Indice dei contenuti per 2024-03-07 in Cape Times

Jubilee Metals Group, a metals-processing group, said yesterday that it had formed dedicated executive boards for its South African and Zambian operations, with the local board to be led by deputy chairperson Mathews Phosa. Jubilee makes a big contribution to chrome concentrate production in South Africa (SA Operations) and has expanding copper operations in Zambia. Phosa was appointed chairperson of the holding company of Jubilee’s South African operations, with immediate effect, while Jubilee's chief operating officer Bertus van der Merwe was appointed as managing director (MD) of the SA board. “The formation of the SA board recognises the maturity of the SA operations as an established cash flow generative business, able to fund its growth objectives with its partners,“ the group said in a statement. In Zambia, a dedicated board…

South Africa will play a key role in the further expansion of the BRICS bloc this year, with a further 34 countries submitting an expression of interest in joining the bloc of major emerging economies. Professor Anil Sooklal, Ambassador at Large for Asia and BRICS and the South African Sherpa, said Russia was accepting the applications after assuming rotating chairmanship of the group this year. “At the Johannesburg Summit last year, a declaration was issued for Foreign Ministers to look at the issue of partner country membership as per the leaders’ directives.” Russia will be the first member to oversee the body since it significantly expanded its global footprint at the start of the year, when Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Iran, Egypt and Ethiopia became the first…

INTERIM maintenance pending a divorce, which falls under what is known in law as a Rule 43 application, was not created to give an interim meal ticket to an applicant who quite clearly at the (divorce) trial will not be able to establish a right to maintenance. This is according to an acting judge sitting in the Bloemfontein High Court, who said the purpose of Rule 43 is to provide a streamlined and inexpensive procedure for procuring the same interim relief in matrimonial actions as was previously available under common law in regard to maintenance and costs. His comments were sparked by an application by a mother of two who claimed R20 000 a month maintenance from her estranged husband, pending their divorce. The couple were married in March…

A group of marine biologists specialising in shark ecology, genetics and fisheries have challenged the findings from a recent study suggesting that South Africa’s white shark population has not decreased, but simply redistributed eastwards to flee predation from orcas. In September last year, the article titled “Decline or shifting distribution? A first regional trend assessment for white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) in South Africa” was published in the open access journal Ecological Indicators. This was followed by articles including “South Africa’s great white sharks are changing locations – they need to be monitored for beach safety and conservation” in The Conversation Africa. In a rebuttal article published recently, titled “Uncertainty remains for white sharks in South Africa, as population stability and redistribution cannot be concluded by Bowlby et al (2023)”, the…

The nomination of Deputy Chief Justice Mandisa Maya to replace the current Chief Justice Raymond Zondo should serve as an inspiration to the new generation of young female lawyers who wouldn’t dream of occupying the country’s top judicial position. Though her nomination comes as no surprise, the possibility of the country having the first female chief justice underscores the great strides South Africa has made in bridging the gender gap. It’s worth noting that Justice Maya was the preferred candidate for the top post by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) before President Cyril Ramaphosa overruled it and placed Justice Zondo at the helm of the judiciary. That Ramaphosa now announced her nomination on the eve of a crucial election on May 29 is also something worth noting. It shouldn’t, however,…

German researchers have examined a “hypervaccinated” man they say received more than 200 coronavirus shots without any noticeable side effects or harm to his immune system. Their findings, published this week in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, a medical journal, indicate that coronavirus vaccines have a “good degree of tolerability”, the researchers said, although they noted this was an isolated case of “extraordinary hypervaccination”. The 62-year-old man came to researchers’ attention when German prosecutors opened up a fraud investigation, gathering evidence that he had obtained 130 coronavirus shots in a nine-month period, far more than recommended by health authorities. “We learned about his case via newspaper articles,” Kilian Schober, one of the study’s authors, said. “We then contacted him and invited him to undergo various tests. He was very interested in…

WARSAW: The widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny called yesterday for Russians to stage an election day protest against President Vladimir Putin by forming long queues outside voting stations. Yulia Navalnaya has pledged to continue her husband’s work and opposition to the Kremlin following Navalny’s death last month in an Arctic prison colony. Navalnaya is backing an initiative to try to overload polling stations in this month’s nationwide poll, in which Putin is set to secure another six-year term as president. She said it was obvious Putin would “draw up any result he wants”. Navalny had also backed the proposal in one of his final posts from jail before he died. | AFP…

Brussels: The EU is poised to use artificial intelligence and other tools to create a “cyber shield” protecting critical infrastructure and sectors from threats, officials said yesterday. The move is enshrined in a new piece of legislation, the Cyber Solidarity Act, that was agreed on overnight by negotiators from EU member states and the European Parliament. The law, which needs a final sign-off from the parliament and the European Council, “will leverage state-of-the-art tools and infrastructures, such as artificial intelligence and advanced data analytics, to swiftly detect cyber threats and incidents,” a European Commission statement said. | AFP…

The Masque Theatre is celebrating Take a Child to the Theatre Day this year by encouraging children to experience the joy and inner workings of theatre with a free event including a facilitated theatre sports session. The annual Take a Child to the Theatre Day is a worldwide movement run by the International Association of Theatre for Children and Young People, to highlight a child’s right to experience the arts. The event, expected to be filled with laughter, fun and interesting information about the Muizenberg theatre specifically, and theatre in general, is scheduled for later this month and suitable for ages 8 and up. It is a collaboration between The Masque and Spotlight Youth Theatre. The audience will enjoy a facilitated theatre sports session, and get to know a little…

ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa and the rest of the party’s top seven leadership have been given the responsibility of determining who represents the party and the government in the next five years. A special meeting this week of the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC), its highest decision-making body between elective conferences, decided that Ramaphosa and other senior party leaders must decide the fate of those accused of corruption. Two of those leaders – national chairperson Gwede Mantashe and deputy secretary-general Nomvula Mokonyane – were named in then Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo’s state capture report as having allegedly benefited from state capture. And Ramaphosa himself has not shaken off allegations regarding the Phala Phala scandal, where a parliamentary appointed panel found prima facie evidence that he had violated his oath…

The Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) has described the latest court action by a psychologist as yet another attempt to delay and derail an internal disciplinary process into allegations of professional misconduct. Christina Els’s matter was before the Eastern Circuit Local Division, Thembalethu, in George this week. She faces an internal disciplinary process at the conduct committee for the Professional Board for Psychology through the HPCSA, which involves the custody and care of a 7-year-old minor boy following a reunification process. Els was accused of operating outside her mandate as a court-appointed facilitator by personally investigating and coming to a finding of trauma related to severe parental alienation instead of appointing an independent psychologist to conduct a complete psychological evaluation; assuming a psychologist/client relationship with the (paternal) family…

SELLING a house with defects such as dampness in the walls, without disclosing it and covering it up with paint and filler, can have consequences, as Johannesburg homeowners discovered when the court ordered that they had to pay the buyer the costs of the repairs. The Gortzen couple were earlier ordered by the lower court to pay the new owner R244 855 – the cost to fix the damp problems. This is after buyer Ardyn Moolman turned to the lower court to either have the purchase price of the house lowered or to have the sellers pay for the repairs. The court chose the latter option. Aggrieved with this ruling, the Gortzens turned to the Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg, to appeal against the lower court’s ruling. But the high…

Former US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley was set to suspend her presidential campaign yesterday, according to a source familiar with her plans, ensuring that Donald Trump will win the Republican nomination and once again face Democratic President Joe Biden in November’s election. Haley will urge Trump to try to win the backing of her supporters, which include a significant chunk of moderate Republicans and independent voters, the source added. Haley’s decision to suspend her campaign came a day after Super Tuesday, when Trump beat her soundly in 14 of the 15 Republican nominating contests. Haley lasted longer than any other Republican challenger to Trump but never posed a serious threat to the former president, whose iron grip on the party’s base remains firm despite his multiple criminal indictments.…

Iranian authorities are subjecting women to widespread surveillance to enforce the obligatory headscarf, even inside cars, and then imposing punishments including the confiscation of vehicles, Amnesty International said yesterday. The Islamic republic’s leadership was in 2022 shaken by mass protests that saw women denounce the dress code but has made clear it has no plan to abandon the obligatory hijab imposed after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Amnesty said in a report, based on testimony from over 40 women inside Iran published ahead of the March 8 International Women’s Day, that women were being targeted with “widespread surveillance” in public spaces and “mass police checks” targeting women drivers. It said pictures captured by surveillance cameras or reports from agents using police app Nazer identify licence plates of vehicles with female drivers…

BENI: The M23 rebel group has taken over the town of Nyanzale in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, killing at least 15 people in bomb attacks, a local official said yesterday. Nyanzale is about 130km north by road from the provincial capital Goma, and is home to thousands of internally displaced people who fled fighting in surrounding areas. M23 spokesperson Willy Ngoma said that Nyanzale was experiencing “tranquillity and deliverance”, suggesting the group had gained control of it. The M23 is a Tutsi-led group that has intensified its campaign in eastern Congo this year. UN experts and Western powers such as the US and France say that the group is backed by Rwanda. | Reuters…

LONDON: Britain’s MI5 intelligence agency has lowered the threat level in Northern Ireland from domestic terrorism to “substantial”, meaning an attack is likely, from “severe”, which meant an attack was highly likely. MI5 had raised the threat level for the region to “severe” about a year ago, after attacks on police officers and weeks ahead of celebrations marking the 25th anniversary of a peace deal that largely ended three decades of violence. The latest threat downgrade is “testament to the tremendous efforts of the Police Service of Northern Ireland and MI5 to tackle Northern Ireland related terrorism”, a spokesperson said. | Reuters…

CAPE TOWN is gearing up to host the Global Entrepreneurship Congress Africa (GEC+Africa) on March 13 and 14 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. This groundbreaking congress, powered by the Department of Small Business Development and African Bank, is poised to spotlight Africa’s entrepreneurial prowess by connecting visionaries with global opportunities. The GEC+Africa is a gathering of entrepreneurial champions and leaders in 43 countries on the continent, which will include international thought-leaders and practitioners who are part of a global movement to make it easier for anyone, anywhere to start and scale a business. With more than 3 000 delegates confirmed to attend, as well as more than 100 investors and thousands of entrepreneurs, it is a showcase not to be missed! In an exciting turn of events,…

Large crowd expected at Vredenburg court after police took in four suspects for questioning THE Western Cape Missing Persons Unit believes valuable time may have been lost due to interference in the search for missing Joslin Smith, 6. While police have not confirmed how many arrests have been made, the matter is expected to be heard in the Vredenburg Magistrate’s Court today, according to police spokesperson Novela Potelwa. Western Cape Missing Persons Unit director, Candice van der Rheede, said while arrests had been made, “it has taken too long after we were in the area to share intel with the police in the area”. “There is still no sign of Joslin and we are heading for the third week now. Information was shared with police and we requested for more…

THE standing committee on public accounts (Scopa) and the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the formal referral of matters to corruption-busting for investigation. Scopa chairperson Mkhuleko Hlengwa said the primary purpose of the MoU was to strengthen the relationship between the parliamentary watchdog body and the SIU regarding the investigation and reporting on matters pertaining to irregular, fruitless, and wasteful expenditure of public funds. “More importantly, however, the signing of the MoU assists in the formal referral of certain pressing matters from Scopa to the SIU, as the SIU does not identify specific matters to investigate. “Matters referred by Scopa to the SIU for investigation or for the motivation for a proclamation include the Eskom intelligence report and the National Skills Fund,” Hlengwa…

HIGHER Education Minister Blade Nzimande said the leave of absence by National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) board chairperson Ernest Khosa has resulted in vacancies within the board and some of its sub-committees. “The board has taken proactive measures to address this situation by reallocating existing members to fill these vacancies, thereby ensuring the continuity of leadership and preventing any void in governance,” Nzimande said in response to parliamentary questions from EFF MP Naledi Chirwa. Khosa took a notice of 30 days leave of absence to provide an opportunity to NSFAS to deal with allegations against him by the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa). Professor Lourens van Staden is the current acting chairperson of the NSFAS board. The civil society organisation shared a report containing recordings and transcripts of recordings…

MEMBERS of Parliament are preparing for a “meeting of answers” with the Department of Correctional Services, security company G4S and other stakeholders over the escape of prisoner Thabo Bester. This emerged when the justice and correctional services portfolio committee met yesterday to plan for the meeting to be held in two weeks’ time. The planned meeting follows others held last year where the department, G4S, the Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services (Jics) and the SAPS were quizzed about circumstances leading to the escape of Bester from the Mangaung Correctional Centre in 2022. During the meeting, content adviser for the committee Mpho Mathabatha listed a number of focus areas for the follow-up meeting. Mathabatha said one of the questions to be asked was about the lifestyle audits Jics requested G4S to…

South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe have recently published reports indicating a potential decline in grain harvest because of intense El Niño- induced dry weather. These developments could put the entire southern Africa maize supply chain at risk, with Zambia and South Africa hard hit by heatwaves and dryness. The neighbouring small producers such as Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho and Namibia are also struggling with dryness. Given that South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe are among the largest maize producers within the Southern Africa region, a potential decline in the harvest in these countries suggests there could be an increase in the risk of food insecurity. This would necessitate imports to meet the shortfall in the region’s maize supplies. The dryness in an El Niño event is not unexpected in the southern…

Envoys pushed on with efforts for a Gaza truce and hostage release deal in Cairo talks yesterday, hoping to halt nearly five months of fighting before the start of Ramadaan next week. US President Joe Biden had urged Hamas to accept a ceasefire plan with Israel before the Muslim fasting month begins, which could be as early as Sunday, depending on the sighting of the crescent moon. As negotiators in Egypt sought to overcome tough stumbling blocks, deadly fighting again rocked Gaza where the UN warns famine looms and desperate crowds have stopped and looted food aid trucks. Shortages of food and water amid the devastating Gaza war sparked by Hamas’s October 7 attack have killed at least 18 people, said medics in the Hamas-controlled Palestinian territory. Biden has called…

A Kenyan opposition leader said yesterday that he would launch a fresh court challenge to a plan to send police officers to gang-ravaged Haiti, after the two countries signed a deal last week intended to fast-track the stalled deployment. Ekuru Aukot said the agreement between President William Ruto and Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry was invalid and failed to address objections by the judge who blocked the deployment in January following a lawsuit by Aukot’s party. Ruto said at a signing ceremony last week that the agreement with Henry would speed up Kenyan officers’ arrival in Haiti, but his government has not provided a timeline. A High Court judge ruled in January the officers could only be sent to Haiti if a “reciprocal arrangement” was in place with the host…

WARSAW: Thousands of Polish farmers protested outside the prime minister’s office yesterday, burning tyres and throwing firecrackers as they demanded a halt to cheap imports and environmental regulations they say harm their livelihoods. Elsewhere in the country, they blocked roads, with tractors on the outskirts of Warsaw being stopped from entering the city. Farmers across the EU have been calling for changes to restrictions placed on them by the bloc’s Green Deal plan to tackle climate change and for customs duties on imports of agricultural products from Ukraine that were waived after Russia’s invasion to be reimposed. | Reuters…

Bangkok: Thai customs officials have arrested six Indians for attempting to smuggle a red panda and 86 other animals out of the kingdom, including snakes, parrots and monitor lizards. The illicit menagerie was hidden in the suspects’ luggage at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport as they tried to fly to Mumbai. Thailand is a major transit hub for wildlife smugglers, who often sell the animals in China and Vietnam, although recent years have seen an uptick in trafficking to India. “The animals include 29 black throat monitor lizards, 21 snakes, 15 birds, including parrots .” The suspects face 10 years in jail or four times the amount of import duties. | AFP…