Tabla de contenidos para 2023-11-21 en Mercury

The murders of police officers killed both on and off duty is escalating. The crime stats released on Friday showed that nationally, 35 police officers were killed during July to September this year compared with 22 in the same period last year. In the most recent incident, Sergeant Riaad Adams was killed by robbers in Durban on Sunday. Provincial police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said the officer was killed by suspects fleeing the Pavilion Shopping Centre in Westville after they robbed two jewellery stores. “On their way out of the mall, the suspects came across a police vehicle and started firing shots towards an officer who succumbed to gunshot injuries,” said Netshiunda. The centre confirmed the robbery and said the officer had courageously responded to the scene when he was…

More consumers seeking debt counselling compared to last year Economists have predicted reduced spending during the Black Friday period and the festive season following revelations that consumer debt has increased to alarming levels. While Black Friday is officially this Friday, retailers have already begun offering specials, some of which will last until month-end. This comes as DebtBusters’ Debt Index for Quarter 3 revealed that more South Africans are seeking debt counselling compared with the same time last year and a large part of their money is going towards paying debt. Benay Sager, executive head of DebtBusters, said the demand for debt counselling and online debt management continues to grow, with debt counselling enquiries up by 28% compared with Q3 last year. “The use of online debt management tools increased by…

It was a blue day for India, not a spectacular finale in cricket’s six-and-half-week-long showpiece event. Though a capacity crowd of 130 000 cricket fanatics dressed all in blue packed the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, the world’s largest cricket stadium, they could not inspire their team against a fired up, determined Aussie side and slumped to a low score of 240 all out. Like South Africa, they seemed to be overawed by the occasion and became easy victims for the relentless, fierce Aussie attack. India had performed splendidly all along, having not lost a single match, but seemed to have run out of steam at the crucial stage in the competition. In all three aspects – bowling, batting and fielding – they performed poorly and could not lift themselves…

The recent spate of arrests made by SAPS officers countrywide, of suspected criminals, and the killing of them, justified by shooting back at suspects who resisted arrest and shot at police, is highly lauded. Police have a right to defend themselves in maintaining law and order. While there might be little or no danger in a work shift, just a minute can be crucial as it could result in an officer being injured or, at worst, losing their life in the line of duty. Thugs are brazen, callous and ruthless. They will not hesitate to maim or kill. The scoundrels have easy access to arms and ammunition, including explosives for use in ATM bombings and cash-in-transit robberies. The scenario is equally applicable to prison, army, traffic and justice personnel and…

A SOUTH African man has expressed his frustration after a DNA test kit ordered from Ireland was intercepted by the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra) at OR Tambo International Airport and is yet to be released after a month. The man said the package consists of two swab tubes and earbuds. He was advised on October 20 by the courier company meant to deliver the goods that the item he was importing was currently under investigation by Sahpra, after it was detained by Port Health at OR Tambo. “I am not the first South African to request a DNA test. What is there to investigate? It’s 2X a swab tube and earbud(s),” he said. He added that he was informed by the courier company that customs only allowed…

The City of Cape Town has become a hot spot for hijackings, according to the latest police crime statistics. The statistics show the Harare and Nyanga police stations recorded the highest number of incidents between July and September, the second quarter of the 2023/24 financial year. The stats show 114 people were hijacked in Harare and 82 in Nyanga. Protea station in Johannesburg, was the third most likely place to have your vehicle hijacked with 81 cases. Gauteng and the Western Cape police stations had the top 10 positions of the top 30 stations list for hijackings. There was a drop in hijackings in KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape, Free State, Limpopo and the Western Cape. | Jehran Naidoo…

Exaggerated perceptions of the continent’s credit risk makes it difficult to attract development finance IF COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, in November 2022 was the much-hyped “COP of Africa”, what will the upcoming COP28 in Dubai, UAE, in December 2023 mean for African climate action aspirations? The UAE COP28 presidency has set out its priorities, “a Solutions and Inclusive COP”, albeit in a global climate action discourse beholden to almost daily unfolding events, among them the subdued post-Covid and Ukraine recovery; the downside risks of global economic fundamentals, such as sticky inflation and foreign direct investment flows; and geo- political tension, especially the tragic Israel-Palestine conflagration which has claimed an estimated 15 000 lives and which will inevitably be the great climate detractor in the Dubai deliberations, given the…

Twenty-nine premature babies were evacuated from war-torn Gaza to Egypt yesterday as the Hamas-run health ministry accused Israel of launching a deadly strike on the territory’s Indonesian Hospital. Frantic diplomatic efforts were meanwhile underway to seal a deal for the release of some of the 240 hostages Hamas militants took during their October 7 attacks on Israel. The Gaza health ministry charged that Israel’s army killed at least 12 people in a strike on the Indonesian Hospital in the Palestinian territory’s north, a war zone where entire city blocks have been reduced to rubble. Those killed included patients, said Ashraf al-Qudra, a spokesperson for the ministry which has reported a death toll of more than 13 000 as the Gaza war rages on into its seventh week. Dozens more were…

Hundreds of foreigners working in Myanmar, including UN agency staff, have been moved to safety as an insurgency against military rule gathers pace, opponents of the junta said yesterday. An alliance of ethnic minority insurgents allied with a pro-democracy parallel civilian government launched an offensive late last month in the biggest challenge to the ruling military since it seized power from elected leaders in a 2021 coup. Hundreds of foreigners, most from neighbouring countries, have been trapped by the fighting, particularly in Shan State on the north-eastern border with China and Kayah State, on the eastern border with Thailand. China said yesterday that it was helping foreigners to get out of Myanmar and told its nationals to relocate from areas of conflict. Myanmar’s civilian government-in-exile said anti-junta forces in Kayah…

Moscow: Russia denied yesterday accusations that it was sending migrants to the Finnish border, after Helsinki reported a surge in asylum seekers trying to get into its country illegally. Finland shut four of its border crossings with Russia last week in response to the influx, accusing Moscow of trying to destabilise the country in retaliation for it joining Nato. “We do not accept such accusations,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said yesterday. Helsinki’s ties with Moscow have deteriorated since Russia launched its assault on Ukraine last February. In April, Finland joined the Western-led Nato military alliance, prompting Moscow to warn of “countermeasures”. | AFP…

Istanbul: Turkish helicopters yesterday scoured the Black Sea in search of 11 sailors who went missing when their ship sank in heavy storms that killed at least nine. The Kafkametler cargo vessel sank with 12 crew on board after hitting a breakwater Sunday while trying to seek shelter from violent winds and waves about 200km east of Istanbul. Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said the body of one sailor had been recovered and the search for the 11 others resumed yesterday after the storms had died down. The Turkish-flagged ship was transporting ferrosilicon, from the Russian port of Temryuk to Aliaga. Heavy storms left a trail of destruction after lashing most of Türkiye over the weekend. | AFP…

Former Wallaby Dan Herbert said there would be no change to Rugby Australia’s (RA’s) drive to integrate high performance across the country after he replaced Hamish McLennan as chairperson of the governing body in a boardroom coup at the weekend. With the game still reeling from the debacle of Australia’s early World Cup exit, McLennan was voted out in the last of a series of emergency board meetings on Sunday and resigned as a director. Herbert, who played 67 Tests for Australia in the golden era around the turn of the century when the Wallabies won the World Cup for the second time, said a change at the top had been essential to unite the game. “There’s lot of admiration and respect for Hamish and what he’s done stepping into…

Novak Djokovic wrapped up his 2023 season by adding the ATP Finals trophy to the three major titles he won this year and the Serb immediately set the bar even higher for next season by targeting a ‘Golden Slam’. Djokovic, who won his seventh ATP Finals on Sunday with a straight sets win over Jannik Sinner, missed out on the Grand Slam this year after losing to Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final. The 36-year-old said in Turin that he wanted a clean sweep of the majors next year as well as the singles gold medal at the Paris Olympics. Steffi Graf is the only player to have achieved the Golden Slam, winning the Australian, French and US Opens, Wimbledon and a gold medal at the Seoul Olympics in 1988.…

THE Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) said it will co-operate with law-enforcement agencies investigating allegations of corruption linked to a R3 billion Labour Activation Programme (LAP). A Sunday newspaper reported that Employment and Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi has been identified as a person of interest in the matter following an investigation into fresh allegations of corruption involving about R3bn. The matter is being investigated by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU). The claim is that the scheme irregularly distributed millions from the labour activation programme fund, meant to boost job creation, to more than 30 companies without following due process. The UIF said it has not yet received official correspondence from the SIU but will co-operate fully. “As an organisation that respects the rule of law, and that observes good governance principles…

ARGENTINA’S new president, Javier Milei, was described in a Sky News clip, as he reacted exuberantly to his election win, as a “right-wing populist”. Yet in the same clip, Milei described himself as “a liberal and a libertarian”. Some confusion here. Can there be such as thing as a right-wing liberal – or libertarian? Reuters described him indeed as a right-wing libertarian. Again, some confusion. I guess we need to see what Milei does, to decide what category he is in. If he’s a success we might even need a new category. Hat, whisky NAPOLEON’S black bicorne hat has been sold on auction in Paris for a record €1.9 million (about R38m), according to the London Guardian. A bottle of whisky, described as “the most sought-after” in the world, has…

GLOSSY adverts by liquor chains and retailers are shoved into our faces on a daily basis, as we get closer to the Christmas season. Addiction in a bottle, made to look attractive to weak-willed human beings, so that they can drink themselves into an alcoholic daze. Just yesterday, an inebriated driver got onto the highway near Bedfordview, travelling the wrong way … in the process killing two people and injuring other innocents. There is an understated alcoholic use problem in this country, yet the government turns a blind eye as taxes derived from alcohol sales add to the country’s revenues. Wise up, fools ... stop encouraging alcohol use.…

MY brother, nephew and I meet once a week to watch classic movies and black and white serials of especially yesteryear, Indian and American. Unfortunately, since the resumption of the “war” in Palestine, depression and guilt at observing the horrendous suffering of innocent lives, caused a sudden suspension of this exciting activity which had been continuing, virtually without a break for the past two decades. We had always felt helplessness at the Palestinian issue for years now, but this latest ongoing horror had dealt us a real knock-out blow. My nephew, however, decided a day ago to try to cheer up my elder brother who is suffering from a serious illness by organising a “light” movie. … a comedy, a musical perhaps. My brother chose a title that was…

Prisoners across the country have threatened to embark on a massive hunger strike this week in response to the recent court order allowing them to use laptops inside jail cells as well as other issues affecting them. In September, the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) heard arguments on prisoners’ computer rights and use within cells, with the court ruling in favour of their rights to make use of laptops while being imprisoned. On November 8, the SCA ruled that current policies governing the use of laptops in prison discriminated against prisoners’ constitutional rights. The current policy prohibited or limited computer use by inmates who have registered to study. “The policy as it stands, excluded all use of a personal computer by a prisoner for study in their cell. The blanket…

A 42-year-old man has been sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment on three counts of Restricted Activities Involving Specially Protected Species, Protected Species, and Indigenous Species in terms of the Northern Cape Nature Conservation Act 9 of 2009. Stanford Hatidani was convicted on all three counts brought against him in the Kuruman Regional Court in the Northern Cape. The provincial spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority, Mojalefa Senokoatsane, said the incident took place on June 14, 2022. The State’s first witness, an ambulance driver, told the court out of concern he stopped at a bakkie and truck standing next to the N14 highway between Kuruman and Kathu. On checking whether everything was okay, the ambulance driver became suspicious when he saw plants being loaded from the bakkie to the truck, and…

WORKING as a full-time lecturer at a university while also working full time as an accounts director at a company has resulted in a lecturer being given the boot. Dr Sibongile Vilakazi turned to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) to fight against her sacking, but the commissioner found her dismissal was both substantively and procedurally fair. Aggrieved with this finding, Viklakazi turned to the Labour Court in Johannesburg, where she asked that the CCMA’s findings be overturned. But the court upheld the CCMA’s findings. Vilakazi was initially employed by the University of Witwatersrand in its Business School section as a part-time lecturer because she also worked for Alexander Forbes. She later resigned from Alexander Forbes, opting to take up full-time employment. Her duties included teaching, examining, researching/scholarly…

A THIRD-year Mangosuthu University of Technology (MUT) Mechanical Engineering student was killed when he was struck by lightning while asleep in his residence in Glenwood in Durban on Friday. The university’s Dean of Students, Thembi Kweyama, said Mpumezi Mndwetywa succumbed to burns sustained following the severe storm that residents in Durban experienced on Friday night. According to Kweyama, the storm resulted in a fire affecting some rooms on the third floor of Craiglee, an external university residence in Glenwood. “Sadly, Mr Mndwetywa was asleep in his room when it was struck by a bolt of lightning. We pray that his soul rests in peace,” he said. KZN Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs MEC, Bongiwe Sithole-Moloi, offered her condolences to Mndwetywa’s family. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends,…

The 6th China International Import Expo (CIIE) held from November 5-10 in Shanghai was a great opportunity for promoting South Africa’s export potential. The country was one of five countries invited to showcase its goods and services. It seems that many South African delegates representing different companies went to the CIIE. The year has been a busy one for bilateral relationship between China and South Africa. It started off in January 2023 with the commemoration of 25 years of official diplomatic relations between the two countries and culminated in President Xi Jinping’s state visit on the eve of the 15th BRICS Heads of State Summit in August. In-between, there were a flurry of bilateral meetings on trade, Africa and other issues related to the strategic partnership that bond the…

Libertarian outsider Javier Milei swept to victory in Argentina’s presidential election on Sunday, vowing to halt decades of economic decline in a country reeling from triple-digit inflation. The self-described “anarcho-capitalist” pulled off a massive upset by ousting the populist Peronist coalition which has long dominated Argentinian politics. With 55.7% of the vote, Milei thumped his rival, Economy Minister Sergio Massa, who won 44% of the vote and rapidly conceded defeat. “Today begins the reconstruction of Argentina. Today begins the end of Argentina’s decline,” Milei said in his victory speech. “The model of decadence has come to an end.” Latin America’s third-biggest economy has suffered decades of crises under interventionist governments big on welfare that resort to printing money to finance spending, fuelling inflation, while borrowing heavily only to default on…

In Spain, the world’s biggest olive oil producer, supermarkets are locking up bottles of the staple cooking oil as prices surge and theft increases. One-litre bottles of extra-virgin olive oil are selling for as much as €14.5 (about R290) in some stores, propelling olive oil into the category of products retailers fit with security tags, along with liquor and appliances. “We are seeing a major surge in shoplifting,” said Ruben Navarro, the CEO of Tu Super supermarket chain. Olive oil prices, now officially at €8 a litre, have surged by 150% in the past two years in Spain as a drought in the south has dented the olive harvest. Since September, Tu Super has been chaining 5-litre bottles of olive oil together and padlocking them to shelves. Last month, two…

NEW DELHI: India’s capital Delhi re-opened schools and some building sites yesterday amid signs of receding air pollution, although it remained classified as hazardous, while a toxic foam besmirched stretches of the Yamuna river flowing through the city. The world’s most polluted capital resumed its annual battle on pollution this month, despite government pledges to improve. Yesterdays air quality index (AQI) of 336 was down from Thursday’s level of 509, but still “hazardous”, Swiss group IQAir said. The foam comes from sludge and untreated waste, said a former Delhi government official. | Reuters…

BRUSSELS: The global average temperature on Friday last week was more than 2°C hotter than pre-industrial levels for the first time on record, Europe’s Copernicus climate monitor said yesterday. Months of extraordinary heat is expected to make 2023 the hottest year in history, with droughts, massive wildfires and fierce storms ravaging swathes of the planet. Global temperatures on November 17 were 2.06°C above the pre-industrial average, said Samantha Burgess, the deputy head of the EU’s Climate Change Service. Scientists say studies suggest the temperatures this year could be the warmest in more than 100 000 years. | AFP…

Transnet has said it will push to acquire the required equipment to avoid backlogs as it resolved the Richards Bay Terminal congestion by suspending processing trucks carrying coal to restore order after unprecedented traffic coming into the port. Transnet said it needed to raise funds to address its R50-billion infrastructure backlog. Richards Bay Terminal’s managing executive, Thulasizwe Dlamini, said yesterday that Transnet was suspending ship-booking services for coal loads brought by trucks at least until current bookings, which run up to February 2024, were cleared. “We have seen an unprecedented number of trucks coming to the terminal. We will temporarily freeze vessel nominations,” Dlamini said. This has raised the ire of business, including the South African Association of Ship Operators and Agents, which said some containers had been delayed by…

Healthy friendships resist naming and analysis. The participants simply enjoy each other as much as possible, support each other when support is needed and help each other with helpful help. Most thinking adults are aware that not all forms of help and support are healthy or helpful. Friendship is a two-way street or it’s probably not a friendship at all. One-sided friendships, where one person in the friendship seems to expend all the effort to maintain the friendship, are fine for a while. Usually, the person spending all the effort will tire and the friendship will cease. Sadly, the other party may not even notice. A “warts-and-all” acceptance of each other is crucial. This does not require a shift in values. Many long-lasting and solid friendships consist of people with…

Why is Minister of International Relations and Co-operation Naledi Pandor concerning herself with affairs in Israel and Gaza when atrocities similar to that which took place in southern Israel at the hands of Hamas guerillas, are happening right here in South Africa? Rape, murder and arson are on the increase in our own country, similar to that which was perpetrated against innocent Israeli civilians by members of Hamas. In our own country, innocent civilians have been exposed to terror at the hands of criminals who invade private property with the intent of robbing and stealing, either leaving victims dead, injured or badly traumatised. There are political similarities between Palestine and South Africa where Palestinians are seeking their independence from Israeli occupation. The difference is the ANC leadership under Chief Luthuli,…

EDUCATION experts say placing an emphasis on only one aspect of the schooling system will not yield benefits throughout the value chain. They were commenting after questions were raised about what was being done to tackle the high drop-out rate at Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges. National Freedom Party (NFP) MP Ahmed Munzoor Shaik Emam had posed the question on the TVET drop-out rates to Deputy President Paul Mashatile in the National Assembly. Shaik Emam said there was a lot of emphasis on funding for students yet the high drop-out rate of TVET students was not being addressed. “Sixty percent of those going to TVET colleges drop out in the first year. There are no mechanisms to monitor these students. Funding is being given whether they attend…

One suspect was shot dead in an alleged cash-in-transit heist in Pinetown on Sunday morning. A shopper and a security guard were injured. According to Garrith Jamieson from ALS Paramedics, they responded to a shooting incident at a cash and carry store on Goodwood Road in Westmead, Pinetown before noon. Provincial police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said police arrested two suspects. “A cash-in-transit security guard had just collected money from a store when he was allegedly accosted by two armed suspects. A shootout reportedly ensued and one suspect was fatally wounded.”…

THE election of former president Jacob Zuma as the KwaZulu-Natal chairperson of the SA National Civic Organisation (Sanco) has been welcomed by the ANC in the province. Zuma was elected in absentia on Sunday, having been previously elected to the position earlier this year in a disputed provincial election. This resulted in the former president and others steering an interim structure following the disbandment of the organisation’s provincial leadership structure. At the weekend Sanco, an alliance partner of the ANC, resolved its differences, electing Zuma as chairperson, Lawrence Dube as his deputy, Sizwe Cele as provincial secretary, Lucky Hadebe as deputy provincial secretary, Sabatha Mzimela as provincial treasurer and Mduduzi Hlatshwayo as provincial organiser. The ANC in the province has for months been saying it was crucial to include Zuma…

More than 2.9 million eligible voters showed up at voting stations across the country at the weekend to register for next year’s general elections or update their personal details to ensure their vote is correctly counted. The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) also confirmed 196 511 voters used the online portal to do the same. The IEC held its first voter registration weekend on Saturday and Sunday in anticipation and preparation for the 2024 national and provincial elections. The total registration activity over the two days was 2 904 037. Eligible voters who registered for the first time totalled 568 374. This accounted for 19.57% of total registration activity. Voters who re-registered in the same voting district numbered 1.4 million, and those who re-registered in…

South Africa’s economic lifelines, the ports of Durban and Richards Bay, are facing a serious threat that extends beyond the maritime sector – truck congestion. The truck traffic chaos at both these crucial ports has reached alarming levels, posing a dire risk to the country’s economic growth. The recent decision by Transnet Port Terminals Richards Bay to suspend truck processing confirms the urgency of addressing this crisis. The suspension serves as a stark reminder that the arteries of our economy are at risk of clogging, with potential consequences rippling far and wide. Truck congestion translates to delays in cargo movement, resulting in increased turnaround times for ships and a ripple effect on the entire supply chain. This bottleneck not only stifles economic growth but also compromises the reliability and competitiveness…

Waste from at least 19 international brands including Adidas and Walmart is being used to fuel kilns in brick factories in Cambodia, and some workers were falling ill, according to a report by a local rights group released yesterday. The report by The Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights, commonly known by its French acronym Lichadho, was based on visits to 21 brick factories in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh and neighbouring Kandal province between April and September, as well as interviews with current and former workers. It found pre-consumer garment waste including fabric, plastic, rubber, and other materials from the brands was being burned at seven factories. The factories were burning garment waste to save on fuel costs, it said. “Several workers reported that burning…

BARCELONA: Colombian pop star Shakira yesterday reached a settlement to avoid a trial in Barcelona over charges she failed to pay E14.5 million (R291.6m) in Spanish income tax between 2012 and 2014, arguing it was triggered by personal reasons. As part of the deal, she accepted the charges and a fine of half the amount owed, more than E7.3m. She also accepted another fine of E438 000 to avoid a three-year prison sentence, the judge said. The prosecutor’s office was seeking up to eight years in prison and to claim back the taxes it said she owed. It alleged that Shakira spent more than half of each of the years in question in Spain and was resident in the country. | Reuters…

JUBA: Attacks by rival factions of the Dinka ethnic group in an area claimed by both Sudan and South Sudan killed at least 32 people over the weekend, a local official said yesterday. Deadly violence is common in the oil-rich Abyei region, where Twic Dinka from South Sudan’s neighbouring Warrap State are locked in a dispute with Ngok Dinka from Abyei over the location of an administrative boundary. On Sunday, Twic Dinka armed youth attacked several Ngok Dinka villages northeast of Agok town. Abyei has been claimed by Sudan and South Sudan since the latter declared independence in 2011. | Reuters…

Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has ample belief that his troops will overcome the adversities they’ll face in their World Cup qualifier against Rwanda in Butare today. Over the years, South Africa has been called a ‘footballing nation’ but while that might be argued by the fans and aspiring footballers as fact, Bafana have done little to live up to that belief on the field, with their last success nearly 30 years ago at the 1996 Africa Cup of Nations. Their World Cup qualifying campaigns have also been awful during that period and it’s been 21 years since Bafana qualified for the showpiece event through the qualification process, having only played in the 2010 finals as hosts. Enter the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, and Bafana are hoping to make up…