Índex per 2022-10-13 a Star

Cancer warrior Fiona Ubisi has used her story and experience to shed light and create awareness of breast cancer among South Africans for a new Breast Cancer Awareness Month campaign. Ubisi takes us back to September 2020, seven months into the pandemic when everyone was talking about Covid-19, to how she found out about her breast cancer. The 27-year-old was working hard to better her life and that of her baby boy during a global crisis when she felt a lump in her breast. She decided to take all the necessary steps to find out what was going on in her body. “I immediately made an appointment with a breast cancer specialist.After a mammogram and biopsy, I was told I had stage 2 breast cancer.” Ubisi encouraged women to know…

I remember looking at the Gauteng schools under Panyaza Lesufi – he made several inroads in building an inclusive environment for all learners in Gauteng. The leadership he brought into the department made everyone either notice and rally behind him, or hate him. Those who like him are those who are interested in change and those resisting change find it difficult to understand his actions. I was moved by how he changed the lives of those in township schools and made sure they could taste the life of those who in the former Model C schools by making sure those schools were adequately supported. Lesufi changed the face of Gauteng schools and ensured the township schools benefited from this transformation. Will the new MEC, Matome Chiloane be bold and shape…

WITH Jaguar planning to reinvent itself as a purely electric brand from 2025, we’ll soon be saying goodbye to the British marque’s internal combustion models, and the first to have a farewell party is the Jaguar F-Type. The final production year for the two-door sports car line-up will be 2023, and to give it an appropriate send-off, Jaguar has bolstered the specification for the MY23 models and introduced a new special edition model that also celebrates the company’s 75th anniversary. Jaguar South Africa says the first deliveries of the subtly enhanced range will commence in January 2023, with pricing and to be confirmed nearer to the time. Jaguar says the MY23 line-up has become “simpler and more focused”. Twenty-inch alloy wheels are standard on all models, and there are subtle…

SHELDON van der Linde has become the first South African to win the DTM German Touring Car Championship. The 23-year-old Shubert Motorsport BMW M4 driver secured the title with third place at the thrilling DTM finale, held at the Hockenheimring in Germany on Sunday. The race was won by another BMW driver, Marco Wittmann, while René Rast finished second in his ABT Audi R8. It was a closely contested championship as Mercedes-AMG GT driver Lucas Auer had been two points shy of Van der Linde going into the race, but had to settle for second in the title race after a seventh-place finish at Hockenheim. On Saturday, Van der Linde overcame a grid penalty to battle his way up from 16th to second place. He claimed fifth on the grid…

JOSE Riveiro knew it would take time before he could steer Orlando Pirates back to the top of local football, but he didn’t know it would be this tough. The Spaniard’s appointment as the Buccaneers’ new steward was met with bemusement by ‘The Ghost’, considering his unknown track record. But he did fairly well in his first nine games, inspiring the team to five wins, two losses and two draws and the Ghost changed their tone about him. The glory days appeared to be nigh at the club and they went toe-to-toe with five-time consecutive league champions Mamelodi Sundowns in the MTN8 semi-final first leg. But a lot has changed since that ‘lovely draw’ after the international window where Pirates had four shots on target. Their backs are against the…

THIERRY Henry hit out at Kylian Mbappe amid growing rumours that the France forward wants to leave Paris Saint-Germain over his positioning as a lone forward and failed promises by the board. Reports in French and Spanish media claimed that the 23-year-old Mbappe, who extended his contract with PSG until 2025 after being close to joining Real Madrid during the close season, wants to leave the French champions in January. PSG have denied that Mbappe asked to leave. “Nobody likes to be exposed to what you’re not good at, you just don’t like it,” Henry said on CBS Sports on Tuesday. In coach Christophe Galtier’s 3-4-3 formation, Mbappe is being used as a lone forward with Lionel Messi and Neymar on either side, while he has more freedom with France,…

“WHAT are you scared of? You can run, but you can’t hide. You can duck me, you can try to avoid me. But eventually, our paths will cross.” That was the gauntlet thrown down by South African heavyweight star Kevin Lerena to British boxer Daniel Dubois this week ahead of their proposed title bout. The 25-year-old Dubois is the current WBA (regular) champion, who claimed the belt in June when he beat American Trevor Bryan via a fourth-round knockout in Miami. He boasts a record of 18-1, with 17 KOs, and is trying to set up a mega-bout with Ukrainian slayer Oleksandr Usyk, who holds the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO and IBO titles, or even lure fellow Briton and WBC champion Tyson Fury back into the ring. But those types…

Globe-trotting singer Elaine joined amapiano star Focalistic on his Instagram Live in the wee hours of Tuesday as the Champion Sound hitmaker teased their unreleased song together. Titled Boshego, it marks the first time the R&B star, who exploded onto the scene with her breakthrough 2019 album Elements, has experimented with the popular local genre. The song was produced by and features dynamic Pretoria duo Mellow and Sleazy. “Foca x @elaineofficial_ x @mellow_and_sleazy012 - BOSHEGO … What do you think ? Fire flame emojies if wang feeela,” shared Focalistic, with a recording of their Instagram Live. Last week, Elaine released her third single of the year, Fading Away before her upcoming album. Spotify announced a few days ago that the new single features on its EQUAL Africa playlist and named…

Twenty suspected illegal miners arrested at a Stilfontein mineshaft as well as an additional accused have been remanded in custody. The group, aged between 19 and 40, appeared in the Stilfontein Magistrate’s Court yesterday. SABC radio station Motsweding FM reported that the court allowed the media to record the proceedings, but ordered that the faces or identity of the accused should not be recorded. The group was arrested by the Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Investigation team assisted by the Hawks’ Tactical Management Section, Special Task Force, National Intervention Unit, District Illegal Mining Task Team, Tactical Response Team, Bidvest Protea Coin, and Harmony Gold mine. “The operation comes following weeks of surveillance into alleged illegal mining activities, resulting in the arrest of 20 suspects and the seizure of 15 AK-47s, six…

Scholar transport drivers, teachers and informal traders operating outside Faranani Primary School are now living in fear after a parent of one of the learners was gunned down outside the Protea Glen school on Tuesday afternoon. The incident, which happened in full view of everyone, has left the community, including learners, teachers, parents and transport operators, shocked and traumatised. It is alleged that Eugene Tshililo was shot dead by one of a group of suspects involved in a car hijacking. Tshililo tried to save the situation after the suspects tossed aside the hijacking victim and the child she was carrying and stole her car. “The children are traumatised. As transport operators we are also living in fear. We are all not safe after this incident. Some of the kids were…

Gauteng MEC Mbali Hlophe has outlined departmental plans for Social Development, Agriculture and Rural Development that will help better the livelihoods of Gauteng citizens. The department highlighted the importance of focusing on the poor and working class who continued to be the victims of poverty, underdevelopment and its associated ills. With substance abuse identified as one of the grave ills prevalent in the country, Hlophe shared strategies and plans to prevent it from getting worse. This involved implementing multiple programmes that would educate young people about the detrimental use of substance abuse and convert them into ambassadors. Ke Moja is one of the substance abuse programmes aimed at reducing the demand for drugs in communities, a programme that the department says they want to develop. Through the GRC anti-substance strategy,…

One of South Africa’s biggest culture gatherings, Cotton Fest, has been announced to be heading to Cape Town for the first time on December 10 in Paarden Roland Park. Created by global music and fashion icon Rikhado “Riky Rick” Makhado, the festival exploded in popularity back in 2019 featuring over 150 artists. Known to be more than just a festival, this youth culture gathering celebrates the new wave of music, fashion and lifestyle. Mainly known for merging both established and upcoming South African talent, Cotton Fest also showcases diversity in music while fusing the gaps within the various local current movements. Bringing the same authentic vibe to the Mother City, Cotton Fest Cape Town will feature some of South Africa’s finest talent performing over two stages. This action-packed festival will…

Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture Nathi Mthethwa has launched the government’s national roadmap for the International Decade of Indigenous Languages and the historic dictionary of the endangered N|uu language. The launch, which took place at Ditsong National Museum in Pretoria, had translators translating the event in South African and African languages. Language book sellers and authors showed off their products as speakers emphasised the importance of preserving and advancing African language and giving their importance in an African context. Mthethwa said they were responding to the Unesco campaign that the decade of 2022 to 2032 should be the decade of indigenous languages. He said they were mindful and conscious that the country and continent needed their own road maps towards the development of our languages. “According to Unesco, the…

PERFORMANCE cars – we love them. Outside Germany, South Africa is one of the biggest markets for them and every allocation we get from BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen is often spoken for before it arrives here. There’s undoubtedly a business case to be made for VW’s new Tiguan R and absolutely for the Golf 8 R. VW South Africa has been hounding Wolfsburg since they were introduced in Germany two years ago and they’re finally starting to trickle in, giving us an opportunity to experience them along some of the Western Cape’s roads and passes. Performance and SUV are technically words that don’t really belong together but the world is SUV gaga, so here we are. To be honest though, there are some that do the job well. The Tiguan…

VARBERGS BoIS head coach Joakim Persson has backed Bafana Bafana midfielder Luke le Roux to soon win a contract with a bigger club. The 22-year-old has been on the books of the modest Swedish Allsvenskan (top-flight) club since 2020, going on to become a first-team regular in the process. He was part of the most recent Bafana Bafana squad for friendly games against Sierra Leone and Botswana, making appearances in both games. Given his age and technical qualities, Le Roux fits the profile of the type of player Bafana coach Hugo Broos may want to work with in the build-up to preparing a team worthy of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup in North America. “I am not surprised that the best of Sweden in their position is doing well,…

Sphelele Mkhulise knows it will be tough to keep his place in Mamelodi Sundowns’ starting line-up, and that’s why he’s working his socks off. After being promoted by coach Pitso Mosimane a few seasons ago, Mkhulise was tipped to be one of the talented gems to come out of the club’s youth ranks. However, he lost his place in the starting line-up, while injuries didn’t make his life any easier. The departure of Mosimane to Al Ahly meant there were changes in the coaching unit, with Rhulani Mokwena and Manqoba Mngqithi taking over. The duo made changes and new players joined the team, which pushed Mkhulise down in the pecking order as he was demoted to the bench. On Sunday, Mkhulise got his third start and first goal of the…

It was a night of inspiring musical bliss as the Idols SA season 18 top six contestants were selected. Each week contestants showcase two songs they hope will win over the hearts of Mzansi and get them through to the next round. Sunday night live at Tshwane’s Heartfelt Arena saw the end of the journey for Kabelo. With over 8.5 million viewer votes this week, the top six are Mpilo, Noxolo, Nozi, Thapelo, Ty Loner, and Zee. Zee performed Christina Aguilera’s Hurt, followed by Uzuliphathe Kahle with Joyous Celebration. Somizi Mhlongo said: “You were flawless. Your lower register is insane – you sounded confident and mature.” Thembi Seete agreed: “You can do any song right now; the second performance injected life into us.” JR Bogopa also had high praise for…

Civil society and the opposition express dismay over ‘lack of leadership’ Crime in South Africa has soared under President Cyril Ramaphosa and his government, civil society and opposition parties have said, expressing their unhappiness with the president’s “lack of leadership”. Increased horrendous crimes have occurred under Ramaphosa’s nose, including the gang-rape of and murder of eight young women, instances of GBV, flourishing zama zama operations, heists and kidnapping. Along with this, there is an ailing economy, failed SOEs, the Phala Phala Farm scandal, among other woes. In 2012, former president Jacob Zuma fired Bheki Cele who was then police chief. However, Ramaphosa, wanting to win votes from KwaZulu-Natal, hired him as police minister. After the traumatic gang-rape of the eight women in Krugersdorp, Cele was heard saying one woman was…

Amnesty International in South Africa has called for the decriminalisation of sex work and the protection of sex workers, following the discovery of the bodies of six women, believed to be sex workers, in Joburg. “If you look at who are the majority of sex workers … the majority are young, usually black women who are really doing sex work in order to feed their families and their dependants. That is the reality of sex workers in this country,” Amnesty International South Africa’s executive director Shenilla Mohamed said. “People don’t go into sex work in South Africa in particular because it is a great thing to do. It is often out of desperation. We, and others have been fighting for decades for the decriminalisation of sex work for the simple…

PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa’s false promises to the ANC in Limpopo will have devastating results for his bid to be elected for a second term ahead of the party’s 55th national elective conference to be held at Nasrec, Joburg in December. This is according to assertions by political role-players and sources within Ramaphosa’s faction that he has not supported VBS accused and former Limpopo provincial treasurer Danny Msiza to become secretary at the provincial elective conference in June. Msiza was charged by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) for his role in the alleged looting of the now defunct VBS Mutual Bank in the Vhembe district of Limpopo during 2018. Msiza, who has stepped aside from any ANC duties following the charges, is believed to have funded the cash-strapped ANC during their…

The annual We Can Arts Festival is back and set to take place on October 22 at the Durban Playhouse. This project is aimed at fostering the inclusion, integration and promotion of artists with disabilities into the mainstream creative arts economy. The theme for this year is “No impediments to shine” and will feature an array of South African artists, such as the legendary blind Mbhaqanga musician Babsy Mlangeni; a multi-award-winning gospel sensation with albinism, Sgwili; an up-and-coming blind maskandi guitarist Chaos Machafuko; an Afropop singer who uses a wheelchair, Pinky 1st Lady; and Afrosoul guitarist and vocalist Khazozo. They will also be supported by other artists without disabilities, including Big Zulu, Ernie Smith, Phuzekhemisi, Nqubeko Mbatha and Thee Legacy. The show will be hosted by Nontobeko Mbuyazi, an international…

DON’T expect a Ford Ranger Raptor in the Dakar any time soon, but never say never too soon either. That’s the word from Trevor Worthington, vice president of Ford’s ICE product programmes and the Ford Performance programme, speaking in Detroit recently. “When I joined the Ford Performance team, one of the observations I made was that we have all these iconic vehicles, and we’re not using them the way we should. Our spending was pretty much on V8 Supercar and Nascar with Mustang. “Since then, we’ve expanded Bronco with the Bronco 4 600 and 4 400 bespoke race vehicles, so we’ve done all the hard work, and frankly I’d love to see Ranger compete in these global iconic events. The architecture suits it and if Ranger customers saw them in…

THE new-generation BMW M2 has been unleashed and you’ll be glad to know it remains true to the fundamentals of Bavaria’s original pocket rocket, the 2002 Turbo. Unlike its larger M-powered siblings, there is no option of all-wheel drive here – power goes purely to the rear wheels, and there’s a lot more of it. BMW’s M division has increased the power output by a wholesome 66kW. The M2’s 3.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine thumps out 338kW at 6 250rpm, redlining at 7 200, while 550Nm is available from 2 650rpm. That should be enough to catapult the compact sports coupé from 0-100km/h in 4.1 seconds, according to factory claims, while the top speed can be lifted from 250km/h to 280km/h if you opt for the M Driver’s Package. In another…

MANCHESTER United owners the Glazer family do not want to sell the Premier League club, according to British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe. United fan Ratcliffe, who owns the Ineos chemical group, was interested in buying the Old Trafford club after his unsuccessful bid to take over at Chelsea earlier this year. There had been reports the Glazers could be ready to consider selling United after increasingly angry fan protests during their troubled reign. But while Ratcliffe wants to add to the Ineos sporting portfolio, he revealed the American owners told him United are not on the market. “Manchester United is owned by the Glazer family, whom I have met,” Ratcliffe said at Financial Times Live conference on Tuesday. “I met Joel and Avram, and they are the nicest people. They are…

NOVAK Djokovic is eager to play at the Australian Open but it’s up to him to “work out the situation” with the government, tournament chief Craig Tiley said yesterday, while confirming Russians and Belarusians can compete as neutrals. This year’s championship was overshadowed by an unvaccinated Djokovic being deported from Australia on the eve of the grand slam after a high-stakes legal battle over his visa status. The nine-time champion from Serbia is currently serving a three-year ban from entering Australia. It can be overturned at the discretion of the centre-left government, which is different to the conservative coalition in power when he was kicked out. But they have given no indication on whether they would consider this. Tiley said he spent time with Djokovic recently and the Serbian wanted…

MATHEMATICALLY, the Proteas can still qualify automatically for the 50-over World Cup, but a packed summer schedule that includes the new SA20 tournament could see the country’s top players not involved in crucial matches against England and the Netherlands. The Proteas are due to play both countries in their five remaining ICC Super League fixtures. The Super League, which will be done away with for the 2027 tournament cycle, will determine the top seven teams that will join hosts India in qualifying automatically for the World Cup next year. The rest will go into a qualifying tournament in Zimbabwe in June, when the top two teams will gain the remaining berths for the 50-over showpiece. Following the series loss to a second-string India side, the Proteas remain in 11th place…