Indice dei contenuti per 2023-12-20 in Cape Times

COMMUNICATIONS and Digital Technologies Minister Mondli Gungubele has come to the defence of the SABC Bill being processed by Parliament. Gungubele said the bill was geared at addressing the challenges faced by the public broadcaster and ensuring its sustainability. DA MP Natasha Mazzone had submitted a parliamentary question asking how the bill would resolve the SABC’s financial shortfalls. Mazzone noted that the proposed legislation would mandate the minister and their finance counterpart with a new funding model, but not the board of directors. In reply, Gungubele said: “One key aspect of the bill is to provide the SABC with greater flexibility in television content procurement that will enable it to compete more effectively and offer a wider range of entertainment options. “Through the commercial subsidiary with exclusive commercial licence…

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has ruled out the possibility of the National Treasury writing off consumers’ debt owed to municipalities and Eskom, saying it was up to the power utility and councils to do so. Godongwana made his stance known in reply to written parliamentary questions from EFF MP Eugene Mthethwa who enquired if the minister had considered writing off debt for poor people who were deeply indebted to municipalities to such an extent that some have lived for long periods without electricity because of the confiscated Eskom transformers in their areas. Mthethwa noted that Godongwana pronounced to write off Eskom electricity bills of indebted municipalities. Earlier this year, the government invited municipalities to apply for debt relief for arrears debt to Eskom. The plan was to write off the…

IN South Africa’s health-care landscape, the shadows of cancer loom large. As someone deeply entrenched in the vital work of DKMS Africa, an international non-profit organisation dedicated to saving the lives of patients with blood cancer and blood disorders, it is clear that addressing the challenge of cancer education in a country with insufficient awareness is a task that requires collective responsibility. The complexity of the health-care system intertwines with societal challenges, resulting in delayed detection and diagnosis. The consequences are profound, as late-stage diagnosis not only intensifies the toll on individuals but also presents formidable obstacles to successful treatment. South Africa stands at a critical crossroads, where acknowledging the plight of those diagnosed late with blood cancers is pivotal in shaping a health-care landscape that fosters timely intervention and…

The US condemned “unprecedented” attacks by Yemeni rebels on Red Sea shipping as the Huthis pledged yesterday to continue military operations despite the announcement of a new maritime protection force. The flurry of drone and missile attacks by the rebels, the latest of which targeted two vessels on Monday, threaten to upend global trade flows, with major shipping firms halting traffic through the Bab al-Mandeb strait. Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin warned yesterday that the attacks “threaten” the free flow of commerce, a day after he announced a multinational task force to quell Huthi missile and drone attacks. Austin spoke during a virtual meeting with representatives of 43 countries, as well as the EU and Nato, to discuss the increased threat to maritime security in the Red Sea, the statement said.…

The EU yesterday warned against hate speech and violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) a day ahead of elections, amid fears that political tensions could boil over. Forty-four million Congolese are registered to vote in tomorrow’s presidential, parliamentary, provincial and municipal elections, in a country ravaged by conflict in its east. “The EU expresses its concern about the hate speech, violence and incidents that have marked the last few days of the campaign,” the EU said. “Serious human rights violations and abuses have been recorded according to the UN, and it is up to the authorities to launch investigations in order to prosecute the perpetrators.” President Felix Tshisekedi, 60, stands a healthy chance of securing re-election against a divided opposition in the country roughly the size of continental…

Rome: Italy’s population continued to decline in 2022, dropping below 59 million people, the National Institute of Statistics said. The 59 million threshold was first exceeded in Italy in 2009, and in the following year the population reached 60.6 million for the first time in the country’s history. The latest census data released on Monday showed that 58 997 201 people resided in the country as of December 31, 2022, 32 932 fewer than a year earlier. The number of births broke a “negative record”. The country registered 393 000 births in 2022, equalling a birth rate of 6.7 per thousand population. This was almost 7 000 below the 2021 figure and 183 000 below the 2008 figure. | IANS…

San Francisco: Google parent Alphabet has agreed to pay $700 million (R12.8 billion) as part of an antitrust settlement made public on Monday, with the funds going to US customers of its Android app store and state governments. It will also make changes to its Google Play app store to reduce competition barriers for developers. Dozens of US states joined forces in a lawsuit filed in 2021 that accused Google of abusing its power regarding consumer access to apps on mobile devices running its Android operating system. The lawsuit accused Google of discouraging Android apps from being distributed at shops other than its Play store. | AFP…

A REGISTERED psychiatrist charged with unprofessional conduct for allegedly failing to attend to a patient in an emergency, after which the patient had died by suicide, turned to court as she does not want to be forced to testify before a body looking into her conduct. The psychiatrist, referred to as Dr MT, turned to the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, to have a decision of the Professional Conduct Committee of the Health Professions Council of South Africa overturned. After the committee had presented its case against the doctor, it was her turn to present her defence. That meant she was required to testify about what had happened. The psychiatrist made it clear that she wanted to remain silent. Her legal team asked the committee for her discharge, meaning she would…

ActionSA claims agreement was signed with company that was among council’s top debtors The Knysna Municipality has been hauled to the Office of the Public Protector over alleged maladministration relating to the approval of a lease agreement with a business that apparently already owed it R28 million. ActionSA lodged a complaint with the public protector, requesting urgent intervention to look into alleged misconduct. The investigation comes as reports emerged recently that the municipality faces an unprecedented financial crisis that’s been affecting service delivery. However, the municipality maintained that its finances were not in trouble. In the request for urgent intervention, ActionSA’s constituency head in Knysna, Julie Seton, said their complaint pertained to potential misconduct by the municipal manager, Ombali Sebola. “Despite continuous appeals from ActionSA, the Western Cape provincial government…

The security situation is still volatile in some districts of Cabo Delgado, Mozambique, and since September there have been multiple attacks leaving thousands newly displaced in the districts of Macomia, Mocimboa da Praia, and Muidumbe. Access remains challenging in some areas of these districts, which have been isolated and without support over the past few years, according to Doctors Without Borders (MSF). “It is premature to talk about stabilisation and life returning to normal in Cabo Delgado – over 600 000 people remain displaced, while 540 000 people previously displaced have returned to their areas of origin. Most have witnessed and experienced extreme violence and were forced to flee multiple times over the last few years. “This had a significant impact on the mental health of most families in Cabo…

THE FESTIVE season is looking brighter for a Belhar teen and his family as Cole Macleod goes from strength to strength following a successful double lung transplant earlier this year. Cole, 16, was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at just three months old and has faced many medical challenges over the years, spending extended periods in hospital. But since his bilateral lung transplant on August 5 at Groote Schuur Hospital, he can breathe easier. His mother, Joleen Macleod, said this Christmas would be one to celebrate as during their holidays last year, Cole was seriously ill. “Cole had been very sick last year around the end of November when he was still in hospital, and while he was at home on Christmas he was still very ill. When he was admitted…

Rescuers in remote villages of northwest China dug through the rubble of collapsed homes yesterday after the country’s deadliest earthquake in years killed at least 126 people and injured hundreds more. State media said the shallow tremor just before midnight had caused the deaths of at least 113 and injured more than 530 in Gansu province, by yesterday afternoon. A further 13 died, 182 were injured and 20 were missing in Haidong in neighbouring Qinghai province, state broadcaster CCTV reported. The quake damaged more than 155 000 buildings, according to CCTV, and sent residents running into the streets in the freezing night for safety. “I am 70 and I have never experienced such a powerful quake in my life,” resident Ma Wenchang told AFP. “I can’t live (in this house)…

Greece’s conservative government yesterday pushed through a controversial law offering limited legal status to migrant workers, overriding the opposition of several of its own lawmakers, including a former prime minister. Migration Minister Dimitris Kairidis has said the legalisation move is purely labour-related. It is aimed at those who arrived in Greece before 2021 and have been working illegally. The temporary legal status will only be valid for a one-off three-year period and applies to those already with job offers from employers. About 30 000 migrants are expected to benefit, mainly from Albania, Georgia and the Philippines, according to the migration ministry, addressing serious labour shortages in the farm sector. Legal migration can be an “investment lever... if we do not utilise it, we risk dropping our growth rate,” Kairidis…

Canberra: Leader of Australia’s Northern Territory (NT), Natasha Fyles yesterday resigned after failing to disclose shareholdings in a mining company. Fyles announced her intention to stand down as Chief Minister of the NT on Thursday following a series of integrity scandals. This comes a day after it was revealed that Fyles owned undisclosed shares in South32, a mining and metals company that possesses a manganese mine on Groote Eylandt off the NT’s north-east coast. Yesterday, she said there was no excuse for failing to disclose the holdings in South32. “It was not deliberate, it was not intentional but it’s unacceptable,” she said. | IANS…

LONDON: A final appeal to prevent the extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the US will be heard in London over two days in February, his support group said yesterday. Assange, 52, is wanted on espionage charges and has been detained in the high-security Belmarsh Prison in south-east London since April 2019. He was arrested after spending seven years holed up in Ecuador’s London embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he faced accusations of sexual assault, which were later dropped. US authorities want to put Assange on trial for divulging US military secrets about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. | AFP…

Bok lock RG Snyman is set to earn a cool R10 million a season at Irish giants Leinster as the stock of the Springbok World Cup winners continues to rise through the roof. Leinster coach Leo Cullen has confirmed on the club’s website that Snyman has signed and his pay package is rumoured to be a staggering €500 000 a season. Cullen said, “We’re delighted that RG is joining us next season. He is a world-class operator, coming into his prime, and a powerful athlete who will bring more competition to that position for our squad. “He is also a double World Cup-winning Springbok and all that brings in terms of experience, and all our players can tap into that. We are always looking for ways we can improve our…

CONSUMERS can brace themselves for higher electricity prices expected to hit their pockets in April next year, as the National Energy Regulator (Nersa) has given the nod to a 12.74% electricity tariff hike for Eskom. At its meeting held on December 14, Nersa approved Eskom’s average tariff increases for the 2024/25 financial year. Nersa approved 12.74% for Eskom users and 12.72% for municipalities effective April 1, 2024 and July 1, 2024 respectively. “Eskom submitted its Eskom Retail Tariff and Structural Adjustment (ERTSA) application for the 2024/25 financial year and the schedule of standard tariffs for approval on 10 October 2023. The 2024/25 schedule of tariffs is for implementation on 1 April 2024 for non-local authority customers and 1 July 2024 for local authority (municipalities) customers,” Nersa said. This comes…

FORMER president Jacob Zuma has the right to vote for any political party of his choice. But uMkhonto we Sizwe? Before reading further, rest assured this is not about defending the ANC or dismissing the new uMkhonto we Sizwe political party as another election no-hoper. Let’s dip into history; uMkhonto we Sizwe, or MK, was the military wing of the ANC with a mission to fight against the then apartheid regime. It was founded by Nelson Mandela in the wake of the Sharpeville massacre. After warning the government in June 1961 of its intent to resist further acts of government-instituted terror if it did not take steps toward constitutional reform and increase political rights, uMkhonto we Sizwe launched its first attacks on December 16, 1961. It was subsequently classified as…

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was to hold an end-of-year press conference that comes with his military under pressure on the front and allies wavering on aid. Zelenskiy last week embarked on a tour of Western countries to make the case for more military and political support for Ukraine as Russia’s invasion grinds closer to its two-year-anniversary in February. But he failed to convince US Congress to immediately approve $60 billion (about R1.1 trillion) in support while in Brussels, Hungarian leader Viktor Orban blocked some 50 billion euros in aid earmarked for Kyiv. Those setbacks on the diplomatic front come in the wake of a disappointing counteroffensive that Kyiv launched in June using Western supplied tanks and weapons stockpiled over months. Responding to growing weariness over the war, UN human…

Paris: The former wife of French serial killer Michel Fourniret expressed regret on the final day of her trial yesterday for her role in the murders he committed, asking the families of the victims to forgive her. Monique Olivier is on trial in France for complicity in three of killings committed by Fourniret, including that of British student Joanna Parrish. “I ask for forgiveness,” Olivier said. “Although I know that what I did is unforgivable.” On Monday, prosecutors said they were seeking life in prison for Olivier, without possibility of parole. Fourniret died in 2021 aged 79 before he could be brought to trial. | AFP…

Paris: The far-right National Rally (RN) will back a flagship bill of President Emmanuel Macron’s government tightening immigration rules, its figurehead Marine Le Pen announced yesterday, dramatically increasing its chances of being passed by parliament. “We can rejoice in ideological progress, an ideological victory even for the National Rally, since this is now enshrined into law as a national priority,” said the three-time presidential candidate. The RN had previously said it would vote against the bill or abstain. Le Pen, who now leads the RN’s lawmakers in parliament, is widely expected to stand again for president in 2027. | AFP…

The Proteas Women’s team have not had any harsh words after their shock first ODI defeat to Bangladesh on home soil, but they are determined to bounce back in the second ODI at the JB Marks Oval today, according to young all-rounder Eliz-mari Marx. The 20-year-old enjoyed an admirable debut, top-scoring with 35 as the Proteas were bundled out for just 131 in 36.3 overs in pursuit of Bangladesh’s 250-3. The home side can certainly not afford another blowout like that today with the series on the line. Marx claims that the Proteas are ready to raise the level of their performance in order to level the series ahead of the final match in Benoni on Saturday. “The coaches are obviously disappointed but there definitely weren’t any harsh words. “We…