Sommaire pour 2022-07-06 de Cape Times

FRUSTRATIONS boiled over during a community engagement session with Police Minister Bheki Cele and top brass where Gugulethu and Nyanga residents blamed the lack of police visibility and poor infrastructure for rising crime in their areas. About 200 people, including neighbourhood watch and CPF members, attended the engagement at the Gugulethu, Ekhwezi community hall yesterday. Some of the issues touched on included slow police response to reported crime, poor infrastructure, Gender-Based Violence (GBV), extortion, and lack of police visibility in the area. When Civil rights organisation Action Society director of community safety, Ian Cameron, however accused Cele of failing the people of the townships and questioned him about the provincial government’s involvement in the talks, tensions escalated as Cele in response, said he would not allow the issue to be…

Brinjal rolls: 2 large brinjals Olive oil, for brushing Moussaka filling: 5ml oil 1 red onion, diced 2 garlic cloves, crushed 200g minced lamb 200g button mushrooms, minced 15ml harissa paste 5ml ground cumin 3ml ground cinnamon ½ jar passata tomato sauce 1 can brown lentils, drained To assemble: 150g fresh ricotta, crumbled 50g thick Greek-style yoghurt 35g Parmesan cheese, grated ½ jar passata tomato sauce Preheat the oven to 160°C. Combine the ricotta cheese, yoghurt and half of the Parmesan cheese in a small bowl. Place a brinjal slice on a work surface and top with a little of the ricotta mixture and a spoonful of the mushroom and lamb mixture. Roll up to enclose filling. Spread the remaining tomato sauce on the base of an ovenproof dish and…

THE Western Cape High Court has referred a medical case, in which a minor patient suffered brain damage during an operation, back to court for further hearing as it erred in its findings. Judge Patrick Gamble ruled a prima facie case of negligence was made by the plaintiff, Philippa van Zyl on behalf of the minor patient, as it should have found that there was substandard treatment of a laryngospasm, a sudden spasm of the vocal cords, by an anaesthetist employed by the health department. Western Cape Department of Health spokesperson, Mark van der Heever, said: “The department notes this judgment, the substance of which is that this matter will now be heard at trial with further evidence offered. Only thereafter, and based on the facts, will a ruling will…

Taking the government to court over Zimbabwe Exemption Permits is no surprise The news that the Helen Suzman Foundation (HSF) has taken our government to court to overturn the termination of the Zimbabwe Exemption Permits (ZEPs), while infuriating, should not come as a surprise. Whites are fond of slavery and their support expressed through structures like the HSF, AfriForum and others are a testament to this sad reality. The HSF has in its wisdom decided to defend the supposed rights of foreigners at the expense of South Africans. In so doing, they have unconsciously exposed their lack of patriotism. They would rather have foreigners working in our country while millions of South Africans, especially the youth, are unemployed with little or no prospect of getting employment opportunities any time…

Fighting raged yesterday in and around Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region as Russian troops tried to build on recent battlefield gains, while Nato pressed ahead with Finland and Sweden’s momentous membership bids. With the war into its fifth month, Kyiv’s allies committed yesterday to supporting Ukraine through what is likely to be a lengthy and expensive recovery, agreeing on the need for broad reforms to boost transparency and tackle corruption. The two days of talks in the Swiss city of Lugano heard rebuilding the war-ravaged country is estimated to cost $750 billion (about R12.4 trillion). But on the battlefield the conflict continued to wreak devastation, with the Ukrainian president’s office reporting Russian shelling and missile strikes in several regions overnight. Kremlin forces were pounding their next key target, the city of…

Iran added demands unrelated to discussions on its nuclear program during the latest talks, and has made alarming progress on enriching uranium, the US envoy for talks on reinstating a nuclear deal said yesterday. US Special Envoy for Iran Robert Malley said there was a proposal on the table for a timeline by which Iran could come back into compliance with the nuclear deal and Washington could ease sanctions on Tehran. Indirect talks between Tehran and Washington aimed at breaking an impasse over how to salvage Iran’s 2015 nuclear pact ended in Doha, Qatar, last week without the hoped-for progress. Malley said Iranian negotiators had added new demands. “They have added demands that anyone looking at this would view as having nothing to do with the nuclear deal; things they’ve…

Khartoum: The chairperson of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereign Council said the country’s military would not participate in talks facilitated by the international community to pave the way for the civil groups to form an independent government. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan also pledged to dissolve the sovereign council after the formation of a new government. The UN, AU and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development is facilitating intra-Sudanese dialogue to end the country’s political crisis. The capital Khartoum and other cities have had protests demanding a return to civilian rule. | IANS…

Wout van Aert extended his overall lead in the Tour de France when he finished off some sterling team work to win the fourth stage yesterday after three second places in the opening three race days. The Jumbo Visma rider left all his rivals gasping for air on the final hill of the 171.5km ride from Dunkirk after his Jumbo Visma team’s brutal acceleration blew apart the peloton. The Belgian jumped away from a skimmed pack with less than 12km left in the short ascent of the Cote du Cap Blanc Nez and never looked back to clinch his seventh individual stage win on the Tour. Belgian Jasper Philipsen took second place with France’s Christophe Laporte finishing third, eight seconds behind.Overall, Van Aert leads compatriot Yves Lampaert (Quick Step Alpha…

SOUTH African businesses remained under considerable pressure from rising input costs, lifted by a surge in global fuel prices and supply-side challenges, despite activity climbing to a 13-month high in June. The S&P Global South Africa Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), released yesterday inched higher to 52.5 points in June from 50.7 points in May, registering above the 50-point neutral threshold for the sixth month running. The reading was the highest recorded in just over a year. S&P said all five sub-components of the PMI had a positive directional influence in June, particularly the new orders index which signalled a solid upturn in sales. According to survey panellists, the expansion was often linked to a recovery in economic conditions, especially in KwaZulu-Natal following floods earlier this year. With sales…

WHILE Eskom workers have agreed to a one-year 7% wage deal which has ended their strike, the power utility is expecting to extend Stage 5 load shedding into today and tomorrow. According to Eskom, the strike resulted in maintenance work being postponed, leading to a backlog that will take time to clear. The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA), National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and Solidarity have been in wage talks with Eskom at the Central Bargaining Forum (CBF) for nearly two weeks. This triggered protests at various Eskom power plants, leading to Stage 6 power cuts. The unions met Eskom management yesterday after collecting mandates from all workers in all regions to accept the wage proposal. The signed agreement was a 7% salary increase across the board…

Accused fraudster and crypto developer Riccardo ‘FluffyPony’ Spagni will soon be on local soil after he was expected to have surrendered himself to US Marshals yesterday for his extradition. Spagni - who was arrested nearly a year ago - is being brought back to the country where he will face nearly 400 criminal charges related to fraud, forgery and uttering. National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson, Eric Ntabazalila, said: “We can confirm that Spagni is to be surrendered imminently. He will be brought before Regional Court Cape Town as soon as reasonably possible once he arrives in Cape Town.” Last year, SAPS issued a J50 warrant of arrest for fugitive Spagni, 38, after he twice failed to appear at the Cape Town Regional Court on fraud charges, which he had previously…

Recently, the Ministry of Health scrapped the last of the remaining oppressive Covid-19 regulations. However, the joy will surely be short lived. The idea has always been to have the country in a permanent state of national disaster. This, however, applies to all nations. It is, as it has always been, an international script and all governments read from the same sheet. What most people do not know is that there is a coup attempt to take over the world by the World Health Organization. In January 18, 2022, the American government secretly proposed amendments to WHO’s International Health Regulations (IHR). The proposal was kept a tightly knit secret until April 12, a month before relevant bodies could meet to finalise them. The US proposals, or rather instructions, to…

Police arrested a suspect this week after a mass shooting left six dead at a US Independence Day parade in a wealthy Chicago suburb. Robert Crimo, 22, was identified as a “person of interest” and became the target of a massive manhunt across the town of Highland Park in Illinois, where a rooftop gunman with a high-powered rifle turned a family-focused July 4 parade celebration into a scene of death and trauma. Firing into the holiday crowd, the shooter caused scenes of chaos as panicked onlookers ran for their lives, leaving behind a parade route strewn with chairs, abandoned balloons and personal belongings. Emergency officials said about two dozen people, including children, were treated for gunshot injuries, with some in critical condition. After a brief car chase, Crimo was taken…

The World Health Organization said yesterday that 5 322 laboratory confirmed cases of monkeypox had been reported to it in the current outbreak, 85% of which are in Europe. Though case numbers are rapidly increasing, the UN health agency has not set a date for its emergency committee on monkeypox to convene for a second meeting. The number has increased by 56% in eight days. The previous figure given by the WHO, for the period up to June 22, was 3 413 cases. A surge in monkeypox cases has been reported since early May outside the West and Central African countries where the disease has long been endemic. Infections had now been reported in 53 countries. About 85% of cases are in Europe, followed by Africa, the Americas, the Eastern…

Berlin: Police in five European countries launched a cross-border operation against people smuggling yesterday and made several arrests, German authorities said. Officers in Belgium, Britain, France and the Netherlands as well as Germany staged dawn raids with “hundreds of officers”, said police in the German city of Osnabrueck, a major hub for the networks. The operation was co-ordinated by Europol and EU judicial agency Eurojust, German police said. The operation targeted organised groups taking migrants to England. The network had smuggled up to 10 000 people via the Channel in the last 12 to 18 months in a highly lucrative scheme. | AFP…

PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm was not under the protection of the police when a gang of Namibian nationals allegedly broke into it and stole millions of US dollars, estimated to be worth R60 million at the time, “concealed” in couches two years ago. This is according to Police Minister Bheki Cele who was responding to parliamentary questions from DA MP Andrew Whitfield. He had asked whether he or the VIP Protection unit was informed of theft of foreign currency at the farm of Ramaphosa when the SAPS annual report for 2019-20 was released. Whitfield asked the reason for the security breach not being recorded in the annual report. Ramaphosa had previously claimed that the theft was reported to the head of the Presidential Protection Unit of the SAPS…

THE Independent Community Pharmacy Association has expressed concern that the SA Post Office will be acting as a collection point for chronic medicines. But the Health Department said the programme has benefited more than five million patients receiving lifesaving chronic medication. According to the NPO, which represents more than 1 200 independent pharmacies, medicines are not normal tradeable commodities. “They are prescribed by authorised prescribers, usually a doctor, for a diagnosed, treatable condition in a patient. The medicine is then checked and dispensed by a pharmacist. “Both of these healthcare professionals have years of training and are strictly regulated through statutory councils. “Medicines are stored, according to legislation, under prescribed storage conditions to ensure that they retain their effectiveness and have not deteriorated or been damaged in any way.” The…

A ministerial panel yesterday recommended a forensic investigation into the collapse of a server at the Government Printing Works (GPW) and how the data was lost without back-up servers. This after the panel, appointed by Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi, found that the crash of the server last year was due to poor maintenance of the ICT infrastructure, most notably the non-replacement of the batteries. Panel chairperson Papati Malavi said the ICT team at GPW did not know how to load discs, scrubbing them before loading new data and ensuring proper back-ups should there be a problem. “All of this (was) accompanied by a lack of support and maintenance contracts with service providers for the servicing of ICT-related equipment. “Underpinning these issues, however, is a failure of management and supervision…

IN THE previous parliamentary term, former deputy speaker Piet Pretorius led on the issue of the possibility of increasing the number of seats on behalf of the provincial parliament and its desirability in the South African National Speakers Forum (a body made up of all the Speakers of our provincial legislatures, the National Council of Provinces and the National Assembly). The matter has also been aired in the legislative sector broadly, and the Western Cape provincial parliament (WCPP) has made various submissions to the national Parliament’s legal advisers as well as various legislative sector forums (including the Speakers’ Forum), so as to help frame that conversation. The Gauteng Provincial Legislature has now petitioned that the new Electoral Amendment Bill should explicitly pronounce on the matter and provide for determination of…

In Kenya, a conservative country that has long restricted access to reproductive care, many women and girls resort to desperate measures – using knitting needles, drinking bleach, taking unidentified pills or ingesting traditional herbs – to terminate their pregnancies. Although Kenya has gradually liberalised its abortion laws in recent years, activists are concerned that the overturning of Roe v Wade by the US Supreme Court could set back their progress. But they are determined to continue their fight, drawing inspiration from Latin America, where three countries have expanded abortion rights in the past year. “The wave that started in Mexico, in Argentina, in Colombia, is catching fire in Africa,” said Tabitha Griffith Saoyo, a Kenyan lawyer working to expand reproductive rights. “There’s room for Africa to lead… to show that…

LONDON: Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, chose Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, to take her photo for Country Life magazine. The 74-year-old royal has guest edited this month’s edition of the publication. The relaxed” image features Camilla in the garden of her private home, Ray Mill, in Lacock, Wiltshire, sitting on a bench with her hands on a trug of flowers. Editor Mark Hedges was delighted with the results. He said: “I don’t think anyone else would have made her feel so relaxed. “They didn’t bother too much with hair and make-up, they just got some flowers for the garden and got on with it.” | Bang Showbiz…