Indice dei contenuti per 2021-07-20 in Mercury

Amsa declares a force majeure over violent protests in KZN and Gauteng Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za ARCELORMITTAL South Africa (Amsa), the country’s primary steel producer, has declared a force majeure with its customers following the violent protests and looting in Kwazulu-Natal and Gauteng last week. The mayhem that began when former presi- dent Jacob Zuma began serving his 15-month jail sentence morphed into civil unrest that saw the torching of trucks, the looting of shopping centres and the destruction of property. The company said that last week’s unrest had affected major highways and transport routes with roads being blocked, widespread vandalism and vehicles, especially the trucks of transport companies, being petrol-bombed and stoned. Amsa said the KwaZulu-Natal rail corridor to and from Newcastle was also affected, with flows coming to a…

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za South Africa’s tourism industry recorded a strong recovery in May as lockdown restrictions were eased ahead of the third wave of Covid-19 infections, but the recent unrest in the country could put this in jeopardy. Data from the Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) yesterday showed that the total income for the tourist accommodation industry increased by 2 027 percent in May from a year ago. StatsSA said income from accommodation increased by 2 383 percent year-on-year in May, the result of a 2 098 percent increase in the number of stay unit nights sold and a 13 percent increase in the average income per stay unit night sold. Hotels alone recorded an occupancy rate of 24.2 percent in May,…

Thami Magubane thami.magubane@inl.co.za ABOUT 150 000 people are likely to go hungry in Pietermaritzburg due to projected job losses as a result of widespread violence that engulfed the city last week. The municipality said it estimated that 15 000 jobs across the city may be lost, with each job supporting as many as 10 family members. About 2 500 of these jobs were in just two malls, Edendale and Dambuza, that were looted and set alight. Pietermaritzburg was one of the epicentres of last week’s violent unrest. Msunduzi mayor Mzimkhulu Thebolla said organised business in the city aimed to rebuild some of the damaged businesses. Thebolla and Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation Blade Nzimande visited some of the damaged businesses yesterday. Thebolla estimated that the economic damage caused…

Vernon Mchunu vernon.mchunu@inl.co.za THE loyalty of state intelligence bosses to former president Jacob Zuma, a lack of contingency plans and a strong political support base for the former president are among the factors that led to the state’s failure to avert last week’s devastation. This is according to security experts after the devastation that has cost the eThekwini Municipality about R15 billion and the KwaZulu-Natal province at least R50bn in damage to property relating to various economic sectors, provincial government spokesperson Lennox Mabaso said last night. Triggered by the 15-month imprisonment sentence imposed on Zuma by the Constitutional Court, the rampage first took the form of road blockages before escalating into widespread looting and burning of property. Retailers and storage warehouses were looted and burnt, and the ports of…

MOHAMED SAEED | Pietermaritzburg THE brazen lawlessness, looting and rampages across KwaZulu-Natal and parts of Gauteng was the worst civil or social mayhem seen since the end of the apartheid regime’s repressive rule. It was a painful sight to see, on videos shared on social media, raiders making off with electrical appliances, entertainment equipment, liquor, clothes and foodstuffs, while others set fire to some malls and shops. Listening to real-life narratives and having visited some of the places after the looting, I cannot quite believe the devastation and I am stunned at the damage and losses. South Africa is already reeling from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic and being one of the uppermost countries of income inequality in the world, this civil unrest will further increase job…

THYAGARAJ MARKANDAN | Kloof JACOB Zuma has gone into hiding, well, sort of. Just over a week ago, it was all about Zuma. He insulted the judiciary, spewed defiance at the Constitutional Court and made a mockery of our Constitution and democracy. Ignoring the lockdown regulations, he danced and sang and urged his followers to defend him with their lives. Then, having created a highly charged atmosphere ripe for an uprising, he disappeared to prison. But if we thought that he would disappear into oblivion, we were wrong. He had a master plan. As soon as he handed himself over to prison authorities, his lieutenants put the plan into operation. Several commandos took up positions at strategic points in KwaZulu-Natal, set up roadblocks with burning tyres, trees and…

BORN with his organs compressing his lungs, Baby Ignus has survived against enormous odds in what is thought to be a first for South Africa. Doctors believe his survival is a miracle. “The overall chance of survival for Ignus, all things considered, was extremely low, if not non-existent. Not only has he survived, but all indications are that he is physically well and neurologically sound,” said Dr Ashley Jeevarathnum, a paediatric pulmonologist practising at Netcare Clinton Hospital in Alberton. Baby Ignus is recovering at home after two months of tireless efforts and prayers from a highly skilled team of paediatric and neonatal specialists, nurses and the baby’s family. Recalling the birth of Ignus, her second son, on April 15, before it was discovered that he had a life-threatening internal birth…

Baldwin Ndaba baldwin.ndaba@inl.co.za Former Gauteng Health MEC Qedani Mahlangu has blamed Premier David Makhura for the transfer of mental health patients from Life Esidimeni to bogus care centres, where 144 of them died. Mahlangu’s comments were made in her opening remarks, through her legal counsel, advocate Lawrence Hodes SC, during an inquest hearing into the death of the patients in the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria yesterday. Hodes told Judge Mnonoa Teffo, who is presiding over the hearing, that Mahlangu was not personally responsible for the transfer of the patients. “Instead, she acted on advice from medical experts of the Gauteng Health Department and those who were clinically responsible for mental health patients. “The ultimate decision to transfer the mental health patients was taken by the premier,” Mahlangu said…

Bongani Nkosi bongani.nkosi@inl.co.za COVID-19 has knocked South Africa’s life expectancy down much in the same pattern that HIV/Aids did before it was brought under control through a massive rollout of antiretroviral therapy. Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) revealed yesterday that life expectancy in the country had dropped to 59.3 years for men and 64.6 years for women, largely due to the coronavirus. The national statistics body released its mid-year population estimates report. It estimated that the country now had 60.14 million people, increasing slightly from the 59.62 million estimated in 2020. While it was growing, the population faced a deadly virus that was to blame for an estimated 85% of about 180 000 excess deaths recorded over the past year. Ahead of the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, life expectancy…

NOW that the dust has settled after a week of ugly protests where mobs looted and torched trucks and businesses in KwaZulu-Natal and parts of Gauteng, serious questions have to be asked about the failure of the security cluster ministers to respond to the crisis. Minister of Defence and Military Veterans Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, Police Minister Bheki Cele and Minister of State Security Ayanda Dlodlo should be held accountable for their inability to respond timeously to the biggest security threat this country has faced since democracy in 1994. Frankly, President Cyril Ramaphosa should reshuffle his Cabinet and get rid of the trio if he is serious about keeping South Africans safe. If anything, the events of the past week have demonstrated to us that these ministers are not on top of…

MUMBAI: India’s capital New Delhi and the main financial centre of Mumbai were drenched with heavy rain yesterday, a day after at least 35 people were killed across the country in landslides and house collapses triggered by downpours. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted heavy to very heavy rain in north India, including New Delhi, over the next two days. In Mumbai, the IMD has issued a heavy rain and thunderstorm alert. At least 30 people were killed on Sunday in three Mumbai suburbs when several houses collapsed in landslides after rain. Twitter has been flooded with images of people wading through waist-deep water.…

With oppressively hot, dry weather looming over much of the Western US and Canada, the enormous Bootleg Fire in Oregon grew again, and authorities ordered new evacuations. Bootleg, the largest of 80 major fires now active in the US, spread overnight to become three times the size of the metropolis of Detroit, officials said. Some 2 000 people have had to evacuate. Satellite imagery showed a huge plume of smoke soaring from Bootleg, in southern Oregon, to the Canadian border, hundreds of miles to the north-east. But, with firefighters making progress on Bootleg’s western flank, overall containment of the blaze more than tripled, to 22%. Firefighters blamed lightning strikes for a fast-growing blaze in California’s Lake Tahoe tourist area. The so-called Tamarack Fire, fanned by fierce winds, has grown…

TOKYO: Akio Toyoda, chief executive of Toyota, one of the biggest sponsors of the Olympic Games in Tokyo, will not attend the opening ceremony on Friday, the Kyodo news agency reported yesterday. Earlier in the day, Toyota confirmed that it would cancel Olympics-related TV adverts. Kyodo suggests the carmaker was motivated by a potential blow to its reputation, as the latest polls show Japanese are concerned the Olympics could provoke a sharp rise in new Covid-19 infections, given that there has been increase in new cases in Tokyo and nearby prefectures in recent weeks. Since mid-July, Tokyo has been subject to its fourth state of emergency over Covid-19, which will last until August 22. The Summer Olympics in Tokyo, due to take place from Friday to August 8, will be…

Sparring partners Rassie Erasmus and Warren Gatland couldn’t be in more contrasting positions as they finalise their teams for the first Test. The British & Irish Lions coach is scratching his head over whom to leave out of his multi-talented squad, while for the Springboks it is a simple task of confirming which of the World Cup winning matchday 23 are cleared of Covid-19 and fit to play. The million-dollar question is which camp is in the better position after a build-up fraught with Covid-19 incurred obstacles. The Boks are a settled team but they have barely played, while the Lions are a new collective full of Test veterans. Also, the Lions will be frustrated that SA’s franchises could only muster meek opposition. For the Boks, will it really be…

SANDILE mCHUNU sandile.mchunu@inl.co.za THE LEWIS Group said 58 of its stores were looted and damaged last week through the widespread violence and looting in KwaZulu-Natal and parts of Gauteng. The events had a significant impact on its store operations, the group said in a statement yesterday. “A total of 58 stores were looted and damaged and are currently not able to trade, including 54 stores in the ‘traditional’ segment across the Lewis, Beares and Best Home & Electric brands and four UFO stores.” At the height of the unrest last week more than 260 stores across the group were closed as a precautionary measure to ensure the safety of staff and customers, and to minimise losses. “Management is assessing the extent of the vandalism and it is too early to…

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za The INVESTMENT community has shot down as unfeasible the proposed multibillion-rand basic income grant scheme as the government mulls introducing it to curb poverty. President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday gave the biggest hint that the government was investigating the feasibility of introducing a basic income grant in South Africa. Investors have said they would await more clarity on the full cost to the fiscus that this new grant would entail as more than a third of the South African population was unemployed. Anchor Capital investment analyst Casey Delport said yesterday that as it currently stands, they had a mixed view on the implementation of a basic wage. Delport said from a socio-political perspective, there was indeed a strong argument to be made for its implementation. “However, from…

Richard Hoffman Plant-based diets have surged in popularity during the past few years. As a result, there’s been a boom in demand for plant-based alternatives to favourite foods – including meats, such as sausages and burgers. The plant-based meat alternatives industry is projected to see massive growth over the next few years. But there is still a lot we don’t know about these food products – including whether they’re as healthy as some may think. Although many of these products claim to be made primarily from plants, they aren’t all that different to other ultra-processed food products. They often contain many similar ingredients – including protein isolates, emulsifiers, binders and other additives – and are made using industrial processing methods, so can be considered an ultra-processed food product. Plenty of…

Kailene Pillay kailene.pillay@inl.co.za Former president Jacob Zuma wants his corruption trial to be postponed until he can physically appear in court and give oral evidence and until the Constitutional Court hands down its judgment regarding his application to have his 15-month sentence for contempt rescinded. His legal team, led by advocate Dali Mpofu, yesterday asked for a two to three-week adjournment. Presiding Judge Piet Koen heard submissions from Zuma’s lawyers and the State regarding the former president’s argument that his rights would be violated if his corruption trial was heard virtually. Judge Koen is expected to hand down his judgment on the trial postponement application this morning. Zuma’s legal team was meant to deal with its application to have State advocate Billy Downer recused yesterday. But Mpofu made an application…

An unoccupied kindergarten building has been transformed into a shelter for street dogs near an international airport under construction in Zumpango de Ocampo, on the outskirts of Mexico City. The Doggies of Santa Lucia shelter run by the Mexican army was set up after the airport’s architects and workers noticed a large number of stray dogs wandering near the construction site. The shelter can host up to 50 dogs that will receive medical attention, food and shelter. “The shelter’s objective is to give the dogs a temporary home and to adapt them to live with humans and other dogs so they can be adopted by a family,” said Second Lieutenant Carla Medellin, a veterinarian. Not all dogs that arrive at the shelter are intended for adoption. Specialists and veterinarians will…

FAROUK ARAIE | Gauteng AFTER the horrors of World War II, the Marshall Plan was enacted to rebuild a destroyed and decimated Europe. Our leaders and industrialists and investors must as a matter of urgency adopt our own version of the Marshall Plan to rebuild our shattered economy and restore civility to our system of governance. Regions that once hosted bustling industrial infrastructure now house desolation and shattered skeletons of factories that were the hub of the food and trade chain. The rampaging insurrection and the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic have upended life in all parts of the country in ways never witnessed in our recorded history. We will have to confront a fundamentally changed economic landscape. Our embattled nation witnessed courage, as loyal citizens risked…

WHATEVER your faith persuasion, or the decision to have none, you may or may not agree that it is time to pray for the residents, legal or illegal, of the cities across this land. Please pray, even if it is to a God in Whom you do not believe! Oh God, our differences in faith and differences in our approach to you, divide those whom they ought to unite and incite those whom they ought to calm. May this not be true for me. Help us to love, embrace, and understand authentic humility. Help us to honour mercy and to seek justice, even if it is personally inconvenient and costly. Help us to live lives of love and truth and to seek the greater good of the community. Help us…

A North West man has been handed two life sentences for rape after he was caught when he tried to visit one of his victims. Unbeknown to the man, his victim had informed the community and the police of his impending visit. He was later arrested. North West police spokesperson Colonel Amanda Funani said Kabelo Motlangwane, 37, targeted women who lived alone. In February 2015, Motlangwane raped two women, aged 26 and 36, on two separate occasions. “Motlangwane broke into two separate houses in RDP Section, Setlagole, then raped the victims before robbing them of household items,” she said. After raping the second woman, he took the victim’s phone and sent himself a “Please Call Me”, so that he could have her number on his phone. After he left, the…

Foul play has been ruled out as a factor leading to the fire at the Biovac manufacturing facility in Pinelands, Cape Town, on Sunday. The Department of Science and Innovation said manufacturing and distribution remained uninterrupted. Established to revive human vaccine production in southern Africa, the company has secured high-profile technology transfers from international pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Sanofi Pasteur. It sources and supplies a comprehensive range of vaccines required by the Department of Health, supplying over 15 million doses of vaccines (excluding Covid-19 vaccines) a year across South Africa and to neighbouring countries. The Department of Science and Innovation said there would be no impact on normal operations or manufacture and delivery of vaccines. “No one was injured as a result of the fire,and none of the products were…

Sakhiseni Nxumalo sakhiseni.nxumalo@inl.co.za FARMS in the King Cetshwayo District Municipality, which includes uMhlathuze, uMfolozi, and uMlalazi municipalities, were severely affected by acts of looting and arson last week. The provincial secretary of the KwaZulu-Natal chapter of the African Farmers’ Association of South Africa, Thube Zondi, said they were still receiving reports from different parts of the province. Zondi said that many farms had had their livestock stolen, with many farmers left without stock. “The northern part of the province was the hardest hit, as their farms were also set alight. We have also received reports from farmers based in Richards Bay and Empangeni. “Many of our members have reported to us that their livestock has been missing since last week. We have advised them to open a case because it’s…

Mayibongwe Maqhina mayibongwe.maqhina@inl.co.za THE National Legislature will today take one step forward on the formal inquiry into the fitness of Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane to hold public office. Parliament’s Committee for Section 194 will today hold its first meeting since its reconstituted membership was announced in June. The committee will elect a chairperson after it decided to forge ahead with the inquiry four months ago. It is also expected to discuss impeachment proceedings. The Western Cape High Court has yet to deliver judgments in two applications brought by Mkhwebane and civil society group Democracy in Action (DiA). Mkhwebane and DiA want the rules to impeach her to be found unlawful, unconstitutional, and null and void. Despite the judgments being reserved, National Assembly Speaker Thandi Modise announced the reconstituted committee on…

SOUTH Africa has had a long history with the understanding that its people, land, culture, politics and economy are distinct, unique, and exemplary to that of the rest of the continent, that is, South African exceptionalism. For decades, consecutive leaders of this region have remained convinced of this steadfast and passionate exceptionalism – the birth of it long outdating the country’s modern democracy. After the passing of the South African Act by British Parliament in 1909, effectively merging the self-governing British colonies of the Cape, Natal, Orange River and the Transvaal into the Union of South Africa, British colonists, under the leadership of Alfred Milner, extended the argument that South Africa was exceptional because of its geography and through how it exercised white colonial governance over its African subjects. Milner…

Heinz de Boer | MPL, DA KZN spokesperson on economic development, tourism and environmental affairs The Democratic Alliance has called on the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) government to ensure that all security forces be urgently deployed to key economic nodes in order to secure the province’s biggest assets. In a parallel effort, the DA has also appealed for security forces to be seen at all smaller malls, family-owned businesses, and economic zones in all areas, including townships where many families have suffered the brunt of looters. The calls, made to KZN Premier Sihle Zikalala, and eThekwini mayor Mxolisi Kaunda, follow several days of unrest in the province which saw extensive destruction and looting of property. They also come as several key international investors stand on the verge of massive disinvestment…

Caracas: President Nicolas Maduro’s government repatriated more than 700 Venezuelans who fled to nearby Trinidad and Tobago amid their homeland’s crippling economic crisis. “More than 700 Venezuelans have arrived in Venezuela from Trinidad and Tobago in the first ‘Vuelta a la Patria’ (Return to the Homeland) plan carried out by sea,” the Foreign Ministry said. Maduro launched the plan in August 2018 to facilitate the voluntary return, initially by land and plane, of Venezuelans who fled the crisis that the government blames on US sanctions. More than 100 Venezuelans have died in shipwrecks trying to reach Trinidad and Tobago. It is a dangerous crossing.…

Fears mounted yesterday over the health of hundreds of undocumented migrant workers in Belgium after they stepped up a hunger strike aimed at getting the authorities to let them stay. Some 450 men – mainly from Morocco and Algeria – have been staging the protest at three sites in Brussels since the end of May demanding the government grant them the right to remain after years of working in the country without papers. Medics said that around 300 of the strikers had now started refusing to take liquids. “A tragedy is imminent,” warned the heads of the Socialist and Green parties, members of Belgium’s governing coalition. The authorities have so far insisted that they will not grant the entire group of protesters the collective right to stay in the country…

Former Malawian president Peter Mutharika will this week appear before the country’s Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in connection with the 1.5 billion Malawian kwacha (about R26 million) cement scandal. ACB spokesperson Egrita Ndala said Mutharika’s appearance before the anti-graft body was part of the ongoing investigation into the allegations of abuse of his taxpayer identification number. “The ACB will interview the former president, Professor Arthur Peter Mutharika, from July 20, 2021. The bureau would like to let Malawians know that this is a normal and legal process which started in 2020. The ACB hopes that this will put the record straight on the various stories circulating in the social media surrounding this matter,” Ndala said in a statement. Mutharika’s taxpayer identification number was allegedly used to import 800 000 bags…

Lewis Hamilton was subjected to racist abuse online after winning the British Grand Prix, with social media firm Facebook saying yesterday that it had removed a number of comments on Instagram. The seven-time world champion celebrated a record eighth British Grand Prix victory on Sunday at Silverstone after fighting back from a 10-second penalty for a first-lap collision that ended up with title rival Max Verstappen in hospital. Hamilton, 36, was targeted online hours after the victory, with racist messages including monkey emojis sent as replies to a post by his Mercedes team on Instagram. “The racist abuse directed at Hamilton during and after the British Grand Prix is unacceptable and we’ve removed a number of comments from Instagram,” a spokesperson for Facebook, which owns Instagram, said in a statement.…

Woolworths reports 9.7 percent sales growth in 2021 financial year Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za FOOD, fashion and beauty giant Woolworths (Woolies), said the third wave had been a setback for the group’s recovery in South Africa as it announced a 9.7 percent growth in sales for the year ended June 2021 compared to a year earlier. Woolies, whose stores are spread across South Africa, New Zealand and Australia, said its food business continued to be the star performer with a 6.9 percent growth in sales and a 5.7 percent in comparable stores and online sales surged. The price movement was 5.2 percent and underlying product inflation was 4.9 percent. The food business grew in both market share and volumes, despite the high base a year earlier…

EDWARD WEST edward.west@inl.co.za Courier companies are not yet operating in affected areas in KwaZulu- Natal and Gauteng following last week’s violence, and nationally customers were warned that some deliveries might be late. PostNet, for instance, warned on its website that shipments destined to and from Durban, Ladysmith, Richards Bay and Pietermaritzburg were severely delayed as a result of last week’s unrest. Dawn Wing said on its website that it had closed operations from July 15 across KwaZulu-Natal, and in the central business district of Johannesburg and Alexandra, where clean-ups were under way, and in Vosloorus, Katlehong, Jeppe, Denver, Mayfair and Braamfontein. High risk areas were Wynberg, Lombardy East, Marlborough Gardens and Soweto, where some malls were still closed. The Courier Guy said disruptions had caused delays of up to 24…

Sihle Mavuso, Kailene Pillay and Sibusiso Mboto ACTING Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni revealed yesterday that six alleged instigators of last week’s violence and looting in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng had been arrested. During a press briefing, Ntshavheni said three of the alleged instigators had already appeared in court and been remanded in custody until their bail hearings later this week. She said another two suspects would appear in court this week. Ntshavheni said one of those arrested had been granted bail. Charges against the alleged instigators include incitement to commit public violence. She said further arrests were expected soon. Yesterday, a former Ukhozi FM and SABC 1 presenter, Ngizwe Mchunu, handed himself over to the police after he learnt that he was wanted for allegedly instigating violence. He…

THE army is in town to give back-up to the cops against the looters and arsonists. Not before time, many would say. I get a message from a colleague. “A tank has just rolled by,” she says. I respond: “Are you sure it’s a tank? Not an armoured car?” (We naval types are not experts in army equipment but we do know more than most gals). “A tank,” she responds. “With tracks or with wheels?” “Tracks,” she says, no doubt getting a little irritated by this know-it-all male. “It’s a tank.” There we have it. Are tanks tearing up our tarmac? Will the council send a bill to the army or maybe Uncle Cyril himself? Backyard pop-ups INVESTMENT analyst Dr James Greener tells us in his latest grumpy newsletter that…

TAPIWA MUSKWE | London IT IS shocking that the UK has been falsely convinced by Zimbabwean President Mnangagwa that the human rights situation in the country has dramatically improved and asylum-seekers can be deported to Zimbabwe. The Zimbabwean movement has been arresting activists and members of the Movement for Democratic Change Alliance in record numbers. Britain should continue to offer sanctuary to Zimbabweans who have fled the rogue Zanu-PF regime. The world should put pressure on President Emmerson Mnangagwa to urgently transform Zimbabwe democratically or resign.…

Duncan du Bois | Bluff THE ORIGINAL date of my email (regarding martial law) was July 10, the day after 24 large transport trucks were torched at Mooi River toll. Nobody at that point knew what the days ahead held. But torching trucks at Mooi River toll is not new. My letter pointed out that a territorially limited corridor of martial law would serve to deter any further such brazen arson. Now in the light of what has occurred, if looters had been dealt with early on in this terrible week, much of the damage that has occurred might not have taken place. Instead, the government moved very slowly and thereby enabled wholesale looting and destruction to take place, destroying countless businesses and jobs and plunging the province…

An off-duty eSwatini police officer who shot dead two people at a funeral in Lomahasha after they criticised King Mswati III has been arrested and suspended from his job, national police commissioner William Dlamini said. The constable shot the men on Sunday after they said that Mswati was not their king. Angered by their remarks, the policeman walked to his station, came back armed and shot the two dead before leaving the scene. “The police officer in question has been arrested and suspended from work. Processes to have him removed from the police service are under way,” Dlamini said on the eSwatini government’s social media platforms. “We warn all officers to desist from this. This is not the way to handle matters. The law will surely take its course. We…

Reading, writing letters and playing card games or doing puzzles even in advanced old age may help delay the onset of Alzheimer’s dementia by up to five years. The research, published in the journal Neurology, looked at 1 978 people with an average age of 80 who did not have dementia at the start of the study and were followed for seven years. People with the highest levels of activity, on average, developed dementia at age 94. The people with the lowest cognitive activity, on average, developed dementia at age 89. “The good news is that it’s never too late to start doing the kinds of inexpensive, accessible activities we looked at in our study,” said Robert S Wilson, from Rush University Medical Centre in Chicago. |…

Sakhiseni Nxumalo sakhiseni.nxumalo@inl.co.za EMPLOYEES at several businesses, on Queen Nandi Drive and in Springfield Industrial Park, fear that they will lose their jobs following wanton looting in these industrial nodes last week. Many of these businesses and industries became the scene of widespread looting and destruction, with mobs ransacking warehouses for several days. During a visit by The Mercury yesterday, some warehouses and businesses had started clean-up operations, while others still had their gates locked, as they were assessing the extent of the damage. According to business owners, some businesses have opted to relocate to other areas, while others were considering shutting down operations. An employee from Sedgars Home, a store for exclusive luxury furniture, Senzeka Ngcobo, said they had been advised that the business would no longer be operating…

HEALTH experts say the widespread rioting and looting in some parts of South Africa will add an extra burden to communities already hit hard by the third wave of Covid-19. According to UCT’s School of Public Health and Family Medicine head Professor Landon Myer the results of the new infections, due to the riots, may start showing in the next week or two and the burden of new infections would be carried by communities already hard hit by the pandemic. The week-long riots happened in Gauteng, a province hit hard by the third wave of Covid-19 infections, and in KwaZulu-Natal – which has the fastest-growing number of cases. The number of vaccines administered in both provinces has gone down following the riots. Myer said: “The looting and rioting events could…

Helmo Preuss THE booming Chinese economy is sucking in massive amounts of South African exports as it needs our mineral exports such as coal and iron ore to fuel its economy. According to the latest data from the General Administration of Customs of China, South African exports to China showed an 83.2% year-on-year (y/y) surge in the first half of 2021 to $15.89 billion (about R230bn), while South African imports from China grew by 52.4% y/y to $9.43bn, resulting in a trade surplus in South Africa’s favour of $6.46bn. China’s economy sustained a steady recovery in the first half of the year, with production and demand booming, while employment and prices remained stable, the National Bureau of Statistics said. It added, however, there were concerns about the global spread of…

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani ambassador to Afghanistan, Mansoor Ahmad Khan, has returned to Islamabad after Kabul’s decision to recall its diplomats from Pakistan over the abduction of the daughter of the Afghan ambassador there, Geo TV reported yesterday. On July 16, the daughter of the Afghan ambassador to Pakistan was kidnapped on her way home in Islamabad. She was reportedly released after several hours of torture. On Sunday, Kabul recalled its ambassador and senior diplomats from Islamabad, demanding punishment for those responsible. The Pakistani Foreign Ministry called the decision “unfortunate and regrettable”.…

HAVANA: Cuba, which kept coronavirus infections low last year, now has the highest rate of contagion per capita in Latin America. That has strained its healthcare sector and helped stoke rare protests that have roiled the Communist-run island. The Caribbean nation of 11 million people reported nearly 4 000 confirmed cases per million residents over the past week – nine times more than the world average and more than any other country in the Americas for its size. The outbreak, fuelled by the arrival of the more contagious Delta variant first identified in India, has pushed hospitals at the virus epicentre in the province of Matanzas to the brink. State media has shown rare images of patients in beds in corridors and doctors complaining of a lack of oxygen, ventilators…

LOS ANGELES: The American rap artist and designer Kanye West is said to be dropping a new album this week, the Independent writes. Rumours have been fuelled by internet personality Justin Laboy who alleged he and basketball player Kevin Durant were lucky to listen to the new record over the weekend. ​Laboy also suggested Kanye will drop the album this week. ​ In addition, there have been photos on social media of people allegedly waiting in line outside the venue where the Las Vegas “listening party” for West’s new album was taking place on Sunday.…

PRESIDENT Joe Biden’s administration said yesterday that it had transferred its first detainee from the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay, a Moroccan man who had been imprisoned since 2002, bringing the number of inmates at the facility down to 39. Set up to house foreign suspects following the Septembert 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington, the prison came to symbolise the excesses of the US “war on terror” because of harsh interrogation methods that critics say amounted to torture. While former president Donald Trump kept the prison open during his four years in the White House, Biden has vowed to close it. Abdul Latif Nasir, who is 56 years old, was repatriated to Morocco. He had been cleared for release in 2016. “The (Biden) administration is dedicated…

Ashfak Mohamed ashfak.mohamed@inl.co.za THE British & Irish Lions have won about 37% of all their Test matches against the Springboks. So, when the 1997 squad landed in South Africa, they had it all to do. Martin Johnson was an inspired choice as captain for the 1997 trip down south, as he was not even England or Leicester skipper at the time. But Lions coach Ian McGeechan had other ideas, having been impressed by the No 4 lock’s leadership skills at his club, where he had stood in for the injured Dean Richards. Lions team manager for the 1997 tour, Fran Cotton, told the team’s official website that the deciding factor in the decision was a chat he had had with Johnson’s mother, Hilary. “Johnno was a fantastic, world-class lock, we…