Índex per 2023-07-07 a Star

THE SOUTH African Reserve Bank (SARB) said yesterday it would not comment on whether or not it froze the funds in five accounts linked to the ailing Steinhoff’s local operations. This comes after an online publication, the Daily Maverick, published a story claiming that the central bank froze Steinhoff’s funds which are valued at about R5.5 billion. Steinhoff owns 44.5% of Pepkor and 75% of European discount retailer Pepco and stakes in US Mattress Firm and Greenlit brands, an Australian furniture seller. In response to the Business Report queries, SARB said: “As the SARB, we are unable to comment on ongoing investigations and matters relating thereto”. According to the report, Steinhoff did not clearly declare in its latest annual financial statements that the central bank has frozen its accounts.…

The bill will accelerate the destruction of the legal tobacco value chain, says Batsa Tobacco industry stakeholders said yesterday, they support the need for regulation in the tobacco industry, but it must be based on reality and should not lead to job losses. The tobacco industry stakeholders held a press briefing in Johannesburg yesterday, as the Parliament’s portfolio committee on health invited public comments on the Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Control Bill. British American Tobacco SA (Batsa) said the bill would accelerate the destruction of the legal tobacco value chain and permanently entrench a dominant illicit trade, without reducing smoking. Batsa general manager Johnny Moloto said: “The 2020 tobacco sales ban (during the Covid-19 lockdown), which South Africa’s courts declared unconstitutional, demonstrated the effects of prohibition as consumers…

Coco Lee has died at the age of 48. The actress and singer voiced the leading role of Fa Mulan in the Mandarin version of In Walt Disney’s 1998 classic Mulan, but died on Sunday following a battle with depression, according to her sisters. The sisters released a statement on Facebook on Wednesday, which read: “Not only did she bring us joy with her songs and dances in the past 29 years, she also worked hard to break new ground for Chinese singers in the international music scene and has been doing her utmost to shine for the Chinese To all the fans and friends who love. “With great sadness, we would like to tell you sad news: CoCo, unfortunately, suffered from depression a few years ago. After a long…

The battle between the ANC and a marketing firm responsible for the ANC’s 2019 election campaign is heating up before the courts. This comes after the ANC’s R10 million offer was rejected by Ezulwini Investments, a business that provided the ANC with campaign material for the 2019 general elections but was never paid for its services until it sought the court’s intervention to collect the money. This is supported by the letters that the ANC’s attorneys sent to Sarlie and Associates, the attorneys for Ezulwini Investment. A devastating writ of execution was issued by the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg in May of this year, enabling the sheriff to seize items owned by the ANC, the country’s ruling party, and sell them to recoup the R102 million owed to the…

COSATU and its affiliated unions have sent out a clear and stern message to the government and the private sector that it cannot be business as usual while the country continues to battle rampant unemployment, high interest rates, the energy and water crises and inequality. The labour federation’s Matthew Parks said it was pleased that workers across all nine provinces had responded positively to the call to stay away from work in support of the nationwide strike to put the spotlight on workers’ plight. Parks said that as it stood, the levels of frustration, despair, anger, poverty, indebtedness, unemployment, crime and corruption were a time bomb that the government and businesses had to deal with sooner rather than later. Parks said their two main concerns for the trade union were…

Another life Kristin Hannah Loot (R260) Macmillan Another Life is a powerful hopeful story of the life-changing impact of the connections we form. Angie DeSaria has spent years of her life trying to have a child. Now, her marriage has crumbled under the strain. Adrift and alone, she returns to her childhood home, a small coastal town in the Pacific Northwest, to help try to rescue the beloved, failing family business. Lauren Ribido is a senior in high school. She dreams of an Ivy League education, escaping her hometown and her troubled mother. When Angie hires Lauren to work at the restaurant, they form an immediate bond, which deepens when Lauren’s mother abruptly leaves town and Angie offers her a place to stay. But nothing could have prepared Angie for…

SECTION27 and other organisations have expressed concern that despite a court ruling earlier that pregnant and lactating women and children under six must receive free health services, some hospitals and clinics still insist on payment. There are also reports of pregnant migrants being turned away from hospitals. Since the ruling, the Sexual and Reproductive Justice Coalition and other civil society organisations have received reports of various public health facilities (administrators and individual clinicians) demanding that pregnant migrant women pay to access services. In April, the Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg, upheld the right of these women and children to access free health services at all public health establishments, including hospitals. This ruling followed an application brought by Section27 alongside women who had been denied access to such services. The ruling reaffirmed…

THE SRC at the Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University (SMU) in Ga-Rankuwa has rejected the “student transport increase”. According to university management, there had been unconfirmed talks among students that those who live off campus would have to dig deeper into their pockets to be ferried to the university and back on a daily basis. A communiqué posted on social media by the student representative council leadership and addressing the “SMU community at large” stated that it was rejecting any proposal for an increase, especially after the student leaders had not been consulted. The letter, signed by SRC president Thato Mesekoa and his secretary-general Lebohang Thuse, read in part: “The SRC has noted recent communications from the CFO and the COO with great disappointment and concerns as it relates to…

During my birthday, one of my friends bought me Oliver Tambo Speaks and he assured me that “I know that you will enjoy OR’s speeches”. After I read the book, I called him to tell him OR Tambo was ahead of his time and promised we would discuss the books after I got back from my trip to Limpopo. I had been invited to attend a Thanksgiving party of a friend who had been promoted to professorship, thanks to his contribution to the field of knowledge. My friend is a polymath who reshaped Xitsonga literature with contextual modernism. The guest speaker was Professor OR Chauke, who exceeded my expectations. The occasion was graced with language specialists who have community of view that African languages are a backbone to a country’s…

RECENTLY, the Standalone BRICS Ministers of Foreign Affairs and International Relations Meeting was held in Cape Town, followed by a meeting of the core of BRICS with representatives of a number of other states, which are commonly called the “BRICS Plus” format. The group was founded in June 2006 on the margins of the St Petersburg Economic Forum and initially included the leading developing countries – Brazil, Russia, India and China. South Africa joined the association in 2011. According to Bloomberg agency statistics based on the IMF data, BRICS countries will have a share of more than 33% in global economic growth by 2028 while G7 countries will contribute less than 28%. However, taking into consideration this indicator, BRICS countries have already surpassed the association of seven of the largest…

London: A girl, 8, was killed and several other children were injured yesterday after a car ploughed into a primary school building in south-west London. The crash at the private Study Prep girls’ school in Wimbledon, was not being treated by police as terror-related. Aerial footage of the scene showed a Land Rover car stopped at an angle against the wall of the school building. The driver, a woman in her 40s, was detained on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving, the police said. Seven children and two adults were injured, and several casualties were treated as critical. | AFP…

Shanghai: Electric car giant Tesla is set to realise fully autonomous vehicles “later this year”, CEO Elon Musk said yesterday at the World AI Conference in Shanghai. “I think we’ll achieve full self-driving, maybe what you would call four or five, I think later this year,” the billionaire added, referring to two of the most advanced levels of autonomous driving technology. Musk has missed his own deadlines for a fully autonomous vehicle, and Tesla’s driver-assistance technology has provoked regulatory probes in the US. Electric vehicles make up a quarter of car sales in China. | AFP…

HILDAH Magaia is excited and nervous to play in her first Fifa Women’s World Cup, but she has vowed to be one of the solutions for Banyana Banyana’s scoring woes. Magaia cut her football teeth at the Tshwane University of Technology, captaining the side to various trophies including the Varsity Football crown. It was her football and leadership qualities that saw her soar, bagging her a move to Swedish side Moron BK before moving to South Korea last year, joining Sejong Sportstoto. Her move to Sportstoto ensured that Magaia grew in leaps and bounds and she earned a call-up to Banyana’s final squad for the 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) finals. There the 28-year-old etched her name in the history books by scoring a brace that sunk hosts…

MINISTER of Employment and Labour Thulas Nxesi has encouraged job seekers not to undermine certain reliable job opportunities available to them on the back of South Africa’s unemployment crisis. Nxesi yesterday launched the Jobs Fair initiative and the Public Employment Services (PES) buses at Nasrec in Johannesburg. “Taking an entry-level job might lead to processes of discovery of talents and skills that you have. You will never know what you are good at unless you try,” Nxesi said. “Use our labour centres to talk to employment practitioners and counsellors, for advice, seek out mentors and trusted people that can help you during your job search journey.” The purpose of the Jobs Fair is to create an opportunity for work seekers to meet with prospective employers and other organisations or departments…

HERIOT real estate investment trust (Reit), which has been in the process of acquiring control of Safari Investments through the past year, said yesterday it had acquired a further 385 237 Safari shares at R5.65 each, bringing its shareholding to 57%. Heriot said in a JSE notice yesterday it and its associates, Reya Gola Investments and Heriot Investments, had held 56.8% of the total Safari shares in issue prior to the latest purchase. The purchase was executed by way of an on-market block trade on the JSE. It is not a hostile takeover. The parties had sought Competition Approval for a merger early last year already. Compared with many South African Reits, Safari appears to be trading well after declaring an unchanged dividend of 32 cents for the…

ATTACQ, the JSE listed real estate investment trust said yesterday agreements had been concluded for the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) to acquire a 30% stake in subsidiary Waterfall Investment Company (Awic), which owns Attacq’s flagship development Waterfall City, for R2.7 billion. The parties had announced in February that they were considering a deal to acquire a stake in Awic and provide it with a shareholder loan advance. Should the transaction be approved by shareholders, the PIC would acquire 30% of the shares and shareholder loans in Awic in exchange for R2.39bn in cash, with an additional R300 million injected by the PIC as a shareholder loan. Attacq would retain control of Awic with a majority stake of 70%, and it would continue to provide asset, property, development and…

EVERY year, hundreds of thousands of South Africans emigrate. Some go in pursuit of new career opportunities, while others hope for a safer environment for their children. Still others leave to be closer to children and grandchildren who’ve already left the country or to study at a prestigious university overseas. While it’s difficult to put an exact number on how many people emigrate every year, it’s worth noting that a 2022 survey found that 25% of registered voters were considering emigration. Data released last year, meanwhile, shows that more than 914 000 people left the country between 2015 and 2020. Barring a few younger people who leave with nothing but the clothes in their suitcases, each one of those people will have gone through a lot of time-consuming financial…

ARTIFICIAL Intelligence (AI) is revolutionising the cybersecurity landscape, changing the way businesses can detect, prevent, and respond to cyber threats and offering a more robust and proactive approach to cybersecurity. AI has the potential to substantially reduce the cost and complexity of cybersecurity strategies. However, AI technologies also come with a range of ethical, legal and privacy implications that must be considered. Organisations must find the right IT partner to help them plan for and invest in proactive measures, such as staff training and education, to ensure that their cybersecurity defences can best leverage the benefits AI has to offer while minimising the risks involved. Harnessing the Power of AI AI has powerful potential when it comes to enhancing cybersecurity, with machine learning algorithms able to quickly and accurately detect…

Popular South African actress Letoya Makhene-Pulumo recently opened up about her decision to leave the long-running television soapie, Generations: The Legacy. Fans of the show were shocked when news of her departure broke, sparking widespread speculation. Having portrayed Tshidi Phakade on Generations: The Legacy for several years, Makhene-Pulumo became a household name. In her interview with TshisaLive, Makhene-Pulumo said her decision to leave was driven by personal and creative growth and flagged the importance of exploring new horizons as an artist. She expressed a strong desire to challenge herself by venturing into different creative projects. “I absolutely love film. This is why I made a decision to leave Generations: The Legacy ... not because I didn’t enjoy it or I didn’t appreciate the platform that I had. We…

A woman who poured boiling water on a 4-year-old boy has been arrested. Unako Khala was playing with his friends on June 24 when the incident happened in Langa. His frustrated aunt Yonela Mnyombolo put a post on Facebook about the incident. “I was so angry because the police were not doing anything. This happened almost two weeks ago. The child got home burnt and when we asked, he told us he was playing in Settlers and the suspect opened the gate and threw water on him. “She didn’t do this to all the children who were there, but my nephew.” The boy’s mother went to confront the suspect a few minutes later. “They took a video of her while she admitted to throwing water at Unako. She said he…

Onwards Karen Dudley Loot (R260) Penguin KAREN Dudley is a chef and restauranteur best known for her iconic Woodstock deli and restaurant, The Kitchen (yes, the one Michelle Obama visited) and for her cookbooks. She was also presenter of a superb video series, I’ll Bring the Wine, which you can find on YouTube. “Looking at the pile of beaten pots, bowls and the well-seasoned baking trays, a little solo sob echoed around my quiet shop. In the slightly stale air, my vintage crockery and wobbly tables seemed to have lost their meaning. The street outside was quiet. No hooting taxis, no car guards, no cars jostling for parking. I understood that our lives would never be the same.” Karen’s new book, Onwards, details the food journey she has been on…

Johannesburg Water has warned residents in areas such as Roodepoort, Randburg, Soweto, Southdale, Ennerdale and Joburg Central to store water from Sunday ahead of a planned three day Rand Water outage from July 11-13. The water outage will start at 7pm on Tuesday and end at 3pm on Thursday. According to Joburg Water, the closure is part of an effort to maintain the capacity of the affected infrastructure. The utility said: “It is estimated that full recovery of the systems may take approximately five days or longer after the supply has been fully restored.” Johannesburg Water said it would arrange alternative water supply for hospitals, clinics, schools, municipal offices, police stations, and shopping centres. The following Johannesburg Water infrastructure, including reservoirs, towers and direct feeds will be impacted: Roodepoort/Randburg areas…

A SOWETO youngster’s obsession with music, and in particular Afro house DJ Edit SA, has put him on the path to success after realising his long-term dream to collaborate with his hero. Mlondi Mbatha, 24, with the stage name Kinaty Dhe Artist, exploded on to the music scene in 2019, and has been recognised by the likes of DJ Edit SA, real name Kennedy Mudzuli, who has roped him into his new single, Uthando Lwami. Mbatha was born and raised in Nquthu, KwaZulu-Natal, but now lives in arguably the largest township in the country, Diepkloof, and is described by his fellow musicians as a singer and songwriter of note. “I moved to Soweto, living with my mother, granny and my two brothers, to push my career after I met a…

HIGH use of soybean oil has been associated with obesity and diabetes, as well as autism, Alzheimer’s disease, anxiety, and depression. Add ulcerative colitis, a kind of inflammatory bowel disease characterised by chronic inflammation of the large intestine, to the growing list. Researchers at the University of California, Riverside, examined the gut of mice that were consistently fed a diet high in soybean oil for up to 24 weeks in the lab. They found beneficial bacteria decreased and harmful bacteria (specifically, adherent invasive Escherichia coli) increased – conditions that can lead to colitis. Soybean oil is the most commonly used edible oil in the United States and is increasingly being used in other countries, particularly Brazil, China, and India. In the US, soybean production took off in the 1970s for…

Known for her bubbly personality and witty TikTok videos, Khanyisa Jaceni’s career journey has been on an upward trajectory as she continues to gain recognition. The star, who is also a musician, got her break in 2017 at the Vodacom NXT LVL music competition, where she was a finalist. She has collaborated with renowned artists such as Kabza De Small, DJ Maphorisa, Malumz On Decks, Mr Jazziq, Lady Ou, Marcus MC, Tsiki XII and Focalistic, releasing hit after hit that resonated with audiences around the world. For July, audio streaming platform Spotify has also announced Jaceni as its EQUAL Africa ambassador. With this accolade, she joins fellow South Africans Tyla, Sio, and Elaine, who have previously headlined the programme. EQUAL Africa seeks to spotlight and amplify the voices of African…

The unemployment rate of South Africans aged 15 to 35 stands at 46.5%, not including those in active education or training. This is the most cited statistic illustrating the need for the economic emancipation of our youth. This substantiates the claims made by a consumer rewards app, Maholla, which tracked the purchasing habits of thousands of users in the youth category. The fact that youth unemployment is at an all-time high correlates with the fact that they have the smallest basket size in South Africa. The overall basket size of consumers aged 18 to 35 yielded an average rand value of just R212.68 a basket across 45 800 shoppers. The basket sizes of pensioners proved to be higher than those of our youth. This shows a worrying trend: South Africa’s…

Six MONTHS ago, on Christmas Eve, a Boksburg gas tanker explosion killed 41 people. Fireball videos and images of burnt bodies were posted on social media in the aftermath of the explosion in the east of Johannesburg. Law enforcement and the local government promised justice. But the victims and their families have had little in the way of communication or answers. Yesterday morning, South Africans awoke to a fresh tragedy unfolding in the area. Illegal miners, commonly referred to as zama-zamas, allegedly got their hands on a nitrate oxide gas tank which they intended to use in their illegal mining activities. The poisonous gas is what allegedly killed residents. As the death toll climbed, Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi was at the scene lamenting the rampant scourge of zama-zamas and how…

Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin was still in Russia, Belarus’s president said yesterday, raising questions about the deal to end the mercenary leader’s mutiny last month. Residents of the western Ukraine city of Lviv were meanwhile still reeling from a Russian missile strike early yesterday that killed five and injured dozens more. Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko mediated a deal to end Prigozhin’s revolt, the most serious challenge to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s rule, that was to see the mercenary head into Belarusian exile. “As far as Prigozhin is concerned, he is in Saint Petersburg ... He is not in Belarus,” Lukashenko, who has ruled isolated Belarus for nearly three decades, told reporters from foreign media outlets in Minsk. Lukashenko said he knew “for sure” that Prigozhin was free. The Kremlin in…

Bangkok: Myanmar’s junta accused anti-coup fighters of killing 15 civilians in a rocket attack, a claim disputed by the rebels who said the dead were members of a pro-military militia. Another seven people, including three Buddhist monks, were wounded. The Southeast Asian nation has been in crisis since a 2021 coup that sparked renewed fighting with ethnic rebel groups and led to the creation of dozens of newer “People’s Defence Forces” now battling the junta. There are almost daily killings of low-level junta officials or alleged informers ac, with details murky and reprisals often swift. | AFP…

ANOTHER race and another personal best for is on the cards for Glenrose Xaba. The Boxer Athletic Club athlete is super-charged, as per her nickname, and just can’t seem to stop running faster. Ahead of Sunday’s Absa Run Your City Durban 10k, expectations are that Xaba will once again improve her 10km time in the women’s only elite race, in which Ethiopian Yalamzef Yehualaw will be going for a world record. Xaba has improved her 10km time twice already this year – running a 32 minutes and 12 seconds in the Gqeberha leg of the Spar Grand Prix Series before becoming the third fastest South African woman over the distance with a 31:56 in Durban last month. Only national record holder Elana Meyer with her 31:13 and Colleen de Reuck…

The Cricket SA Awards – also known as South African cricket’s Oscars – return this evening at Vodaworld in Midrand for the first in-person ceremony post Covid-19 lockdowns. Its significance cannot be understated after the low-key virtual ceremonies over the past couple of years that was indicative of the administrative turmoil Cricket SA had experienced over that period. But with CSA seemingly getting its house in order over the past 12 months there is reason to celebrate again, especially after the Proteas Women’s team historic feat in becoming the first South Africa senior team to reach an ICC T20 World Cup final and the relative resurgence of the Proteas’ Men’s team during the home international season. An almost ironic embodiment of this turnaround in fortunes, particularly for the Proteas Men’s…

THE CONFEDERATION of Trade Unions (Cosatu) said its stay-away yesterday to highlight labour and socio-economic issues was successful and it was looking forward to the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTPBS) later on this year to gauge government's response to the demands presented. Spokesperson Matthew Parks said the turnout in all nine provinces and major urban areas had been overwhelming and where workers did not go to the marching events, they staged pickets outside their places of employment. At least two unions, the Democratic Nurses Association of South Africa and the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union marched shoulder to shoulder in delivering the petitions to various institutions including the South African Reserve Bank, the South African Local Governments Association, government institutions and at various employer organisations. The South…

FINANCE Minister Enoch Godongwana has urged African countries to focus on tax transparency to counter tax evasion and illicit financial flows which continue to bleed the continent billions of dollars every year. This comes as South Africa has recently been greylisted by the Financial Action Task Force due to certain deficiencies in its anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism and proliferation financing framework. Godongwana yesterday said the African Union Commission estimated the amount of illicit financial flows from Africa ranged between €48 billion (R977.7bn) and €77bn, in its domestic resource mobilisation report of 2019. The Minister yesterday delivered an address at the 13th Meeting of the Africa Initiative, hosted by the South African Revenue Services (Sars) in Cape Town. He emphasised the importance of tax transparency…

FORMER CEO of the Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) Tshepo Mahanuke insists he did not fake his qualifications to get the top job. JRA fired Mahanuke last month after uncovering some discrepancies in his academic qualifications. The JRA alleged that Mahanuke claimed to have a Master’s degree from Harvard University in the US. The board of the JRA also questioned his honorary doctorate from an international university. Several investigations were conducted into the matter, including a court process that was still under way. In an interview with The Star, Mahanuke insisted that his qualifications were real and that there was a witch-hunt out to get him. He said some confusion was intentionally created about a course he did called Master Competitive Intelligence. “What they are leaning on is that I claimed…

EFF leader Julius Malema has taken a swipe at newly-elected ANCYL president Collen Malatji and other youth leaders, who earlier this week accused him of being ill-disciplined and stealing ANC policies to further his career as EFF leader. On Monday, while addressing the media at Luthuli House, Malatji said Malema was booted out of the ANC due to ill-discipline. He added that the EFF was a cult organisation where the most educated leaders were not allowed to speak. These comments by the youth leaders were earlier articulated by ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula, who in March said Malema stole the idea of the EFF’s seven cardinal pillars from the ANC. Yesterday, Malema addressed members of the media two weeks ahead of the EFF’s 10-year celebrations set for Soccer City Stadium on…

The Memory Of Animals Claire Fuller Loot (R260) Fig Tree Neffy is a young woman running away from grief, guilt and the one big mistake that has cost her her career. When she answers the call to volunteer in a controlled vaccine trial, it offers her a way to pay off her many debts and, perhaps, to make up for the past. But when the London streets below her window fall silent, and all external communications cease, only Neffy and four other volunteers remain in the unit. With food running out, and a growing sense that the strangers she is with may be holding back secrets, Neffy has questions no one can answer. Does safety lie inside or beyond the unit? And who or what is out there? While she…

Bullet in the Heart - Four brothers ride to war 1899-1902 Beverley Roos-Muller Loot (R210) Jonathan Ball In 1899, four Boer brothers left their homes in the Orange Free State and rode off to defend their land and fight the Brits. One of the four brothers was the grandfather of the writer’s husband, Ampie Muller. Through scraps of paper and diaries, some so small they fitted in the palm of a hand, Beverley Roos-Muller has penned a fascinating book about a war that shaped so much of our country. Mostly, what she has written is a story that offers the deeply human side to the bloody confrontation between the two warring sides that spoke of tragedy, deep loss, brutality and inhumanness. Many will have read some of the dozens of…

A JUDGE questioned why the sheriff attached a summons meant for Ford Motor Company on the car manufacturer’s door at its Silverton plant, instead of handing it over to one of the people there. This step by the sheriff resulted in a default judgment against Ford as it had no idea it was being sued. Several of Ford’s workers turned to the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria in March, regarding a contract dispute, in which it claimed compensation. As Ford never answered to the summons, the workers obtained a default judgment against the company. In turning to court to ask for the order against it to be rescinded, Ford said it had had no knowledge of the legal action against it, as it had neither received the summons nor was notified…

A newly-introduced audio trip recording safety feature in South Africa will empower both driver and passenger, enhancing transparency and accountability while on trips on an e-hailing service provider, Bolt. Bolt is introducing a new feature to its in-app safety toolkit for drivers and passengers to initiate an audio recording of their trip within the app, offering a solution in situations where they may feel unsafe during the trip. Takura Malaba, regional manager, East and Southern Africa at Bolt, said: “We continuously develop safety features. The audio trip recording feature is the newest addition to our in-app safety toolkit for our Bolt community to use if they’re ever feeling uncomfortable during a ride.” He added that when necessary, the recorded audio can be easily retrieved by Bolt’s customer support team, facilitating…

The VIP protection unit is nothing but a lawless bunch of thugs. For many, many years it has been a law unto itself. When the blue light brigade is on the road, all hell breaks loose. With lights flashing and horns blaring, they fly at breakneck speed on our highways. Everything in front of them must give way as they are ferrying very important people to their destination. The country has been outraged by the latest incident involving the VIP protection unit. The officers were caught on camera allegedly with their guns cocked, pulling out the occupants of a car on the N1 and severely assaulting them. Apparently they were SAPS officers assigned to Deputy President Paul Mashatile’s unit. Obviously, the deputy president wasn’t with them. So they could not…

Reports that the ANC wants to review the long-held principle that ‘South Africa belongs to all those who live in it’, is alarming. This has veiled tones of xenophobic thinking. The debate is being pursued from the wrong angle, that immigrants, especially those who are in the country illegally, are running amok. Citizens of any country can and must express their dismay if any form of migration is a threat to them. But it must also be stated that failing to deal with the country’s problems, such as crime and unemployment, should never lead to turning immigrants into scapegoats. It was never, never meant to mean that unbridled illegal immigration would be allowed after liberation, which is what is being used by those who are pushing for its review. Another…

Beijing: Chinese President Xi Jinping said yesterday that the country’s military must “dare to fight” as he inspected forces operating in a flashpoint region near Taiwan. Xi’s visit comes during US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s visit to Beijing for talks aimed at stabilising economic ties. China views self-ruled Taiwan as part of its own territory. The US is Taiwan’s main security backer and has butted heads over its status. Yellen said yesterday that the US sought to deepen communication with Beijing and “healthy economic competition” with China to the benefit of US workers and firms, and collaboration with Beijing to address global challenges. | AFP, Sputnik…

Nairobi: Kenya’s national police force said yesterday that 20 “militants” had been killed and eight officers injured in a suspected al-Shabaab attack near the country’s border with Somalia. A special unit of police officers came under “heavy” fire in an ambush this week while patrolling in Mandera, a county in northern Kenya that shares an extensive frontier with Somalia. The Kenyan government this week announced it was delaying the reopening of its long-closed border with Somalia after several deadly attacks on its soil blamed on the Al-Qaeda linked jihadists. | AFP…

The road to France 2023 begins tomorrow for the Springboks on the green, green grass of Loftus Versfeld, a venue where Australia have never won – but I predict a much tougher and closer game than many South Africans are anticipating. If there is one thing the world’s most experienced coach Eddie Jones is very good at, it is making an immediate impact on his new team, and one thing the Springboks are not good at is starting the year well. If you look at the Boks’ history of hosting teams in the June/July window, they almost always start clumsily but get better as the year unfolds. Last season’s opening two matches against Wales is one example of many. Looking at Jones, he has a proud record of doing ambulance…