Sommaire pour 2022-05-20 de Cape Times

From page 1 “I’m pretty sure I remember our house father shouted at him, but that’s as much as I can recall. It was a hush-hush thing. All I can say is that I can confirm that it did happen and the circumstances surrounding it were very questionable and were very similar to this recent incident. “At the time I didn’t know that this peeing situation could be racially motivated. It was a white Afrikaans boy peeing in the room of a black student. “But it was not addressed and the conversation about whether it could be racially motivated certainly did not come about the way it is now,” he said. Stellenbosch University spokesperson Martin Viljoen said they would review records regarding the alleged 2018 incident and respond in due…

FACTIONAL in-fighting within the ANC is believed to be at the centre of a suspiciously classified intelligence report by the State Security Agency (SSA), which Independent Media will challenge in court to have it declassified and laid bare for its readers. The report, whose content cannot be fully disclosed since the matter will be heard behind closed court chambers in Pretoria next Tuesday, was allegedly compiled by Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) spies based at the US embassy in Pretoria. It was later shared with the SSA before concerned sources leaked it to the Daily News, one of the publications belonging to Independent Media. When the Daily News asked questions about it in December last year, the SSA dashed to court and successfully obtained an interim interdict until the matter…

Another black Stellenbosch University (SU) student has opened up about being humiliated by a white student, who allegedly urinated in his room and was only suspended with no further action taken. While the incident allegedly took place in 2018, the student told the Cape Times the recent viral video showing Theuns du Doit urinating on the study material of fellow student Babalo Ndwayana at Huis Marais residence, opened old wounds. When Ndwayana confronted Du Toit about what he was doing, he could be heard responding that “it’s a white boy thing”. Du Toit has since been suspended, faces a criminal complaint and could be expelled from the university. In the wake of this incident, the fourth-year student in the 2018 incident said he was forced to move residences because of…

A POLICE officer who allegedly made derogatory remarks about a recruit’s attire, skin colour and weight during a parade is due to be prosecuted on charges of crimen injuria. The prosecuting authority has finally decided to prosecute the serving SAPS general following the intervention of AfriForum. It is claimed that the general humiliated 53-year-old Captain Riana Stander (previously Viviers) and others in 2016. The incident is said to have taken place in November 2016 when the general - who cannot be identified at this stage - visited the SAPS Academy in Oudtshoorn. According to AfriForum, the general instructed Stander and others to stand on the stage in front of about 450 recruits. She allegedly made derogatory remarks about Stander’s attire, weight and the colour of her skin. This was met…

ALL ABOUT ME! Mel Brooks Loot.co.za (R280) CENTURY PRESIDENT Barack Obama said about him: “Suffice it to say, in his satires and parodies, no cow is sacred, no genre is safe. He mocked the musical – and Hitler in The Producers, the Western in Blazing Saddles, and the horror film in Young Frankenstein.” “But behind all the insanity and absurdity, there’s been a method to Mel’s madness. He’s described his work as ‘unearthing the truth that is all around us’. And by illuminating uncomfortable truths – about racism, sexism and anti-Semitism – he’s been called ‘our jester, asking us to see ourselves as we really are, determined that we laugh ourselves sane’.” The occasion was the awarding of a Kennedy Center Honor to Mel Brooks, writer, director, actor, producer. One…

BEYOND FEAR Ebrahim Ebrahim Loot.co.za (R205) Jacana Beyond Fear is the testimony of Ebrahim Ebrahim, a revolutionary amongst revolutionaries, whose poignant and inspirational account of his years spent dedicated to bringing down the apartheid state is told in ways we have not heard. As one of the founding members of Umkhonto we Sizwe, he played a central role in directing the sabotage campaign of the early 1960s. Convicted for this, Ebrahim arrived on Robben Island in 1964, where for over 15 years he played a leadership role in the creation of the ‘University of Robben Island’, the university of revolutionary ideology. Soon after his release, Ebrahim became the head of the ANC’s political military committee in Swaziland, and as such, his life was under constant threat. He was abducted in…

University creates environment for intolerable racist behaviour by youth EACH province has more than two official languages, usually three, with English and Afrikaans enjoying equal usage followed by an indigenous African language. Is there a university in Limpopo using an African indigenous language as a medium of tuition? Is there one in the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga or anywhere else? Any university that uses seSotho as a medium of tuition in the Free State? But the Free State University and Stellenbosch University are twins. I’m asking this because language is an important aspect of culture. Every language in this country is important, including Afrikaans. Now, Stellenbosch University mainly offers its programmes in Afrikaans. I went to an on-campus Open Day on May 7 in order to see things of interest.…

A 21-year-old Russian soldier asked a Ukrainian widow to forgive him for the murder of her husband, as a court in Kyiv met for a second hearing yesterday in the first war crimes trial arising from Russia’s invasion. Vadim Shishimarin, a tank commander, pleaded guilty to killing an unarmed 62-year-old civilian, Oleksandr Shelipov, in the north-east Ukrainian village of Chupakhivka. “I acknowledge my blame ... I ask you to forgive me,” he told the widow, Kateryna Shelipova, yesterday. The Kremlin has said it has no information about the trial and that the absence of a diplomatic mission in Ukraine limits its ability to provide legal assistance. The widow told the court she had heard distant shots fired from their yard and she had called out to her husband the day…

LOS ANGELES: Tom Cruise found it a “daunting task” making Top Gun: Maverick. The 59-year-old star reprises his role as Captain Pete “Maverick” Mitchell in the sequel to Top Gun but Tom was uncertain about revisiting the movie that made him a superstar. He said: “Fans all over the world for decades have been saying please do another one, and I was like, I don’t know how to do that. And I would go home and think about how to approach it, so to hear about how audiences feel about it … I’m so excited for them.” He said that releasing the movie on a streaming service was “never an option” despite delays caused by Covid-19. | Bang Showbiz…

NEW YORK: The US Food and Drug Administration authorised booster doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for children this week as Covid-19 cases are on the rise again in the US. The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices could recommend making boosters available for some portion of that age group, but may stop short of saying all children should get the extra shot, experts said. The companies submitted data to the FDA that showed a third dose of their vaccine generated a strong immune response against the Omicron variant in healthy children aged 5-11. Severe disease is quite rare in the age group, especially for those who have received two shots. | Reuters…

New Delhi: Seven out of 10 IT professionals in India think that the lack of a strategy is the largest barrier firms face in developing explainable and trustworthy artificial intelligence (AI), a report said yesterday. Another greatest barrier to successful AI adoption is limited skills, expertise or knowledge (38%) for organisations exploring or deploying AI in the country. “As the adoption of AI grows steadily, organisations in India are using AI to augment their core business processes and services” said Siddhesh Naik, of IBM India. Globally, the AI adoption was up 4 percentage points compared with 2021. | IANS…

From page 1 Police spokesperson Captain FC Van Wyk said the circumstances surrounding the incident were being investigated by the Stellenbosch Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) unit. “It is alleged that the incident occurred at about 10.30pm on Tuesday at a residence in Victoria Street Stellenbosch,” he said. National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said the accused could not be in contact with the complainant as a condition of bail. “He is charged with two counts of rape. The court set his bail at R1 000 on condition that he must not be in contact with the complainant. “His case was postponed until June 29 for further investigation,” Ntabazalila said. The university said it was “deeply distressed” by the incident. “In accordance with its established procedures…

A WEEK after Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula visited Siyahlala informal settlement residents and said vacant land had been found for them to move to by November, no further details have been forthcoming from his office. Mbalula’s acting spokesperson Lawrence Venkile did not respond to multiple questions on the newly identified land. During a visit to Langa last Friday, to assess progress in bringing back the Central Line, Mbalula had engaged with community leaders on the planned relocation of the informal settlements on the rail infrastructure. Mbalula told residents that his department has identified vacant land which they will move to by November. Residents whose homes are built on railway tracks have meanwhile said they will not move from the area without being shown the newly identified land. Siyahlala informal settlement…

IT WAS May 16, the end of the day, and I was about to turn in for the night. A notification popped up on my mobile device, lighting up a dimly-lit room. A headline with the words ‘Stellenbosch University’ drew my attention, and as a former employee at said institution, naturally, my curiosity was piqued. An article by a news outlet left me feeling irate and frustrated; another race-related incident at Marais Huis and Stellenbosch University. I learnt of the horrible ordeal that a young man had been put through. A student by the name of Babalo Ndwayana, a name on everyone’s lips right now, a young man who had his dignity stepped on by a fellow white student in the now notorious and widely publicised ‘Stellenbosch University urinating scandal’.…

UDM leader Bantu Holomisa and the EFF are drumming up support and lobbying civil and business organisations to join them in their fight against the controversial deal between SAA and Tshepo Mahloele’s Takatso Consortium. Yesterday the two parties made their intentions known when they addressed the Black Business Council (BBC) annual summit which was held at the Gallagher Convention Centre. Holomisa and EFF deputy president Floyd Shivambu questioned the council about its silence on the alleged privatisation of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) by the government. Holomisa fired the first salvo when he blasted the BBC leadership for its silence on the pending sale of SAA to Takatso Consortium as the EFF warned the council about the privatisation of more SOEs. Holomisa, Shivambu, the ANC’s Dr Gwen Ramokgopa, the DA’s deputy spokesperson…

The Baxters Karen Kingsbury Loot.co.za (R219) Simon & Schuster THIS warm-hearted and moving prequel to the New York Times best-selling Baxter family series follows the family members as they face rising tensions during a wedding and a colossal storm. A terrible storm builds in the early morning sky over Bloomington, Indiana, as Elizabeth Baxter prepares to celebrate her daughter Kari’s wedding to Tim Jacobs. It’s supposed to be the happiest of days, but Elizabeth can’t shake a growing sense of dread. Is the storm a sign? Something bad is about to happen. Elizabeth knows it. Indeed, there are dark currents of conflict and doubt coursing through the Baxter family. In the midst of them, Kari Baxter is starting to panic. Is marrying Tim a mistake? And what about her family?…

LOST ON THE MAP Bryan Rostron Loot.co.za (R235) Bookstorm FOR 250 years, Bryan Rostron’s family spread across the globe, helping to expand the British Empire and paint the map red. This is a personal reckoning with that dubious legacy, echoing down to the present in South Africa. It begins with the ‘discovery’ of Tahiti in 1767 by an ancestor, from whose log book Rostron reveals that his sailors were exchanging the ship’s nails for sex with Tahitian maidens so that HMS Dolphin began, literally, to fall apart. After the Anglo-Boer War, having emigrated to South Africa, one grandfather became editor of the Sunday Times, voicing racist opinions, and later of the Rand Daily Mail, at that time a voice of the Randlords. Ironically, his other grandfather worked for the Communist…

On April 21, China’s President Xi Jinping proposed the Global Security Initiative (GSI) when delivering a keynote speech via video at the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2022. The initiative champions commitments in six areas, emphasising that we are living in an indivisible security community and that security is a prerequisite for development. The GSI advocates commitments in six areas for the effective maintenance of peace and stability in the world as follows: u It is important that we stay committed to the vision of common, comprehensive, co-operative and sustainable security, and work together to maintain world peace and security. u Stay committed to respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, uphold non-interference in internal affairs, and respect the independent choices of development…

Nigerian police said they arrested two suspects behind the kidnapping of students from a Nigerian college last year, one of the most high-profile cases in a recent string of abductions of pupils. Gunmen killed a member of staff as they stormed Greenfield University in north-western state of Kaduna on April 20, 2021, before seizing around 20 students. Five of the hostages were killed a few days later to force families and the government to pay a ransom. Fourteen were released after 40 days in captivity. The Nigerian police said that they had detained two suspects, Aminu Lawal, also known as Kano, and Murtala Dawu, otherwise known as Mugala, who were implicated in several abduction cases. “They equally confessed to the kidnap of students from the Greenfield University, and the mindless…

Baghdad: An embarrassing slip of the tongue by former US president George W Bush may have drawn laughter from his American audience, but it raised the ire of Iraqis. In a speech this week in Dallas about Russia’s war on Ukraine, Bush said: “The decision of one man to launch a wholly unjustified and brutal invasion of Iraq, I mean of Ukraine,” he said in a speech, drawing laughter from the audience. “Anyway, 75,” he added, referring to his own age, to more laughter. Between 2003 and 2011, when the US withdrew its troops after leading an invasion of Iraq that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein, more than 100 000 civilians were killed. The invasion cost the lives of nearly 4 500 Americans. Video footage of the gaffe has since gone…

Tehran: Iranian journalist Keyvan Samimi, who was jailed in 2020 for “plotting against national security”, has been returned to prison after resuming his activities during a medical furlough, a report said yesterday. The 73-year-old had been granted prison leave on medical grounds in late February. He had been serving a three-year sentence in Semnan, nearly 200km east of the capital. Earlier this week, Mehr News Agency reported the arrest of Tehran academic Saeed Madani Ghahfarokhi on suspicion of “maintaining links abroad and carrying out activities that threaten national security”. Ghahfarokhi is a sociology professor. | AFP…

COSATU has described the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture’s planned R22 million flag project as “embarrassing and ludicrous”. The trade union federation called for the project to be scrapped immediately, adding that there was no room for a review on the matter. It said the department should rather concentrate on service delivery than vanity public relations. After heavy criticism, Minister Nathi Mthethwa said his department had placed the project under review. The department announced this week that it would be embarking on a project that would employ more than 140 people, saying it would be a “symbol of unity and national pride” which would inspire “social cohesion”. However, Cosatu spokesperson Sizwa Pamla made it clear there was no room for such a project during these tough economic times. He…

NINE UCT students have been removed from the institution’s residences following allegations of rape, sexual assault and homophobia levelled against them. Protests erupted at Roscommon House, an off-campus residence, on Wednesday night when students demanded action against eleven peers who they said they did not feel safe around. “The GBV culture in Roscommon has been prolonged thus far due to the alienation of the residence from other UCT residences. “It has been clear that the university leadership has continuously failed to protect and ensure the safety of students and survivors in the house,” the SRC said in a statement. The students are also calling on UCT management to review existing sexual assault and harassment policies. “(We) urge the university to practise the inclusivity of Roscommon House & other semi-private UCT…

ACCUSED murderer and rapist Moyhdian Pangkaeker and his twin sister, Nazley Pangkaeker, broke down as further testimony and evidence was heard in the Western Cape High Court yesterday. Pangkaeker, who faces 27 criminal charges, sobbed softly in the dock as he and his sister listened to an eight-minute phone call recording in which she begged him to return to her house in Elsies River, if he was not responsible for the disappearance of eight-year-old Tazne van Wyk. The court heard the phone call recording made between Pangkaerker and Nazley, which was part of the efforts to trace the accused after it was alleged he was last seen with Tazne, walking in the direction of Parow Station. Listening to the recording, Nazley teared up as she relived the moment when she…

PUBLIC Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane is currently investigating 325 cases in the Western Cape, with maladministration the most reported complaint. In a report, Mkhwebane said of the 325 cases being investigated as of May 7, maladministration accounted for 147 complaints and service delivery for 135 complaints. Her office was investigating 13 corruption cases. According to the report, 111 cases involved local municipalities, with the City recording the most number of complaints with 62 cases being investigated. Fifty-seven investigations involved provincial departments, with the Human Settlements department recording the most complaints Mkhwebane confirmed meeting the Western Cape Provincial Parliament (WCPP) Masizole Mnqasela on Wednesday saying it was part of their annual roadshow. “The provincial legislature has powers to ensure all provincial executive organs of state accounts to it and the oversight. We…

To Paradise Hanya Yanagihara Picador In an alternate version of 1893 America, New York is part of the Free States, where people may live and love whomever they please (or so it seems). The fragile young scion of a distinguished family resists betrothal to a worthy suitor, drawn to a charming music teacher of no means. Then, in a 1993 Manhattan besieged by the Aids epidemic, a young Hawaiian man lives with a far older and wealthier partner, hiding a troubled childhood. And in a futuristic 2093, a world exists awash with plagues, governed by totalitarian rule. Here, a powerful scientist’s damaged granddaughter tries to navigate life without him and to solve the mystery of her husband’s disappearance. The three time frames come together as recurring notes and themes amalgamate:…

Letters Of Alchemy Shakeela Kingzley Loot.co.za (R329) Reach LETTERS Of Alchemy is a journey which unveils various cycles of growth from the darkness of fear, grief and heartbreak to the light of love, self-awareness and empowerment, expressed through the art of poetry and prose. This thought-provoking collection of words pulls the reader into new worlds of expanse bringing strong images, memories and feelings to mind resulting in a visceral adventure. For best results, savour each sentence and brace yourself for a heart- and mind-opening experience. Shakeela Kingzley is a South African writer and filmmaker who has profound love for the arts. She received her BA Degree in Motion Picture Medium in 2010 and has since worked in the South African film industry and explored the world whenever adventure called her…

Sri Lanka fell into default for the first time in its history as the government struggles to halt an economic meltdown that prompted mass protests and a political crisis. Policymakers had flagged to creditors that the nation wouldn’t be able to make payments until the debt is restructured, and is therefore in pre-emptive default, central bank governor Nandalal Weerasinghe said at a briefing yesterday. The coupon payments, originally due April 18, were worth $78 million (about R1.3 billion) combined on notes maturing in 2023 and 2028, with a 30-day grace period that expired on Wednesday. Sri Lanka has been mired in turmoil amid surging inflation – which Weerasinghe sees accelerating to 40% in coming months – a plummeting currency and an economic crisis that has left the country short of…

Israel has arrested one of the pallbearers of slain Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh, police said yesterday, but rejected his lawyer’s claim that the detention was linked to his role at the funeral. In a raid that has sparked international outrage, baton-wielding Israeli police beat several pallbearers as they carried the journalist’s coffin out of a hospital in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem. Abu Akleh was shot dead during an Israeli army raid in the West Bank last week. Palestinians and the TV network said Israeli troops killed her, while Israel said she may have been killed by Palestinian gunfire or a stray shot from an Israeli sniper. A lawyer for pallbearer Amro Abu Khudeir said that his client had been arrested and questioned over his role at the funeral. Khaldoun…

Frankfurt: Shots were fired at a secondary school in Germany yesterday, injuring one person in the northern city of Bremerhaven, police said, adding that they had arrested the suspected gunman. The incident happened at the Lloyd Gymnasium in the centre of Bremerhaven. “The armed person has been arrested and is in police custody,” police said. The injured person was not a pupil, they said, and had been taken to hospital. School shootings are relatively rare in Germany, which has some of the strictest gun laws in Europe. But a recent spate has rattled the population. Online paper Nord24 said the person injured was a woman who worked at the school. | AFP…

JOHANNESBURG: Several outbreaks of monkey pox in Africa have been contained during the Covid-19 pandemic, and outbreaks in Europe and the US are a concern, Africa’s top public health agency said yesterday. A handful of cases of the virus, which causes fever symptoms and a bumpy rash, have been reported in Britain, Portugal, Spain and the US. The disease, which spreads through close contact and was first found in monkeys, mostly occurs in west and central Africa. The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said outbreaks had been contained in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Cameroon and the Central African Republic since 2020. | Reuters…