Indice dei contenuti per 2022-01-10 in Cape Times

Tarryn-Leigh Solomons Tarryn-Leigh.Solomons@iinl.co.za KWAZULU-Natal is the leading province with the highest number of offenders registered in the National Register for Sex Offenders (NRSO) between January 2017 and November last year. The Western Cape is second in this regard. In a written Parliamentary reply, Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, Ronald Lamola, revealed that just over 3 000 convicted sex offenders were registered between the period under review. DA MP Désirée van der Walt enquired about the total number of offenders who were registered on the NRSO in each province. Lamola’s response indicated the overall total stands at 3 123. In KZN 640 offenders had been registered while in the Western Cape the figure stood at 561.In third place is the Eastern Cape with 478 offenders registered, followed by the Free…

Chevon Booysen chevon.booysen@inl.co.za POLICE have yet to make an arrest following an alleged arson incident at the Department of Justice’s regional office in the CBD on Friday. The fire, which came days after the arson incident at Parliament, a national keypoint, caused minimal damage to a door at the building, in Queen Victoria Street. Police spokesperson Wesley Twigg said an arson case docket was opened for investigation and no arrests hadve been made yet. This, while Parliament arsonist accused, Zandile Christmas Mafe, was expected to make his second court appearance in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court tomorrow, where he is expected to continue his bid to be released on bail. Mafe’s attorney has argued that his client has not been issued with a charge sheet yet and averred that this…

INGREDIENTS Method 500g beef mince 1 brown onion, diced 2 medium carrots, diced 3 large potatoes 1/4 cup tomato paste 1 table spoon curry powder 1 teaspoon turmeric 1/2 teaspoon cumin 2 whole tomatoes, diced 1 cup beef stock, more if needed. Salt and pepper to taste Grated tasty cheese Cream Parmesan cheese Butter Oil for frying. Cornflour to thicken Heat oil in a deep frying pan Add beef and brown, breaking up any clumps. Add onion and cook 2-3 minutes. Add carrot, tomato paste and tomato; stir through. Add stock, spices, curry powder, salt and pepper. Bring to the boil, then lower to a gentle simmer. Cover and cook 15-20 minutes. If it begins to look too dry add more stock, but not too much. In the meantime boil potatoes…

Nicola Daniels nicola.daniels@inl.co.za FOR eight years, 52-year-old Lionel Jones has been applying for jobs at the City and Western Cape Government (WCG) to no avail, compelling him to question their recruitment process which he alleges “favoured” internal candidates. The Brackenfell resident holds a National Diploma in Diagnostic Radiography from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology; an Honours Degree in Human Resource Management from Stellenbosch University; and a partially completed Post-Graduate Diploma in Health Care Management. The father of two said his list of unsuccessful applications to the provincial department of health ran over six pages, while he had about 60 unsuccessful or pending applications to the City. “I feel disappointed, angry, frustrated and hopeless. I am a father. It is very hard. I am a registered radiographer and a qualified…

Thembile Ndabeni SOUTH African society in general must be vigilant about matters of national concern. There are a lot of jackals in wolves’ skin. There are people who portray their parties as clean and immune from corruption. Imperfect as it is, in Google you can just put in search words and then it gives you what you are looking for. But not everyone can access Google or use it. Therefore, as much as we must move with paper and technology, let us be sensitive about leaving our people behind. Commissions should not just be seen as an activity expected to benefit certain people or do a job that can be done by anyone. One understands when a certain national group becomes caught up when a commission is established. There…

THE ANC’s political events of the past week in the province of Limpopo, Polokwane to be specific, and last year's bruising local government elections, tension and alleged political related killings, have proved to all that we are in for more possible blood letting this year. Equally the events proved that campaigning for one of the most anticipated political events of the year, the 55th national elective conference of the ANC, has begun. The two main factions vying for power kicked off their campaigns to get their slates elected in December. The Cyril Ramaphosa faction within the governing party has already thrown the first punch, earnestly launching his campaign to get him re-elected for a second term as party president. The chairperson of the ANC in Limpopo, Stanley Mathabatha, was clear…

POPE Francis called yesterday for dialogue and justice to put an end to violent unrest in Kazakhstan, adding he was saddened by news about deaths in the country. “I have learned with sorrow that there have been victims during the protests that have broken out in recent days in Kazakhstan,” the pope told hundreds of people in St Peter’s Square for his noon blessing and address. “I pray for them and for their families, and I hope that social harmony will be restored as soon as possible through the search for dialogue, justice and the common good,” the pope said. Kazakhstan authorities said they had stabilised the situation across the country after the deadliest outbreak of violence in 30 years of independence, and troops from a Russian-led military alliance were…

Curators combing through a vast historic archive of Freemasonry in Europe amassed by the Nazis in their wartime anti-Masonic purge say they believe still more secrets will be unearthed. From insight into women’s Masonic lodges to the musical scores used in closed ceremonies, the trove – housed in an old university library in the city of Poznan ,western Poland – has already shed light on a little known history. But more work remains to be done to fully examine all the 80 000 items that date from the 17th century to the pre-World War II period. “It’s one of the biggest Masonic archives in Europe,” said curator Iuliana Grazynska. “It still holds mysteries,” she said of the collection curators began going through decades ago. Initially tolerated by the Nazis, Freemasons…

LONDON: The UK is ready to take unilateral action that would suspend customs checks on goods moving to Northern Ireland, foreign minister Liz Truss said before talks with the EU. Truss is due to hold talks with EU Vice-President Maros Sefcovic this week to resolve disagreements over post-Brexit trade arrangements for Northern Ireland, part of the UK which shares a land border with EU member Ireland. To avoid politically contentious border checks between Ireland and Northern Ireland, Britain and the EU agreed Northern Ireland would effectively remain within the EU’s customs union for goods.…

CHANGSHA: A preliminary investigation into the medical and nursing institution fire that killed five in central China’s Hunan Province found that the fire was caused by improper electricity use, according to the local authorities. The accident occurred early at the weekend in Shigu District in the city of Hengyang. A total of 19 people were in the nursing institution on the third floor where the fire broke out. Five people were evacuated to safety; and 14 others sent to hospital for treatment. Among the 14, five died. Those directly responsible for the fire have been detained, with several officials removed from office.…

The steady flow of players migrating from Africa to Europe over the last few decades means there is now a larger pool of talent available for African national teams, and many will be dipping into this pool at the Africa Cup of Nations finals in Cameroon. Over the last 15 editions of the tournament there has been a steady increase in the number of Europe-based players representing African countries. At the 1992 Africa Cup of Nations finals in Senegal, only three players among the 12 participating countries were born in Europe: two in France who represented Algeria, and Nigerian international Reuben Agboola, born in London to a Nigerian father and English mother. At the 2021 edition, which has 24 teams and got underway yesterday, just over 30% of the players…

Liam Karabo Joyce liam.joyce@inl.co.za Media personality Dineo Ranaka has responded to accusations that she exploited a make-up artist. Felicia Zwane alleged that Ranaka tried to backtrack on paying her what she was due for promoting the star’s make-up brand, LuvDR in December. Zwane said she was contacted by Ranaka’s team to work at a LuvDR pop-up shop and that her rates were discussed via text. She claimed that after the work was done, both Dineo and her team members went silent and she struggled to get paid. Text messages between the two were then released in which Dineo said her office was researching what the daily rates for make-up artists were. Ranaka alleged in a statement to TshisaLIVE that Zwane tried to “extort” from her an amount that was “way…

Nicola Daniels nicola.daniels@inl.co.za THE South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) has released a new report that found decreased severity of disease in the Omicron-driven fourth wave in the City of Tshwane, with fewer deaths, ICU admissions and a shorter length of stay in hospital. The first case of omicron in the country was documented in the City of Tshwane on November 9 last year. In the study, titled “Decreased severity of disease during the first global Omicron variant Covid-19 outbreak in a large hospital in Tshwane, South Africa”, authors including Dr Fareed Abdullah, Professor Jonny Myers, Professor Deb Basu and others compared 466 Covid-19 admissions in the first 33 days since the commencement of the omicron-driven fourth wave. In addition, a snapshot analysis of 98 patients occupying Covid-19 beds in…

Okuhle Hlati okhule.hlati@inl.co.za THE SA Union of Students (SAUS) has cautiously welcomed the extension of National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) applications for this year, but says more still needs to be done to allow better application accessibility. Calls were made by the student union, along with education activists, for the initial deadline of January 7 to be extended, following concern that the deadline date was impractical. Some students also experienced technical glitches during the application process. The closing date has since been moved to January 21. According to NSFAS spokesperson Kagiso Mamabolo, more than 600 000 applications were received. Of those, at least 505 820 were first-time applicants. About 186 000 have been approved. “In this application cycle NSFAS enhanced its application portal such that first-time applicants who are…

Francesca Villette francesca.villette@inl.co.za AS PLANS move ahead to host this year’s State of the Nation Address (Sona) at the Cape Town City Hall, at least 1 000 Parliamentary employees will not be reporting for duty until the gutted building precinct is declared safe to work in. Following the devastating fire that ravaged the National Assembly and several floors of office space, the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union’s (Nehawu) branch executive committee (BEC) in Parliament said their members were anxious and feared for their lives. The BEC on Friday wrote to National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula and chairperson of the National Council of Provinces, Amos Masondo, saying they weren’t persuaded that Parliament would be able to contain another fire outbreak. The union also based its decision on the…

THE outbreak of Covid-19 in South Africa in 2020 inflicted extensive damage to the economies of numerous countries, including ours. The magnitude of damage caused by the pandemic is an eventuality that no one had foreseen, especially the jobs bloodbath which occurred in a short space of time. With every sector or industry now working on recovery adjustment measures to adequately respond to the challenges brought about by the pandemic, the tourism sector has remained vulnerable ever since and suffered a great deal of revenue losses. While no sector has been spared from the pandemic’s impact despite several government interventions to restore stability, numerous businesses which had been in existence for years collapsed as a result of the pandemic impact. Many established businesses in the sector ranging from travel agencies,…

Okuhle Hlati okhule.hlati@inl.co.za MORE than 2 400 hectares of vegetation have burned near Kleinmond in the Overberg, as a mountain fire yesterday continued to rage amid scorching temperatures. The fire brokeout on Saturday evening. Resources from Working on Fire, CapeNature and the Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment, were used in efforts to quench the flames, which were being fanned by the wind. No evacuation order was issued by yesterday. However, one voluntary evacuation took place. Overstrand mayor Annelie Rabie applauded the firefighting crews for their work as no damage to homes was reported and no structures were lost. “The crews were able to contain the fires that came close to properties. “Our local teams were tired so the outside assistance helped. We are humbled by the outpouring support…

KAZAKHSTAN is a country waiting to implode ever since it gained “independence” in 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union. For a state that sits on 41% of the world’s uranium supplies and is the size of Western Europe, it is a miracle that it did not explode earlier in the 28-year rule of its strongman Nursultan Nazarbayev. Instead, thousands of Kazakhs took to the streets in the dawn of 2022 to protest against a unilateral hike in motor fuel prices and wider grievances against the corruption of the First Family and their circles which has left the majority of the 19 million population well behind. Nazarbayev stepped down in 2019 to make way for his hand-picked successor President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, who compliantly retained his former boss as the…

Geneva: Russia yesterday ruled out any concession at talks with the US on soaring tensions over Ukraine as Moscow seeks a wide-ranging new security arrangement with the West but faces strong pressure to pull back troops. Russia’s deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov told Russian news agencies ahead of his talks in Geneva that the Kremlin was also “disappointed” with signals coming from both Washington and Brussels, where Nato and the EU are based. The high-level discussions start a week of diplomacy in which Russia will meet with Nato and the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), with the US trying to assure European allies they will not be sidelined. Russia since late last year has amassed tens of thousands of troops at the Ukrainian border and demanded guarantees…

LONDON: Queen Elizabeth led the tributes to the Duchess of Cambridge on her 40th birthday yesterday. The royal celebrated her milestone birthday with a message shared on the Royal Family’s Twitter account from the Queen. It read: “Wishing The Duchess of Cambridge a very happy 40th birthday today!” Catherine’s father-in-law Prince Charles and his wife Duchess Camilla also posted a selection of pictures on their Twitter account and wrote: “Wishing The Duchess of Cambridge a very happy 40th birthday today!”…

Egyptian authorities have freed Egyptian-Palestinian rights activist Ramy Shaath from more than 900 days of detention after forcing him to renounce his Egyptian nationality, his family said in a statement on Saturday. The statement said Shaath, who was a member of several secular politi- cal groups in Egypt and a co-founder of Egypt’s pro-Palestinian BDS movement, was released on the evening of January 6 and handed to a representative of the Palestinian Authority in Cairo before being flown to Jordan. Shaath flew from Jordan to France on Saturday. Shaath’s French wife Celine Lebrun Shaath, who was deported from Egypt following his arrest, had lobbied the French government to pressure Egypt to release him. Later on Saturday, Ramy Kamel, a prominent Coptic Christian activist detained in Egypt since November 2019 on…

FRANKFURT: The EU plans to legislate in the coming months to require technology companies to do more to tackle child sexual abuse, beefing up current voluntary arrangements, a top official said. EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson told Germany’s Welt am Sonntag that internet service providers and social media firms had reported 22 million offences related to child sexual abuse in 2020, up from 17 million in 2019. But she said that was only a fraction of the real number. “I will propose legislation in the coming months that will require companies to detect, report and remove child sexual abuse,” Johansson said.…

Cameroon football legend Roger Milla launched a scathing attack on North African countries Egypt and Morocco for supporting moves to postpone the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations which kicked off in Cameroon yesterday. Milla, who famously owns the record for being the oldest player to score a goal in a World Cup match, was speaking on French network TV5 Monde, commenting on Fifa-driven attempts last month to postpone Afcon 2022. Fifa President Gianni Infantino, backed by several European countries, spoke openly about the need to postpone the tournament, presumably because of health reasons, following the rapid spread of the new Omicron variant of Covid-19. There are more than 40 English Premier League players in action in Cameroon and many European clubs will be without their African players for up…

Gerry Cupido geraldine.cupido@inl.co.za Summertime and the living is easy. The question is, who has time to apply make-up, and melt foundation, instead of enjoying the sunshine? Whether your mascara is waterproof, or your setting spray promises to hold everything in place, who really has the will to wear make-up in the heat? Of course we all want to keep a summer glow. We don’t need make-up for that, do we? Here are tips to enjoy a make-up free summer: • Healthy glowing skin is all one needs to feel confident enough to step out without make-up. This does mean taking extra care of your skin and a good daily skin-care routine. A gentle face wash, cooling toner and a hydrating moisturiser is the holy trinity of skincare products. Moisturisers…

Sihle Mavuso and Mashudu Sadike PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa has admitted the ANC has in the past made promises that have not been achieved by the party in recent years. He was speaking to journalists in Polokwane on Saturday after the conclusion of the party’s 110th anniversary that was hosted in the city of Limpopo where he also delivered the annual January 8 statement. The ANC hosts the annual event in different cities to celebrate its existence while making promises to its supporters Asked why those promises were never achieved by the party, Ramaphosa said the ANC was a living organism that was allowed to make mistakes and was not just a machine. He said: “We seek and we work to implement what we have decided and because we are a…

Chevon Booysen chevon.booysen@inl.co.za MOP-UP operations in the flood-affected Buffalo City Municipality will take several days, following severe weather conditions at the weekend which claimed the lives of five people and displaced hundreds. The Eastern Cape communities of Duncan Village and Mdantsane experienced adverse weather conditions on Saturday, including flash floods that ripped through rural villages. In a preliminary report released yesterday, Buffalo Municipality spokesperson Samkelo Ngwenya confirmed that five people, one of whom was SAPS diver, Captain Pierre Marx, 53, died. Marx went missing on Saturday after attending to a report of a drowning, together with his co-divers from the East London K9 Search and Rescue team. Provincial Police Commissioner, Lieutenant-General Nomthetheleli Mene, expressed her condolences to Marx’s family. “The untimely passing of Captain Marx has sent shock waves through…

DEAR Cape Town As I write this, the world is getting ready to tackle the year ahead after closing the door on a taxing 2021. In reflecting on all of last year, I take great comfort in the successes the City and our partners have made in creating more access to opportunities and the lessons learnt from the challenges we continue to face. Reflective of this success is the uptake from domestic travellers for our pocket-friendly tourism campaign launched at the beginning of December. In the campaign, the City, via its Official Destination Marketing Organisation, Cape Town Tourism, partnered with Travelstart and other platforms to offer discounts on flights, accommodation and experiences to local travellers. It resulted in 271 100 domestic visitors coming to Cape Town International Airport last month.…

Lisa Isaacs lisa.isaacs@inl.co.za LOCAL fishermen were left in shock after pulling the body of a newborn baby from the water at False Bay’s Mnandi Beach at the weekend. This as three people died when holidaymakers flocked to beaches and swimming pools for a reprieve from the heat on Saturday. SAPS spokesperson Wesley Twigg said that Mitchells Plain police were investigating the discovery of the baby’s body on Saturday night. “Mitchells Plain police opened an inquest case docket for investigation after the body of a newborn baby was pulled out of the water by fishermen at Mnandi Beach at about 8pm. “A post mortem will be conducted to determine the cause of death,” Twigg said. No arrests had been made. City Law Enforcement spokesperson Wayne Dyason confirmed that anglers had informed…

Helmo Preuss CHINESE Foreign Minister Wang Yi paid official visits to Eritrea, Kenya and Comoros from January 4 to 7, continuing Chinese foreign ministers’ tradition of visiting Africa at the beginning of a year. Last year, Wang visited Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Botswana and Seychelles from January 4 to 9. The visit to African countries at the start of the year is a tradition that dates back to January 1991 and is aimed at cementing ties between African countries and China. Wang’s trip is a striking example of a relationship built through consistency. This constancy counts in Africa and China is aware of its worth. The Beijing-based consultancy Development Reimagined estimated that senior Chinese leaders have made some 80 visits to 43 African countries over…

Nigeria said yesterday that gunmen killed at least 200 people and displaced thousands more in multiple raids in the northwest over the past week, dealing a heavy blow to authorities struggling to restore order. Herders and farmers in Africa’s most populous country have clashed over access to land in northwest and central Nigeria for years, but some groups have evolved into criminal gangs known as “bandits” who kill, loot and kidnap. The minister of humanitarian affairs Sadiya Umar Farouq called the past week’s attacks in Zamfara state “horrific and tragic”. “Over 200 persons were buried … due to the invasion by bandits,” she said. More that 10 000 people were displaced when “their homes were razed by bandits with scores still missing”. Four witnesses said gunmen rampaged through Anka and…

ZURICH: Former Austrian chancellor Sebastian Kurz, who quit his post last year after corruption allegations against him, has been appointed co-chairperson of the European Council on Tolerance and Recon- ciliation (ECTR), the non-govern- mental organisation said yesterday. The ECTR describes itself as a group of former leaders and other decision-makers committed to fighting extremism, racism, antisemitism and xenophobia. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair is the chairperson. Kurz’s appointment could prove controversial, especially after he reached a coalition deal with the anti-immigration Freedom Party in 2017, paving the way for Austria to become the only western European country with a far-right party in government. In office he opposed Austria accepting asylum seekers from a destroyed refugee camp in Greece or taking in any more people fleeing Afghanistan after the Taliban…

Harare: More than 300 homes have been damaged by heavy rains over most parts of Zimbabwe since the start of the 2021/22 rainy season in October last year, state media reported yesterday. Quoting figures from the government’s Civil Protection Unit, state media said 320 homes, including five schools, had been damaged by floods, hailstorms, thunderstorms, lightning and strong winds across the country as of January 5. Hundreds of people have been left homeless while several others have been injured by the inclement weather conditions. At least 10 of the country’s 52 districts have been affected by flash flooding.…

Santo Domingo: Rodolphe Jaar, a Haitian businessperson and convicted drug trafficker, was arrested in the Dominican Republic on suspicion that he played a key role in the Haitian president’s assassination, media said. Jaar was captured in Santo Domingo on Friday, six months after a hit squad stormed Jovenel Moise’s residence in a Port-au-Prince suburb, killing the president and wounding his wife, the Miami Herald reported. His arrest was confirmed by Haitian and Dominican officials with knowledge of the matter. Sources told the paper that Jaar had spent months in hiding after crossing into the Dominican Republic from Haiti.…