Índex per 2022-01-05 a Star

Lutho Pasiya lutho.pasiya@inl.co.za Ukhozi FM’s annual New Year’s Eve countdown has, over the decades, become the most important signifier of the biggest hit of the year. Artists clamour to be included in the radio station’s Top 10 list. And with nearly 8 million listeners, featuring on the station’s Record of the Year list means you have a bona fide hit song. So imagine South Africa’s surprise when a song that many had not heard before was voted the Record of the Year by Ukhozi FM listeners. As people captured the moment we crossed over to 2022, videos showed their faces going from excitement to confusion as Isibani, by DJ Hlo, blared from their speakers. Conversation soon started, with many asking about the song and who the artist was, and how…

World No 1 Novak Djokovic said yesterday he was heading to the Australian Open to defend his title after being granted a Covid-19 medical exemption to play. All participants at the opening Grand Slam of the year, which starts on January 17, need to be vaccinated against Covid or have the exemption, which is assessed by an independent panel of experts. The Serbian has repeatedly refused to confirm if he has been inoculated, his participation in Melbourne the subject of intense speculation after he pulled out of this week’s ATP Cup in Sydney. “I’ve spent fantastic quality time with my loved ones over the break, and today I’m heading Down Under with an exemption permission. Let’s go 2022!” the nine-time Australian Open winner, who beat Daniil Medvedev in last year’s…

Everton manager Rafael Benitez has put his faith in Dominic Calvert-Lewin and new signings in January as the Merseysiders look to turn their Premier League season around. The England striker made his comeback after over four months out with a thigh injury in the 3-2 home defeat by Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday, when he missed a penalty. Prior to the game at Goodison Park, new £17-million left-back Vitaliy Mykolenko was introduced Everton to fans. British newspaper reports have also linked Benitez with a move for Glasgow Rangers right-back Nathan Patterson as he looks to shore up the defence of an Everton side languishing in 15th place in the 20-strong Premier League. Sunday’s match was only the eighth time this season that Everton have scored more than once in…

Three months on since a controversial takeover by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund was given the green light by the Premier League, Newcastle United have the chance to splash their new-found wealth in the January transfer window. The Magpies are badly in need of reinforcements just to remain in the English top-flight after winning just one of their 19 games this season. Newcastle’s last two matches have even been postponed because they were unable to field a team with enough senior players due to coronavirus infections and a growing injury list that could dictate who arrives at St James’ Park this month. Defenders are expected to be top of the shopping list after Newcastle shipped a Premier League record 80 goals in 2021, 42 of which have come this season.…

Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka said that rediscovering her love for tennis and not focusing on results and rankings were among her top goals for 2022, following her return to action in Melbourne yesterday after a four-month break. The Japanese former world No 1 struggled for form last year since withdrawing from the French Open in May, following a row with tournament officials over required media appearances, which she said had a negative impact on her. After losing to Leylah Fernandez in the third round of the US Open in September, Osaka took a break from the sport to focus on her mental health. The 24-year-old looked rusty in her 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 victory over Alize Cornet of France yesterday, but said she was happy with the way she handled…

Alyssia Birjalal alyssia.birjalal@inl.co.za Unemployed South Africans have a chance at finding employment through a new reality show titled The Chair. Produced by Mountain Top Productions and hosted by TV personality Mpho Monareng, the first of its kind TV show sees four candidates go at it for one job. MD of HR company Solutions, Madelein Hendricks, sits in as the show’s resident HR Specialist and judge and will provide hopeful employees with some of the tools they need to secure much-needed employment. “Job seekers genuinely do not know where to apply for work, how to structure their CVs for the best results and even what it takes to nail an interview,” said Hendricks. Unemployment is a frightening reality that many South Africans must deal and the show hopes to make a…

Kristin Engel | additional reporting by Lehlohonolo Mashigo There’s a small reprieve for cash-strapped consumers following the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy’s announcement of a drop in the price of fuel. Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe said petrol prices were set to drop by between 68 and 71 cents a litre, diesel was down by between 67.8 and 69.8 cents a litre, illuminating paraffin lower by 95 cents, LP gas was 70 cents cheaper per kilogram and the Single Maximum National Retail Price (SMNRP) for IP was down by 95 cents per litre. Mantashe said the prices of all fuels were adjusted last night and would be effective from today. The Automobile Association (AA) described the decrease as good news for South Africans. But the Association believes…

Baldwin Ndaba baldwin.ndaba@inl.co.za WITH the first batch of the state capture report now out, President Cyril Ramaphosa has said he “will step out of the way” if any of the commission’s findings implicate him in state capture, adding that it was in the nature of his character to do so when he is conflicted. He made this bold undertaking while responding to media questions following the formal handover of the first part of the report of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture, Corruption and Fraud in the Public Sector, which took place nearly four years after the establishment of the commission. The allegations that Ramaphosa could be implicated gained traction in the now-dismissed urgent application by civil society group Democracy in Action at the South Gauteng…

Nokwanda Ncwane nokwanda.ncwane@inl.co.za TO HELP ease the burden on parents’ shoulders, Thusa Ngwanageno, a non-profit organisation, helped cover books for learners at the Mmabana Primary School in Soshanguve. Thusa Ngwanageno (meaning “help your brethren”), formed in 2017, assists students with registration and tuition fees, and helps schools, by refurbishing their infrastructure and covering books for pupils. Mmabana Primary School principal, advocate Mpho Molapo, said they greatly appreciate the gesture because most of their learners come from a poor background. “Our learners really appreciate it because, for many, this is a luxury.” Molapo urged other community members to join hands with the Thusa organisation to positively impact the lives of other children. “We are a no-fee school, and fundraising is difficult because we are situated in one of the poorest communities.…

Herman Gibbs Comment THE Premier Soccer League (PSL) are masters of procrastination, and it will be no surprise if, at today’s media conference, they did not address the Kaizer Chiefs saga which has become a ticking time bomb. In mid-December, the PSL issued a statement saying they had declined Chiefs’ request to postpone their matches for December. They added there would be a press conference on January 5, 2022, and until such time, the PSL would not be available to comment on the matter. Chiefs deemed the decision to decline the request as “unjustifiable”. They have taken legal advice and will appeal to national football’s mother body, the South African Football Association (Safa), or the PSL’s Dispute Resolution Committee. It is clear that Chiefs will not take the decision lying…

THE Saudi International in February keeps pulling away A-list performers from the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, with Patrick Reed and Tony Finau announced on Monday as participants in the international event. The addition of Americans Reed and Finau to the event at Royal Greens Golf and Country Club in King Abdullah Economic City actually comes as no surprise. Reed has participated in the event in the previous three years of its existence, while Finau was joint runner-up to Dustin Johnson last year. The Saudi International will be a part of the Asian Tour schedule this time around after being an event on the European Tour in each of the last three years. Running opposite of the February 3-6 Pebble Beach event on the PGA Tour, the Saudi International will have…

Mohamed Salah, in prolific form for Liverpool this season, will lead Egypt against bogey team Nigeria in a blockbuster Group D opener at the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon. Salah leads all scorers in the Premier League this season with 16 goals, including one in the 2-2 draw with Chelsea on Sunday, his last match before leaving for west Africa. Although Egypt have won a record seven Cup of Nations titles, they have triumphed only twice in seven clashes against three-time champions Nigeria in the competition ahead of the January 11 showdown. Group winners and runners-up are assured of last-16 places, while the best four third-placed teams from the six groups also qualify. Here, we put the spotlight on the four Group D contenders ... Egypt The Pharaohs’ Portuguese…

Kedibone Modise kedibone.modise@inl.co.za Many people can attest to this. You hear a song, it hits the right spot and before long, you start singing along. Years on, you realise that you’ve been singing the lyrics wrong all along. Feeling embarrassed? Don’t. We are all guilty of mishearing the lyrics and creating our own. During the recent throwback episodes of The Daily Show, actor and comedian Trevor Noah shared the South African version of Michael Jackson’s popular classic Don’t stop ‘til you get enough, which includes some parts of the song been sung in Setswana. “In South Africa, we didn’t know what he was saying … so we thought he was signing in Setswana,” says Trevor. “So when we get to that part (chorus) we will go … ke bao, ka…

Bongani Nkosi bongani.nkosi@inl.co.za THE long-drawn battle over racially skewed allocation of police officers in the Western Cape looks set to be settled in the Constitutional Court. Organisations that proved at the Equality Court three years ago that the government unfairly discriminated against black communities by allocating them fewer police officers than their predominantly white and rich counterparts have approached the apex court. The NGOs Social Justice Coalition, Equal Education and Nyanga Community Policing Forum, as well as the Women’s Legal Centre (WLC), sought to convince the Johannesburg-based court to determine the appropriate remedy in the matter. Their victory at the Equality Court, sitting at the Western Cape High Court, remained hollow because the determination of the appropriate remedy was postponed and had still not happened, the groups submitted in court…

Mandilakhe Tshwete mandilakhe.tshwete@inl.co.za Neighbours of a man accused of setting fire to Parliament say Zandile Christmas Mafe was a “loner” who displayed erratic behaviour. At times, the 49-year-old could be seen sweeping sand in the alleys between the Q-Section houses in Khayelitsha. His next-door neighbour, Maggie Basse, said Mafe, from Mahikeng, moved into the neighbourhood in August. “He is a loner, keeps to himself. All you ever hear is when he greets and that is it,” she said. “We only know that he moved from Mfuleni.” The woman said unemployed Mafe had been acting strangely before he disappeared from the area a week ago to go and sleep on the streets of the city centre. “He would leave his shack wide open while playing music on TV and then walk…

T Markandan | Kloof I wonder if the powers that be know the old proverb: a stitch in time saves nine. The ANC government doesn’t believe in maintenance, taking care of public buildings and infrastructure. If you look around, you will see everywhere public buildings and infrastructure going to rack and ruin. Look at the parlous state of our trains. They don’t run anymore, placing a huge burden on our roads. Once rail carried 60% of the freight between Johannesburg and Durban, now it carries 14%. Our national power grid, which supplied the country with reliable energy all these years, is now ruining our economy. Eskom doesn’t believe in maintenance but waits for power stations to break down completely before carrying out costly repairs. Town halls, once…

Anita Nkonki anita.nkonki@inl.co.za ONE of the pressures of being a businessman is to make sure that you keep up with your work to meet the demands of your customers. In trying to achieve this, it is easy to forget how essential rest is. The founder of Drip Footwear, Lekau Sehoana, has spoken out about how overworking himself has resulted in fatigue. He shared with his followers on Twitter that he decided to take a break from work. “Only now that I realize that the double shifts almost got me in trouble. Still recovering from fatigue.” He said this was the first time in three years that he had taken a break. After building businesses and “creating 290 jobs”, he added, he was fully recharged and ready for the next three…

Chulumanco Mahamba chulumanco.mahamba@inl.co.za THE SOBRIETY advocacy movement Tribe Sober has urged people to start 2022 looking and feeling great by joining its annual fund-raiser and having an alcohol-free month. Tribe Sober is a movement which enables people to develop tools to support their journey to sobriety as well as becoming part of a community. “Make a donation to a good cause and receive online and community support. The Challenge is open until January 31 so pick your start date,” the movement said. The donations are to help the non-profit organisation Earthchild Project. Sobriety advocate, recovery coach and Tribe Sober founder Janet Gourand said this is the seventh January Challenge the movement has hosted. “Alcohol is so toxic that just taking one month off it will have significant health benefits. There…

China said yesterday it would continue to “modernise” its nuclear arsenal and called on the US and Russia to reduce their own stockpiles a day after global powers pledged to prevent such weapons from spreading. In a joint statement setting aside rising West-East tensions, the US, China, Russia, Britain and France reaffirmed their goal of creating a world free of atomic weapons and avoiding a nuclear conflict. The five nuclear powers also committed to full future disarmament from atomic weapons, which have only been used in conflict in the US bombings of Japan at the end of World War II. But squaring that rhetoric with reality will not be easy at a time of spiralling tensions between those same global powers not seen since the Cold War. There are growing…

Stuart Hess at the Wanderers Yesterday provided another examination for South Africa’s batters. It was one, sadly, that they didn’t pass. Dean Elgar spoke before the Test about the hard chats the players had among themselves after the first match when South Africa failed to make 200 in both innings. Elgar wanted to see action based on those talks. There was some, but not enough to take advantage of two periods of very hard work that had been done in the first 90 minutes of each of the morning and afternoon sessions. Test matches won’t be won when moments like that are allowed to lapse, as the Proteas were dismissed for 229 in response to India’s first innings of 202. The visitors ended the day on 85/2, which gave them…

World No 2 Daniil Medvedev produced a dominant performance to overwhelm Australia’s Alex de Minaur and help unbeaten Russia go within touching distance of the ATP Cup semi-finals, while Germany and Italy also scored victories in Sydney yesterday. Medvedev’s flawless display in his 6-4, 6-2 victory was the perfect response to his stunning defeat by France’s Ugo Humbert on Sunday and wiped out any doubts about his readiness for this month’s Australian Open. After Roman Safiullin battled past James Duckworth 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 to give Russia a 1-0 lead, Medvedev turned on the style to race through the opening set against De Minaur, before racing ahead 5-0 in the second and clinching the tie. “We fight when we play for our country, to the last point. I didn’t feel great…