Mercury的2024-04-12目录

In the middle of the Indian Ocean lies a little gem of a paradise. Chagos is a group of seven atolls comprising 60 little islands far from the madding crowd. Except for Diego Garcia, most of the islands are uninhabited. Some 200 years ago Chagos was an unspoilt, pristine home to a rich biodiversity of corals, marine creatures and numerous sea birds. But then came man. He saw this paradise in the middle of the ocean and found it irresistible. He just couldn’t leave it alone to the fish and the birds. He had to make his ugly mark on the island. In colonial times the British were everywhere, even in the most remote corners of the globe, always on the lookout for opportunities to expand their empire. Whether…

NOW that most political parties have launched their manifestos for the coming general elections, the battle is on to woo voters to send them to their theatre of dreams – Parliament – so they can live a better life for five years. The bottom line is: Who is going to believe these leaders? Millions, though, will go out and vote – some to change the current regime, others to retain the status quo. It’s a lie for political party leaders to promise the electorate many dreams of a better life. Some leaders also contradict themselves, promising to end gender-based violence, yet supporting genocide in Palestine, where women and children are slaughtered daily by the crime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, with the support of US President Joe Biden and his…

The Electoral Court has reviewed and set aside the decision of the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) not to allow the casting of votes at consulates headed by honorary consuls. This came after the DA filed an application in response to complaints from South Africans residing in Perth, who sought the opening of the honorary consulate as a voting facility. However, the high commission in Canberra said the Perth consulate could not be utilised for voting as it was “not headed by transferred staff from South Africa”. The official opposition launched the application when the electoral body did not heed their request in February for the inclusion of all embassies, high commissions and consulates as voting stations for the 2024 elections. The DA argued that the current Electoral Act…

The Department of Correctional Services’ National Commissioner, Makgothi Thobakgale has given the green light to appoint 1 003 trainees as permanent correctional officials for the 2024/25 financial year. According to the department, this is a move by government to illustrate its mandate and priority in creating opportunities for South Africans. Those that took part in the 12-month Correctional Services Learner- ship NQF Level 4 programme in 2022 and were subsequently hired as auxiliary support officials on a contractual basis would be offered permanent positions starting this month. The department said this learnership programme included practical training at correctional centres. According to the ministry, 466 correctional officials were appointed in the Western Cape, 214 in KwaZulu- Natal, 107 in the Eastern Cape, 75 each in Limpopo, Mpumalanga, and North West, 69…

Ten more suspects arrested in the University of Fort Hare (UFH) fraud and corruption case have been released on R50 000 bail each in the Alice Magistrate’s Court, sitting in Dimbaza. National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Luxolo Tyali said the State decided not to oppose bail against the 10 accused, after considering some recent developments about their circumstances relating to the case. The accused released on bail are Anna Smith, Paul Tladi, Lucrecia Davids, Mbulelo Gingcana, Nkateko Mawila, Nozuko Mabombo, Thamsanqa Sonjica, Craig Retief, Bradley Conradie and Nthabiseng Makhoba. The State is opposing bail against three of the 15 persons apprehended: Terrence Joubert, Anwar Khan and Isaac Plaatjies. “Even though Plaatjies abandoned bail, he reserves the right to still apply for bail which the State will oppose,” Tyali said. Khan and…

The Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) secured a court order to preserve over R4.3 million in a bank account belonging to KwaZulu-Natal-based company Piggy Farm Trading (Pty) Ltd. The order was obtained in the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria. The Mercury had reported this week that the National Consumer Commission (NCC) had said it was investigating the activities of the company including a complaint that it may be running an alleged multiplication scheme. In a statement, Lumka Mahanjana, NPA Gauteng regional spokesperson, said that it was alleged Piggy Farm Trading company had been running a Ponzi scheme where individuals could purchase up to 50 virtual pigs at R2 750 per pig, in a digital “Metaverse” Piggy Farm. “It is a virtual pig, the investment is risk-free…

THE ANC has been dominating South African elections since 1994, though scholars argue that its limitations when it comes to dismantling colonialism and the debilitating socio-economic conditions confronting African people have led to a crisis for the party, which witnessed a massive drop in support in the 2019 general elections. That the ANC liberated South Africa from the shackles of apartheid and colonialism has been argued to be the significant factor for the party’s electoral dominance, notwithstanding the now vague and popular enunciations about corruption and lack of service delivery. However, political explanations which posit that the ruling party’s expansion of minimal welfare programmes – such as, but not limited to, the varieties of social grants – are a significant contributor to the ANC’s continued electoral dominance are not sufficient.…

Long-simmering tensions between China and its neighbours were in the spotlight yesterday as leaders of the US, Japan and the Philippines gathered at the White House to push back on Beijing’s stepped-up pressure on Manila in the disputed South China Sea. US President Joe Biden announced new joint military efforts and infrastructure spending in the former American colony as he hosted Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos jr and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Washington for a first-of-its-kind trilateral summit. Topping the meeting’s agenda was China’s increasing pressure in the South China Sea, which has escalated despite a personal appeal by Biden to Chinese President Xi Jinping last year. The Philippines and China had several maritime run-ins last month that included the use of water cannon and heated verbal exchanges. The…

A sweeping Russian missile attack on Ukraine destroyed the largest power generating plant in the Kyiv region as Vladimir Putin’s forces exploit gaps in the war-battered nation’s air defence as part of a renewed offensive. The strike set ablaze the turbine hall of the Trypilska plant about 45km south of the capital, according to Andriy Hota, the supervisory board chairperson of state-owned power producer Centrenergo. The facility was hit by six missiles yesterday, a source said. “We need to speak about air defence, it’s the biggest challenge today,” President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said during a visit to Lithuania yesterday, listing regions hit in the barrage. Centrenergo’s Hota said the company’s power generation “has been ruined” after attacks on its facilities. The Kremlin has intensified strikes on energy infrastructure. The missile and…

ORENBURG: The Russian city of Orenburg battled rising water levels yesterday after major rivers across Russia and Kazakhstan burst their banks in the worst flooding seen in the areas in nearly a century. The deluge of meltwater has forced over 110 000 people from their homes in Russia’s Ural Mountains, Siberia and Kazakhstan as major rivers such as the Ural, which flows through Kazakhstan into the Caspian, overwhelmed embankments. Whole areas of Orenburg were underwater, and the Ural rose another 32cm to 10.54m, 124cm above the level considered by local authorities as safe. Officials warned the river would rise further. | Reuters…

NAIROBI: Moderna Inc has paused its efforts to build an mRNA manufacturing facility in Kenya while it determines future demand for Covid-19 vaccines on the African continent, the firm said yesterday. Moderna’s plan was part of efforts to widen access to vaccines that have remained out of reach to large parts of the world. Africa has been trying to reduce the continent’s reliance on the rest of the world for vaccines. Demand for Covid-19 vaccines in Africa has declined since the pandemic and is too little to support the viability of the $500 million (R9.3 billion) factory it planned to set up in Kenya, Moderna said. It said it was committed to ensuring access for Africa. | The Washington Post…

THE Proteas Women have had a long and decent cricket season overall thus far. However, the side has lost three consecutive limited-overs series, including the recent T20 series against the Sri Lanka Women. The side now has two ODIs against Sri Lanka in which to finish the home summer on a positive note and, most importantly, build some momentum heading into the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh in September and October. Independent Newspapers pick five players to watch in the second ODI in Kimberley tomorrow. Karabo Meso The country has seen very little of the 16-year-old wicketkeeper/batter since she made her T20 international debut. Her wicketkeeping skills were on full display during the two T20Is that she has played in thus far but we are yet to see much of…

POLITICAL parties are increasingly turning to social media campaigns to drive political party messages in the run-up to next month’s general elections. While the online space can inform about policies and manifestos, there is also a growing risk of disinformation. The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC), recognising the growing use of digital media in political campaigning, signed a framework of co-operation with social media companies last year to combat disinformation and other digital harms. The agreement with Google, Meta and TikTok is aimed at safeguarding the integrity of information and preserving the fundamentals of the country’s electoral processes. According to the IEC’s deputy chief, Masego Sheburi, one of the reasons for these guidelines was to protect voters. “The misinformation, the disinformation are all the negatives that you find on…

THE National Association of School Governing Bodies has said the South African Council for Educators (SACE) must do more to ensure that corporal punishment is stopped in schools. The organisation was commenting after the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) ordered that the sanctions meted out by SACE to two educators for practising corporal punishment be remitted back to the body for reconsideration. The teachers who meted out corporal punishment against two primary school learners in the classroom were fined R15 000 each, of which R5 000 was suspended by SACE. The sanction also included striking the names of the teachers off the educators’ roll, which was also suspended for 10 years. The Centre for Child Law (CCL) and the mothers of the children took the matter to court as they…

There are no knights in shining armour unless you shine up your armour, sharpen your sword, and enter the fray of life on your own behalf. Things most difficult to achieve are usually the things most worth achieving. Begin with the toughest. Learn the 80/20 principle – it is remarkably helpful. Quick fixes usually give rise to new, greater, and unexpected problems than the quick fix sought to address. If you get or want something for nothing, someone is getting nothing for something. Tell people who you are, what you want, what you expect. If you don’t define yourself others will do it for you. Loving as an equal, working in a family business, rearing children, are among life’s most difficult yet rewarding challenges. Speak well of others, particularly those…

Following an oversight visit with the DA KwaZulu-Natal premier candidate, Chris Pappas, to the Ottawa Water Works in eThekwini, it has become clear that the “water mafia” is quickly making its way into the city. The unfolding crisis in KZN has led to critical water shortages in several communities, with dire consequences for the fundamental human rights of local residents. To make matters worse, it has been reported that a “water mafia” has set up shop in KZN, allegedly sabotaging critical water infrastructure in order to extend lucrative government contracts for the provisioning of water tankers in order to profit from the ongoing crisis. In other areas, there have been reports of unmarked and privately owned trucks selling water obtained from municipal taps to local residents at extortionate prices. Following…

A husband who never had a fixed job during his marriage and apparently refused to look for work, while also cheating on his wife, will lose his 50% portion of her pension upon their divorce, and he will not receive monthly maintenance from her. The wife turned to the high court sitting in Bloemfontein to obtain a divorce against her husband. While the wife has no problem in dividing the assets of their household between herself and her husband, she was adamant that he may not be “unduly enriched” by getting half of her pension. The wife, a police officer, said she had worked hard during their marriage to try and provide for the household, which included one child. This, while the husband, according to her, sat around the house…

A KwaZulu-Natal serial rapist who preyed on young girls, with his youngest victims being 11-years-old, has been sentenced to three life terms of imprisonment. Sakhile Mhlungu, 44, was sentenced in the Scottburgh Regional Court this week for a string of rapes and kidnappings he committed between April 2019 and April 2021 in Sawoti, Msinsini and Highflats on the KZN South Coast. According to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), Mhlungu preyed on girls aged 11 to 22. His modus operandi was to offer them a lift in his motor vehicle, taking them to a nearby forest, where he raped them. NPA spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said the complainants opened cases at the police station, describing the vehicle. “The police circulated this description, and Mhlungu was caught while driving his motor vehicle. A…

Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga says hundreds of pregnant and sick pupils wrote their matric examinations in hospital in the past four years. Motshekga said there were provisions which allow pupils who are not able to write exams in school to write their papers from a hospital bed. This was granted under exceptional circumstances. She said approval must be sought from those who are handling exams at provincial level. Motshekga said in 2020 there were 85 pregnant and sick pupils who wrote their exams from hospital. In 2021, this number increased to 140 pupils. The minister said in 2022 there were 150 pregnant and sick pupils who wrote exams from hospital, and last year the number increased to 209. “The Regulations Pertaining to the Conduct, Administration and Management…

THE top brass of Parliament’s political leadership are scheduled to undergo a lifestyle audit in the seventh national legislature following the general elections on May 29. This emerged from the review of the joint committee on ethics and members’ interests after it reviewed the code of ethical conduct for MPs in both the National Assembly and National Council of Provinces. In their report tabled to the Houses, committee co-chairpersons Bekizwe Nkosi and Lydia Moshodi made recommendations after the committee reviewed the 2014 code of ethical conduct and disclosure of members’ interests. Nkosi and Moshodi recommended the introduction of lifestyle audits for the top political leadership in Parliament. “Lifestyle audits will be risk based and not all disclosures will be audited,” reads their report. The recommendation comes hot on the heels…

SO close, yet so far! That sums up Banyana Banyana’s successive failure to qualify for the Olympic Games after losing 1-0 on aggregate to Nigeria. The South African women’s national football team lost 1-0 in the first leg in Abuja last week and followed with a drab 0-0 draw in Tshwane on Tuesday in the return leg. The Queens of African football failed for the second time under coach Desiree Ellis to qualify for the Olympics. It was the same story for Tokyo four years ago. Whenever teams lose, coaches always have to take the blame for the failure and rightfully so should Ellis. Don’t get it wrong, she’s still the right woman for the job, but this failure should make her realise it is time she seriously start working…

Ten years ago, Solomon Maina’s daughter, Debora, was one of 276 schoolgirls kidnapped from their dormitory in the middle of the night by Nigeria’s Boko Haram Islamist militants. Global outrage was swift. A ubiquitous “Bring Back Our Girls” campaign, drawing support from the likes of Michelle Obama and Sylvester Stallone, shined a spotlight on the abductions. Then, in 2016 and 2017, negotiations led to the highly publicised liberation of around 100 of the captives. Debora was not one of them. A decade after that night in April 2014, the world has largely forgotten the plight of the so-called Chibok girls. But for the victims and their families, the tragedy is ongoing. “Especially at night, I think about my daughter,” Maina, in tears, said at his home in Chibok, a Christian…

London: Julian Assange’s wife said yesterday it was a “good sign” that US President Joe Biden was “considering” dropping the WikiLeaks founder’s prosecution, five years on from his arrest and detention. “It looks like things could be moving in the right direction,” Stella Assange said. Australia’s parliament passed a motion in February with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s support calling for an end to the legal saga surrounding Assange, 52, an Australian who has been held in Britain since 2019 while fighting extradition to the US for leaking state classified information. “We’re considering it,” Biden replied when asked if he had a response. Stella Assange said that her husband was “extremely unwell” and stressed as he could face 175 years in prison. | AFP…

Bangkok: Massive heatwaves across East Asia and the Pacific could place millions of children at risk, the UN warned yesterday, calling for action to protect vulnerable people from the soaring temperatures. UN data showed over 243 million children across the Pacific and East Asia were estimated to be affected by heatwaves, putting them at risk of heat-related illnesses and death. Several countries in the region are smouldering in the summer heat, with temperatures nearing record levels as they regularly hit over 40°C. Local forecasters are predicting steeper rises in the coming weeks. The UN projected that over 2 billion children are expected to be exposed to heatwaves by 2050. | AFP…

SUPERSPORT United’s ambitions to win the 2024 Nedbank Cup lie at the mercy of a glittering Stellenbosch FC outfit. The two teams will meet at the Danie Craven Stadium tomorrow at 3pm, looking to book a semi-final spot in the Ke Yona Cup competition. Having failed to win both the MTN8 and Carling Knockout Cup this season, Matsatsantsa head coach Gavin Hunt has made the Nedbank Cup the saving grace of the club’s 2023/2024 campaign. In their way, however, is a Stellies outfit in the form of their lives. The Cape Winelands-based outfit won their first top-flight cup with the Carling Knockout Cup triumph in December. Head coach Steve Barker has also been instrumental in guiding his side to a historic 20-game unbeaten run, the first of its kind in…

The eThekwini Municipality’s poor service delivery performance sees the City coming in seventh place for this municipal function out of eight metros across the country. This is according to a municipal ranking report, known as the Governance Performance Index (GPI), released by Good Governance Africa (GGA) recently. The report rates the overall performance of municipalities based on the assessment of key indicators. The report, titled Good Governance Performance Index 2024, was compiled with data sources primarily drawn for the period 2021-2023. These data sources include official reports like Statistics SA reports and those of government departments. It highlights the instability of the coalitions that govern the metros, especially after the 2021 local government elections, as being among the contributing factors to their inability to perform at the expected levels. It…

What is significant about a report on avian flu in Business Report of April 11 is that it signals the beginning of the next attempt by the globalist elite to impose restrictions on humanity that have nothing to do with health. Ramping up the alarmist narrative is globalist The New York Times, which asserts that the H5N1 avian virus “could mutate to enable efficient transmission between people”. The new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Dr Mandy Cohen, says the CDC is “taking the situation very seriously”. Last month, the Manchurian president in the White House signed a bill allocating $1 billion (R18.8bn) for bird flu vaccines. With the controlled media rolling out the alarmist script, Big Pharma is all set to coerce the masses to…

THE Sharks have found their bearings. Last weekend’s 47-3 massacre at King’s Park, of the Italian Zebres in the Challenge Cup, made that abundantly and excitingly clear. Our chaps were playing, for the first time in yonks, with access to all our top players. But that can also have its problems – rustiness and unfamiliarity. Plus the atrocious weather. There was a concern that that could dampen performance; at a time things seemed to be turning around. Nothing of the kind transpired. Our fellows played as if nothing were amiss. Splosh! Slosh! Splosh! – try after try. As the old song goes: Never mind the weather So long as we’re together … And together we were … with a vengeance. The delight of the damsels of the Pub With…

Another family wiped out. This time a Hamas leader. Mothers, fathers, children, grandchildren and newborn infants – so many thousands simply eradicated from the surface of the Earth. Never to return. The question that the survivors of Gaza will forever ponder over – till eternity, when all this one-sided madness and lunacy originally perpetrated by Israel is finally over – is most definitely going to be: “Was this horrid game really worth the candle? “Weren[t we better off with all members of our families still intact before the 7th of October? Wouldn't it have been an easier option to just accept the enslavement in our securely-walled concentration camp? We were living in squalid condi tions but we did have some civilisation around us. Very closely-built houses. Narrow streets. No employment.…

Controversial Mpumalanga ANC heavyweight and former party provincial treasurer, Mandla Msibi, has been slapped with a three-year suspension by his party for misconduct. This, after the party will arguably face the toughest elections on May 29 since governing the country from 1994. Msibi, also MEC for Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs in the province, was suspended after the party found him guilty of violating its constitution. He was suspended for three years, however, two years have been suspended, provided he is not found guilty of the same offence in that period. This means he is effectively in the political wilderness for one year. The party accused Msibi of attempting to sabotage the 112th birthday celebrations by lobbying his supporters to boycott the event. Chief among the issues, prior to the…

A married couple has been sentenced in the Oudtshoorn Regional Court in the Western Cape on charges of money laundering and fraud. Ricardo Bowckers and Desiree Bowckers, both 47 years old, were sentenced this week. The couple was convicted on March 15. Ricardo was found guilty of 13 counts of fraud and nine counts of money laundering. Desiree was found guilty of five counts of fraud and 12 counts of money laundering. The provincial spokesperson for the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (known as the Hawks), Lieutenant-Colonel Siyabulela Vukubi, said the couple was arrested in 2014. They were initially granted bail after their arrest. However, their bail was revoked and they were remanded in custody until their sentencing. “This follows allegations that the accused applied for several insurance policies between…

Politicians across the globe are a breed unto themselves THE resignation of Nosiviwe Mapisa- Nqakula as Speaker of the National Assembly and as a sitting ANC MP earlier this month, following allegations of soliciting bribes from a former military contractor and flouting anti-money laundering rules during her previous tenure as defence minister, symbolises a disconcerting trend of a resurgent global pandemic playbook of corruption in political governance and representation. Whether Mapisa-Nqakula was forced to resign or whether she willingly stepped up to clear her name, reputation and preserve her ministerial pension will become clearer on June 4 when her case resumes in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court. True to the script of the Global Guild of Accused Politicians, she remains adamant that she has done nothing wrong and strongly rejects any…

Israel was on alert yesterday after its arch foe Iran threatened reprisals over a strike in Syria this month that killed two Iranian generals, and as the war against Hamas ground on in Gaza. Days after Israel strengthened its air defences and paused leave for combat units, the US also warned of the risk of an attack by Iran or its allied groups at a time Middle East tensions have soared. Iran is “threatening to launch a significant attack on Israel,” US President Joe Biden said, pledging “ironclad” support for its top regional ally despite diplomatic tensions over Israel’s military conduct in Gaza. Israel was widely blamed for an April 1 attack that destroyed Iran’s consulate building in Damascus and killed seven members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC),…

A court in Vietnam handed the death sentence yesterday to real estate tycoon Truong My Lan for her role in a 304-trillion-dong(R234 billion) financial fraud case, the country’s biggest on record, state media said. Her trial, which began on March 5 and ended earlier than planned, was the result of a campaign against corruption that the leader of the ruling Communist Party, Nguyen Phu Trong, had for years pledged to stamp out. Lan, the chairperson of real estate developer Van Thinh Phat Holdings Group, was found guilty of embezzlement, bribery and violations of banking rules at the end of a trial in the business hub of Ho Chi Minh City, state media said. “We will keep fighting to see what we can do,” a family member said. Before the verdict,…

Mae Sot: Myanmar junta troops have withdrawn from positions in a major trade hub near the Thai border after days of clashes, an ethnic armed group said yesterday, in another blow to the embattled military. On the border near the vital trading town of Myawaddy, there was shelling yesterday after hundreds of people queued the night before to seek safety in the kingdom. The country has been roiled with conflict since the army overthrew a democratically elected government in 2021, but the junta is facing its gravest threat yet after heavy losses in recent months. Anti-junta groups launched an assault on Myawaddy town this week. The town is an important possession for the cash-strapped junta. | AFP…

Washington: The White House yesterday announced a crackdown on firearms sales at gun shows and over the internet that evade US federal background checks. Vice-President Kamala Harris, who heads the White House Office on Gun Violence Prevention, said the move addressed the so-called “gun show loophole”. “For decades, many dealers who sell weapons someplace other than the traditional gun store... have gotten away without conducting background checks,” she said. “All gun dealers now must conduct background checks.” Gun violence is common in the US, where there are more firearms than people. | AFP…

WE MADE it past April Fool’s without too much drama. The sea is looking better than it has in a long time and the freshwater scene is firing! Time to fish. There have been fish along most of the KZN coast: snoek, tuna, couta and a host of other gamefish. The North Coast has seen some good snoek and couta for the smaller boats and skis. The deeper reefs and wrecks have seen some very good bottom fishing with big trawl soldiers and a host of other species being caught. Squid and sardines have been the baits of choice for the deeper fishing. The tuna have been full up with some giants being hooked and breaking tackle. These are very powerful fish so allow them to tire themselves out before…