembisile Nkadimen and KwaZulu-Natal Cogta MEC Bongiwe Sithole-Moloi to request that another state of disaster be declared in the province following the recent severe weather. While the DA welcomes support in any form to alleviate the suffering of KZN communities, the reality is that our province’s biggest disaster is that it is run by an ANC government. History shows that declaring a state of disaster in KZN does not mean that help is on the way. Following the 2022 floods, President Cyril Ramaphosa promised a large amount of money to assist residents, only for the Treasury to later admit that the relief funding would, in fact, be a lot less. To date, the funding remains largely unspent,…

INDICATIONS you tend to over-function and therefore promote some others to under-function: You back-seat drive (car or no car). No matter where you sit in the vehicle (the office, school, hospital) your attention is on the driver (the leader) and the driving (management, leadership). You probably think you know the best way to any destination (even places new to you). You do things for people they can do for themselves (even if you don’t believe it). If challenged, you may name it “serving others” or “acts of humility” or “if you want it done, do it yourself”. Truth is you are trying to manage or ease your anxiety and really cannot stop yourself. There is a downside of being in a family or organisation with people who over-function: those who…

A Kempton Park, Gauteng couple has been sentenced for sexually abusing their biological children. The parents’ names have been withheld to protect the identities of the children. The couple sexually abused their three children over a three-year period. The children were all under the age of 10 when the abuse started. The couple, aged 43 and 22, were sentenced to life and 25 years’ imprisonment, respectively. Spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in Gauteng, Phindi Mjonondwane said the duo were sentenced in the High Court of South Africa, Gauteng Local Division, Johannesburg on Monday. According to the NPA, they were charged with 17 counts of rape, four counts of conspiracy to commit a sexual offence, four counts of aiding and abetting another person to commit a sexual offence, three…

The Verulam Water Crisis Committee was due to meet the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) yesterday over the constant water outages that have seen frustrated residents take to the streets in protest this week. Frustrated Verulam residents protested on Monday, blocking roads with burning trees and tyres and calling for an immediate restoration of water supply in their taps. Phoenix and oThongathi residents have also been facing water outages due to several infrastructure challenges. DA KZN provincial leader Francois Rodgers said the party had lodged an appeal with the SAHRC to urgently hold public hearings in the north of eThekwini Municipality and investigate the continuing water crisis. The municipality said yesterday that heavy rains have caused widespread damage to its infrastructure, including water and sanitation infrastructure, which has resulted…

Descendants of colonial clerks continue to wield influence in government and business Long before apartheid was outlawed in 1990, South Africa already had way too many “honorary whites” who lived in white-only suburbs. Besides the Japanese, some local blacks also belonged to this exclusive club. This extended to some foreign individuals from neighbouring countries like Malawi, which had a cosy relationship with the apartheid state. The term “honorary whites” was a political designation employed by the apartheid regime in South Africa. It served to extend certain rights and privileges typically reserved for whites to individuals who would have otherwise been categorised as non-whites under the Population Registration Act. The privilege was reserved for special groups that collaborated with the apartheid project, but everything associated with it was illogical. Whereas the…

Germany’s constitutional court yesterday approved a request to withdraw public funds from the neo-Nazi Homeland Party, offering what one official called a possible “blueprint” for action against the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD). Homeland, known until 2023 as the NPD, was “excluded from state funding for a period of six years”, the court said. Markus Soeder, the conservative premier of the southern region of Bavaria, said ahead of the ruling that withdrawing funds from Homeland could be a “blueprint for the AfD” – an idea which has its supporters across the political spectrum. In its reasoning, the court said Homeland sought to “eliminate the free democratic order” and had a “racist, in particular anti-Muslim, anti-Semitic and anti-Gypsy, attitude” that clashed with Germany’s constitutional principles. The neo-Nazi group would therefore…

Sydney: Former Australian prime minister Scott Morrison yesterday said he was leaving politics to pursue a business career. The veteran politician said he was stepping down as representative for a Sydney suburb next month, after 16 years in parliament. Morrison said he would “take on new challenges in the global corporate sector”. The conservative leader led Australia during the 2019-2020 bushfires and the Covid-19 pandemic, when he shut the country’s borders. An avid supporter of the fossil fuel industry, Morrison once brought a lump of coal into parliament and claimed, without evidence, that arson was a bigger cause of wildfires than climate change. He also secretly appointed himself to several ministerial roles during the Covid crisis, without informing his cabinet. | AFP…

BRUSSELS: Measles cases are rising at alarming rates in Europe, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned yesterday, with the region seeing a 30-fold increase. Between January and October 2023, there were more than 30 000 measles cases reported in Europe, compared to just 941 cases in the entire 2022. The increase, with almost 21 000 hospitalisations and five deaths, threatened progress in eliminating the disease, it said. Poor vaccination coverage was largely to blame, with the pandemic contributing to missed immunisation among children. Between 2020 and 2022, more than 1.8 million infants in Europe missed their measles shot, the WHO said. | The Washington Post…

Paris: France’s data protection agency said yesterday that it had fined Amazon’s French warehouses unit 32 million euros (about R661m) for an “excessively intrusive” surveillance system to keep track of staff performance. Amazon France Logistique monitored the work of employees through data from scanners used by the staff to process packages, according to the agency, CNIL. Scanners alerted management of inactivity exceeding 10 minutes or the handling of packages and parcels “right up to the second”, CNIL said. The surveillance was deemed in contravention of the EU’s general data protection regulation. | AFP…

The South Africa Under-19 team slipped to their first defeat at the ICC U19 Men’s World Cup at the JB Marks Oval in Potchefstroom yesterday. The Junior Proteas had posted 230 all out with opener Steve Stolk top-scoring with 64 off just 55 balls (11x4, 1x6) with additional support from Dewan Marais (42) and Richard Seletswane (33). But a middle-order collapse precipitated by Jaydn Denly (3-37), Eddie Jack (3-28) and Tazeem Ali (3-26) reined in the home team. Former captain David Teeger was one of the three South African ducks during this period. This had a massive impact on the eventual result with lightning forcing the players off the field initially before the heavens opened to bring a close to proceedings. England were midway through their chase at that point,…

AFTER receiving €32 million (R667m) in dividends from British American Tobacco (BAT) for the quarter to the end of December, Reinet invested €6m into its businesses, leaving its net asset value (NAV) per share marginally lower at €31.5 compared with €31.8 a year earlier. The NAV measure determines an investment company’s total assets less its total liabilities and equates to a firm’s total equity. With Reinet recording its assets and liabilities in the euro, a weakening in the sterling pound, US dollar and South African rand against the euro during the quarter “resulted in an overall decrease in the value of certain assets and liabilities” in euro terms. NAV amounted to €5.7 billion as at the end of December, increasing 2.1% from €5.6bn calculated for the previous quarter…

KAROOOOO is targeting a good fourth quarter financial performance, even though that’s traditionally its toughest trading period, because of the December holidays in South Africa, and the Chinese New Year, which impacts business across Asia. This is according to CEO and founder Zak Calisto, who was interviewed yesterday at the release of robust financial results for the third quarter to November 30. He said the results were underpinned by an entrepreneurial, innovative, agile and customer-centric culture, with a prudent capital allocation strategy focused on growth. Total revenue increased 16% to R1.08 billion. Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation increased 28% to R427.83 million. Despite provisions for Carzuka’s reduced operations, earnings a share grew 35% to R6.34 for the third quarter. Carzuka negatively impacted earnings a share by…

Transnet’s ports and logistical hurdles have forced Jubilee Metals Group to delay an upgrade project at its Zambian copper concentrator by nine weeks, with the Roan project expected to continue operating at half of its capacity owing to late delivery of components for the expansion project. So bad has been the Transnet ports and logistical bottlenecks that Jubilee, which raised production of chrome concentrates despite a fall in copper production, has been unable to ship and deliver electrical components for the upgrade project on time. “In Zambia the team were able to grow our copper output, despite the operational interruptions caused by the Roan front-end upgrade and associated import delays. “The team is working tirelessly to overcome the delay and will continue to operate Roan at a reduced capacity during…

The disciplinary hearing of suspended KwaZulu-Natal regional court president, magistrate Eric Nzimande, has been postponed to Thursday. The hearing, which is being conducted by the Magistrates’ Commission, began on Monday in the Point Branch Court in Durban. It is dealing with 162 counts of alleged improper conduct. The evidence leader for the hearing called for a postponement to deal with certain pre-hearing questions. According to the charge sheet, Nzimande – who has already entered a plea of not guilty to the charges – has been charged with receiving money from attorneys who were acting as regional magistrates in the regional division; unlawfully and wrongfully victimising or sexually harassing an acting magistrate; requesting a loan from an attorney for his daughter’s university studies; and contacting an accused in a human…

It has finally done it. After almost 100 years since the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh was first promulgated, which swore to convert the whole of Bharat into a single homogeneous Hindu Rashtra (state). Where a centuries-old Moghul mosque allegedly stood in Ayodhya, a giant new Hindu temple has been constructed and is almost complete. This year is the magic year for important elections in India. And what better beacon to mobilise all people of all faiths to come together in unison at the Ram temple? Pray together! Live together in harmony! Hold hands and collectively work together to make India a global force. No more “co-starring”, “with” or “and” in the annals of historical credit titles. Rather: “Oh, ye that believe. Come. Put your heart into the Bharat Janta Party.” All…

THE engine room of the political system in Parliament is the portfolio committee system. These portfolio committees have oversight over the various departments and ministerial teams. Portfolio committees also debate and structure new suggestions for legislation and changes to legislation. Notoriously, up until now, the ANC has controlled these committees with an iron fist. It is debilitating to hear cogent arguments coming from those outside the ANC that would enhance the country but are doomed to failure because of the ANC’s tendency to destroy anything which does not come out of its own ranks. Once any political party falls below a 50% majority, it might be able to structure a coalition to enforce that majority, but that coalition will not work so easily in the portfolio committees. ANC MPs are…

Home Affairs Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi has announced a four-month extension for public bidders to submit their proposals for the redevelopment of six priority land ports of entry across the country. The six priority land ports of entry slated for redevelopment are Beitbridge (Zimbabwe), Lebombo (Mozambique), Maseru Bridge (Lesotho), Kopfontein (Botswana), Ficksburg (Lesotho), and Oshoek (eSwatini). The Request For Proposals (RFP) document, made public on September 3, 2023, invited interested parties to submit bids under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) by March 4, 2024. The redevelopment initiative is a joint effort between the Border Management Authority (BMA) and the Department of Home Affairs, aiming to streamline the movement of people and goods across the land ports. The RFP said the comprehensive project covers the full infrastructure development of each port…

Police have made an arrest in connection with the December R1.2 million abalone bust in Gqeberha, in the Eastern Cape. The Directorate for Priority Crimes Investigations (known as the Hawks) said they arrested Johannes Petrus Cloete in his diving gear as he was about to enter the sea at Noordhoek in Gqeberha at the weekend. Cloete appeared in the Gqeberha New Law Court on Monday charged with possession of abalone. The Hawks said the arrest was a joint effort involving the Economic Protected Resources (EPR) team of Serious Organised Crime Investigation of the Hawks in Gqeberha and the Dark Water Operations, Department of Environmental Forestry and Fisheries and South African Police Service Port of Entry members. Hawks spokesperson Captain Yolisa Mgolodela said the team had been searching for the…

The truck driver in a deadly crash in Pongola, northern KwaZulu-Natal in 2022 that claimed 20 lives made his first appearance in the High Court in Pongola on Monday. Sibusiso Siyaya, 28, appeared in court for a pre-trial conference, according to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA). Siyaya is facing 20 counts of murder. He was initially charged with culpable homicide, but in the State indictment served on him at his last court appearance, the charges had been changed to murder. On September 16, the truck driven by Siyaya crashed head-on into a bakkie carrying adults and school children. Eighteen children and two adults died. NPA spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said that on Monday, the matter was adjourned to April 15 for trial. “The trial will be held in the High Court…

The public has a few days left to comment on the Electoral Bill that paves the way for the holding of the upcoming elections. The bill was tabled before Parliament in December and seeks to amend, among others, the Political Party Funding Act to provide for the regulation of the private and public funding of independent candidates and representatives, and matters incidental thereto. The bill also seeks to preclude the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) from accepting donations, suspected to be proceeds of crime, to the Multi-Party and Independents Democracy Fund. Home Affairs portfolio chairperson Mosa Chabane said the bill would empower the IEC to invest money in the funds in any bank, and also provide for political parties, independent candidates and independent representatives to refuse donations. He said…

Indications are that the country is in for a fierce battle in the coming elections with interesting new players joining the fray. The registration of over 300 political parties, despite making the ballot paper rather long, certainly adds spice to the pot. Former president Jacob Zuma and his uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party have been making a lot of noise. Then you have the African Congress for Transformation (ACT) of former ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule, and the South African Rainbow Alliance, led by erstwhile Joburg council speaker Colleen Makhubele. In 2025, the then charismatic DA leader Mmusi Maimane made waves when he declared in Parliament that “Zuma was a broken man, presiding over a broken society”. Maimane, the first black DA leader, will be hoping to return to the House with…

A car rammed into a roadblock put up by protesting farmers in south- western France yesterday, killing a woman and seriously injuring her husband and teenage daughter. Farmers have been blocking roads across the country in protest at what they say are deteriorating conditions in the agriculture sector. The three occupants of the car that crashed into the barrier on a motorway in the department of Ariege were taken into police custody on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter, police said. The vehicle was travelling on the dual-lane carriageway leading to the roadblock, despite it being clearly marked as closed to traffic because of the protest. But a local prosecutor, Olivier Mouysset, said early results of the investigation suggested that the car, carrying a couple and a friend, had not rammed the…

All Israeli expat Omer Bloch knows for sure about his Tinder date in the Colombian city of Medellin is that she was “beautiful” – and used a powerful drug to knock him out and rob him. A recent spate of what the US Embassy termed “suspicious” deaths of eight US men in Medellin has cast a spotlight on the dangers foreigners face using dating apps in the city. “I matched with a girl on Tinder. Just another girl, I thought. Just another date,” recalls the 28-year-old businessman of his 2021 encounter. After their dinner, he remembers they returned to his house for a beer, which tasted more “bittery” than usual, and then he remembers going in “for the kiss”. He woke up the next day at noon, woozy and struggling…

Berlin: Nearly 80 years after the end of World War II, there are still about 245 000 Holocaust survivors alive across more than 90 countries, a study showed yesterday. According to the Claims Conference, an organisation that seeks damages for Holocaust survivors, 119 300 of them live in Israel, 38 400 in the US, 21 900 in France and 14 200 in Germany. With a median age of 86 now, the report said that they were “at a period of life where their need for care and services is growing”. The signing of the Luxembourg Agreement, under which West Germany agreed to pay reparations for Nazi atrocities, the state has paid more than $90 billion. | AFP…

In 2018, Jaden and Jordan Hendrikse played in the Glenwood High first XV as a scrumhalf-flyhalf combination. They gelled so well for the Green Machine that some predicted that the brothers would one day be in the green of another team, the Springboks. That may yet come to pass but first there is the certainty that they will be in the black and white of the Sharks in the second half of this year when Jordan returns to Durban. The brothers split up after school – Jaden went straight into the junior ranks of the Sharks and Jordan joined the Lions after a short period in Stellenbosch. Jordan, who is one year younger than the 23-year-old Jaden, has had mixed fortunes at the Lions. He exploded out of the blocks…

If Themba Zwane, Teboho Mokoena and Ronwen Williams can impose themselves on Tunisia in today’s Africa Cup of Nations Group E clash in Ivory Coast, their contributions will spearhead Bafana Bafana’s progress to the round of 16. Zwane, the 34-year-old attacking midfielder, has become the linchpin of the side and produced an outstanding performance against neighbours Namibia on Sunday. Apart from scoring two brilliant goals, the technically gifted player oozed class and determination. On two occasions he set off on dribbles and left the Namibian players floundering in his slipstream. SA coach Hugo Broos was moved to acknowledge the role player-of-the-match Zwane played in the 4-0 victory. “It was the case of the maestro in the midfield, Themba,” said Broos. “We know, and I said it already several times,…