Cape Argus 2021-12-01

The global community will gather again today to commemorate World Aids Day. This is one of the times when we also remember all those who have succumbed to the virus as well as those infected and affected by Aids. It is also a pivotal time in which we rededicate ourselves to ending the scourge of Aids as a public health threat. The theme for this year’s World Aids day is “End inequalities, end Aids, end pandemics”, which accurately reflects what we should be focussing on. More notable, however, is that this year marks the second time when we observe World Aids Day while we also confront the Covid-19 pandemic, which has now been exacerbated by the impending 4th wave – fuelled by the Omicron variant. As I write this, we…

Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za ANEL Bosman, who made history to become the first female chief executive at Nedbank’s corporate and investment bank, believes the climate change crisis is a game changer not just for the group – but for humanity. Bosman, the mother of two adolescent boys, said solving the climate change crisis would be the defining battle- ground of our time. “It is a moral imperative that we no longer kick the can down the road and ensure that we hand over a sustainable world to the next generation. Nedbank wants to – and needs to – take one of the leadership roles in funding these solutions. Our ambition is that there is a future state where there isn’t a need to differentiate between policy and sustainable policy and banking…

WHILE there was heightened uncertainty worldwide in the wake of the new Covid-19 variant, Omicron (B.1.1.529), the Agricultural Business Chamber (Agbiz) said this week that it did not foresee the new variant causing major changes in regulations and trading activity for much of the agricultural sector. The chamber’s chief economist, Wandile Sihlobo, said agriculture had largely been classified as an essential industry and remained operational since the start of the pandemic. “We will, nonetheless, monitor the potential impact of the travel bans and the general surge of the Covid-19 infections on the global supply chains. This is an important area for South Africa’s export-oriented agricultural sector,” Sihlobo said. He said that despite these global factors and the ongoing pandemic- related uncertainty, South Africa’s agricultural sector had started the 2021/22 production…

LITTLE BIRDS SHOWMAX A racy, bold British original drama based on Anais Nin's infamous erotic short stories. In 1955, heiress Lucy Savage arrives in Tangier, Morocco, one of the last outposts of colonial decadence, and experiences a culture shock. Starring Juno Temple, Yumna Marwan, Hugh Skinner, Nina Sosanya and Raphael Acloque. WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS SHOWMAX This season, the vampires are elevated to a new level on the Vampiric Council, and will encounter the vampire from which all vampires have descended. Meanwhile, Guillermo grows into his vampire killing powers, which creates a bit of a dilemma in the house. Plus, Colin Robinson is turning 100. With guests Lauren Collins, Tyler Alvarez and Aida Turturro. THE RIVER 1MAGIC, DSTV CHANNEL 103, 8PM An announcement at the Dikana…

Karen MacPherson | The Washington Post As a long-time children’s and teen librarian, often I am asked when it’s time for a reader to move up – for instance, from picture books to chapter books or from middle-grade to young-adult books. Lately, I’ve been talking to teens about what seems like an even bigger step: from young-adult to adult books. It turns out (perhaps not surprisingly) that many teens have already made that leap. Recently I asked a group of teens what appealed to them about adult books – in contrast to YA books – and got some intriguing answers. Though many teens said that they liked young-adult books, others felt that by age 14 or so, they had grown out of them. One reader told me that young-adult…

TITLE: Out of My Heart AUTHOR: Sharon Draper REVIEWER: Mary Quattlebaum MELODY Brooks relates to the fireflies trapped in jars in Out of My Heart, a new middle-grade novel by Sharon Draper. Like the small, glimmering creatures, she wants to be free, not trapped and confined, said Draper about her 12-year-old main character. Melody’s loving family watches over and protects her. Because Melody was born with cerebral palsy, they worry about her getting hurt. Cerebral palsy is caused by damage to the brain, and affects how people move and speak. Melody can’t walk or talk. But she gets around in a wheelchair, and she communicates with a special device called a Medi-Talker. And she’s tired of being hovered over by her family! Melody wants to do more for herself and…