Índex per 2021-11-02 a Star

A 300 000-YEAR-OLD story is told that throughout the many episodes of the ice age and its warm interludes, humans eked it out on a fossil fuel chance discovery, and somehow clawed their way out of the cave straight into the Stone Age. From that time hitherto, the criticality of greenhouse gases has always underwritten the narrative of the human project. To an appreciable degree, the notoriety of these fossil fuels and their resulting anthropogenic gases, especially carbon dioxide, has received a fair amount of publicity. These include the scale and extent of their coverage in the biosphere and their cost to human, animal and plant life. And so in this age, we find ourselves faced with the prospect of a severe global warming accounting wholly to our conduct.…

How much the Social Justice and Nation-Building (SJN) hearings have changed the landscape of South Africa cricket will become clearer once the final report from the Transformation Ombudsman, Dumisa Ntsebeza, is made public. There is no doubt that the SJN has changed everyone’s perspectives about SA cricket – some of it for the better, some not. Cricket South Africa (CSA), and the sport in general in South Africa, had its dirty laundry very publicly aired. What was once whispered, or spoken of “off the record”, was very publicly exposed and remains available for anyone to consume via CSA’s YouTube channel. It created uncomfortable headlines for South African cricket – personalities who have dominated the game here in the post-isolation era, were exposed for truly dreadful deeds. While they made written…

Kerry Morris WHO remembers the Monk who sold his Ferrari? I do, and I recall how the protagonist of the story jumped ship and washed his hands of his legal career, gave up his fancy house, his saucy life (his Ferrari) and disappeared. All because it got too much. The book unfolds after Julian suffers a heart attack from the magma of stress across his chest and decides, drastically, and pretty dramatically, to make a life change. This kind of tragedy-turned-triumph story has become the badge of honour in our leadership arena. The story goes like this every time: you work hard, you sacrifice everything, you make money, you lose yourself, you lose your friends, you destroy relationships, you work harder, you stress out, you check out, you break,…

Viwe Ndongeni-Ntlebi viwe.ndongeni@inl.co.za As kids grow older, it can be a challenge for them to get enough daily activity. This can be due to increasing demands at school, a feeling among some kids that they aren’t good at sports, or a lack of active role models. In spite of these barriers, parents can teach a love of physical activity and help kids fit it into their everyday lives. Doing so can set healthy patterns that will last into adulthood. This is according to Anca Wessels, a Momentum Multiply expert in biokinetics and sports massage therapy. She says that young people of all ages require daily physical activity to ensure their healthy growth and development. “Physical activity is very important for all of us, but especially so for kids and young…

Chulumanco Mahamba chulumanco.mahamba@inl.co.za JOBURG’S power utility City Power is considering legal action against Eskom over load shedding. City Power confirmed media reports that it had written to Eskom to reject the power utility’s refusal to exclude its customers in Joburg from load shedding Stage 1 and 2. City Power sent a letter to Eskom on Friday after many engagements with the power utility last week in which City Power sought to present its case of why it wanted the city excluded from load shedding. This came after City Power signed a new power purchase agreement with Kelvin Power Station which gives the city an added capacity of 220MW. “In the meetings Eskom refused to move on its stance that the 180MW electricity power generated by Kelvin’s Power Station has already…

Manchester United’s re-signing of Cristiano Ronaldo appeared to be a no-brainer – the galvanising return of a club great with the swagger of a proven winner and guaranteed goals. But is it more complicated than that? Is the presence of the Portuguese superstar at the fulcrum of the attack helping or hindering the team, who have made a stuttering start to the season? United are preparing for tonight’s Champions League encounter against Atalanta after a morale-boosting 3-0 win against Tottenham Hotspur that helped ease the pressure on manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after their 5-0 hammering by Liverpool. Ronaldo will go into the match on a high after ending a mini-drought in the league, scoring a superb volley and setting up Edinson Cavani for United’s second. His Premier League return so…

Zaahier Adams zaahier.adams@inl.co.za Dwaine Pretorius has promised that the Proteas will not release the energy valve when they face Bangladesh in the T20 World Cup in Abu Dhabi today. The Proteas have been involved in three consecutive high-intensity matches over the past week, in addition to the trauma experienced due to the Quinton de Kock #Kneegate scandal, which would no doubt have taken a huge toll on the players both physically and mentally. They had extra motivation in the last two matches against the West Indies and Sri Lanka of wanting to prove that the De Kock scandal has in fact brought them closer together as a team and were therefore running on pure adrenalin in both Dubai and Sharjah. However, upon returning to Abu Dhabi where they lost their…

FORMER Liverpool, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Spain midfielder Xabi Alonso paces up and down the sideline on a rainy Friday night in San Sebastian giving instructions to his new charges – Real Sociedad’s youth team, playing in Spain’s Second Division. It may seem a humble managerial role for a great like Alonso, winner of the World Cup, two European Championships, the Champions League with Liverpool, and domestic league titles with Real and Bayern, but the 39-year-old could not be happier. “I’m from here, I feel a strong connection to this city and this club. So, when I made the decision to become a coach, it was an easy transition here, because I didn’t feel the rush or the need to begin in a big club or in the first…

Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za CASHBUILD, the southern African- based retailer of building materials and products directly to the public, plans to continue pursuing growth opportunities following the canning of its R1 billion acquisition of Pepkor subsidiary The Building Company (TBC). Cashbuild said it was disheartened following the Competition Commission’s decision to block its TBC acquisition, according to the group’s annual report released on Friday. “We are disappointed with the termination of the acquisition of TBC as we firmly believe that this transaction would have aligned with Cashbuild’s vision of being the preferred supplier of building material and associated products and services across all market segments,” chief executive Werner de Jager said. The commission prohibited Cashbuild’s R1.075bn acquisition of TBC in May, citing that the proposed merger would create the single…

THE RECENT debates emanating from what approaches of social assistance and relief in the context of Covid-19 and even prior to it, have pitted civil society with the National Treasury. But now the Treasury has proposed a family grant and civil society is livid and will have none of it, on three grounds at least. First, they say the Treasury has secretly and privately concocted this decision without any consultation. Second, the Treasury sought to ambush the public with a policy that is woefully deficient and can only exclude the South African poor. Third, it is a policy that has no conscience of the environment on which it is implemented, hence the notion of ecological fallacy. It is this last point I will elaborate on. The social justice chair, headed…

ARGENTINIAN football superstar Lionel Messi says he has not given any thought about retiring after next year’s World Cup, adding he would love to be Barcelona sporting director when he does finally hang up his boots. The six-time Ballon D’Or winner will be 35 by the time the next World Cup – a trophy that has eluded him through his stellar career – comes in Qatar next year. Messi is tied to French Ligue 1 leaders Paris Saint Germain until June 2023 – with the option of an extra year – after leaving his beloved Barcelona in August. He told yesterday’s edition of Catalan newspaper Sport, retirement was not on his agenda. “No, truthfully no,” he said regarding hanging up his boots. “After all that has happened to me,…

Kedibone Modise kedibone.modise@inl.co.za Artists from Makhanda (Grahamstown), home of the National Arts Festival, have launched an online group exhibit of six filmed and recorded works that form a narrative about the people and creativity of Makhanda. Presented by the National Arts Festival, the Makhanda Project consists of short, compelling pieces that give “insight into the talent and diversity woven through the town, the deep quest for healing and a new beginning and some stories” behind the scenes. Each production was mentored by an experienced creator. “The Makhanda Project planted seeds for new perspectives, relationships, and artistic pursuits coming out of the town which has hosted the festival for all these years. “It’s also an opportunity for the festival to turn its attention inwards, to work with Makhanda artists in…

Viwe Ndongeni-Ntlebi viwe.ndongeni@inl.co.za Exam season is for many students the most stressful time of the academic year. Students often feel under pressure. This pressure to do well can heighten exam stress and the pressure may result in feelings of anxiety or nervousness and interfere with the individual’s daily life. While a certain amount of stress may be beneficial, too much can cause individuals to perform poorly. Parents can sometimes expect a lot from their children and pressurise them to perform well. However, having high expectations and pressuring children during exams can cause them even more exam stress. Jogini Packery, a counselling psychologist and head of campus at the South African College of Applied Psychology, says: “Parents have a pivotal role to play, but that may not be what you think…

Jaco Bruwer | Klipriviersval THERE is a mechanical hum in the air. I call out to George (who has been living and working with me for more than a decade): “Are they grading the roads?” He looks at me, smiles, and wags his finger: “It’s voting time!” The amazing consequences of voting hit me. Five or six potholes that have been growing over the past year are fixed in a day by a contingent of 20 people, three eight tonne trucks, and 3 supervisors from Gauteng central government. Local government comes and knocks on the door to hear how they can make your life better. “Remember, we care!” But there are things that voting made impossible. It has become impossible to apply common law to ex-politicians (and their…

Manchester United are a team under construction but Atalanta must be wary of their potential in the Champions League return match, coach Gian Piero Gasperini said. United have been inconsistent, following up a 3-2 win over the Italians two weeks ago with a 5-0 loss to Liverpool and a 3-0 win at Tottenham in the Premier League. They travel to Bergamo today to face an Atalanta side who are no strangers to English opposition, having played Manchester City and Liverpool in the last two seasons. “We faced City and Liverpool when they were in a good period, established teams that were well organised for some time with their style of play,” Gasperini said. “United seem to be a team in construction that still has some things to work out. But…

Zaahier Adams zaahier.adams@inl.co.za Bangladesh coach Russell Domingo believes his team can exploit the Proteas’ traditional weakness against high quality spin bowling in their T20 World Cup clash in Abu Dhabi today. Domingo, of course, knows South African cricket intimately having been the Proteas coach from 2013-2017, and previously coached the Warriors prior to his promotion to the national team. “Having worked with South Africa for a long time myself, we know that there’s always a question mark regarding the way they play spin. Hopefully the conditions will help us a little bit tomorrow,” Domingo said. “There are certain areas that we’ll look to exploit and look to focus on when we play against them. We’ve had some good discussions and some good meetings this morning to go over some of…

Reuters, Xinhua and Sputnik AS US TREASURY Secretary Janet Yellen said the Group of 20 rich nations was just “a few billion dollars short” of a pledge to raise $100 billion (R1.5 tril- liion) a year to help developing nations tackle climate change and was working hard to close the gap, China’s President Xi Jinping yesterday called on all parties to take stronger action to jointly tackle the issue. Yellen said the target number was a five-year average, and G20 members remained “very strongly committed” to the goal. “We’re very close to it this year. I think we’re only a few billion dollars short this year, and actually working hard, even now, to try to close the gap,” Yellen told reporters after a meeting with Irish Finance…

Shingai Darangwa When South African digital artist Lethabo Huma first got the call that she’d been selected to feature in Time Magazine’s “Build A Better Future” project, she went numb. She didn’t know what to say in that moment, she explains. “I wasn’t even sure if I was hearing him correctly. In that moment, during that phone call, everything didn’t feel real. “All the emotions came once I started to tell my family members... I get goosebumps speaking about it.” Huma was nominated to take part in the project by Micah Johnson, an esteemed American visual artist. The project forms part of the premiere collection of TimePieces, Time’s new NFT community initiative which saw 40 creatives from all around the world chosen to participate earlier this year. The chosen artists…

A multiYEAR study of older adults found that both short and long sleepers experienced greater cognitive decline than people who slept a moderate amount, even when the effects of early Alzheimer’s disease were taken into account. To tease apart the separate effects of sleep and Alzheimer’s disease on cognition, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis turned to volunteers who participate in Alzheimer’s studies. Such volunteers undergo annual clinical and cognitive assessments, and provide a blood sample to be tested for the high-risk Alzheimer’s genetic variant, APOE4. For this study, the participants also provided samples of cerebrospinal fluid to measure levels of Alzheimer’s proteins, and each slept with a tiny electroencephalogram (EEG) monitor strapped to their foreheads for four to six nights to measure brain activity during…

Lehlohonolo Mashigo THROUGH the SA Breweries (SAB) owner-driver programme, truck drivers who were previously employed by the brewer are now contracted to transport its products. SAB along with partners have handed over six trucks to beneficiaries of this initiative. Drivers lease and operate their own trucks to distribute SAB’s products from its various depots to retail outlets. The drivers employ their own staff, consultants, and crew, which speaks to the organisation’s efforts to build tomorrow’s entrepreneurs. “We believe that through … initiatives such as the owner-driver programme, SAB have and will continue to positively impact the lives of individuals and communities across the country,” corporate brand director, Sphe Vundla said. He added around 65% of SAB’s deliveries are done by owner-drivers, many of whom have gone on to own more…

HERMAN GIBBS Squash South Africa’s (SSA) development programmes have started paying dividends as players from previously disadvantaged ranks have started asserting themselves in the national arena. One of the brightest prospects to emerge is 16-year-old Northern Gauteng player Awande Malinga. Last week she finished runner-up at the SA Under-17 national championships. Other names making their presence felt on the national landscape include Jacques Duminy (half brother of former Proteas cricketer JP), Seth Flisberg (both from Western Province) and Zunaid Lewis (Eastern Province). These are all players of colour who have shown immense potential. They have attained excellent results over the past few months. In addition, Johannesburg-based players Panashe Sithole and Magkosi Peloakgosi underlined their credentials at the interprovincials in Port Elizabeth in September. Sithole was named at No 4…

Morgan Bolton morgan.bolton@inl.co.za However irksome it has been for South African supporters, there can be no denying that Wales have had the wood on the Springboks in recent encounters. Of the last five encounters since late 2016, the Welsh have won four, the only anomaly being the 2019 World Cup semi-final, narrowly won by the Boks 19-16. It was also the last time the two nations faced each other. Since then, both teams have introduced new coaches in Jacques Nienaber – the successor to Rassie Erasmus – and Wayne Pivac, who took over the reins from Warren Gatland. Although Deon Davids admitted that the philosophy of the Welsh has been altered in a handful of ways, the Bok assistant coach believes one thing will remain true: It will be a…

Relentless Cavani Chelsea were without forwards Romelu Lukaku, Timo Werner and Christian Pulisic at Newcastle United on Saturday but it mattered little in a 3-0 win that put them three points clear at the top of the Premier League table. Who needs them when you have a right-back capable of finishes like the two Reece James provided? James thumped in one goal with his left foot and another with his right after half-time to crack Newcastle’s resistance. The England international is now the club’s top scorer in the league this season with four goals and, while Chelsea do not have a regular scorer, they have managed to spread the load with 15 different players on target in their opening 10 games. Chelsea’s work rate across the field was impressive against…

Veteran all-rounder Shoaib Malik said yesterday Pakistan’s morale was “high” from last week’s win over India ahead of this week’s T20 World Cup match against Namibia in Abu Dhabi. Pakistan have raced to three wins in as many games starting with a resounding 10-wicket opening fixture victory over arch rivals India followed by New Zealand and Afghanistan. They need another win to qualify for the semi-finals from Group 2 of the Super 12 stage. “The morale in the camp is high,” said 39-year-old Malik before today’s meeting. “When you win games, the confidence level is quite high in the dressing-room. Everyone is looking forward to playing the rest of the games we have left in the tournament. “When you start your tournament against a big team (India) and then you…