Star -julkaisun 2021-11-18 -irtonumeron sisällysluettelo

EDWARD WEST edward.west@inl.co.za TONGAAT Hulett plans a rights offer, partially underwritten by shareholder and strategic partner Magister Investments to up to R2 billion, to put the sugar and property group on a sustainable trajectory through its turnaround process. However, the proposal to issue shares for cash did not appear to be met favourably by shareholders, and the share price fell a whopping 23.7 percent to R7.40 by late yesterday afternoon. The share price is still low, considering it traded at around R65 three years ago, prior to governance and accounting irregularities that forced new management to implement a turnaround process at the group. The amount of equity capital to be raised and the pricing of the rights offer was yet to be determined, but was expected to allow…

Ashley Smith WHEN I became a mother nearly a decade ago, I didn’t realise I was losing myself until I had to be still with myself. If it weren’t for the coronavirus pandemic, I don’t think I would have ever discovered myself again. When Covid-19 cases started rising in my area, my partner and I were already preparing for who was going to leave their job to stay home with the children (we have three, two boys who are now 9 and 8, and a 4-year-old girl). My job didn’t offer a remote option, and my partner was making more money than I was, so our decision was easy. I actually felt excited: since I gave birth to my daughter, I wanted to be home for her. At the…

Department of Education makes plea to public to give any information to police Chulumanco Mahamba chulumanco.mahamba@inl.co.za THE Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) has urged members of the public who have information regarding the kidnapping of a Mayfair schoolgirl to contact the police. The GDE confirmed yesterday that a 11-year-old Grade 5 learner at EP Bauman Primary School in Mayfair was allegedly kidnapped at gunpoint by three men, while waiting in line to be sanitised and screened outside the school gate at around 7.10am yesterday. Three men allegedly fled the scene in a silver/white Toyota Yaris with the registration number JS 62 CS GP. Johannesburg’s ward 58 councillor Ricky Nair, who was on the scene following the alleged kidnapping, told The Star that the kidnapped pupil was a 9-year-old of…

The term climate change is part of our global language. Some people still don’t know what climate change is and what it entails. To some people ‘“climate change” can simply mean the change of weather, and to some, it can just be a foreign concept that we shouldn’t bother ourselves with. Firstly, we need to define the concept. Climate change is not weather, it is different because it is a process that takes very long to be measured, whereas weather can change from day to day or even hourly. Climate change is a long-term study on how the temperature and other climate features have changed from their normal readings. In a climate-altered area, rainfalls become floods, temperatures rise or drop to unexpected levels. It is no secret that climate change…

Itumeleng Mafisa THE AFRICAN People’s Convention (APC) is demanding answers from the Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) about the honesty and accuracy of vote counting in some municipalities. The party has managed to get a number of seats in various metros but says it suspects that something could have gone wrong in some areas. The APC received complaints from some people who say they had voted for them but there was no record of this in their areas. The APC has written a letter of complaint to the IEC about alleged irregularities in the counting of votes in some municipalities in which the party contested the elections earlier this month. APC founder and president Themba Godi said they were shocked to find that in places like the Winnie Mandela…

Murder in Paris, a documentary which traces the motives for the assassination of anti-apartheid Struggle icon and political activist Dulcie September in France in 1988, bagged two more awards at the Africa Human Rights Film Festival and the Rustenburg Film Festival this past weekend. The film won the Best South African Feature Documentary and the Best South African Documentary. This brings the total number of awards it has won to six so far this year. Director and producer of Murder in Paris, Enver Samuel, said on Monday it was an honour to win both awards. “The critical issue is that six months after it was first broadcast on SABC3, we continue to play a role in ‘un-erasing’ the name of Dulcie September.” Samuel said a giant mural will be going…

Beverley Tsitsi Mutandiro | Human rights activist IT IS beyond belief that the Zimbabwean government is disrespecting people with disabilities and failing to empower them, so that they can have a decent standard of living. They are living in unacceptable conditions. Some of the people with disabilities have no access to wheelchairs. People with disabilities are not able to invade foreign countries in search of better living standards like the six million Zimbabweans who swamped South Africa. It hurts deeply that people living with disabilities are often excluded from freedom of choice, health, education, social support services, opportunities to engage and participate fully in areas of their life and society and are more vulnerable to violence and abuse. They face discrimination, stigmatisation and lack adequate protection from their…

MARCEL KORTH SOUTH AFRICA has been dubbed the gender-based violence (GBV) capital of the world. Despite President Cyril Ramaphosa calling GBV a war against our women and children, more than 2 700 South African women and 1 000 children were killed last year – that is one woman being killed every four hours! The only way this will change is if we first understand the root causes of the problem, and then involve all those implicated in a broader conversation about violence and gender norms. There aren’t any societies in the world where GBV does not exist. But it is certainly more prevalent in countries where there is a culture of violence, and where there are deeply embedded beliefs of male superiority. This belief in male superiority is reinforced by…

Floods and landslides that have killed at least one person have cut all rail access to Canada’s largest port in the city of Vancouver this week. Days of torrential rain across the Pacific province of British Columbia touched off major flooding and shut rail routes operated by Canada’s two biggest rail companies. A mudslide killed one person and swept cars off a highway north-east of Vancouver. Two people were missing. Floods have also hampered oil pipelines. Some towns ordered partial evacuations. | AFP…

JOSH Emanuel was accustomed to having the fresh sea breeze blow through his golden locks, feeling the sand between his toes and cooling down in the ocean on a daily basis before the Covid-19 pandemic brought an immediate halt to all of that. Coupled with having anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction surgery during this period, that stalled his initial come back, it has been a frustrating last 18-24 months for South Africa's kiteboarding champion. But the 26-year-old is back in the air and on the water, and ready to tackle the world’s best again at the Red Bull King of the Air - the virtual World Cup of kiteboarding - on his home patch in Kite Beach beach in Cape Town between today and 3 December. “I did…

SOUTH Africa’s top-ranked amateur Martin Vorster has turned professional and will play his first tournament in the paid ranks when he tees it up in the Joburg Open at Randpark Golf Club next Thursday. Vorster, the reigning South African Stroke Play champion, is ranked 40th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, but he has been ranked as high as 24th, and has played on the Junior Presidents Cup team. “It’s the next step in climbing the ladder, as my dad always says,” he said ahead of the tournament on the course where he won the South African Stroke Play by four shots with a 72-hole total of 23-under-par. Vorster has been a part of the GolfRSA National Squad since 2016. “It’s been a massive highlight of my career to have…

ENGLAND manager Gareth Southgate says there should be no complications with his negotiations over a new contract. Southgate’s side booked their place at next year’s World Cup in Qatar with a 10-0 thrashing of San Marino on Monday. Reports over recent weeks suggested Southgate is set to sign an extension to his current contract with the Football Association, which runs out at the end of the World Cup. Southgate had refused to be drawn on the situation while England were focused on securing their qualification. But after their biggest ever victory in a competitive fixture, he admitted he sees no reason why his reign will not be extended until at least Euro 2024. “When you work with staff like I work with and with a group of players who are…

ZAAHIER ADAMS zaahier.adams@inl.co.za ERIC Tinkler is hoping his Cape Town City players return from a couple of days off mentally refreshed for their plum Premiership clash against champions Mamelodi Sundowns on Saturday. Tinkler was forced to endure an abject display from City in their previous game against AmaZulu when the Citizens went down 2-0 at Moses Mabhida Stadium. It was City’s second consecutive defeat at Durban’s former 2010 World Cup venue after an agonising MTN8 final penalty-shootout loss to Sundowns there just a week earlier. The former Bafana Bafana midfielder believes his players were flat against AmaZulu due to the mental toll of the MTN8 final loss, but now wants them to get back on the saddle. “Obviously, we were very disappointed with the performance and result against AmaZulu. “We…

MERCEDES have sought a review of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix incident between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen after new evidence emerged that was unavailable at the time, the Formula One champions said on Tuesday. Red Bull’s championship leader Verstappen appeared to force Mercedes’ seven-time world champion Hamilton off the track as they jostled for the lead at Interlagos last Sunday. The stewards took note of the incident during the 48th lap during the race but concluded, on the basis of the evidence they had, that no investigation was necessary. Hamilton eventually passed Verstappen 11 laps later and took the win. “(Mercedes) confirms that we have today requested a Right of Review under Article 14.1.1 of the International Sporting Code, in relation to the Turn 4 incident between Car 44…

Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za MTN SOUTH Africa yesterday an- nounced the R6.4 billion sale of 5 709 towers to Lagos-based IHS Towers, one of the world’s largest providers of telecommunications infrastructure. As part of the sale and leaseback transaction IHS Towers will provide Power-as-a-Service to MTN SA at about 12 800 sites across South Africa, including the acquired 5 709 sites. The deal makes IHS Towers, which is 29 percent owned by the MTN Group, South Africa’s biggest independent tower operator. Chief executive Sam Darwish said IHS Towers was committed to using its expertise to provide South Africans with “cutting-edge power services” where necessary. “I am exceptionally proud to an- nounce IHS’s creation of the largest independent tower operator in South Africa, which represents the start of a new…

Jamal Grootboom jamald.grootboom@inl.co.za TikTok influencer and rising amapiano singer Khanyisa Jaceni is making all the right moves to make a smooth transition from social media star to a full-blown recording artist. With 1.3 million followers and more than 25 million views on TikTok, Khanyisa is part of a small group of verified creators on the video-sharing platform. Khanyisa went viral for her videos for covering songs and giving it some church flair. Speaking about the inspiration for them, she said: “I started when I wanted to like make my content blow up. I was like, okay, how are we going to go about making content? “How are we going to be different? Because one thing you don't want to do is do what everyone else is doing. “I was, okay,…

Se-Anne Rall se-anne.koopman@inl.co.za While Pretoria husband and father Len Cloete remains in hospital, his friends have spoken out about the events leading up to the shooting. The 54-year-old body-builder was shot at close range during a verbal altercation with police officers at the Misty Hills Lodge in Muldersdrift over the weekend. Cloete, his wife Chantal and their friends, Breydon and Chantél Blignaut booked into the lodge for a night. South Coast Herald reported that the couples planned to have supper at the lodge and were planning a Christmas event. The couples chose to stay over as they did not want to travel due to curfew restrictions. The Blignauts told the publication they never expected the evening would turn out the way it did. They declined to go into further details,…

Anita Nkonki anita.nkonki@inl.co.za AFTER nearly two years with the Kaya 959 radio family, Unathi Nkayi had her contract terminated with immediate effect due to conduct that was said to be intolerable. The well-known singer and Idols SA judge joined the radio station in February 2020 where she hosted the Midday Joy show on weekdays from 12pm to 3pm after working for a decade at Metro FM. Kaya 959 released a statement yesterday, revealing that certain incidents that took place led to the termination of her services. “Kaya 959 can confirm the contract of presenter Ms Unathi Nkayi had been terminated, effective immediately. Ms Nkayi’s contract had ended prematurely due to certain conduct that rendered the relationship intolerable going forward. “Kaya 959 can confirm that certain incidents had occurred, which…

Chulumanco Mahamba chulumanco.mahamba@inl.co.za THE “book famine” court battle for blind or visually impaired people has continued as Blind SA filed an application in the Constitutional Court to confirm a high court’s order. In a court victory in September, the Copyright Act, which bars the conversion of written material to braille or other accessible formats without the permission of the copyright holders, was declared unconstitutional by South Gauteng High Court Judge Mandla Mbongwe. This came after Blind SA, represented by Section27, launched an application against Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition Ebrahim Patel, challenging the Copyright Act for failing to allow people who are blind or visually impaired to convert published works, such as books, into accessible formats without the permission of the copyright holder. “Many countries have included this kind…

Nomonde Zondi Nomonde.Zondi@inl.co.za PEOPLE tend to spend more on Black Friday because of all the specials on offer but practising self-discipline and having a firm plan for your budget can prevent you from overspending. Programme manager at FNB Consumer Education Dhashni Naidoo has suggested the following tips to avoid getting into financial distress over Black Friday purchases: Plan your budget in advance and be honest with what you can afford. Avoid spending money you did not budget for. Do your research ahead of time, know exactly what you want to buy and determine the price of those goods upfront. Compare prices and understand the current price of the item you need, so you can establish if the discounted price you’ll see on Black Friday is favourable. Buy what you need…

Morgan Bolton morgan.bolton@inl.co.za IT SEEMS there was something dubious in the air in the Sunday night match between Ghana and South Africa. A 2022 World Cup Group G qualifier, Bafana Bafana, needed to draw the match to progress to the next round and be one of five nations that had a chance to compete in football’s showpiece event. SA lost 1-0, enough of a victory for the Black Stars to enter the next round on goals scored – seven to six. Fifa has confirmed it will investigate the match and the moment of controversy in particular – the penalty that led to that singular goal. There might be some biases in my appraisal of the first-half penalty, but my immediate reaction was that there was the lightest of contact, but…

The Biden administration is planning to purchase 10 million courses of Pfizer’s Covid-19 pill, a $5 billion investment in a treatment that officials think will help change the trajectory of the pandemic by reducing severe illness and deaths. Pfizer has also agreed to a licence-sharing deal that would allow the pill to be manufactured around the globe and sold at lower prices in poor countries. It’s an agreement the company says could give more than half of the world’s population access to the treatment. | Washington Post…

After the middling results of COP26, the UN climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, the world may be sentencing small island states to forced exile. The half-promises and open timelines for turning the clock back on emissions and weaning the world’s energy grids off fossil fuels, island leaders say, is effectively dooming their societies to go the way of Atlantis. The cluster of island nations – many of them low lying, with rising tides already licking further into shore – may be the biggest losers of the Glasgow summit. So grim was the outlook ahead of a final agreement that the South Pacific state of Tuvalu – whose foreign minister delivered a summit speech by video, knee deep in the ocean while wearing a suit – announced that it was already…

Eshlin Vedan eshlin.vedan@inl.co.za ORLANDO Pirates have received a boost ahead of their trip to Golden Arrows at the Princess Magogo Stadium in Durban on Saturday with important players Thembinkosi Lorch, Zakhele Lepasa and Innocent Maela reportedly having returned to training with the squad. A source confirmed to Independent Media that the trio resumed training. It is not known whether the players will be returning to action, however. “The guys are back and fully training with the whole squad. It’s good news because you know that we have been struggling with injuries and the results have not been going well for us,” said the source. “Unfortunately, for us, it happened in the early stage of the season. “It’s good that they are back and because the team has not been doing…

MIHLALI BALEKA @Mihlalibaleka SOUTH african Football Association (Safa) president Danny Jordaan says it’s the number of discovered incidents of bias from referee Maguette N’Diaye against Bafana Bafana during their World Cup qualifier against Ghana that forced them to lodge a complaint to Fifa. On Sunday night, the South Africans saw their dream of qualifying for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar come to an abrupt end as they lost 1-0 away to Ghana in their last qualifier to finish second in Group G behind the Black Stars on goal difference. That defeat left a bitter taste in the mouths of the South Africans who felt that they were hard-done by a dubious penalty decision from N’Diaye who adjudged that Daniel Amartey was fouled in the box by defender Rushine De…

ALL but one of the 10 countries that have advanced to the last stage of Africa’s World Cup qualifiers will have another matter on their immediate agenda before determining who plays at the 2022 finals in Qatar. Algeria, Cameroon, Egypt, Ghana, Mali, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal and Tunisia are all on course to qualify for Qatar but compete at the Africa Cup of Nations finals in January before switching focus back to World Cup qualification in March. Only the Democratic Republic of Congo are through to the last round of Africa’s World Cup preliminaries despite having flopped in the Afcon qualifiers this year. The Congolese hired veteran coach Hector Cuper to stage a recovery and won their World Cup group to reach the playoffs. In March, the 10 teams will be…

MANCHESTER United’s wage bill rocketed by 23% during the period in which they re-signed Cristiano Ronaldo, the club’s latest set of financial results showed yesterday. Figures for the first quarter of the 2021/22 financial year show a rise of £16.6 million (about R347.214 million) in “employee benefit expenses” compared with the corresponding period of the previous year. The total amount spent on salaries during the quarter ended September 30, when the club re-signed Ronaldo and also brought in Raphael Varane and Jadon Sancho, was £88.5 million. This rise was offset by £17.4 million brought in through player sales, principally Dan James’ move to Leeds, although the club did also earn a sell-on fee from Romelu Lukaku’s transfer from Inter Milan to Chelsea. Total revenue increased by 16.1% to £126.5 million,…

MIKE GREENAWAY mike.greenaway@inl.co.za A year like no other in the history of the Springboks comes to an end at Twickenham on Saturday and the South Africans are geared up for one last hurrah before they can put their feet up and reflect on the joys and travails of 2021. That is the sentiment of veteran No 8 Duane Vermeulen, who says the Boks will empty the tank against England in a bid to end the year in style. The Springboks regained their No 1 spot on the world rankings last week when they beat Scotland on the same day that New Zealand lost to Ireland, and if the Boks beat England, they will remain No 1 after this last weekend of international rugby for 2021, even if the All Blacks…

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za CONSUMER prices are set to inch higher in November, driven up by rising fuel prices as headline inflation remained elevated for the sixth consecutive month in October. Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) yesterday said the annual consumer price inflation was 5 percent in October, unchanged from the September reading. On a monthly basis, consumer prices went up 0.2 percent, the same pace as in the prior month and matching market forecasts. StatsSA’s chief director for price statistics, Patrick Kelly, said the upward pressure came mainly from transport, food and non-alcoholic beverages, housing and utilities, primarily electricity and other fuels. “Food and non-alcoholic beverages increased by 6.1 percent year-on-year, housing and utilities increased by 4 percent,” Kelly said. “Transport increased by 10.9 percent year-on-year,…

Bang Showbiz Blake Lively wore Taylor Swift’s ring from music video I Bet You Think About Me before the video’s premiere. The 34-year-old actress directed the singer’s music video for the track from her latest album Red (Taylor’s Version) and a few days before the clip was released on Monday, it seems she had offered a hint about what was in store. Lively had shared a close-up of her hand adorned with rings. She wrote on Instagram: “My hand modeling career is really taking off.(sic)” And when the video was released on Monday, Swift could be seen wearing the same heart-shaped, diamond-outlined ruby ring that Lively wore in the Instagram photo. The song features on Swift’s re-recorded version of her 2012 album and the video featured other callbacks to her…

Chulumanco Mahamba THE National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) has reported an increase in flu cases in South Africa this summer, which is not the typical time for the flu season. The NICD announced that a steady increase in the number of flu cases from week 34 (starting August 23), with a sharp increase in week 44 (starting November 1), has been reported from flu-like illness and pneumonia (hospitalised cases) surveillance sentinel sites. Private laboratories also reported increased flu case detection and the NICD received reports of clusters of flu cases in schools and workplaces. The NICD said as of week 44 (week ending November 7), the number of flu cases detected by the NICD had increased from 68 in week 34 to 226. The increase in case…

Lehlohonolo Mashigo lehlohonolo.mashigo@inl.co.za CRYPTOCURRENCY can improve the efficiency of small businesses to better serve customers, according to Associate Professor and Researcher Wesley Doorsamy from the Institute for Intelligent Systems (IIS) at the University of Johannesburg (UJ). He said that blockchain is rich with possibilities and is a proposed solution for small businesses in the e-commerce space for supply chain management, energy trading and more. “We are striving to involve more young people in this exciting space so that they can develop the technical and entrepreneurial skills necessary to go out and innovate,” said Doorsamy. He said the blockchain initiative would foster innovations in the design, use, ethics, and regulation of decentralised, blockchain-based technologies. “The future looks promising for start-ups that are looking to implement blockchain for better speed and security…

Lehlohonolo Mashigo lehlohonolo.mashigo@inl.co.za RENEWAL of licences is having another extension as the Road Traffic Management Corporation’s (RTMC) calls on motorists to make arrangements now. This is after plenty of motorists struggled to renew their expired licences on Gauteng’s online booking system or walk-in bookings. Spokesperson for the RTMC Simon Zwane told The Star yesterday that these challenges with online bookings no longer exist. Asked about the anticipated Covid fourth wave predictions and possible effects on the renewal process, he said there were no further extensions in the pipeline. “Our concern is the people who do not honour their bookings and those who have not yet bothered to apply.” Zwane said there were about 1 000 booking slots every day and that the request for a slot initiative led by the…

T Markandan | Kloof Remember the famous lines from Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner? Water, water, ever ywhere Nor any drop to drink. Well, residents in Durban, Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) and Johannesburg find themselves in a similar plight. Their taps have run dry. Though we are not blessed with an abundance of the vital resource, we – at least those of us who are fortunate enough to live comfortable lives in cities and towns – have never faced a water crisis. Just like electricity, when we press the switch we expect to see the lights come on, we expect to have water when we turn the tap on. Water and electricity are basic rights of modern living which we take for granted.…

The consequence of the recent elections is that we are now in the period of political flux known as formation of coalitions. The term “coalition” originally described a natural process of growing together or coalescence of different parts of an organism. This was back in about 1612. It did not take long, in fact about a century, before it was taken into political language describing an alliance between parties or even states. This situation obviously creates tensions between loyalty and pragmatism with a necessity of power sharing with new partners, and indulging in what is sometimes referred to as “horse-trading”. The duration of alliances is impossible to predict, because there are so many factors, personal and political. So is the longevity of politicians, a high stress occupation, which can…

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: if you’re being offered a deal on a car that seems too good to be true, it probably is. Unfortunately, many cash-strapped South Africans are being lured into scams by the promise of saving big money on their next car – and they’re ending up out of pocket and without any wheels. We’re seeing many fake ads and websites for vehicle auction houses and car dealerships, who claim to be selling cars at unbeatable prices. And here’s the thing: it all looks legitimate. They’ve got pictures of the vehicles, complete with mileage and specs, and smiling salespeople just waiting for your call. The kicker? These cars are going for up to R100 000 less than normal prices, because they’re…

Online retail giant Amazon yesterday said it plans to stop accepting payments in the UK made with Visa credit cards, blaming the move on high fees. “These costs should be going down over time with technological advancements, but instead they continue to stay high,” Amazon said. Its UK online site will no longer accept the cards as of January 19. Customers can continue to use Visa debit cards, Amazon said. Visa said it was “very disappointed that Amazon is threatening to restrict consumer choice”. | AFP…

Mike Greenaway mike.greenaway@inl.co.za FOR just over a decade, the legendary Bryan Habana was the proud custodian of the Springbok No 11 jersey, and now that Makazole Mapimpi is continuing the magic in that same jumper, nobody is more thrilled than Habana himself. Habana retired five years ago having scored a Bok record of 67 tries in 124 Tests (between 2004 and 2016) while Mapimpi has scored 19…

Zaahier Adams zaahier.adams@inl.co.za Legendary tennis superstars Venus Williams and Martina Hingis will be in South Africa next month to participate in the Africa Cares Tennis tournament in Johannesburg. Fellow two-time Grand Slam champion Simona Halep will also be competing, along with 18-year-old South African tennis prodigy Khololwam Montsi. The latter is ranked 780th on the ATP Tour rankings and will be in action in the mixed doubles segment. Williams, with seven, and Hingis (5) are the undoubted drawcards though, with the former World No 1s boasting a collective 12 Grand Slam singles titles. The rest of the field will be announced closer to the tournament date, which will be at the Ground, The Venue in Muldersdrift on December 18 and 19. The dual motivation behind the Africa Cares tournament is…

NETHERLANDS captain Virgil van Dijk says his country’s World Cup qualification was deserved despite an anxious last two qualifying matches before eventually booking their place at next year’s tournament in Qatar. The Dutch, who missed out on the 2018 finals in Russia, ensured top place in Group G with a 2-0 win over Norway in Rotterdam on Tuesday to finish ahead of Turkey. But they let slip a chance in Montenegro at the weekend to earn early qualification and were anxious as they faced Norway, who needed victory to usurp them. It was not until the last six minutes that the Dutch made sure with goals from Steve Bergwijn and Memphis Depay. “It was deserved. I don’t think we gave anything away, nothing at all,” insisted Van Dijk. “After Saturday,…

THE past two European champions could have to play against each other in a playoff for a place at next year’s World Cup as a consequence of failing to secure automatic qualification this week. Both Italy, who won the continental title in July, and Portugal, who were winners of Euro 2016, will be on tenterhooks as they await the outcome of the draw for the March playoffs for the 12 European countries who remain in contention for three places at the World Cup. They are the teams who finished runners-up in their group, plus two more who qualified by virtue of being the best two Nations League group winners who did not finish in the top two of the Qatar 2022 preliminaries. Italy’s failure to win in Northern Ireland on…

THE IOC said on Tuesday that no athlete should be excluded from competition on the grounds of a perceived unfair advantage due to their gender as it released a new framework on transgender inclusion. The governing body, however, added that it was not in a position to issue regulations that define eligibility criteria for every sport, leaving it up to federations to determine if an athlete was at a disproportionate advantage. “The framework is not legally binding. What we are offering to all the international federations is our expertise and a dialogue, rather than jumping to a conclusion,” said IOC director of the athletes’ department Keveh Mehrabi. “This is a process that we have to go through with each federation on a case-by-case basis and see what is required.” The…