Table of contents for 2022-06-27 in Star

Celebrated South African saxophonist Reanne de Klerk is cementing her name as a music editor in Hollywood’s film and television scene. Based in Los Angeles, De Klerk recently worked on the highly-anticipated Queer as Folk reboot series, which started streaming on NBC’s Peacock platform in the US earlier this month. The new Queer as Folk is a vibrant re-imagining of the ground-breaking 1999 British series created by Russell T Davies, set in Manchester in the UK. Set in New Orleans, the new series centres on a group of club-going friends who find support in the gay community following a tragedy. On what drew her to the project, the KwaZulu-Natal-born star says: “I had already heard some murmurs about this exciting reboot and when I got a call, I jumped at…

THE COVID-19 pandemic negatively affected South African school attendance as the number of children who did not attend school almost doubled from 2019 to last year, according to Statistics SA (StatsSA). StatsSA released its General Household Survey (GHS) last week, with data showing the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic were still lingering for early childhood development and school attendance. The GHS tracks the progress of development in South Africa and identifies persistent service delivery gaps. The report revealed that Covid-19 changed the nature of child-care arrangement as the percentage of children aged 0 to 4 years who remained at home with a parent, guardian, other adults or children increased from 57.8% in 2019 to 64.6% last year. The pandemic also negatively affected school attendance as the percentage of children who…

Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo partnership with the Johannesburg Parks Alliances have launched their first inaugural Action Imbizo where they displayed some of their exciting projects planned to restore and create sustainability for local parks. This happens during World Environmental Month and the initiative seeks to explore the power of partnerships, to build safe and well-managed parks and green lungs in the City of Joburg. The Star spoke to Andrew Harris, one of the partners in the initiative, who has a passion for community and development. “I have been involved with this project for the last five years and (came) into the Sandton sports club, which has been sort of left derelict and created pockets of different businesses inside an existing sports club. “So we have got people that run…

Norwegian police have arrested a man suspected of “Islamist terrorism” after two people were killed and 21 wounded in shootings in the country’s capital Oslo on Saturday. Terrified revellers at a gay bar in Oslo hid in a basement and desperately called loved ones as the gunman went on the rampage. The attack took place in the early hours of the morning, with victims shot inside and outside the London Pub gay club, the Herr Nilsen jazz club and at a takeaway food outlet in the capital. The suspect, a 42-year-old Norwegian man of Iranian descent already known to the anti-terrorism services, was arrested shortly after shootings were reported. The arrested man “is suspected of homicide, attempted homicide and a terrorist act”, senior police official Christian Hatlo said. Norway’s domestic…

Mogadishu: Somalia’s parliament has unanimously endorsed Hamza Abdi Barre as new prime minister, paving the way for the creation of a new government for the troubled Horn of Africa nation. All 220 lawmakers present gave their blessing to Barre’s appointment, and he was then sworn in to office, the parliament speaker said. Barre 48, told parliament he would form a “quality” government that would focus on “creating inclusive political stability (in line with) the president’s motto of a reconciled Somalia that is at peace with the world”. |…

Safa president Danny Jordaan has issued a public apology after a member of his executive committee was involved in a scuffle with journalists in scenes broadcast on eNCA. “Re-elected Safa president (Jordaan) and CEO, advocate Tebogo Motlanthe, have unreservedly apologised to the members of the media following an unfortunate incident that played out on Friday in Sandton on the eve of the Elective Congress,” said Safa in a statement. Saturday’s Safa presidential election, which was won convincingly by Jordaan, was marred by controversy. Supporters of main opposition candidate Ria Ledwaba staged a protest outside the venue and former Bafana Bafana coach Shakes Mashaba was apparently removed from the venue after asking for an opportunity to speak. Mashaba lashed out at the state of SA football, claiming that “change is needed”…

Apprehension and excitement abound in the Proteas squad ahead of the historic one-off Test match against England starting in Taunton today. There was disappointment, too, yesterday with news that three senior players – Shabnim Ismail (calf strain), Chloe Tryon (hip) and Ayabonga Khaka – won’t be available for the match. In Khaka’s case, she is not being considered for the Test format, which does seem strange given the skill she has shown with the ball in the limited-overs formats. The absence of Ismail, especially, is an enormous blow for the Proteas. Her new-ball partnership with Marizanne Kapp was viewed as one of the vital weapons in South Africa’s arsenal. The two are also among just five players in the squad with experience of playing a Test. Sune Luus, who will…

Lara van Niekerk ensured South Africa’s proud record in the Fina World Championship pool continued by bagging a bronze medal in the 50 metres breaststroke in Budapest, Hungary, on Saturday night. Competing in her first major event at senior level, the 19-year-old came up against world record-holder Benedetta Pilato and 2013 world champion Ruta Meilutyte in the final. Van Niekerk swam 29.90 seconds to take the bronze medal, with Meilutyte taking gold for Lithuania in 29.70sec and Pinato the silver for Italy in 29.80. Van Niekerk’s performance means South Africa have claimed a medal at every long course world championships since Roland Schoeman’s solitary bronze in the men’s 50m freestyle at the 2001 event. “Surprisingly, I wasn’t that nervous. I thought I would be way more freaked out than I…

A GRADE 9 learner has taken her HIV advocacy to Washington DC as one of three South African girls selected to represent the Global Fund campaign locally. Curro Aurora, Sundowner, Randburg Grade 9 learner Galaletsang Phalatse will take part in various activities from this month to August in an advocacy campaign for the Global Fund’s campaign in South Africa. The school said the learner, with the two other girls selected to represent adolescent girls and young women, will help make global leaders aware of the plight of girls and young women in the African continent. The 14-year-old will also attend a high-level meeting in Washington DC, hosted by the South African Ambassador to the US Nomaindiya Mfeketo. Curro Aurora said Phalatse has been devoted to HIV prevention for as long…

THE SA Health Products and Regulatory Authority (Sahpra) has registered a new “sweet-tasting” combination antiretroviral treatment for infants and young children with HIV. This treatment comes in granules that can be sprinkled on soft food or dissolved in milk or water. The treatment does not require refrigeration. The “4-in-1" formulation, approved by Sahpra, with the trade name Quadrimune has been developed by the non-profit entity, Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi), and Cipla. Unlike the traditional protease inhibitor-containing paediatric ARV formulations, the new treatment combines the antiretrovirals abacavir, lamivudine, lopinavir and ritonavir in a novel manner of administering it to children and infants. Sahpra has also registered dolutegravir dispersible tablets for children with HIV by Macleods (Trade names – Syromak 10 ODT and Kovasyp 10 ODT) and Mylan (trade names…

It’s painful that patients are dying in Zimbabwean hospitals because the heartless government refuses to pay health workers better salaries. It’s a shame the health system is plagued by a lack of medicines and basic supplies such as gloves. Health workers in Zimbabwe want to be paid in US dollars because salaries in local currency are being eroded by inflation. Most health workers are taking home less than $200 (about R8 000) a month. It is very strange that a rich country like Zimbabwe has left health workers hungry. Health workers are walking to work because they can’t afford bus fare and everything is benchmarked in US dollars except health worker’s salaries. People will die because of the strike at various hospitals across the country. Zimbabwe is returning to the…

AS WE conclude Youth Month, it is important that we record the correct history of the Soweto Uprising. History should never be used as propaganda or a political tool. Rather, it should be an impartial assessment of past events, recorded with objectivity. The way in which the Soweto Uprising has been portrayed has placed too much emphasis on the protest on June 16, 1976, while neglecting other demonstrations across the country. The noise we hear is the dispute between three liberation organisations – the ANC, PAC and Azapo – over the “ownership” of the campaign to overthrow the apartheid government. The political parties make the claims to gain support, especially around elections. We never hear, however, about townships, villages or individuals who made sacrifices. While everyone accepts that June 16,…

In recent years, European states have been at the forefront to develop offshore-processing centres outside of Europe, particularly in Africa. The “Australian Model” has been viewed as a viable solution for European leaders to their migrant challenges. Most recently, the UK reached a deal with Rwanda that seeks to emulate Australia’s offshore processing, turnbacks, and detention policies to deter asylum seekers who travel across the English Channel. But will this policy of third-country processing be effective in curbing irregular migration? What seems like a new policy trend is a continuation of processes going on for years by which Western countries’ policymakers increasingly seek to develop stringent immigration policies at the expense of those most vulnerable and in need of international protection. Those states say such policies serve to save lives,…

ABOUT 25 000 people were evacuated to Russia at the weekend from dangerous areas of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics and Ukraine, Sputnik News reported Colonel-General Mikhail Mizintsev, the head of the Russian National Defence Control Centre, as saying. Mizintsev also leads Russia’s humanitarian response co-ordination headquarters. Ukraine said it was regrouping its forces from the rubble of the city of Sievierodonetsk to higher ground in neighbouring Lysychansk to gain a tactical advantage over Russia, the head of Ukraine’s military intelligence agency said.…

CANBERRA: The Australian National University has opened a new national climate research facility. Funded by the federal government, the AU$7.6-million Australian Community Climate and Earth System Simulator (Access) is the largest computer modelling system in the southern hemisphere. The National Research Infrastructure facility will bring together various researchers to provide better information on climate change and extreme weather. “We are creating an ‘open source’ weather, climate and Earth system modelling powerhouse that anyone across the globe will be able to access,” said Andy Hogg, inaugural director of Access. |…

The retirement of stalwarts Anya Shrubsole and Katherine Brunt, and seamer Emily Arlott testing Covid-positive, has forced the England women’s squad for the one-off Test against the Proteas into a reshuffle, with an uncapped player promoted from the reserve list. The Test will be played from today at the County Ground in Taunton. Uncapped pace bowler Issy Wong has been promoted from the reserve list and into the 13-player squad for the four-day clash, and is in contention to claim a spot left vacant by the recently retired duo of Shrubsole and Brunt. Wong is among a group of players that could earn a Test debut, with fellow seamers Freya Davies and Lauren Bell, batter Emma Lamb and all-rounder Alice Davidson-Richards all having a chance of earning a first cap…

A passionate campaigner for female empowerment, Galaletsang Phalatse has been devoted to HIV prevention for as long as she can remember. Phalatse will be attending a meeting hosted by the South African Ambassador to the US, Nomaindia Mfeketo, in Washington DC. She will participate in activities to help make global leaders aware of the plight of girls and young women in Africa. “It is a huge honour and humbling to be only one of three girls chosen to represent South Africa in this fantastic campaign. The Global Fund has done some fantastic work to help save lives by helping to provide HIV treatment. However, it is so important for young girls around the world to be equipped with the right knowledge to prevent HIV from spreading, and ensure we stay…

A MISSING person’s case will remain open with the police until 7-year-old Soweto boy Khayalethu Magadla is found, Gauteng police spokesperson Mavela Masondo said yesterday. Magadla, then a 6-year-old, fell into an uncovered manhole while playing with his friends in Dlamini, Soweto, one afternoon, 15 days ago. The boy turned seven a week after his disappearance and his family, friends and the community of Dlamini held an impromptu but sad birthday celebration in his absence. A two-week-long search involving a police search and rescue unit and a police dog unit, the Joburg Emergency Management Services and Johannesburg Water had yielded no results by late yesterday. Mavela said that a missing person case was opened at Moroka police station by the family on the day the boy disappeared. “The case will…

FORMER president Jacob Zuma has asserted that he would not bow to recommendations made by the State Capture report penned by its commission chairperson Chief Justice Raymond Zondo because it was “illegal”, “unlawful” and “irrational”. Zuma also announced his intentions to review parts of the Zondo Commission report, in wich he was directly implicated. He also wants the courts and the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) to look into his purported personal relationship with Justive Zondo while looking into the Chief Justice’s refusal to recuse himself from the commission to be investigated. Zuma responded through the Jacob Zuma Foundation spokesperson Mzwanele Manyi to the six-part-report at a press briefing on Saturday. His legal team, led by Advocate Dali Mpofu and daughter Duduzile Zuma, was also present at the briefing. The chief…

A FAMILY from Ramotse, Hammans- kraal, are reeling in shock after their 2-year-old son died in his sleep two weeks ago, under mysterious circumstances. Yesterday Evelyn Tsoku recalled the fateful day when her nephew Thabang Tsoku was found dead by his mother. Tsoku said they could not understand how he died. “He had flu but he was okay. On June 16, he went to sleep without problems. So it was shocking when, at 6am on June 17, her sister called with the shocking news. “I went outside and found my sister holding Thabang in her arms. She was unable to speak and crying loudly.” Tsoku said when she saw the little boy, it seemed like he was eaten and/or bitten by something, but they could not figure out what it…

Up to 100 lightning-related fatalities occur annually in South Africa, and at least four or five times as many survivors of lightning strikes need clinical treatment, says Professor Ryan Blumenthal of the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Pretoria. “As a forensic pathologist, lightning-related deaths make up most of our weather-related fatality cases.” For Blumenthal and his colleagues, these statistics represent the need for an awareness campaign similar to that of National Lightning Safety Awareness Week - June 19 to 25 - in the US, which was initiated in 2001. Since then, lightning fatalities in the US have dropped from about 55 a year to less than 30. At any given moment, about 2000 thunderstorms occur worldwide, producing about 100 lightning strikes each second, or eight million strikes…

POPULAR music talents YoungstaCPT and Raf Don have made a return with a song dubbed Tekky which delves into the sneaker culture and how it aims to connect people from different backgrounds. With sneakers known as cultural commodities globally, the duo also wanted to make their mark on the hip hop industry while also representing Cape Town’s sneaker culture through this new offering. Speaking about the song Raf Don said, “YoungstaCPT and I wanted to find a way to connect with people from different cultural backgrounds, races and classes, and this was the perfect way to do that because of the common love and interest in sneakers, which also inspired the title of the song but using the colloquial term ‘tekky’.” They revealed that no matter what part of Cape…

They say that it is a great quality in a man who shares what little he has with another in a similar plight. So it is with our neighbour, Mozambique. This impoverished nation, ravaged by both man and nature, has extended a helping hand to South Africa. In a display of selfless generosity and good neighbourliness, the Mozambican government has donated food aid to the flood victims of our province, consisting of 10 tons of rice, 10 tons of maize flour, 20 tons of spaghetti and 2 tons of brown sugar. (“Minister thanks ‘good neighbour’ for food aid”, Mercury, June 21) The Mozambican delegation said that they could not forget when South Africa stood by them in their difficult times. It’s a wonderful gesture which would help cement the good…

There’s a football renaissance taking place in Chatsworth at the moment, and I can’t help but share my enthusiasm with your readers. The 2021/2 year has been a successful and epoch-making one in the history of Summerfield Dynamos FC, who won the ABC Motsepe League for the second time in three years. They made history by becoming the first KwaZulu- Natal team from the ABC Motsepe League and first team ever from Chatsworth to reach the quarterfinals of the prestigious, lucrative Nedbank Cup. Someone once said: “I have so much bad luck that if I bought a cemetery tomorrow, people will stop dying!” That’s how Collin Naidoo, owner and chairperson of Dynamos, must feel after being bundled off in the play-offs, yet again, despite being so close to being promoted…

Right now, the South African football fraternity needs all stakeholders involved to come together and work for the betterment of the game in the country, regardless of political differences. The game is in crisis and has been on a downward spiral since the mid-2000s with little sign of improvement on the men’s front. The recent Safa elections were marred by controversy, infighting and mudslinging amidst Danny Jordaan securing a third term at the helm of the national football governing body. While his election victory surprised very few who have been watching the developments inside Safa, Jordaan's feet should be held to the fire to ensure that South Africa takes its rightful place among the continent's footballing giants, considering the ample resources at our disposal. Supporters of Jordaan's opponent, Ria Ledwaba,…

Moscow: Russian authorities have removed a Polish flag from the Katyn memorial commemorating the thousands of Poles killed by the Soviet Union’s political police in 1940 on the orders of Joseph Stalin, amid heightened tensions between Moscow and Warsaw over the Ukraine conflict. Historians and visitors to the Katyn memorial in Russia’s Smolensk region noted the flag’s disappearance on social media on Friday. The Soviet Union has long denied responsibility for the killings, accusing the Nazis of the crime, before admitting the truth in 1990. |…

Beijing: Chinese President Xi Jinping, pictured, will attend events to celebrate 25 years since Hong Kong’s handover to China, state media agency Xinhua reported. If Xi does attend in person, the trip would be his first outside of the Chinese mainland since the pandemic began. The trip would also coincide with the inauguration of Hong Kong’s new administration, led by former security chief John Lee. The Chinese Communist Party places great importance on anniversaries, and Hong Kong’s handover presents Xi with an opportunity to emphasise China’s authority over Hong Kong after three years of political upheaval there. Hong Kong is at the halfway point of the “One Country, Two Systems” political model, which promised that the former British colony’s way of life would remain unchanged for 50 years after its…

Wales forward Gareth Bale yesterday appeared to confirm his move to Major League Soccer (MLS) side Los Angeles FC (LAFC) following his departure from La Liga champions Real Madrid. The 32-year-old, who signed for Spanish giants Real from Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur in 2013 for a then-record transfer fee of €100million (about R1.67bn), is set to join as a free agent with his contract due to end during the close season. “See you soon, Los Angeles,” Bale wrote in a post on Twitter, following reports of the transfer on Saturday. The post, which was retweeted on LAFC’s official Twitter account, was accompanied by a video of Bale wearing an LAFC jersey and cap. Bale enjoyed a trophy-laden spell with Real, winning three La Liga titles, five Champions League crowns,…